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Hands-On from

Tikkun Olam from page 39

page 39

Violetta Shuman of Oak Park and Lauren Cohn
of Huntington Woods prepare dinner in the
kitchen at LA Family Housing.

•,

f,1[!,

Hila Levin of West Bloomfield and
Rachel Kaminsky' of Chelsea spread
mulch in Los Angeles' South Park as
volunteers with Tree People.

grouped with the
college students. The
interfaith exchange
was a meaningful first
for many of the high
school students who
had never interacted
with Jews and several
of the college stu-
dents who had never
before explained
Judaism to non-Jews.
Led by Miriam
Borenstein, Jewish
Student Life coordinator at
EMU Hillel, students par-
ticipated in daily learning
and reflection sessions to explore
Jewish values such as tzedakah
and Tikkun Olam (repairing the
world) as well as other qualities
like leadership, responsibility,
accountability and more.
Students spent most of their
time volunteering, yet had time
for a trip to Santa Monica, a
night out in Hollywood, dinner
with an EMU alum and Hillel at
EMU supporter, and some hiking
in Runyon Canyon. @

Ben Henig of Ann Arbor, Hillel president, is
a junior at Eastern Michigan University in
Ypsilanti.

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Oakland

UNIVERSITY

Laura Flusty of Farmington Hills will be a senior at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Barriers from page 39

identified, Conservative
and Reform, Democratic
and Republican students
within the campus Jewish
community.
Metro Detroit partici-
pants are Hannah Farkas
of West Bloomfield, Ariella
Yedwab of Commerce
Township, Jamie Lowen
of Farmington Hills
and Daniel Lyons of
Huntington Woods.
Dembo suggests that
the program seeks to
Senior Richard Kallus, West Orange, N.J.; senior
induce discussions that are
Robbie Dembo, Glenview III.; junior Ariella.
Yedwab, Commerce Township; senior Hannah
"honest, tempered with consid-
Farkas, West Bloomfield; graduate student
eration of what it means to have
Sasha Kimel, Santa Cruz, Calif.
a safe space."
Makom participant Yonah
Lieberman, a sophomore from Washington, D.C., most appreciated "the mix of people interested in
dialogue entering into a Jewish space to explore their alienation."
Lyons appreciates "the program as a minority on campus." He feels Makom fills a void on cam-
pus, as "there are no other programs like this one."
Program participants also hope to use their experiences in the dialogue group in a variety of ways
— future political, legal and even medical careers.
In the development stages of Makom, Dembo made use of campus resources like U-M's Program
on Intergroup Relations as well as a Jewish dialogue group out of Philadelphia.
The honesty necessitated by any form of dialogue creates some nerves. Participants at the pro-
gram's onset held reservations about each other's willingness to commit to the full course of the
program and about being able to speak openly about the topics.
Dembo suggests that Makom was crafted to address these concerns.
"They have to come back each week and sit with each other in the same room together, creating
accountability among participants," he said. "Ultimately, Makom will provide participants with a sti-
pend for further learning or an immersive experience to complement the topics discussed."
After a successful year of the pilot program, Makom will continue to foster connections between
new groups of participants with dialogue facilitators trained at the Program on Intergroup Relations.
Some of this year's dialogue participants have even decided to pool their stipends from the grant to
further a cause discussed in their dialogue.
Lieberman aptly suggests the program will have a broader impact on campus by creating "a
group of people who are now willing to talk about these issues in whatever context they feel most
comfortable, Jewish or not." @

Danielle DePriest of West Bloomfield will be a senior at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She is a participant
in Makom.

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40

giate Relays in the nation.
"The energy this year was more positive than ever before," said Millman of West
Bloomfield. "Everyone really came together as one event to break our goal, and it paid off."
However, it wasn't only about the grand total raised. The event attracted students from
South Campus athletic teams to sororities and fraternities to Hillel, which shared common
goals and passions.
Joey, Brad and I dedicated most of our school year to fundraising and planning the event.
We found our inspiration to organize and execute the event from Judaism.
"Tikkun Olam means to fix the world," Millman said. "This is my way to help fix the
world, and help make those affected by the disease have an easier life or those that have lost
someone to cancer be able to grieve in a productive way.
"This is where I choose to put all of my tzedakah, and I am glad to see it paying off."
Eisman added: "Both central to Judaism and my rearing, Tikkun Olam encourages me to
keep promoting a better world and never settle for status quo. I am always pushing for a better
tomorrow."
For me, working on Relay is my way of honoring my two grandfathers, Herbert Fealk and
Norton Flusty, both of whom passed away because of cancer. My Grandpa Rusty instilled in
me a hard work ethic; and after he died, not only did I want to excel academically, but I also
wanted to make a difference to a cause that has affected my entire family.
"People have an obligation to fight something like this," Millman said, "because it is so
unpredictable. Together, we can defeat cancer. Together, we can accomplish any goal." @

May 19 a 2011