I Front Lines NOTEBOOK JNenline Who Says Rabbis Can't Spell? Keri Guten Cohen He goes back to his seat to await his next word. Later, a cast mem- ber grabs his arm and he's in a dance number, holding hands with the other remaining audience/cast members, jumping up and down in a hat started as a night at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit to circle. Next, he's holding on tight as the bleachers spin rapidly. celebrate his wife's birthday evolved into an unexpected "At one point, the emcee character comes over to me and whispers, star turn for Rabbi Elliot Pachter of Congregation B'nai `Did you bat mitzvah her?' (referring to cast member Dana Steingold, Moshe in West Bloomfield. a local young actress who's sitting inches from At the Oct. 7 evening performance of The 25th me):' Pachter said. "I shake my head 'no! I can't Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Pachter was believe she just asked me in the middle of a live one of four audience members preselected to par- show." ticipate as a spelling bee contestant in the show. Eventually, his fun comes to an end when he "So I'm now sitting in the theater, next to Naomi, misspells his second word — apoop. "Naomi nervously waiting for what's to come," Pachter said. later tells me she can't believe I didn't just spell "My name is called first. I walk up on stage and it the way it sounds," he said. "I figured the obvi- take my seat among the real actors. A lot of people ous spelling was too simple, and that it must be in the audience know me, so the reaction is great. trickier. I was the second of four eliminated. I "So I'm sitting on these bleachers with the cast. received a hug and a juice box. A number of cast members get called for words, "After I was eliminated, the next audience interspersed with songs and other added parts participant misspelled atheist. I was steaming of the show. I get called for my first word. As I — I would never have missed that one Pachter approach the microphone, the emcee introduces said. Also in the show, they use the word phy- me, saying something like: 'When he grows up, he lactery, the English translation of tefillin, which hopes to be a priest: The audience, especially those is accurately defined as 'small black boxes worn who know me, are roaring. by Jews during morning prayer services.' The "Then I get me word — jihad. Again laughter:' hilarious sentence was something like, 'Timmy, he said. "More laughter when I ask for a definition, Rabbi Elliot Pachter "on stage" dur- take off that phylactery, we're Episcopalian!' ing Purim with his son, Jonathan. and then a sentence using the word. I don't have "It was an outstanding 20 minutes of my life any memory of the funny answers given to my spent onstage. I guess I was cut out for this role. questions, especially the sentence, because all I can focus on is cor- I often stand up in front of an audience and recite words that many rectly spelling the word, which I do. Wow! I'm still in the contest." people don't understand." 1-1 Story Development Editor W This Week www.JNonline.us E-Newsletter Desire notification when stories that interest you in particular are posted on JNonline? It's easy to des- ignate the kinds of stories you like when you sign up for your personalized e-newslet- ter. Only at JNonline.us . Just click on Newsletter on the menu near the top of the page. 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. Celebrations! EC!udaism Conservation Tips What you can do to stop global warming: 1.Use a green option for your elec- tricity. Go to my.dteenergy.com/products/ greenCurrents/index.html 2. Be certain your furnace is tuned up and replace the filters as fre- quently as needed to save energy. 3. Keep the moisture level of your home high during winter, either with a humidifier or lots of plants. Higher humidity makes the body feel warmer so you can turn your thermostat down and save energy. 4. Insulate your home properly, www.simplyinsulate.com . Seal and insulate ducts, doors and windows. 5. Turn your thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in summer. 6. Install a programmable thermostat. 7. Whenever possible, heat your body, not your house. Use heavy quilts on your bed. Wear sweaters and warm socks around your house. You'll be much warmer for less money. 8. Keep closet doors closed. There's no need to heat storage spaces. Jewish Thought On The Environment Many mitzvot (commandments) found in the Bible and laws found in the Talmud instruct us to protect what the Jewish tradition views as "God's creation" - the totality of the physical world in which we live. Bal tashchit (do not waste) teaches us to conserve resources. MICOEJL will present at Federation's Lunch & Learn noon to 1 p.m. on Nov. 5 and Dec. 3 at the Max M. Fisher Federation Building, 6735 Telegrpah, Bloomfield Township. Contact Michigan Coalition on the Environment & Jewish Life for global warming presentations: (248) 642- 5393, ext 7, or mi-coejl©jfmd.org . Source: Michigan Coalition on the Environment & Jewish Life Film Examines Suicide Bombers StandWithUs-Michigan, the nonprofit Israel edu- cation organization, will premiere Pierre Rehov's documentary Suicide Killers at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, at the Landmark Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Township. Lisa Magnus, executive producer, will intro- duce the film and answer questions afterward. The film looks at how someone can strap on a bomb, walk into a roomful of innocents and detonate the bomb. The movie also looks at how survivors cope. It includes unprecedented interviews with would-be suicide bombers now jailed in Israeli pris- ons, jailed terrorists who set up suicide bombings and with survivors. Prominent sociology, psychology, reli- gion, law and sexuality experts weigh in as well. "Like the other Rehov films, Suicide Killers forces the audience to confront a difficult topic, and the imagery can be shocking," said Jonathan Harris, director of StandWithUs-Michigan. "But this film is perhaps the best investigative attempt by a filmmaker to explain and understand the suicide bombing phe- nomenon." Magnus is working with Rehov on the sequel to Suicide Killers, which involves film shoots in Iraq, and on his next documentary dealing with the persecu- tion of Christians in Lebanon and Egypt. The Maple Art Theatre is at 4135 W. Maple at Telegraph, Bloomfield Township. General admission tickets are $9 and can be purchased in advance or at the door. — Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor A8 October 25 • 2007 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. Last week's poll results: Should Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert suspend himself from office because of three criminal investigations plus the Winograd report? Yes 50% No 50% This week's poll question: Do you think the Annapolis summit will achieve any- thing? Visit the JNonline.us homepage, below the left menu, to cast your vote.