To Life!

Ruby Robinson of U-M and Sari Beliak of Arizona
State University carry trash out of Beth Israel.

THE SCENE

U-M students from Hillel and Chabad House end a hand on the Gulf Coast.

Alan Hitsky

Associate Editor

W bile most college students
looked for a relaxing, sunny spot
during winter break, 16
. University of Michigan students preferred
hot and grimy.
The students were part of continuing.
national programs by Chabad Lubavitch
and Mel: The Foundation for Jewish
Campus Life to help relief efforts in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina last August.
During the first week of January, seven
from U-M Hillel — led by a displaced
Tulane University graduate student —
joined 150 Jewish college students from
throughout the U.S. in Biloxi and Gulfpdrt,
Miss. The students rebuilt roofs destroyed
in the hurricane.
In New Orleans, nine U-M students led
by the Ann Arbor Chabad House's Rabbi
Alter Goldstein helped strip the historic,
heavily damaged Beth Israel Synagogue and
several homes.
Beth Israel was flooded by 12 feet of •
water when New Orleans' levees broke after
the storm. "We tore down walls to the studs
to begin the rebuilding process:' Rabbi
Goldstein said."We were just gutting the
place. The entire building was destroyed."
The Chabad House contingent did similar
work on several homes and helped Habitat

for Humanity construct a home during
their stay.
"Just us being there gave people some
hope the rabbi said. "They are still in shock
three months later. Many homes haven't
been touched [cleaned or repaired] at all."
The Chabad House contingent included
Becky Elias of Australia, Jonathan Goldberg
of New Jersey, Liz Kraus of New Orleans,
Ben Greenberg of Miami, sister and brother
Eden and Josh Litt of West Bloomfield,
Emily Meyers of East Lansing, Ruby
Robinson of Franklin and Eric Steel of
Jackson.
Rabbi Goldstein was not sure if Chabad
would arrange another student effort dur-
ing spring break, "but it's possible,' he said.
Barry Steifel, 26, led the U-M Hillel con-
tingent in Mississippi. An Ann Arbor native
with a B.A. from Michigan State and an
M.A. from U-M, Steifel was working on his
doctorate at Tulane when Katrina over-
whelmed New Orleans. He spent the fall
semester at U-M completing his course
work and plans to stay at U-M while he
writes his thesis for Tulane. His area of
study, ironically; is historic preservation.
While Steifel was working in Mississippi,
his wife, Lori, a U-M Hillel employee, was
chaperoning a Birthright Israel trip to
Israel.
"We did the roofs on lt/ 2 homes, working
with eight kids from the University of

Working on a house roof in Biloxi are, from left, U-M students Barry Steifel and
Andrea Gilman, and seated near the ladders, liana Goldszer and Beth Kander.

Pennsylvania; said Steifel.
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Oakland
County helped defray travel costs for some
of the students. Chabad did the same for
some of its students.
Both groups were housed with organiza-
tions or in private homes during the week.

The U-M Hillel group included Ilana
Goldszer, a student at Maryland Institute
College of Art who is from Ann Arbor;
Jocelyn Gotlieb of Ann Arbor; Rena
Wexelberg-Clouser of Oak Park; Jeffery
Herbstman of Union Pier; Beth Kander of
Holly and Andrea Gilman of Glencoe, Ill. 0

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January 19 • 2006

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