Front Lines NOTEBOOK JNenline A Gift Beyond Imagination SheIli Liebman Dorfman Senior Writer E Local Woman Back On Heritage Trail President Bush has reappointed Harriet B. Rotter, a family law practi- tioner in Franklin, to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage abroad. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. admin- istered the oath of office to commissioners on June 6 in Washington. The commission strives to preserve and protect cemeteries, monu- ments and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe through onsite visits and evaluations. During her first three-year term, Rotter focused on restoring the Uzupis Jewish cemetery in Lithuania. During the Communist era, most of the headstones were taken from the cemetery and used as steps in government buildings and as paving stones on some of the city's streets. Many of the headstones were returned. Also, the cem- etery was enclosed and a monument was installed. The Lithuanian government provided half of the money; the other half was raised from private American donors. "My father was born in Poland and my mother in Lithuania, so I am a first-generation American:' said Rotter. "I am not that far removed from my roots." She added: "I have witnessed a genuine desire on the part of the governments in Eastern and Central Europe to restore sites ruined in World War II and during subsequent regimes that have significant meaning to American citizens whose roots are in Europe." - Robert A. Sklar, editor Juiy 19 p 2007 www.JNOnline.us Celebrations! ven as she looks forward to traveling to Israel next week, Barbara Cantor can't help but think back to the trip she almost didn't make this past May. The plan had been for Cantor, of West Bloomfield, to take her daughter and three grandchildren to Israel to celebrate the bar mitz- vah of her grandson, Ariel. "Ariel never really had a father since my daughter's divorce when he was a baby, and my dream was to take his family to Israel for his bar mitzvah:' Cantor said. So she arranged to travel with her daughter, for- mer Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit teacher Nancy Cohen- Vardy, now of Seattle, and Nancy's sons, Coby Vardy, 17, Ariel Vardy,13, and Raviv Cohen, 7, on Memorial Day of this year. There they would meet up with Nancy's 20-year-old son Micha Vardy, who last summer made aliyah and serves in the Israeli asrmy. Cantor had traveled to Israel more than 20 times — sometimes with her children or grandchildren, as a member of the Jewish Early Education Enhancement Program (JEEEP) preschool teachers' mis- sion and 11 times living and working on an army base through the Sar-El Volunteers for Israel program. For this trip, she said, "I had been saving up by cashing my paychecks and my CDs — and keeping the money in a drawer in my home." Two weeks before the trip, Cantor went on a quick errand to the supermarket and came home to find her front door had been kicked in and the $4,000 in cash was gone. Also missing were $2,000 in Israeli shekels, pieces of sentimental jewelry and $4,000 in matured U.S. Savings Bonds. Reimbursed only a fraction of the loss from her homeowners' insur- ance company, she was uncertain how she would be able to go to Israel. Cantor spent the next week immersed in volunteering at the Jewish Community Center's Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival and work- ing as a parent-toddler nursery school teacher at the JCC in West Bloomfield. One evening at the film festival, Cantor said, "Mark Lit [JCC execu- 8 This Week Micha, Ariel, Coby, Raviv, Nancy and Barbara celebrate at Ariel's bar mitzvah service in Jerusalem. tive director] came up to me and said he had received a check for me from an anonymous donor. The next day at work, my boss handed me a cashier's check for $4,000 — with no name on it. I asked if it was from the Center and I was told it was not." Ecstatic, she continued with the plans for the trip, traveling for 10 days throughout Israel and celebrating Ariel's bar mitzvah at the Masorti plaza at the Kotel in Jerusalem. "The trip was a magical time," Cantor said. While she suspects the check may have been a gift from grandparents of some of the children she has taught during her 37 years at the Center, she really doesn't know. "Whoever it is, though, if I could meet you, I would say, Tear anonymous, you made my dream come true:" Cantor said. With continued plans to spend more time in Israel, she jingles an arm-full of narrow, silver, bangle bracelets she vows she never takes off. "I wear one for each time I've been to Israel:' she said. "My goal is my elbow!" And as far as lessons learned by this longtime teacher, "I found a bank," she said. "There will be no more cash in my home. I also learned a great thing about people. This overwhelming generosity was just unbelievable." Fl Find weekly listings of births, b'nai mitzvah, engagements, weddings and anniversaries online as well as past sim- chahs all online. They are all bundled under each week's publication date. Just visit JNonline.us and click on Lifecycles on the left. Latest From Israel Want the most current news from Israel? Check our streaming news from Ynetnews.com for continuous updates and longer news, opinion and feature stories. And look at the center of our Homepage for an Israel story that changes twice daily. Just visit JNonline.us and click on a scrolling story on the left. JBlog Arnie Goldman shares his thoughts about the Iraq war, little mitzvahs and more. Jeff Klein offers his Metro Perspectives on everything from dating to friendship. Only at JNonline.us. Just click on JBlog on the menu on the left. Results from last week's poll: Do you agree with Israel's recent offer to release 250 Palestinian prisoners? Yes 30% No 70% This week's poll ques- tion: Will Hamas recognize Israel as President Bush called on them to do in his July 16 speech? Visit the JNonline.us home- page to cast your vote. Justice Alito with Harriet Rotter and her husband, Norman, at the U.S. Supreme Court Building.