a place of our own cont. T2T torah: Parshat Chaye Sara Staff photo by Armando Rios Staff photo by Armando Rios Nov. 22, 2008 - by Sarah Spitzer Abraham's blessings of Israel and family Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for everything we have, especially our country. • Left: Hannah Moiseev checks out a computer station. Above: As American Jews, we are fortunate to have Michelle Happy and Leigh Grinberg enjoy pinball. Right: Teens in presently, and the one that is the land of helped pick out the color schemes and amenities of the JCC our people, our nation — Israel. Beverly Prentis Wagner Teen Center. more than one country — the one we live In the parshah the week before last, parshat Lech Lecha, God gave Abraham, our forefather, the Land of Israel, and prom- ised it to us — his future descendents. In this week's parshah, parshat Chaye Sarah, we see Abraham's commitment to secur- ing the land for us beyond all doubt. When Sarah dies, he looks for a burial site for her and decides upon the cave of Machpelah, owned by Ephron the Chiti. Ephron offers to give the cave and the surrounding area to Abraham for free, but Abraham wishes to Left: Robbie Herman and Jake Balbes celebrate a great shot while Erica Sachse looks on. Right: JCC leaders: Director Mark Lit, Day Camps/ Youth and Teen Services Director Forest Levy, board member Brian Siegel and Teen Coordinator Lindsey Fox. group. They wanted everyone was to be represented. Logistics were worked out, colors were picked, games were determined, furniture was chosen and, in time, a prime hangout spot was created. As part of the plan, the JCC decided to keep all youth offices together in the Teen Center, including the Cen- ter's Day Camps and Youth and Teens Services offices with Director Forest Levy and Teen Coordinator Lind- sey Fox as well as the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization office headed by Eric Adelman. This way, teens will see their new center when they go to these offices. Major donors for the Teen Center were the Prentis Family Support Foundation and the Bruce Frankel fam- ily. The center is named after Beverly Prentis Wagner. Cost of the youth center totaled nearly $850,000. "Without our donors, this whole project would never have happened and just been a fantasy," said co-chair Erica Sachse. "I'd like to thank them for believing in the teens of this community and making a haven for us. "It's incredible, it surpassed all my expectations. I didn't think it'd be that big, that modern and that cool. We don't have a big city, so often we hang out at peo- ple's houses. The center is like the most amazing base- ment on steroids. One of the best aspects is the study area, especially with kids preparing for college now. It portrays a good image of the JCC — that study is just as important as hanging out." The significance of transforming a Holocaust memo- rial into a youth center is not lost on Mark Lit. "This is the best," he said. "We are not only helping this generation; we are not just remembering the past; but we are, in fact, living the future." What could be better then tying the past, present and the future into one amazing, safe and teen-oriented facility? The JCC Beverly Prentis Wagner Teen Center is open to all Jewish teens. Members will have a JCC/Maccabi Club membership card. A Teen Center membership is $60 annually; for $120, a Teen Center member can use the whole JCC. All Frankel Jewish Academy of Metro- politan Detroit teens will be members thanks to an anon- ymous donor, while all Detroit Maccabi participants are members because they paid for this in their registration fee. Also, because the BBYO office will be housed there, BBYO members will get a pass but are strongly encour- aged to join the JCC Maccabi Club for all benefits. Families are noticing the center, and have started to book the space for future events. "The more the center is taking on its own life, we need a full-time director for this facility, and I'm thrilled to bring Lindsey on board," said Todd Sachse, JCC pres- ident and father of Erica. "Feedback from teens is beyond our expectations. I am beyond excited about what this will do for the whole youth program at the JCC. It's like a teenage fantasy- land, with everything they'd want to do." Grand opening for the center will be Jan. 17, 2009. A soft opening will be in December. Hours have not been determined yet. This facility was made by teens for teens. Let's enjoy it! For more photos, go to JNt2t.com For information on the Teen Center, con- tact Lindsey Fox at (248) 432-5428 or e-mail lfox@jccdet.org. Shaye Winer, 17, is a senior at West Bloom- field High School. pay for the land, and he gives Ephron his asking price of 400 silver shekels. According to the commentaries, Ephron wanted to cheat Abraham by not having him pay for the land then later saying he had never given it to him. In order to make his possession indisputable, Abraham paid the unusually high price without question, even though the land would rightfully belong to his descendents anyway. Abraham received Israel because of his faith in God, and it has been passed down to the Jewish people ever since. In more recent years, we have reclaimed it. Our land and our heritage, however, do not come without their difficulties. We must work to protect what we have and be thankful for it at every moment. The parshah of Chaye Sara details Abra- ham's family and the marriage of Isaac, and Abraham shows his strong belief in deep family ties. He commands his servant to return to his homeland to find a wife for his son, Isaac, and his servant returns with Re- becca, the daughter of Bethuel, the nephew of Abraham. Through the delineation of Abraham's descendents and the legacy he leaves to Isaac, Abraham displays the importance of family, and we must learn from him to be forever thankful for our family and to al- ways stay close to our people. As Jews, we must stand up for one another and appreciate and truly be grateful for our heritage. Sarah Spitzer, 17, is a senior at Yeshivat Akiva In Southfield. teen2teen November • 2008 B3