Metro

Purim's

Mitzvah

Volunteers gather
to distribute gifts to
brighten holiday for
others.

Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News

iles of granola bars,
candy, crackers, hamen-
tashen and other snacks
filled dozens of tables at the Max
M. Fisher Federation Building in
Bloomfield Township.
Surrounding the tables were
hundreds of volunteers. David
Newman of Huntington Woods
and his daughter Sydney, 5, were
part of a massive assembly line
of people stuffing bags with the
treats to create mishloach manot
baskets (gift parcels) for Purim.
The volunteers helped put
together about 4,000 baskets
during the Great Purim Parcel
Project on March 5.
"It's- nice helping others:'
Newman said. "It brings a big

p

TOP: Micayla Kersch, 9,
and Bailey Kersch, 7, of
West Bloomfield sample
the hamanstashen.

ABOVE: Lexie
Markowitz, 7, of
Southfield with a
Purim card she made.

smile to my face and my
heart?'
Parcels were assembled at 17
other locations, and the bas-
kets were later distributed to
hundreds of seniors, Jewish
Family Service clients, JARC
consumers, Meals-on-Wheels
recipients, Kadima clients, Yad
Ezra recipients and many oth-
ers.
"The best part is watching
the entire process from start to
finish:' said Gail Greenberg of
Oak Park, one of the organizers.
The 19th annual project had
Jewish families from all over
Metro Detroit busy fulfilling one
of the mitzvot of Purim — giv-
ing gifts of food to friends and
neighbors.
Amy and Marc Wander of
Farmington Hills helped make
some of the deliveries with their
sons Jack, 4, and Sam, 3.
"It's rewarding and it's a
great experience for the
children:' Amy said.
"When the seniors open
their doors they're so
touched to see people of all
ages coming to just say
hello and bring something
special:' Greenberg said.
"They often give the fami-
lies a piece of fruit or
candy in return because
they're so grateful?'
The project was spon-
sored by Federation's
Alliance for Jewish

LEFT: Maya Siegmann, 3,
of Oak Park works on a
Purim card.

Noah, 2, and Jodi Leib of
Southfield finish up their
Purim parcel.

Education, Jewish Experiences
For Families and the Detroit
Jewish News. Food and supplies
were purchased with the help of
a generous donation from
Audrey and Bill Farber of
Franklin. A group from
Federation's Young Adult
Division gathered at the
Fleischman Residence in West
Bloomfield to make baskets with
the help of seniors who live
there.
Spotted among the parcel proj-
ect volunteers were Debbie
Rosenberg of Farmington Hills,
one of the organizers; Kathy and
Lexie Markowitz of Southfield;
Jay Cohen of Oak Park; Wendy
Pitman, and Gayle and Lorne
Gold of Huntington Woods;
Brian Satovsky of Birmingham;
and Dani and Greg Glickfeld,
Andrea User, Dorothy Collens
and Nettie Feinstein, all of West
Bloomfield. ❑

Rabbi Alper

Rabbi Bergman

Rabbis Stand Up
Bob Alper, a rabbi and stand-up
comic, will perform 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 18 at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield. His opening act will
be a stand-up performance by
Rabbi Aaron Bergman of the
Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit.
Dubbed "the world's only prac-
ticing clergyman doing stand-up
comedy ... intentionally," Rabbi
Alper is the author of two books,
Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than
This and A Rabbi Confesses.
Tickets are $18/advance;
$25/door. Seating is limited. Call
(248) 357-5544

Celebrate Freedom
Local Jews and African American
Christians will explore common
and uncommon ground at an
Interfaith Passover Celebration 7-
9 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield.
A creative collaboration, the
seder was written by Rev. Nicholas
Hood III of Plymouth United
Church of Christ and Rabbi
Jonathan Berkun of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek. Music, singing
and dancing will accompany a
kosher dinner featuring tradition-
al African American cuisine.
Participants are asked to bring
non-perishable food items to
donate to the hungry.
The Interfaith Passover
Celebration is sponsored by the
Detroit Jewish Initiative of the
Jewish Community Council and
the African-American Jewish
Clergy Alliance of Metro Detroit.
The program is open to the
public. There is a $10 charge for
dinner and the program with
payment required by March 27.
Children are free. For reserva-
tions, contact Gail at Shaarey
Zedek, (248) 357-5544.
The participating congrega-
tions are: Congregation Beth
Shalom, Community Faith
Baptist Church, Greater New Mt.
Moriah Missionary Baptist
Church, Metropolitan Church of
God, New Light Baptist Church,
Peace Baptist Church, Plymouth
United Church in Christ,
Congregation Shaarey Zedek and
Congregation Shir Tikvah.

March 9 • 2006

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