Mazel Toy!
Building Friendships
Thanks to ORT, local teen
tutors Ethiopian Israeli kids.
A
llie Lichterman of
Huntington Woods
plays a musical
instrument, enjoys keeping
scrapbooks and plays on the JV
basketball team at her school.
As the 12-year-old's bat mitzvah
approached, she decided to raise
money to teach English and
computer skills to Ethiopian
immigrants in Israel. The con-
duit: American ORT's Create a
Friend in Israel program.
Allie became a bat mitzvah
on May 27 at Congregation Beth
Shalom in Oak Park.
May 22
Rabbi Shmuel and Jana (Wolock)
Fried, teachers at the Torah Day
School of Dallas, Texas, wel-
comed with much love the birth
of their daughter, Leah Mindel
Chaya (Lillian Michelle).
Welcoming Leah home are big
brothers Pinchas Mordechai, 4,
and Avraham Yaakov, 3, and big
sister Rochel Susha, 1. Proud
grandparents are Edythe and
Stephen Fried of River Edge, N.J.,
and Rosemary and David Wolock
of Royal Oak. Leah is named in
loving memory of her maternal
great-aunt, the late Lillian (Leah
Mindel) Wolock Elliott.
March 21
Stacey and Tyler Smith are
delighted to announce the birth
of their
daughter,
Eden Jane.
Eden is wel-
comed home
by big brother
Sawyer, 20
months.
Grandparents
Marty and
Renee Laker of West Bloomfield,
Steve and Judy Berg of Sausalito,
Calif., and Dennis Smith of
Summit, N.J., are thrilled with
their new granddaughter.
Great-grandmothers Florence
Meltzer and Betty Nosanchuk,
both of Farmington Hills, and
60 June 8 • 2006
Like Allie, an increasing num-
ber of young adults nowadays
are shifting the focus of this
important lifecycle event to
assisting those who are less for-
tunate. American ORT's Create
a Friend in Israel program
matches American and Israeli
students of the same age. They
work together to raise money
as part of bar or bat mitzvah
preparations to support an ORT
educational program in Israel
of their choice. There's also
the hope of forming a lasting
friendship.
"Having arrived in Israel
recently, Ethiopian students
there need special help
with English and computer
Allie said. "This project
gives Israeli children an under-
standing of the problems facing
Ethiopian students and will
hopefully lead to those prob-
lems being solved."
To reach her goal of rais-
ing $2,600, Allie combined the
proceeds from a Memorial Day
weekend garage sale as well
as part of her bat mitzvah gift
money.
Allie and her new Israeli
friend stay in touch via e-mail.
Her father, Mark, is the direc-
tor of American ORT's Detroit
Chapter. "I think that this
project is so important because
most kids born in Israel learn
great-grandparents Jerry and
Penny Ivice of West Palm Beach,
Fla., are over the moon as well.
Eden was named in memory of
her paternal great-grandfather
Joseph Smith.
Basch
Aidan Schiller Altman
(Shmuel) will be called to the
Torah as a bar mitzvah Saturday,
June 10, at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek Southfield.
Proud grand-
parents are
Jolie and
David Altman.
Excited
brothers are
Sawyer and
Carter. Also
Altman
sharing this
special time
will be his grandparents Lance
and Sheila Schiller and Jules and
Debbie Altman and great-grand-
mothers Cecelia Young and Leah
Levine.
Aidan is a student at Hillel Day
School of Metropolitan Detroit
in Farmington Hills. He enjoyed
donating time to make new
friends at JARC's Laker home.
Chase Jordan Basch will read
from the Torah as he celebrates
his bar mitzvah at Temple
Israel Saturday, June 10, during
Havdalah services. He is the son
of Debbie and David Basch and
iN
the brother of
Chandler. His
proud grand-
parents are
Elsie and Bob
Basch and
Jack Godel.
He is also the
grandchild of
the late Faye
Godel.
Chase attends Walnut Creek
Middle School in Walled Lake.
As one of his mitzvah projects,
he spent time at the Fleischman
Residence in West Bloomfield,
visiting seniors.
Sarah Paige Casman will
be called to the Torah as a bat
mitzvah on Saturday, June 10,
at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in East Lansing. She is
the daughter of Karen and Craig
Casman and
sister of Ryan.
Her proud
grandparents
are Gerrie and
Bill Zucker
and June and
Paul Casman,
all of West
Casman
Bloomfield.
Sarah is a student at Kinawa
Middle School in Okemos. Her
most meaningful mitzvah proj-
ect has been fundraising for the
Ronald McDonald House of Mid-
Michigan.
Allie Lichterman: looking
beyond the bat mitzvah
moment
Hebrew at home and English at
school, but the Ethiopian kids
who came to Israel have had to
learn Hebrew at school:' he said.
"I'm sure that learning
English has been hard for them.
I hope that this program will
make it easier for them and that
they will make Israeli friends.
Knowing both Hebrew and
English will make their lives
easier and more successful!"
Other projects supported by
Brett Conrad Feinbaum, son
of Marci and Bart Feinbaum of
Farmington Hills, will celebrate
his bar mitzvah on Saturday, June
10, at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek West
Bloomfield,
B'nai Israel
Center. He is
the brother of
Jake and Mia
)11111.
-i
Feinbaum.
Feinbaum
Sharing in this
happy event will
be his proud grandparents Faye
Feinbaum and Phyllis and Irwin
Iwrey. Brett is also the grandson
of the late Arthur Feinbaum.
Brett attends Walled Lake
Middle School. His mitzvah work
included helping developmental-
ly disabled children play soccer.
Daniel Aaron Firsht will
be called to the Torah as a bar
mitzvah Saturday, June 10,
at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek Southfield. He is the
son of Michal
and Jonathan
Firscht,
brother of
Elana Firsht
and Sharone
and Joseph
Bigelman. His
Firsht
proud grand-
parents are
Dr. Isaac and Miriam Barr and
Arlene and Morton Firsht.
the Create a Friend in Israel
program include Sunflowers,
which offers companionship
and assistance to young Israeli
cancer patients; Scholarships
for Annual Trip to Poland,
which helps underprivileged
students visit Poland to learn
about the Holocaust; and Help
for Students in Need, where stu-
dents from families with finan-
cial difficulties are provided
with transportation, clothing,
school supplies and hot meals
to enable them to remain in
school.
For information on the Create
a Friend in Israel program,
contact (248) 855-8470 or
Detroit@aort.org .
Daniel is a student at
West Hills Middle School in
Bloomfield Hills. His mitzvah
project was weekly visits with
a family from the Friendship
Circle.
Dana Rachel Granadier,
daughter of Roberta and Bob
Granadier
and sister
of Nicki and
David, will
read from the
Torah as she
celebrates her
bat
mitzvah
Granadier
at Temple
Israel,
Saturday, June 10. Her proud
grandparents are Eileen and
Gerald Granadier and Rita
Pearlman.
She attends Derby Middle
School in Birmingham. As one
of her Mitzvah projects, Dana
donated books to schools in New
Orleans.
Samuel Harrison Kay
(Mordechai) of West Bloomfield
will become bar mitzvah
Saturday,
June 10, at
Temple Shir
Shalom. His
proud parents
are Laura and
Jeff Solomon
and Mike
Kay