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'Meadow Soprano' Finds Jewish Birthright
Jaffa/JTA — "Everyone assumes I'm Italian," says Jamie Lynn Sigler,
26, pausing over her hummus lunch at the open-air market in Jaffa,
one of the stops on her Birthright Israel tour. "Even kids on the trip
keep asking, Are you Jewish?'"
Sigler, who played the daughter of Mafia kingpin Tony Soprano on
the acclaimed HBO show The Sopranos, grew up in a Jewish home in
Jericho, N.Y., going to Hebrew school and having a bat mitzvah.
Her father's family immigrated to America from Greece and Poland.
Her mother, who is Puerto Rican, converted to Judaism. But it was
only touring in Israel, her first visit to the country, that she felt a true
spiritual and emotional connection to her roots.
"It's one of the most beautiful, inspiring places I've ever been to:'
Sigler said. "I now have a greater understanding and motivation about
preserving my Jewishness!'
Among the highlights were riding camels, dining on roast lamb in a
Bedouin tent and exploring the back alleys of Jerusalem's Old City.
Sigler was especially moved during her visits to the Western Wall,
where she was surprised by her tears, and to Yad
Vashem, where the Holocaust and its history
:2
suddenly felt deeply personal. "I started to think, :c!
`What if I was there, what if I had been ripped
2
0.
away from my family?'" she said.
Sigler said Israel had been a fairly abstract
concept before the trip, with her images limited
to media coverage of the Mideast conflict.
On the trip, which brings diaspora Jews 18-26 Jamie Lynn Sigler
to Israel for free 10-day tours, her group was
played Tony's
accompanied part of the time by Israeli soldiers. daughter on
Through them, Sigler said she heard about a
The Sopranos.
much different life than the one she and her
friends lead in America. She was taken by their
sacrifices and the pride they have in their coun-
try and history. "It's so different but so inspiring to be part of that I
would want to move here and join the army:' she said.
Sigler bonded with the other Birthright participants and kidded
about returning and renting apartments in the same building.
Jewish Youth Awards
Winning Shot
Metro Detroit high school juniors and seniors can apply for the
cash-prize Jewish Youth Awards sponsored by the National Council
of Jewish Women Greater Detroit Section. The awards honor eligible
students who are exceptional in academic achievement and commu-
nity leadership, said Susan Gertner, NCJW-GDS director.
As part of the application form, students must submit a one-page
typed essay (600-800 words) on the topic: "As an American Jewish
teenager, how does the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel impact
your life and that of the Jewish community?"
"NCJW has a history of speaking up and speaking out on issues
that are important to the well being of women, children and fami-
lies," said Sharon Lipton, GDS president. "The Jewish Youth Awards
help to instill a love of community service and advocacy in our
outstanding high school students while recognizing them for their
academic, community service and leadership achievements!'
Applicants must have a formal Jewish education and must have
maintained active involvement in the Jewish community. They also
must submit a signed letter of recommendation from a person in
authority at the sponsoring organization or synagogue.
Finalists will be interviewed by the awards judges at the NCJW
offices, 26400 Lahser Road, Suite 306, Southfield, on Sunday, March
16. Availability on that day is required as the interview is integral.
The first-place winner receives $2,500. The runner-up receives
$1,000. All finalists will be recognized and honored at an awards
ceremony on Sunday, April 13. Awards co-chairs are Janet Moses,
Claire Kretchmer and Ann Rosenberg.
For an application, contact (248) 355-3300, ext. 0, or go to the
Detroit Jewish News' Teen2Teen Web site: JNt2t.com .
The deadline to apply for the 2008 Jewish Youth Awards is Feb. 1.
- Robert A. Sklar, editor
MERU 'cha Don't Know
Jews are observing a shmitta year, a once every
seven-year observance during which agricultural land
in Israel is required to lie fallow. Which Jewish ritual is
observed only every 28 years?
-Goldfein
'600z ianossed uo pou 'sieaA gz kleAa
'uns aq4 Jo flu!ssaig au; – eweq3eH qsnpm :Jamsuy
ALEFBET'cha runs every other week.
0 Copyright 2008, Jewish Renaissance Media
A8 January 24 2008
Allen Einstein
Allen Einstein has
taken lots of great
photos as the Detroit
Pistons team photog-
rapher for 27 years and
for the women's profes-
sional basketball team,
the Detroit Shock, for
the past 10 years.
But the Birmingham
Public Schools' middle
school teacher is cer-
tainly proud of a pho-
tograph he took last
season of the Shock's
5'10" Deanna Nolan
blocking a shot attempt
by the New York Liberty's 6'4" forward Cathrine
Kraayeveld.
The photograph was selected in a vote by fans of the Women's
National Basketball Association as WNBA Photo of the Year.
Sixteen photographers submitted 10 photos each for the contest,
which was conducted on WNBA.com .
- Alan Hitsky, associate editor
ECO
At
Judaism
Jewish Thoughts On The Environment
• L'dor v'dor - from generation to generation
"This is the token of the covenant which I make between
me and you and every living creature that is with you, for
perpetual generations." Genesis (9:12)
•"Meditation on creation is obligatory," said an 11th cen-
tury Jewish philosopher. "You should try to understand both
the smallest and greatest of God's creatures. Examine care-
fully those which are hidden from you."
•"God saw all that God had made, and found it very good."
Genesis (1:31)
Please 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
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Last week's poll results:
Do you take time out to
mark Martin Luther King
Day in some way?
Yes: 74%
No: 26%
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