I To Life! N ERFAITH SPORTS Sharing Their WISDOM Shir Shalom Sisterhood joins interfaith event at mosque. ft, WISDOM co-founders Peggy Kalis of Church of Today West, Shahina Begg of the Muslim Unity Center, Gail Katz of Congregation Beth Shalom and Trish Harris of St. Hugo of the Hills. A local interfaith women's group spent a day learning about Islam at the Muslim Unity Center in Bloomfield Hills on March 25. Among them were mem- bers of Congregation Beth Shalom's Sisterhood. Women's Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in MetroDetroit (WISDOM), a group started by four women of different faiths last May — including Gail Katz of Beth Shalom — sponsored the day. With tensions in the Middle East, Iraq and Darfur constantly in the news, these four felt that communities of faith in Metro Detroit were becom- ing more and more segregated. They felt that women had the capacity for empathy and connecting spiritually. The goal of their proposed interfaith event was to have women listen to each other, respect each other's differ- ences and take action towards change. The Islam Education Day included 130 Jewish, Muslim and Christian women. They toured the doomed mosque (a former elementary school), as Mimo Debryn of the Unity Center pointed out the separate prayer halls — women upstairs and the men on the main floor. In the social hall, the women sat in groups that mixed all three reli- gions. After greetings from Shahina Begg, a WISDOM co-founder, and Fran Hildebrandt of the Beth Shalom Sisterhood, Gigi Salka, Unity Center board member, blessed the group with a Muslim dua, a prayer before the par- taking of lunch. 30 April 5 2007 Katz then told the group, "This day's interfaith event was all about respect and gaining a deeper awareness of each others' beliefs. Islam, Judaism and Christianity all have the same supreme energy. The Educational Day about Islam was one of tolerance, under- standing, loving and caring for one another, and not about using religious beliefs as an excuse or camouflage for politics!' After a vegetarian Middle Eastern lunch, Debryn gave a presentation on the major tenets of Islam and the life of the prophet Muhammad. She spoke about the population of Muslims in the world — the greatest numbers in Asia — and the fact that only 18 percent of Muslims are Arabs. She also stressed that Islam and culture are two different factors. For example, wearing clothing like the Afghanistan burka is not an Islamic practice, but one forced upon women by the Taliban. While she spoke, the sounds of the Muslim call to prayer wafted through the social hall, and Debryn translated the words. Najah Bazzy, a critical care nurse in Dearborn, told her personal story of growing up in the south end of Dearborn, which then was a very diverse area. She told of her Christian best friend at age 10, and of her desire to understand Islam and other reli- gions more in depth as she grew up. Bazzy jokingly called herself a "Sushi" — the offspring of Sunni and Shi'a parents. She told of her journey to becoming a nurse and of her expe- riences with Jewish doctors at Sinai Hospital of Detroit and her contacts with Christians at Madonna University. "God wants us to wrap our arms around one another',' she said. "God looks over all of us, and within each of us are the tools to make this world a better place. We must support each other as human ambassadors, and work really hard to make a difference in this world one person at a time!' Gail Katz contributed to this story. For more information about WISDOM, go to the Web site www.interfaithwisdom.org . Banged-Up Champ WLW wrestler finishes 8th at states. Steve Stein Special to The Jewish News H e suffered a concussion, a strained rib muscle and a strained rotator cuff. But Andy Goodman persevered and achieved a major goal for a high school wrestler. He earned a medal for a top- eight finish at the individual state meet. Now that wrestling season is over, Andy weighs a more natural 170 pounds. He's throwing the discus and shot put this spring for the Western boys track team. Andy, 18, plans to attend Central Michigan University. Jeff, 21, is a junior at Michigan State University. Their parents are Stan and Susan Goodman. The family lives in Farmington Hills. 29-Year Curse Ends Andy Goodman works for the pin. Goodman, a senior at Walled Lake Western, finished eighth at 152 pounds at the Division 1 state meet last month at the Palace of Auburn Hills. After suffering the concussion during practice before districts and hurting his rib muscle during practice before regionals, Goodman had to for- feit his final state meet match because of the rotator cuff injury. But he isn't singing the blues. "I feel fine now, and I'm completely satisfied with my eighth-place fin- ish," Goodman said. "Out of the hun- dreds of kids at Division 1 schools throughout the state who wrestle at 152 pounds, I'm among the top eight. Injuries happen when you wrestle. You can't get mad about that!' Goodman made many opponents angry during the final two seasons of his four-year career at Western. He went 37-9 as a junior and 49-7 as a senior, giving him a 123-54 career record. He didn't advance past the individual districts as a freshman, sophomore and junior, which made this year's post-sea- son success even more special. Jeff Goodman, Andy's older brother, also wrestled at Western for four years, going 75-43. He never made it to the individual state meet, falling one victory short when he was a senior. The brothers' careers over- lapped for one season. "Jeff wrestled against me in practice that year and beat me up pretty good:' Andy said. "That was great for me, though, because it pushed me to the limit and made me a better wrestler." Five Jewish players helped the Bloomfield Hills Andover High School boys basketball team win its first league championship in 29 years. The Barons and Bloomfield Hills Lahser finished atop Oakland Activities Association Division IV, each with a 9-3 record. Andover and Lahser split their two division games. It was Andover's first victory over Lahser in 15 years. Seniors Aubey Layno-Moses and Adam Shiffinan, and juniors Dorin Deitch, Jeremy Werner and Jordan Yellen made up Andover's Jewish contingent. All made contributions off the bench. Shiffman pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in the Barons' Class A district loss to Walled Lake Northern. Deitch got significant playing time at point guard late in the season and showed promise. Werner was a physi- cal presence in the lane and Yellen was the team's best free throw shooter, making 18-of-24 for 75 percent. "Jordan has ice in his veins at the foul line said first-year Andover coach Jeff Rubin, who is optimistic about next season because 10 letter- men and four starters will return from this year's 13-8 team. Slava Zings tin Wayne State University freshman fenc- er Slava Zingerman from Ashlekon, Israel, is a national champion. Zingerman, the No. 2 seed, defeated top-seeded Benjamin Bratton of St. John's 15-13 in the epee finals at the NCAA meet last month in Madison, N.J. Zingerman is the first Wayne State male fencer to win an NCAA title since 1996, and the first epeeist to achieve the feat since 1992. Please send sports news to sports@thejewishnews.com.