Front Lines JNenline NOTEBOOK This Week www.JNonline.us '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 Celebrations! Find weekly listings of births, b'nai mitzvah, engagements, weddings and anniversaries as well as past simchahs all online. Visit JNonline.us and click on Lifecycles on the left. Teen2Teen Web Site You've seen the printed sec- tion each month in the JN; now Teen2Teen goes online! Look for Web-only stories, blogs and photos. Only at JNt2t.com . E-Newsietter Desire notification when stories that interest you in particular are posted on JNonline? It's easy to desig- nate 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 con- tinuous 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. Last week's poll results: Do you take time out to mark Martin Luther King Day in some way? Yes: 74% No: 26% This week's poll question: Do primary results accu- rately show how voters feel about gender or race in this election? Visit the JNonline.us homepage, below the left menu, to cast your vote.