Editor's Letter
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The Power Of Giving
I
t was just past 7:30 on a pleasant Wednesday evening in
Oak Park. As the sun set and high clouds accentuated
the blue sky, members of Detroit Jewry's Orthodox com-
munity were taking their seats in a private home in support of
Federation's Annual Campaign.
The group, more than 400 strong,
was about to embark on a dramatic
and unprecedented fundraising jour-
ney. Their intent: to contribute toward
improving the larger Jewish commu-
nity, but also to thank God, through
the mitzvah of giving, for their good
tiR*
fortune.
The moment was electric and potent
— even historic.
Robert Sklar
By the numbers, the April 28
Editor
event to support and express appre-
ciation for the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit paid huge dividends, netting at least
$100,000 and 412 campaign gifts. Some of the gifts would
have come anyway, but many were new — a direct result of
the solicitation hosted by Malke and Gary Torgow and the
recognition that Federation is pivotal to the
wellbeing of Detroit Jewry, the campaign's
primary beneficiary.
The yield was impressive, but not the big
story. The solidarity of spirit and purpose
that galvanized the evening was.
SO.
tifully taught, means you actively seek out ways to elevate how
you live. One way to sanctify God's name is through giving
to good causes, like Federation's Annual Campaign, Detroit
Jewry's central support system. By giving, you acknowledge
that what you have is really more than what you have coming
— if not for God's grace.
Philanthropists grasp this Divine notion, but communities
can do so as well, said Zwiebel, a legal expert in the spheres of
religious freedom, church-state relations, civil rights, private
education and medical ethics.
"When a community gets together to say thank you to God,
to say we understand, and acknowledge, that you are very
generous to us and we appreciate it, that is the essence of
being a Jew, of being part of a people he said.
Uplifting Undercurrents
Federation's 2010 Campaign co-chairs Ron Klein and Terri
Roth described the evening as an exciting chapter in local
Jewish history; and that's no exaggeration. I concur with their
impression — "a feeling of camaraderie, purpose and pas-
sion!' They recognized the diversity in amounts of gifts, but
thanked each giver equally.
During formal comments, Federation CEO
Scott Kaufman talked about the two charac-
teristics that constitute the vigor of Jewish
Detroit: commitment and unity.
"This is a community, that despite econom-
ic challenges, is committed to Jewish people-
hood, to Jewish identity, to Jewish learning
and to Jewish charity more than any other
A Sweeping Act
place I know of in America," Kaufman said.
The Orthodox community powerfully dem-
He isn't wrong.
onstrated that Jewish Detroit doesn't consist
Despite our declining population, Detroit
of unconnected segments. Rather, we're one
Jewry consistently ranks high in total annual
metropolitan Jewish community with diverse
campaign yield among Federations. On a
strands radiating from a common core. And
per-capita basis, our campaign tickets the
the core is worth supporting financially.
largest percentage for Jewish education of
The mobilization underscored a sense
Aqudath Israel's Rabbi Zwiebel
any Federation in the nation.
of holy obligation to bolster the wide-serv-
"If the New York Federation were to give on a per-capita
ing agency that has stood steadfast in support of a range of
basis what our Federation gives, it would be over a billion dol-
Orthodox needs: day schools, mikvot, housing, security, a
lars," Kaufman said. "That gives you an idea of where Jewish
viable Oak Park JCC. Orthodox day schools alone receive about
education stands in our community's heart as a priority"
$3.41 million in total Federation funding. The non-Orthodox
It sure does.
community certainly has affirmed its support for the
Rabbi Yehudah Bakst, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah in
Orthodox way of life — time and again.
Oak Park, encouraged the Torgows to host the event. The eve-
Still, the money collected on April 28 clearly won't just serve
ning's afterglow provided an important lesson in understand-
the Orthodox community. Federation decides how each general
ing charity — in how giving is nice, but doing it with humble
donation is allocated to assist and sustain Jews locally, in Israel
respect for the good that follows is better.
and elsewhere; general gifts aren't earmarked.
As co-host Gary Torgow so eloquently put it: "How simple it
is to write a check, but even greater is the reward for the smile,
God's Sanctification
for the kind and gentle words — ultimately for the realization
The evening's keynoter, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, chief
counsel and executive president of Agudath Israel of America, and appreciation that the receiver of that charity is a conduit
for immense blessings from the Almighty to the donor."
a New York-based Orthodox advocacy and service orga-
You felt the spiritual energy he spoke of as it danced
nization, perceptively validated our local commitment to
through the corridors of his home — a house of humility,
Orthodox day school learning.
blessing and the angel dust of Torah. ❑
He punctuated how support for Orthodox schools through
funding that is not itself strictly Orthodox-generated "sup-
ports the recognition of the central role that these yeshivot
0 : Will grassroots fundraising become
•
play in transmitting the values of Jewish life and Judaism to
more prevalent for Federation?
the next generation and ensuring the continuity of the Jewish
I— 0
Z z Do Jews grasp the benefit of
people!'
O 0 receiving God's will?
The strong turnout underscored the collective love of God
a. a-
among givers that April evening. To love God, the rabbi beau-
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