cover story
making a difference
continued from page T- 1
by Jamie Rashty
with everything around
us so different, and yet
to have one same thing
bring us together is an
incredible experience.
I plan on attending ser-
vices with my family
now, and look forward
to continuing to be en-
gulfed by Jewish culture
and tradition.
The trip also im-
pacted me through the
social justice work we
accomplished. The only
community service I'd
done before this trip
was painting buildings
in Detroit with Summer
in the City. On this trip,
the service component
included painting, gar-
dening and building at
a local school in the vil-
lage of Burrell Boom. Two Belize students learn about numbers with seniors
All of this work was ful- Emily Metzger and Rachel Leider.
filling, but the children
made it special.
At recess every day, when the hundreds of kids swarmed us, a smile
would appear on my face. We taught them how to do dances we'd learned
for bar and bat mitzvahs and they taught us their local dance moves. We
shared hugs and culture, making it clear that all people are truly equal.
There is no better feeling in this world than seeing the impact we made
on these children's lives.
It is for these reasons and more that I would suggest this trip for any
senior who has a spring break opportunity in the years ahead. It has the
adventure, the unity, the fun and community that we
all need. And it offers the ability for us to give the help
this world needs.
Thank you, Federation, and thank you to my friends
with whom I shared this experience.
Danny Hurvitz, 17, is a senior at Bloomfield Hills Andover High
School.
HO t, ft OW,,
when?
Eimatai program focuses Akiva students on
the issues of tolerance and inclusion.
group of college students from Yeshiva University/Stern College in
New York came to Akiva Hebrew Day School recently to run an eye-
opening program through Eimatai, a school/ community leadership
program under the auspices of the Center for Jewish Future at YU.
Eimatai, meaning "when" in Hebrew, comes from the famous saying by Rab-
bi Hillel the Wise: "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am
only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?"
After initial opening remarks and overview, the program for grades 9-10
began with a short video that portrayed how insensitive people have become
to those with special needs. The video provided a sense of awareness about the
issue of exclusiveness that envelopes our society every day.
Following the video, the YU students ran a series of discussions and short
exercises with Akiva students regarding the general issues of intolerance in
America toward those who are different, how we react to these types of people
and what we can do to make a difference.
At the culmination of the discussions, we were split up into smaller groups
where we were each given a different court case. After discussing the case with-
in our groups, each group role-played a mock trial. This activity made us realize
that there are always two sides to every story, and even when we think we may
know everything about an incident, we should always give the situation the
benefit of the doubt.
"It was interesting to learn about the different types of exclusion and what
everyone's opinions were on the issue," said sophomore Hannah Korelitz. "I
really enjoyed being able to perform a mock trial and have a debate."
Inspired and motivated, Akiva students reunited to devise a plan of action
that we, as a school, will create in hopes of improving inclusiveness and toler-
ance in the world around us. This plan is still in the making and will be set into
action soon.
"Having been on Eimatai in the past, I knew how amazing it was, but what
the YU students did was pack in all the fun and inspiration into a few hours,
giving us the opportunity to make a difference by putting our thoughts into ac-
tion and changing not only our lives, but the lives of the people around us" says
sophomore Chavivah Bluth. "The program not only made me
aware of the issues around me, but it motivated me to get out
there and do something about it. It was truly an inspirational
experience." t
Jamie Rashty, 16, Is a sophomore at Akiva Hebrew Day School In
Southfield.
teen2teen staff •
hotline: (248) 351-5144 • kcohen@thejewishnews.com
Reporters I Chavivah Bluth, Molly Grossman, Elizabeth Kirshner, Hannah Korelitz, Avi Mendelson, Avielle Movsas, Jamie Rashty,
Stephanie Schulman (Akiva Hebrew Day School, Southfield); Yona Isaacs, Gabriella Ring, Danielle Rittman, Molly Rott, Claire Sinai
(Berkley); Nechama Tawil (Beth Jacob, Oak Park); Madeleine Gonte (Birmingham Groves); Rachel Gorosh, Danny HurviI2, Joanna Loney,
Emily Schottenfels, Mara Stein, Rachael Vettese, Rachel Wein (Bloomfield Hills Andover); Abby Hyman (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-
Kingswood); Mad Cohen (Community, Ann Arbor); Emily Zussman (Detroit Country Day, Beverly Hills); Jillian Apel, Tamar Brown, Arica
Cykiert, Abbie Ginis, Polina Fradkin, Emily Goodman, Helene Glickman, Rachel Goutman, Heather Grossman, Jessica Kahn, Rachel Klein,
Gideon Levinson, Noam Saper, Talia Schechet, Josh Sider, Lexi Smith, Zoe Soble, Maddy Soltz, Sara Weinfeld, Samantha Zwick (Frankel
Jewish Academy, West Bloomfield); Rachel Hollander, Ad Weil (Harrison, Farmington Hills); Daniel Chandross, Jillian Goldstone (Hillel,
Farmington Hills); Mayer Schneider (home schooled); Harriet Cooper (Milford); Rachel Berlin, Sam Gringlas, Elie Neuman, Nate Strauss
(North Farmington); Rob Pasick (Novi); Jordana Hoffman (Oakland Early! College, Farmington Hills); Lily Grier, Liza Kohlenberg (Orchard
Lake Middle, West Bloomfield); Batsheva Honig (Walled Lake Northern);Liz Nagle (Walled Lake Western); Jennifer Finkel, Abigail Jankelo-
vitz, Heather Rosenbaum (West Bloomfield); Liza Kohlenberg (West Bloomfield Orchard Lake Middle School); Mackenzie Coden (West
Flip Clips premieres
Bloomfield Walnut Creek) Photographers I Jessica Avery Polk (Frankel), Colton Graub (Cranbrook-Kingswood )
Guest host Elliott Wilhelm talks with Molly Rott,
16, about the short documentary on local Jewish War Veterans that she and fellow students
supervising staff
at Congregation Beth Shalom made as part of the Flip Clips Jewish teen film project co-
sponsored by Detroit Public TV, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and filmmak-
Executive Editor I Keri Guten Cohen
Creative Director I Deborah Schultz
ers Sue Marx and Allison Fink Rockwell. Twenty-six teens participated. Rip Clips makes its
movie debut is at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 22, during the Lenore Marwil Film Festival at the
Berman Theatre for the Performing Arts at the Jewish Community Center, West Bloomfield.
Free. The documentaries also will air on DPTV at a later date.
TT4 teen2teen May 19 . 2011
Chief Operating Officer I F. Kevin Browett
IT Director I Deanna Spivey
Teen Consultant I Jon Layne
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