(n,ri nw,n)
Opinion
"rttriz girt Ix frittrtz Iry ma
"Just as his children live on, so does he .. .
OTHER VIEWS
) 3
TALMUD, TAANIT 5B
A Community
Commemoration
In Honor of
Gitnmel Tammuz
Why Little
Mitzvahs Count
W
The Twelfth labrizeit of
The Lubavitcher Rebbe
AN EVENING honoring the Rebbe's memory and legacy by honoring
those who have become Shiuchim in Michigan since the Rebbe's passing.
Keynote Address: Rabbi Yosef C. Kantor, Chief Rabbi of Thailand
Westin Hotel, i 5 oo Town Center Drive, Southfield
June 2.6/Sivan 30, 6:30 pm
Reservations/Information: 1 48- 5 45-0100
Chief Rabbi of Thailand, as Chabad Shaliach at the time
of the tragic 2.004 Tsunami, was responsible for the relief effort for thousands of
survivors and identification and burial for its victims, in cooperation with the
Thai and Israel governments. His service and efforts exemplify the teachings of
the Lubavitch Rebbe to care for other Jews and other human beings in general.
RABBI YOSEF KANTOR,
LUBAVITCH FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN
1128700
THURSDAY - 6 PM
JUNE 22,2006
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
27375 Bell Road, Southfield
oDD
CO4tPillh
is ,r zFOiK
Join us for barbecue,
s'mores and more!
Meet Curious George
and enjoy games and
art activities.
$25.00 per family
(parents and children)
$7.00 additional adults
$5.00 additional children
RSVP by June 19, 2006 at 248/357-5544
1128820
30 June 15 . 2006
hen I was a child, I was
once told by my grandfa-
ther that from little acorns
come great oak trees. That certainly
was confirmed in biology class; but as
a Judaic concept, the phrase was lost
on me. Until recently, that is.
It was an ordinary day in the spring
of 2004 When my wife, Marcie, and I
decided to meet for dinner at a local
eatery along Orchard
Lake Road. We noticed
a friendly looking gen-
tleman sitting alone
nearby and struck up
a conversation with
him. The stranger, who
will stay anonymous
out of respect for his
modesty, was a trav-
eling businessman
from Holland. We had
a most pleasant chat,
wished each other well
and moved on with
our lives.
Many of the readers
will be familiar with Yossi's restaurant
on Orchard Lake Road at 14 Mile in
West Bloomfield. If you have eaten
there, you will know that for dessert,
you can order authentic, Dutch-style
pancakes. The expert culinary artist
that creates these treats,is Yossi's wife,
Lisette, who happens to be Dutch.
It was, therefore, only natural for us
to play a game of Jewish geography.
Yossi and Lisette lived in a small city
called Nijmegen, Holland, before they
settled here. Our friendly stranger
hailed from the same city and was a
friend of the Benjamins through the
local synagogue. The city only has a
few hundred Jews in the community
so it is no surprise that Yossi knew
our friendly stranger.
The next time our friendly stranger
came to Detroit, he called Yossi to
have lunch, and Yossi called me. We
decided to meet once again. It was at
this meeting that the friendly stranger
(who by now is our mutual friend)
mentioned that he was going to Israel
in a few weeks. Coincidentally, again,
my parents were also going to Israel
at the exact same time, in the fall of
2004. My parents were hosting a din-
ner at the British ambassador's resi-
dence in Tel Aviv to raise funds for an
international charity that they oversee
in London called Save A Child's Heart.
This charity operates out of a wing
of the Wolfson Medical Center hospi-
tal in Holon, Israel. The charity flies
in sick-children with heart problems,
from all over the world, or sends out
medical teams to them and saves, on
average, 3-4 lives a week. Children
have come in, for example, from
China, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Vietnam,
Ecuador, Trinidad, the ter-
ritories, Russia and from
within Israel. The goals
of the charity are to save
young lives, and to influence
the families and communi-
ties that benefit from these
acts of kindness to better
appreciate and understand
Israel.
It turns out that our
mutual friends' wife is a
pediatric heart surgeon,
and they were very moved
by their visit to the Wolfson
hospital. On May 14 in
Nijmegen, with my parents
in attendance, our friend and his wife
organized a fundraiser that raised
more than $400,000 for Save a Child's
Heart. As many as 40 young lives will
be saved as a result of the fundraiser
(the average cost of an operation is
$10,000). A great deal of good will
towards Israel will spread around the
globe as well. The odd thing is that it
all started with a chance meeting, a
simple conversation with a lonely vis-
itor to West Bloomfield, and my wife's
natural inclination to be friendly.
My grandfather was correct, from
a little acorn has grown a mighty
oak whose branches reach out from
America, to England, to Holland
and on to Israel; and from there, it
spreads back out all over the world.
Or as the rabbi might say, from little
mitzvahs ...
❑
Ashley Israel is a West Bloomfield land
developer. For more information on
Save a Child's Heart or to make a dona-
tion, contact Ashley Israel (248) 855-
3020 or by e-mail Ashley@detroitdevel-
opment.com . You also may contact the
charity direct at saveachildsheart@aol.
corn or call (301) 649-7703.