DETRO:T
;EWISH

J-Serve teens clean, repair and beautify the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue.

by Michelle Kappy/photos by Jessica Polk

ikkun olam is Hebrew for repair of the world.
As part of J-Serve, a national service day for
Jewish teens on April 26, Metro Detroit teens
volunteered to help repair, clean and beautify the Isaac
Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit, putting into
action Judaism's commitment to tikkun olam.
More than 100 students assembled at Adat Shalom Syna-
gogue in Farmington Hills at 10 a.m. and, after choosing
projects, boarded the bus to downtown Detroit. Before
getting down to work, a member of the Jewish Historical
Society of Michigan took us on a walking tour of Detroit,
sharing with us stories about the many Jewish contributions
to Detroit.
Judaism teaches us to help those less fortunate and en-
gage in gemilut chasadim, acts of loving-kindness. With that
idea in mind, we got to work — paint brushes, brooms and
wood cleaner in hand. Each group worked on a specific
project for the day, such as painting the synagogue's door
and creating a mural, sewing Torah covers and tying tallitot,
washing the colorful windows and organizing the yahrzeit
(memorial) plaques.
"J-serve was an experience like none other," said vol-
unteer Jessica Kahn, a sophomore at the Frankel Jewish
Academy in West Bloomfield. "I was able to reach out to
the Detroit Jewish community and better a synagogue that
means so much to people."
J-serve also provided the teens with a bonding experi-
ence. In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), Hillel teaches:
"Do not separate yourself from the community." Our work
at the Isaac Agree synagogue increased our awareness of
the needs of our community. Working together, we accom-
plished tasks that would have taken weeks for the synagogue
members to complete. Together, we got our hands dirty and
performed a mitzvah, an extremely rewarding experience
for all who participated.
"J-serve allowed me to make a difference, learn about
the Jewish history of Detroit and interact with friends, both
old and new," said Chad Schram, a junior at Walled Lake
Western.
In our quest to make the world a better
place, we helped to make the Isaac Agree
Synagogue a more beautiful place to wor-
ship — and we had fun in the process.

Michelle Kappy, 17, is a junior at Fran-

kel Jewish Academy, West Bloomfield.

Above: Area teens put muscle into cleaning and

repairing the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in

Detroit.

Left: Gadi Krasner, a FJA sophomore,

does some painting. (More photos, JNt2t.com)

Calling Teen Volunteers:

Join Teen Volunteer Corps for Jewish teens in grades 8-12.

Work In the Jewish community and in Metro Detroit, using

Jewish values to make an impact.

Jodi Gross, coordinator, (248) 626-2153, Jgross@adatshalom.org

teen2teen May 21 • 2009 B1