Spotlight
Engaging Jews
Machon L'Torah supporters gather to elevate Jewish identity.
Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News
I
gniting a passion for Jewish learning
and inspiring Jews to lead more obser-
vant lives has been the goal of Machon
L'Torah since its inception. Nearly three
decades later, the Oak Park-based organiza-
tion is celebrating its accomplishments and
pressing forward with its mission.
More than 200 people gathered at Young
Israel of Oak Park Sept. 9 for a dessert
reception and an evening of discussion to
mark the group's 29th anniversary.
"It's a bittersweet time said Rabbi
Avraham Jacobovitz.
He founded Machon L'Torah, the Jewish
Learning Network of Michigan, in 1980 to
expose Jews to the Torah and its teachings.
"On the one hand, I'm very, very thankful
for what we've been able to accomplish;
but the truth is the work is just beginning
and time is running out:' he said.
Over the years, Machon rTorah's mem-
bership has grown from roughly 300
families to about 1,300. A college outreach
program, the Maimonides Jewish Leaders
Fellowship, is now on dozens of campuses
across the U.S. and Canada. Other initia-
tives include extensive adqh education,
a lunch and learn program called "The
Torah Exchange a Jewish history lec-
ture series, medical ethics conferences,
"Uniquely Ours" (a program by women for
women), weekend retreats and more.
Rabbi J, as he's often called, focuses a
lot of his time and attention on Michigan's
universities where he says there's a lot of
room for improvement.
"Going around from campus to campus, I
see firsthand what is really going on',' he told
the crowd. "The percentage of people who
are involved Jewishly is really pathetic. On
the University of Michigan campus in Ann
Arbor, there are about 6,000 Jewish kids.
Very few are involved in anything Jewish:'
With Rosh Hashanah approaching at the
time of his remarks, the rabbi urged par-
ticipants to make it their goal for the new
year to do more to try and reach young
people and Jewish families.
"More than 50 percent of the children
today in our schools in this city are children
to parents who never dreamt they would
send their children to a Torah school:'
Rabbi Jacobovitz said. "So when we ask the
question `Is it doable?' go visit our schools
and you will see — it is doable!"
Coming Home
It was a homecoming of sorts for one
of the evening's guest speakers, Rabbi
Steven Well. The former rabbi at Young
Israel of Oak Park, credited with dou-
bling the size of the congregation in one
year during his tenure, returned to his
old stomping grounds where he held his
first rabbinic position.
Well went on to lead Beth Jacob
Congregation in Beverly Hills, Calif., the
largest Orthodox congregation in the
country outside of the New York area.
Eight years later, he is now the executive
vice president of the New York-based
Orthodox Union. Rabbi Weil sang the
praises of Rabbi Jacobovitz and what
Machon L'Torah calls its "all-out war on
ignorance and apathy."
"Rabbi J and his team are on the front
lines in the trenches:' Well said. "Every
Jew who marries a Jew, every Jew who
takes the position that they want to give
their children more of a Jewish educa-
tion than they received, that is also a
success and a victory. Because of their
important work, we'll have a Jewish
tomorrow, a next generation."
Rabbi Baruch Yehuda Gradon, rosh
kollel at Merkaz Hatorah of Los Angeles,
flew here to take part in the anniversary
celebration. The highly sought after lec-
turer and Jewish scholar addressed the
crowd and added his congratulations.
The date of the event had special
meaning for Rabbi Jacobovitz for anoth-
er reason. It was a personal milestone,
the 39th anniversary of his arrival in
the United States from his hometown
of Tel Aviv. He says he's just as passion-
ate, if not more, about the fight against
assimilation as he was when he started
Machon.
"This is, I believe, the most impor-
tant goal of our Jewish community and,
unfortunately, it's at the very bottom of
all the priorities to most Jews and espe-
cially philanthropists, who can really do
something about it:' he said.
"My ultimate goal is for there to come
a day when my organization is no longer
needed." E
For more information about Machon
L'Torah, go to: www.machonitorah.
org or call (248) 967-0888.
Rabbi Boruch Yehuda Gradon
Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz
Debi Chinsky Harris and Janice Scharg, both
Rabbi Steven Well
of West Bloomfield
Pinina and Nissan Maza of Southfield
t;‘ T;
Melissa and Aaron Schon of Oak Park
zn
September 17 2009
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