Front Lines
N E
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Enriching Lives.
Erasing Barriers.
Moments To Savor
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nce more, Jews of all ages galva-
nized behind a noble cause that,
at its simplest, helped Christians
who were scheduled to work or volun-
teer at local social-service nonprofits on
Christmas. The outreach gave Christians
a chance to take the day off and enjoy the
holiday with their
families.
This year, 40
members of the
Muslim commu-
nity were counted
among the 900
volunteers at one
of the Detroit
Jewish community's
74 Mitzvah Day
sites serving the
Christian com-
munity. Muslim participants were wel-
comed and appreciated. I hope they return
next year. Community service is central
to all three faiths whose roots go back to
Abraham. We seldom see such a coming
together.
Mitzvah Day has become an increas-
ingly popular program of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and its
public affairs arm, the Jewish Community
Relations Council. It's a way to give back
and where all givers are equal in stature.
Lest there be a mistake: Mitzvah Day isn't
so much about Jews, who have nurtured the
annual program, or Muslims, who joined in
the effort this year at Gleaners Community
Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan.
Other tzedakah opportunities included
feeding the homeless, delivering Meals on
Wheels, assisting at nursing homes and vol-
unteering at senior living complexes.
Mitzvah Day is really about the
Christians who otherwise may have had to
spend time away from their families on one
of their holiest days of the year.
It's great that Mitzvah Day grabbed
headlines, even in the New York Times.
The press played up the Jewish-Muslim
angle given the political and ideological
unrest simmering in the Middle East. Local
Muslims, coordinated by the Council of
Islamic Organizations under Victor Begg
of Bloomfield Hills, worked alongside Jews
at Gleaners in Pontiac to sort and package
nearly a ton of food.
This interfaith impetus to brightening
Christmas Day certainly resonates. Any
Jewish-Muslim friendships that emerge will
only be a positive as we try to build sturdy
multicultural bridges in our own back
yard. Having younger Muslims take part is
especially beneficial because their impres-
sionable age means they could be deeply
influenced by the vapors of propaganda
ECO,,Judaism
What you can do to stop global warming.
Basics
• Use less hot water. It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot
water by installing a low-flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved
per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds
saved per year).
• Use less water. It is precious.
• Opt out of junk mail. Get off all of those lists. You will have less to
recycle if you never get it in the mail in the first place. Contact 1 (888)
567-8688 to opt out. Also contact the three credit bureaus. Get
forms at www.ftc.gov/privacy/cred-ltr.htm . Another Web site for credit
bureaus is www.optoutprescreen.comi?rf=t. To stop catalogs, go to
www.abacusoptout.com.
Please contact Michigan Coalition on the Environment & Jewish Life for global
warming presentations: (248) 642-5393, ext. 7, or mi-coejl®jfmd.org .
Source: Michigan Coalition on the Environment & Jewish Life
emanating from world events.
Begg's work with the Council of Islamic
Organizations as well as the Detroit-based
Michigan Roundtable for Diversity &
Inclusion has been integral in bringing the
Muslim community around to embracing
tolerance and understanding.
Mitzvah Day won't settle the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. And the wonderful
melting pot that bubbled up as Mitzvah Day
must not be confused with the sheer hatred
that Palestinian terrorists have for Zionists
and Jews. Just last week, Palestinian terror
left another Israeli settler dead. American
Jews can't lose sight of Israel's struggle to
not just exist, but also prosper with safe,
secure borders.
Detroit Jewry is mighty proud of being
the longtime organizer of Mitzvah Day
— and rightly so. It has blossomed into a
high-profile event now attracting Muslim
support and national attention.
Still, humility is the highest form of
volunteerism. So it's admirable how Jews
and Muslims relished their 2009 mitzvah
moments and their gifts of compassion and
ecumenism, but then quickly moved on to
other pressing matters of the day. 1
On behalf of the men, women and
children with disabilities we serve...
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
Please share your thoughts online:
thejewishnews.com/community. Go to Local
News. Related story: page 15.
THANK YOU!
Quotable
"My first encounter with anything Jewish
was at age 7. I saw a TV commercial that
said, 'Happy Passover from your friends at
Channel 2,' and I said, 'Mommy, I want
to be Jewish.' I drew six-pointed stars on
everything in the house. And that was that.
It was instinctive. The next day, my mother
talked to a woman she worked with — I
can't imagine what their conversation
actually entailed — but the woman invit-
ed us to attend my first seder."
— Yitzhak Jordan, aka Y-Love, a black Orthodox Jew and
hip-hop artist who creates rhymes from
the Talmud, quoted in the November/December
This year has been a time to
celebrate JARC's forty years of
helping people with disabilities
to live full and dignified lives in
our community. As you consider
your year-end charitable gifts,
please remember how much
your generous support
enriches the lives of others.
Together we will remain
strong for another
forty years.
issue of Moment magazine.
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December 31 • 2009
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