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 Jewish Renaissance Media — 29200 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 110 Southfield, MI 48034 !jjpewish Ns4 0 / Federation of Metropolitan Detroit ALUANCE FOR JEWISH EDUCATION Supported by a generous grant from the Stephen H. Schulman Millennium Fund. A Jewish Renaissance Media publication © 2011 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS