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Letters

Hillel's Higher Calling
.
We were disappointed with Paul
Rochlen's Community View
("Thinking Outside Of The Spice
Box," Nov. 2, page 36). One of the
most powerful attributes of Hillel:
the Foundation for Jewish Campus
Life is our trans-denominational
approach to Judaism.
At Hillel of Metro Detroit
(HMD), we strive to connect our
local college students to the rich-
ness of our Detroit Jewish com-
munity. HMD provides oppor-
tunities to strengthen the bond
these young people have with local
Jewish life beyond the religious
nature of Judaism.
Another key HMD responsibil-
ity is to develop our community's
future leadership. The 2005 Detroit
Jewish Population Study indicated
that the young people most likely
to stay in the Detroit area are those
that attend the local schools Hillel
of Metro Detroit serves, such as
Wayne State and Oakland univer-
sities. By facilitating student own-
ership in a variety of programs,
from social to social action, from
Jewish learning to political, we are
laying the foundation for our next
generation of leadership.
The most recent National Jewish
Population Survey gave us a star-
tling statistic: nearly 50 percent
of students on college campuses
today who identify as Jewish have
only one Jewish parent. Many of
these students crave an opportu-
nity to better understand Judaism
and to explore the possibility of it
being relevant to their lives.
The challenge for Hillel of Metro
Detroit, and for all Hillel founda-
tions, is to make Judaism resonate
for students at a time when being
Jewish is an option, not a given.
Our main issue is to provide cre-
ative access points for students to
figure out what being and doing
Jewish means to them.

Joshua A. Lerner, HMD board president

Huntington Woods

Miriam Starkman, executive director

Farmington Hills

What Works At Hillel
Congratulations to Paul Rochlen
on his thoughtful commentary on
Hillel: "Thinking Outside Of The
Spice Box."
My husband, David, and I met
at a Hillel mixer at University of
Michigan in February 1958! I don't
think either of us participated in
Hillel programs after that -- with
the exception of High Holiday ser-
vices held at Rackham Auditorium
in Ann Arbor.
Mr. Rochlen's point is well made
— the social events work.

Judy Schwartz

.

West Bloomfield

Proud Of MSU Hillel
In response to Paul E. Rochlen's
Community View "Thinking
Outside Of The Spice Box',' over
the past 10 years, there has been a
renaissance of Jewish life on col-
lege campuses. This transforma-
tion is most evident at Michigan
State University, where we dedicat-
ed the Lester J. Morris Hillel Jewish
Student Center in 2002. MSU Hillel
serves as a centerpfJewish life
on campus, offering 80 program
each year
Dynamic and relevant pro-
gramming ranges from `.`Spartans
for Israel" advocacy initiatives,
Birthright Israel trips, local com-
munity service projects, Katrina
relief in New Orleans and social
programs, as well as religious pro-
grams like "Sushi and Spirituality."
Hillel builds our future Jewish
leaders by empowering and
engaging students. We offer
opportunities for students to
attend leadership conferences
all over the world and invest our
time and expertise in supporting
and developing student leaders
throughout the campus.
Each week, we welcome 150-
200 students whether they want
to welcome Shabbat with Shabbat
services or just come for a free,
home-cooked Shabbat dinner.
Hillel is in the business of
engaging Jewish students, includ-
ing secular Jews, at every level

of their observance. We are the
Jewish community center — the
central hub for Jewish activity on
campus. We are proud of the role
that we play in shaping and inspir-
ing tomorrow's Jewish leaders.
My father, Lester Morris, of
blessed memory, would be very
proud of the great work that con-
tinues to happen at Michigan State
and other Hillels throughout the
nation.

Patrice Phillips, president

Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center

Michigan State University

East Lansing

Hillel Embraces
Although Paul Rochlen has been
a loyal supporter of Eastern
Michigan University Hillel, I take
great exception to his Community
View: "Thinking Outside Of The
Spice Box."
At EMU Hillel, and all the Hillels
serving students from the Detroit
area, there is a concerted effort
to welcome Jewish students of all
backgrounds into our programs.
At EMU Hillel, we serve around
1,000 young adults, many whose
families are unaffiliated with syna-
gogues and have little knowledge
of Jewish customs and traditions.
We welcome them and engage
them in all activities that stimulate
the mind, body and spirit.
EMU Hillel is unique because
many of bur students are no lon-
ger surrounded by Jewish institu-
tions and the comfort of Jewish
friends and family. EMU Hillel, the
only Jewish institution in Ypsilanti,
is an embracing and supportive
environment that becomes the
home away from home for all our
students.

Merle Schwartz, chair

Eastern Michigan University Hillel

Ypsilanti

Elie Wiesel's Message
Like many in the Nov. 1 audi-
ence to hear Elie Wiesel at the
Jewish Book Fair at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield, I was surprised and

Where do the words for a Christian house of prayer and a French Protestant
group intersect with Jewish institutions?

—Goldfein

anueAy louanfonti uo palm, 'T.N ipoomelou3 ui ueunw3 Ramis uoRebabuo3 :peos
am 0l pug pails p1nq3 lo Jauio3
uo Haed leo u!
Jo} loops qoper tips si angriamsuy
,,,Copyright

2006, Jewish Renaissance Media

6

November 9 • 2006

us answers, but challenged us to
find those answers.

Dr. Roger Black

Farmington Hills

Go to JNonline.us to read win-
ning essays in the JCC student
essay contest. Students answered
the question: Why is Elie Wiesel's
book, "Night," relevant today?

Recalling Rabin
I will never forget the Shabbat
afternoon when my husband,
Shelly, informed me that Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was
assassinated and not by an Arab as
one would think, but by a religious,
kippah-wearing young Jew who
studied law at Bar-Ilan University.
It was Nov. 4, 1995, after a peace
rally in Tel Aviv.
No one thought this possible: for
a Jew to assassinate a prime min-
ister because he did not agree with
a political agenda.
When I was in Israel, my friend
Yehudit and I decided to meet
exactly in the spot where Rabin
was shot to death and a monument
was erected. Despite the unbear-
able heat, I came early so I could be
alone and say a special prayer for
the Israeli leader who was one of
the last heroes of -those who fought
for the Jewish state in 1948 and
who later helped contribute to its
formation. He had changed from
a man of war — a necessary war
— to a man of peace who received
the Nobel Prize.
Eleven years have elapsed
— and Yitzhak Rabin is missed
more than ever.

Rachel Kapen

West Bloomfield

Correction

In the Nov. 2 cover story ("College
Scramble page 42), a sidebar on
tutor Jay Waldman should have
said that on the SAT, a wrong
answer gets a quarter-point
deduction.

Election-related letters: JNonline.us

How to Send Letters

KERET 'cha Don't Know

.

a little uncomfortable when I was
told we were about to discuss
the story of Job. But, as I sat back
and listened to Prof. Wiesel, I
realized he was addressing the
most important questions that
I always ask myself after read-
ing, watching or listening to any
personal account of surviving the
Holocaust:
• How do survivors go on with
their lives?
• How do survivors reconcile
what happened to them with
God?
Every survivor's reactions and
experiences are, of course, differ-
ent; but what I heard was Wiesel's
personal experience in sorting
through all the conflicting emo-
tions in trying to answer those
questions.
Like Job, he had to decide to
carry on as a righteous human
being, a member of the com-
munity of mankind. He could
not ignore the past, but he had to
rebuild and leave the past behind.
When Wiesel told us he taught
the story of Job on French TV for
many weeks, I imagine he saw
his own struggles with God's way
of doing things as Job struggled
to understand God. As Job won-
dered, could this have been a
mistake on God's part? Could God
cause suffering on a whim, as a
wager with the Devil?
I think Wiesel realized (as Job
realized) that God makes no mis-
takes and has meaning. If I am to
accept God, it is my responsibility
to find a way to live my life to give
a righteous meaning to the hor-
rors that transpired.
In Job's case, he married
again and created a new life
and family. In Wiesel's case, he
dedicated his life to teaching and
speaking out against hatred and
murder.
Certainly, this audience did not
need a recounting of Holocaust
horrors. As any great teacher
would do, Wiesel challenged us to
think for ourselves. As any great
teacher would do, he did not give

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