if.... .,. A

Under The Trees

Gibson
Strikes Out

Camp director has adult bat mitzvah with 500 in attendance.

Red Sox fall, but
Jews rise — at least
in Dennis Leary's
telling.

Alan Hitsky
Associate Editor

D

ebbie Landau probably wouldn't
have done this at home. But
having her bat mitzvah at Camp
Maas on Saturday, Aug. 12, with all of her
campers — and family — in attendance
was special.
Landau, husband Mark and their two
sons are members of Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield. "We are not very obser-
vant at home," she said, "but we love
Shabbat up here?'
Shabbat at Tamarack Camps, with
music, Bible stories acted out by puppets,
drums and the outdoors, is special for
Landau. "We really look forward to Friday
night and Saturday because the whole
pace changes," she said.
The veteran camp director, a full-time
employee of the Fresh Air Society (FAS),
was the second staffer bat mitzvah this
summer. Amy Gross, supervisor at Maas'
Berman Village, had her bat mitzvah dur-
ing the first half of the summer.
Eli Rockowitz of Israel, head of Jewish
programming at camp for four years,

approached all the
adult staffers and
offered to help any-
one prepare for a
bar or bat mitzvah.
Rockowitz tutored
Landau over the
last few weeks and
gave her a tape
recording of her
Torah and Haftorah
portions. Landau
admits her Hebrew
was "minimal"
before this experi-
ence.
Campers attend
outdoor Shabbat
services at the
Camp Maas amphi-
theater. A full-size
Torah was donated
last winter and ser-
vices Aug. 12 featured "the world's largest
tallit" made last year by the Jewish pro-
gram staff. The tallit is roughly 50x10 feet.
All campers who were scheduled to be
bar or bat mitzvah during the coming
year were asked to stand under the tallit,

Kehilat Turtle

Jews on Mackinac Island start
a congregation.

At the first Shabbat service for the Congregation of the Great Turtle are, from left,

Daniel Spitzer, Dr. Robert Spitzer, Sarah Spitzer, Dr. Ann Silverman, Rachel Spitzer,
Rivka Spitzer and Jack Landres.

38

August 24 * 2006

iN

held up by staffers,
and jointly recite
the Torah bless-
ings.
Landau wrote
her d'var Torah
"between mid-
night and 6 a.m.,"
adapting the
Torah portion
"from Moses' clos-
ing address to the
children of Israel"
to "a camp direc-
tor's advice to her
campers as they
prepare to go back
home" Aug. 17.
Jonah Geller,
executive director
of FAS, called the
service "a testa-
ment to our Jewish
programming. Not just the campers but
our staff, as well, realize a little bit more
about their Judaism?'
He called Landau's bat mitzvah "won-
derful for her, wonderful for camp and
wonderful for the community?'

Debbie Landau

Leslie Rott
Special to the Jewish News

M

ackinac Island, between
Michigan's upper and lower
peninsulas, is known for its
serenity. It has four churches, and now a
synagogue.
There was an air of excitement when
the Congregation of the Great Turtle met
Friday, July 7, for the first time to usher in
the Sabbath.
The name Congregation of the Great
Turtle, or Kehilat Hatzav Hagadol, pays
homage to the island's mythical begin :
nings. Founding members of the syna-
gogue are Jack Landres of Virginia, an
island resident for nine seasons, and
Dr. Robert Spitzer and his wife, Dr. Ann
Silverman, of West Bloomfield, who have
been coming to Mackinac for 20 years.
"We've been wanting to do this for a
long time," Dr. Spitzer said. He and his
family have been celebrating Sukkot on
the island for many years and have invited

Menachem Wecker
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Boston

T

he Boston Red Sox lost, 3-2, to
the Detroit Tigers last week. But
in the mind of Dennis Leary, at
least, it was a win for the Jews — and a
loss for Mel Gibson.
Actor/comedian Leary and his Rescue
Me co-star, Lenny Clarke, were guests on
the New England Sports Network broad-
cast of the Red Sox baseball game Aug. 15.
When Leary asked if Red Sox first base-
man Kevin Youkilis is of Greek heritage,
announcers Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo
told him Youkilis is Jewish.
"That's fantastic. That's one bottle of
whiskey away from being Irish Catholic,"
Leary said. "They got the Manischewitz;
we got the Jamesons. It's the same guilt,
the same bad food ... I'm so proud to have

many non-Jewish islanders to join them
for seders and other Jewish celebrations.
He hopes that having a place to pray
available on Mackinac Island will enable
observant Jews to come to the island.
Separate seating for men and women can
be arranged at services, and other accom-
modations can be made to suit the needs
of visitors."We're hoping that this will be
the type of atmosphere that will be recep-
tive and open to all people," Dr. Spitzer
said. He'd like to see Detroit area congre-
gations use the island as a retreat.
"We want our services to be open to
everyone," said Landres. A traditional ser-
vice will be followed until the congregants
decide what works best for the island's
Jewish community.
"It's nice for me to be able to attend
services in my own community," he said.
He had been traveling either an hour to
Petoskey or two hours to Traverse City to
attend Shabbat services.
Fifteen Jews attended the inaugural
service in a Mackinac Island church