Arts & Entertainment

ON THE COVER

Help Yourself

Guides to growing and learning — spiritually and otherwise.

Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News

your belief in God. Although
and beauty. I would like
h
it was a long journey back,
him to meet genuinely
was there a single "aha"
religious, deeply kind and
moment along the way,
powerfully thoughtful
when once again you saw
people who would shat-
God's presence in the world?
ter his foolish stereotype
Why Faith Matters
A: I recall feeling God
of the weak-charactered,
•
powerfully as I took a bus
weak-minded
believer.
1) v‘ 11) .3. \VOLPE
through Colorado's Rocky
How would his mockery
Mountains. But I was closed,
meet Desmond Tutu or
intellectually, to the pos-
Elie Wiesel?
sibility of God. The moment
stayed with me, and the
Q: When you were
author of The Purpose-Driven Life
diagnosed with cancer,
gradual opening of my heart
allowed it to seep in. A single
you didn't request a
moment? No. But a collec-
miraculous healing but
instead asked that God be there with you.
tion of moments and meanings? Yes.
How did you feel His presence?
Q: If you were to spend the afternoon
A: Impossible to describe. Here is where
with Bill Maher (the anti-religion come-
I take refuge in Martin Buber's beautiful
dian), what would you say to him?
comment that God cannot be expressed —
A: I would try not to persuade him of
only addressed. The intimacy and immedi-
the truth of religion but of its meaning
acy of feeling God is something that can be

”A stirring east. lint t e fullness of a life it WI

Celli( and the enlptitte,, of life

-Mitch Athol., antiiiir

•hr Fire Prnple r.,, Mein in Hem en

W by Faith Matters is Rabbi
David Wolpe's answer to the
modern skeptic.
Drawing on his experiences battling
cancer, he considers the origins of faith,
religion and science and how the Bible can
bring meaning to everyday life:

Q: What do you see as the primary reason
for a lack of religious belief today?
A: The power of science has deceived
people into thinking that which can do
much must explain all. Many people have
lost confidence in, and the ability to under-
stand, the intangible — the reality of what
we cannot see. Idolatry is the worship of
the product of our own hands; it has never
gone away, and I fear may be growing.

Q: After seeing Night and Fog, you lost

More Spirituality/
Self-Help

Fr1 4...1y, 14P- ,, 7

8:30 a.m. (WB): Lynn Medow, Like
Stanzas in a Poem, Yoga at the Wall
Medow leads a stress management
workshop, followed by a free yoga ses-
sion. (See more event information in
"Special Events" on page B14.)

10 a.m. (WB): Masha Gessen, Blood
Matters: From Inherited Illness to
Designer Babies, How the World and
Found Ourselves in the Future of the Gene
The author provides information on
genetic inheritance in Jewish families
and how testing for genetic predisposi-
tions is changing lives.

11:30 a.m. (WB): Barry Krakow, Sound
Sleep, Sound Mind: 7 Keys to Sleeping
Through the Night
A pioneering sleep specialist shares
. his program, which targets the mental,
emotional and physical causes of sleep
: problems.

i

1 2 p.m. (WB): Susan and Bill Graham,
When One Door Closes: A Teen's
Inspiring Journey and Living Legacy
The parents of Alex Graham (a
girl from West Bloomfield who was

B22

October 30 • 2008

Foretvitril

diagnosed with cancer at age 16 and
eventually lost her life), Alex's friends,
her medical experts and caregivers
talk about how Alex opened doors and
changed their lives.

Sunday, Nov,

10 a.m. (WB) and 5 p.m. (OP): Ellyce
Field, Michigan Family Field Trips: Fun
Sites for Kids
In the family program "Smitten With
the Mitten," Field will entertain with
tales of travel in Michigan (also enjoy a
tour of Michigan with booths from des-
tinations in Field's book; create crafts;
collect discount coupons and plan your
own trip).

5 p.m. (WB): Anne-Maire Asner, Klutzy
Boy
Anne-Marie Asner guides children
toward self-acceptance while they learn
a bit of Yiddish along the way.

Tuers--

7 p.m. (WB): Jeff Zaslow, co-author, The
Last Lecture
When Randy Pausch was diagnosed
with terminal cancer, he found that the
wisdom he wanted to impart to the
world wasn't about the leaving of it; it
was about living. Zaslow helped draw
worldwide attention to the professor's
final lecture in this inspiring book.

Rick Warren,

AdneeSTV",

f'i f"!

10 a.m. (WB): Susan Linn, The Case
for Make-Believe: Saving Play in a
Commercialized World
Oak Park native Susan Linn argues
that today's children are being sapped of
their abilities to be creative, happy and
healthy.

6:45 p.m. (WB) Annie Lehmann, The
Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons from
My Silent Son
A West Bloomfield resident and moth-
er of an autistic child gives practical
advice on how to navigate through many
of life's challenges.

Thursdmt Nov, 13

8:15 p.m. (OP): Rabbi Berel Wein, The
Oral Law of Sinai: An Illustrated History
of the Mishnah
This book is a guide to the mysterious
Mishnah, which explains ethical stan-
dards and moral beliefs, while providing
insight into medicine, dreams, botany,
astronomy and arithmetic, as well as the
study of humans and creatures.

Sunda Nov. If

2 p.m. (WB) and 4:30 p.m. (OP): Cambria
Gordon, The Down-to-Earth Guide to
Global Warming
The author offers a family program
filled with easy steps on how to fight

experienced but is very hard to talk about.
I felt not alone; I experienced an assurance
not of healing, but of meaning. There was a
certain peace, despite the pain that did not
cease, of the possibility of death.

Q: You write that you like to ask people,
"Look into the eyes of the person sitting
next to you, and you will see an image of
God." What do you see when you look into
someone's eyes?
A: That there is more than an accident of
ancient chemistry. That a human being is
c'ensouled" That each person matters; and
although we may betray the image of God
within us, there is nothing more precious
in this world. I feel that when the Torah
teaches us to "guard your soul carefully," it
is speaking the great truth for all times.

❑

Rabbi David Wolpe speaks 8:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov.11 (WB).

global warming. All families will receive
their own hydroponic plant.

7 p.m. (WB): Char Margolis, Discover
Your Inner Wisdom: Using Intuition, Logic
and Common Sense To Make Your Best
Choices
Psychic Char Margolis says that
everyone can develop his or her intuition
– and explains why listening to that
inner voice is important to help you
make the best decisions and attract the
people and opportunities you desire.

8:15 p.m. (WB): Rabbi Brad Hirschfield,
You Don't Have To Be Wrong for Me To
Be Right
Named one of Newsweek's Top 50
Rabbis in America, Rabbi Hirschfield,
who is Orthodox, offers a realistic
approach to peace and acceptance.

(post-Book Fair)
7:30 a.m. (Jewish Federation Bldg.):
Larry Colin, Family Inc.: How to Manage
Parents, Siblings, Spouses, Children and
In-Laws in the Family Business
A 37-year veteran of a 92-year-old
family business provides a witty and
engaging blueprint for maintaining
peace within the family – without
busting the business. No charge.
Reservations required: Susan Feldman,
(248) 642-4260.

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