teen2teen e,:t/
Natural Leader
Gabriel Pachter earns first David Hermelin Scholarship Award.
Yossi Lichterman
T2T Staff Writer
I
have known Gabriel Pachter for a
long time. We met on April 11, 1991,
in the nursery at Beaumont Hospital
in Royal Oak. I was 4 days old and about
3 pounds, when Gabe was born. Weighing
more than 10 pounds, he already had the
imposing stature of a leader.
Today, nearly 18 years later, Gabe, who
lives in West Bloomfield with his parents
Rabbi Elliot Pachter and Naomi Weckstein
and his brother Jonathan, is still a head
taller than I. His leadership abilities
have continued to grow and develop. He
is the epitome of a leader and tremen-
dously deserving of the first Annual David
Hermelin Scholarship Award.
The award, sponsored by Sam and Nancy
Shamie and family, was created this year to
honor the memory of David Hermelin and
his leadership in the community.
"David has been gone almost
eight years now;' said Sam Shamie of
Bloomfield Hills, "and nothing has been
done in his name in the community since
his passing. I thought it would be very
important [to create this award] since he
was a community leader in many different
avenues in Judaism!'
Scholarship applicants had to be students
attending any of the six Jewish high schools
or middle schools that Federation spon-
sors: Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield, Hillel
Day School in Farmington Hills, Frankel
Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield,
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and Yeshivas Darchei
Torah in Southfield and Yeshiva Gedolah
in Oak Park. The winner of the scholarship
receives $12,000, paid directly to the school,
toward his tuition. Each applicant was
required to write an essay on their vision
of leadership and provide needed letters of
recommendation from a teacher and school
administrator.
Gabe was chosen because of his
academic excellence, along with his
leadership roles within his school, the
Frankel Jewish Academy; his synagogue,
Congregation B'nai Moshe in West
Bloomfield; and within the community at-
large. He was presented with the award at
the Federation's board meeting on Dec. 4.
Gabe, a senior who will be attending
the University of Michigan in the fall,
uses his leadership skills and knowledge
of all things Jewish on a daily basis at
school. As the gabbai in the daily minyan,
it is his responsibility to find people to
read Torah, lead services and perform
numerous aliyot. Often, he is forced to
learn a Torah reading at the last minute
or step in to lead services for someone
else. Additionally, Gabe is always willing to
explain any subject, from Bible to math, to
anyone who needs help.
"Gabe is a great teacher and leader in
our school and also a great friend and
person to talk to:' said Ariel Halpern,
an FJA senior. "He cares about helping
other people, especially when it comes to
school!'
Not only does. he assist people at school,
but Gabe also displays his leadership
qualities at B'nai Moshe as well. Gabe
has taken an active role in helping ensure
that the youth of the synagogue receive
a quality
Jewish edu-
cation. He
leads youth
services on Gabriel Pachter
Shabbat as
well as being a teaching assistant in their
Hebrew school.
After knowing Gabe nearly all my life, I
can affirm that, with his numerous leader-
ship roles and academic excellence, he is
very deserving of being the first to receive
this Hermelin award.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to
accept this award': Gabe said. "Without the
support of my family, friends and the FJA
staff, this achievement would not have been
possible." ❑
Yossi Lichterman,17, is
a senior at the Frankel
Jewish Academy in West
Bloomfield.
Can-Do!
Menorah of cans will help feed the hungry.
YOUR WEB SITE!
Elana Collins, almost
12, of Bloomfield Hills;
Cameron Swartz, 13, of
West Bloomfield; and
Shainy Shecter, 11, of
Farmington Hills
Cameron Swartz,
Elana Collins and
Shainy Shecter .
Special to the Jewish News
T
he Bat Mitzvah Club is a group
of about 25 bat mitzvah-age
girls who meet monthly to instill
Jewish pride through discussions and
lots of fun! Each gathering consists of a
CO December 11- 2008
IN
discussion, a trip, craft or
game. We have been get-
ting together and talking
about Jewish history; but,
in our last few meetings,
we have been thinking of
ways to collect kosher cans
to donate to Yad Ezra for
families who can't afford
food on Chanukah.
Each week, the girls in our class bring
in as many cans as they can collect, but
the project doesn't end there. Not only
are we collecting them, but we also are
planning to make a giant can menorah
out of them.
Our goal is 5,000 cans so we can make
a beautiful menorah while helping many
Jewish families. It gives us a lot of satisfac-
tion to be helping people who don't have
as much as we have. We felt that instead of
helping ourselves this holiday we would
branch out to help people in our commu-
nity. It would be great if other people did
this, too.
There are tons of people without food,
so hurry up and help out. Our Bat Mitzvah
Club decided to make this idea up, and we
hope you will help us in making others
feel special.
When we have collected all of our
cans we will build the "Can"-orah at our
Chanukah party, which is 5 p.m. Sunday,
Dec. 21, at Bonventure skating rink in
Farmington Hills. We will celebrate with
skating, pizza, latices, doughnuts and, of
course, the building and lighting of the
can menorah. We hope you can join us.
If you want to help us, go to our Web
site: theshul.net. The Shul sponsors the Bat
Mitzvah Club.
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Watch for teen 2teen in next week's Jewish News