Growing With Trees

Bar mitzvah project aids JNF efforts in Israel.

Sam Sklar

Special to the Jewish News

W

hen I heard that 2 million
trees were destroyed in Israel
during the attacks in the sum-
mer of 2006, I knew I could do something
to help. I heard about this tragedy from
my grandma, Linda Hayman, a Jewish
National Fund board member, who told
me about all the trees scorched by the
missile attacks.
I thought about how many trees a mil-
lion is and figured how big a loss that
must be to the citizens of Israel. I go to
Camp Tamakwa every summer, and I
thought about how important trees were
in my everyday camp life. It would be a
very different environment at camp if
there were no trees.
Rabbi Krakoff of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Oakland County told me when
he was my age every single house had a
JNF Blue Box on its kitchen counter. When
you would go to someone's house for din-
ner, you would put some change in his or
her box to help Israel. For some reason, as
time went on nobody seemed to put the

boxes out and less money was raised for
JNF. And now, when the money is needed
the most, there are barely any boxes left in
houses.
Rabbi Krakoff knew I was looking for a
mitzvah project in preparation for my Nov.
10 bar mitzvah, and he had the idea to
get the boxes back in houses, so he let me
help him. My mom, Valerie Hayman Sklar,
was helping plan the annual Tu b'Shevat
Bingo party at Shaarey Zedek. Rabbi
Krakoff and I realized that the Hebrew
school was a great way to get the boxes
back in houses. I also knew that the more
students at the bingo event, the more
money would be raised.
I went to a meeting with Rabbi Krakoff,
Alesa Silver from JNF, my mom and my
grandma. Rabbi Krakoff said we should
have a lot more prizes at the bingo to
attract more people and also serve pizza
for dinner. JNF's Blue Box Bob could come
to tell kids about the trees and that Israel
is our second home, and give blue boxes
to all the students.
Finally, the Tu b'Shevat Bingo party
came and it was a great success. I went to
all the classrooms and told them how fun

it would be. We had a full
house.
Students also had a
contest: Whichever class
could raise the most
money would get a pizza
party. This sparked a lot
of attention and most kids
brought their boxes home
to fill them up. A lot of my
friends asked me for infor-
mation about JNF and how
it would help. They thought
it was great and collected a
lot of money.
About three months later,
we collected all the boxes.
The whole school collected Sam Sklar, 13, had a tree-themed bar mitzvah party,
with donations going to JNF.
more than $800. Shaarey
Zedek proudly gave all the
money to JNF.
help plant trees, you can still raise money
I plan to continue working with JNF
for JNF. They do a lot to help Israel besides
and helping others realize how much
planting trees. ❑
donating money can help. My family and
I are going to Israel the winter of 2008,
- Sam Sklar is a seventh-grader at Cranbrook
and we are going to help plant trees. I can't Boys Middle School in Bloomfield Hills. For
wait to actually see all the re-growth in the more JNF information, go to www.jnforg or
area. Even if everyone can't go to Israel to
call (248) 324-3080.

Unity To Our Community

FJA students learn about leadership at Eimatai conference in Baltimore.

the school's student life director,
also joined us as our adviser.
The conference goals were to
explore new concepts and ideas,
strengthen leadership abilities
and make connections with stu-
dents from other areas. Through
FJA students in Baltimore: Leor-Shtull-Leber,
discussion groups, we
Alex Ferber, Yossi Lichterman, Rachel Margolin,
explored and debated
Ariel Halpern, Jessica Kahn, Michael Baum,
the uniquely Jewish
Rachel Klein and Zoe Pinter.
topic of interdenomina-
tional relations and the
hat is leadership? This broad
global topic of human
question was raised to me
rights. We also determined how
and 117 other high school
our understanding of leader-
students from across the United States
ship impacts our opinions. As
and Canada at the Eimatai leadership
young Jewish leaders from our
conference Nov. 11. Sponsored by Yeshiva school, we were challenged to
University, student leaders selected from
determine what we can do to
13 different schools came together in
respond to these issues.
Baltimore for three days of learning,
An important part of the
bonding, planning and fun.
conference came when partici-
Eight other students from the Frankel
pants put their leadership into
Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield attend- action. We participated in a community
ed becaiise of our roles in student gov-
service project, though the Parks and
ernment. They included seniors Michael
People Foundation, to rebuild parks in
Baum, Alex Ferber and Leor Shtull-Leber,
the Baltimore area. We spent two labor-
juniors Yossi Lichterman and Ariel Halpern, intensive, yet rewarding hours planting
sophomore Zoe Pinter and freshmen
trees and transporting fertilizer with
Jessica Kahn and Rachel Klein. Lisa Gilan,
wheelbarrows across open land.

W

One of the main activities of the
Eimatai (meaning "when" in Hebrew)
conference was the school initiative proj-
ect. Representatives from each school got
together to develop a program to bring
back to our respective schools. Together
with an adviser from Yeshiva University,
we came up with something
we thought would help revive
an important goal created
years ago by the founders of
the Frankel Jewish Academy.
Our project, titled "Unity
To Our Community:' was cre-
ated with the hope of bringing
families together for a Shabbat
experience. As FJA continues
to grow, we felt it was impor-
tant to keep the tight-knit feel,
along with the school's Jewish
identity, and devise a plan
to bring all of these values
together for one event.
I think what I gained the most from
the Eimatai leadership conference was the
bond and connection I made with Jewish

kids my age from Memphis, Baltimore,
Miami, New York and Montreal. However,
something that made even more of
an impact was the bond strengthened
between the eight other kids I attended
this conference with from my own school.
Through this bond, I am positive that our
student government will work together as
a team more productively and in a more
friendly and exciting way.
Now that I think back on it, that simple
question — "What is leadership?" — has
a much greater meaning than I originally
thought. After attending this conference,
I have learned that as a young Jewish
leader, I can't focus all of my attention
on being a leader in school. Rather, I
need to also carry my leadership into the
community as well. I am hopeful that
our Unity to Our Community project will
accomplish both. ❑

Rachel Margolin is a sophomore at the Frankel

Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield, where
she serves as 10th-grade treasurer for student
government.

Watch for teen 2 teen in next week's Jewish News

January 17 • 2008

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