metro
Update On Israel
From Consul General
Jewish Community Relations Council
(JCRC) officer Nancy Welber Barr
greets Israeli Consul General Orli Gil
at Temple Beth El on Sept. 6. More
than 150 were in attendance for Gil's
talk, which covered Israel's accom-
plishments on many fronts, plus its
challenges making peace, facing ter-
rorism, social inequities and conflicts
within society.
The event was co-sponsored by
the JCRC and Temple Beth El's Israel
Chaff Committee.
MSU Hillel Joining
In "Talk Israel" Event
On Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Michigan State University Hillel will erect
a large and open tent next to the MSU
Auditorium as part of "Talk Israel: Join the
Conversation:' an international initiative
that fosters dialogue about the changing
landscape of the Middle East.
The tent will provide a venue in which
students of all backgrounds and beliefs will
converse in an atmosphere governed by the
rules of civil dialogue and the university's
code of conduct. Trained facilitators will be
available to moderate the conversations.
"We want to give the campus community
the opportunity to talk civilly and freely
about the Middle East:' explains Hillel
executive director Cindy Hughey. "Many are
eager to discuss the implications of revolu-
tions from Algeria to Syria, social justice
demonstrations in Israel and the challenges
presented by a possible vote on the status of
Palestine in the United Nations."
In addition to MSU, tents will be raised
on 20 campuses as part of the Talk Israel
program which is funded, in part, by the
Jim Joseph Foundation and coordinated by
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus
Life. All campuses will be linked over the
Internet and individuals can join the dis-
cussion through a Facebook page.
MSU Hillel is the only Hillel in Michigan
participating in the project.
For information, contact Audrey
Bloomberg at audrey@msuhillel.org , Felix
Shoihat at israelfellow@msuhillel.org or call
(517) 332-1916.
Torah From Terror
Recaps 9-11 Sermons
In 2001, Rabbi Neil Gillman and Rabbi
Jason Miller collected more than 100 of the
sermons delivered in the days immediately
following the 9-11 attacks given by rabbis of
different denominations and published them
on a website. These sermons were compiled
into the "Torah From Terror" project.
In commemoration of the 10th
anniversary of 9-11, this collection of
sermons is now available in an easily
searchable website:
torahfromterror.blogspot.com. Rabbi Paul
Yedwab of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield
is included.
"In the wake of the horrors visited upon
us on 9-11, people had many questions for
God:' Gillman said. "`Where was God on
Sept. 11, 2001?"What kind of God lets this
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happen?' They looked to their rabbis to help
them explore these questions of faith."
"Most rabbis had already written their
Rosh Hashanah sermons by 9-11',' Miller
said. "They quickly put those aside and
began the process of creating new sermons
that would address what no one could
articulate. So many rabbis rose to the occa-
sion, presenting words of comfort and
consolation, words culled from the pages of
our Torah."
Miller is rabbi of Congregation T'chiyah
in Oak Park, president of Access Computer
Technology in West Bloomfield and
founder and director of Kosher Michigan,
a kosher certification agency. Gillman is a
Jewish philosophy professor at the Jewish
Theological Seminary in New York City and
author of several books.
Live Detroit Fund
Meets Fundraising Goal
Two thousand Detroit expats and 900
donors across the country took part in the
"Do It For Detroit" campaign last month
through fundraising, social media cam-
paigns, charity sports tournaments and
other contributing events.
This dynamic group reached its goal to
raise $100,000 for the Live Detroit Fund
(LDF), which will provide rent subsidies
for up to 25 "Next Generation" change
agents to move to the city of Detroit. The
subsidies will be in the form of $250 a
month per person for up to one year,
$3,000 annually. Recipients of the LDF will
be required to host one community event
a month that will strengthen the Jewish
and larger Detroit community.
CommunityNEXT (CNXT), an arm of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
focused on attracting and retaining young
talent in the region, organized the Do it for
Detroit campaign and will manage the fund
and the application process, which opens
on Oct. 1. CNXT will also host the LDF
Launch Party on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Cliff
Bell's downtown. Visit LiveDetroitFund.org
to learn more.
E. Lansing Shul Brings
Free Books to Children
The PJ Library ("PJ" is short for "pajamas")
started as a way to get Jewish children's
books into the hands of young readers each
night for story time and as a meaningful
point of connection for families over Jewish
tradition and faith.
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East
Lansing is partnering with the PJ Library
to bring this free program to surrounding
communities. "I am so excited that our con-
gregation is bringing this wonderful pro-
gram to our area',' said Rabbi Amy Bigman.
Jewish children from ages 6 months
to 8 years old are eligible to participate,
regardless of synagogue affiliation. Age-
appropriate books are mailed directly to
children's homes each month.
For information about the PJ Library,
visit www.pjlibrary.org or contact Shaarey
Zedek in East Lansing at (517) 351-3570 or
executive@shaareyzedek.com .
JCC Gallery To Host
National Conference
The Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit's Janice Charach
Gallery will host the next national confer-
ence of the Council of American Jewish
Museums (CAJM) in February.
CAJM members from throughout the
United States will attend the event, set for
Feb. 26-28. The theme of the conference is
"Place and Purpose: Jewish Museums and
Community Renewal" and will feature vis-
its to Detroit museums, including CAJM
members the Janice Charach Gallery, the
Holocaust Memorial Center and Shalom
Street, as well as the Temple Israel Judaic
and Archival Museum, along with numer-
ous Detroit historical landmarks.
The event will be hosted by Janice
Charach Gallery Director Terri Steam and
Holocaust Memorial Center Executive
Director Stephen Goldman.
According to CAJM spokesmen, author
Elie Wiesel describes Detroit's Jewish com-
munity as leading the way in outreach and
support, and "we look forward to learning
a lot from our friends in the Midwest."
For information, contact Gallery
Director Terri Steam, (248) 432-5448.
Guilt-Free Inspiration
For The High Holy Days
For the seventh consecutive year, Craig
Taubman and Craig 'N Co. will publish
Jewels of Elul Vol. VII, a collection of sto-
ries and anecdotes for the Jewish High
Holy Days.
With jewels from Groupon's founder
Brad Keywell, artists Eminem, Idan
Raichel and Mary J. Blige as well as
insights from rabbis, a reverend and an
imam (no joke), readers will find unique
perspectives on the Art of Seeking Light.
This year's Jewels of Elul will benefit the
work of Beit T'Shuvah, a residential drug
treatment facility in Los Angeles.
New to the project this year is an
Amazon sampler CD. The release con-
tains 15 songs for the High Holy Days
from such artists as David Broza, Michele
Citrin, Basya Schechter, Alberto Mizrahi
and Mare Winningham.
For more information or to sign up to
receive this year's Jewels of Elul VII online,
visit www.jewelsofelul.com .
'G-d Project' Launched
For Spirituality On Web
PunkTorah.org, a Jewish nonprofit that
develops Web-based tools to enhance
Jewish life and promote independent
Jewish spirituality, is launching the G-d
Project (theg-dproject.org ), a social media
platform dedicated to Jewish questions
about God and spirituality. The website
serves as a free, online, evolving documen-
tary and tool for Jewish learning.
The heart of the project is a series of
mini-documentaries interviewing Jews
across North America and Europe with
different backgrounds, affiliations and life-
styles to discover how people live and believe
Jewishly in the post-modern world.