metro
Berkley School District is the Oakland County
personal excellence
is achieved through a powerful community,
a true culture of caring, and
extraordinary resour"
school district where
• The class of 2011 received admission invitations to over
130 colleges and universities across the United States
including Harvard, Yale, University of Michigan, Duke,
and more.
Letvin scrapes honey and beeswax from
This tank of honey is used to fill the
a wooden slat in the hive.
honey bear bottles.
Amazing Benefits
Letvin's typical beekeeping outfit is a
pair of long pants, socks, shoes and
a T-shirt, but he keeps a beesuit on
hand that includes gloves and a heavy
hat with a screen in front.
"Honeybees usually only sting to
defend their hive," he said. "If they
do, they sustain a mortal wound that
kills them. In the field, they fly away if
bothered."
Letvin said he's been about stung
10,000 times.
"If you have been stung by a honey-
bee, the stinger is usually left behind
and should be scraped off to prevent
more venom from going into you. It is
a time-release sting. The initial pain
won't last too long, but the area will
probably swell up and itch for a couple
of days. An allergic reaction is when
there is swelling and a rash at a site
other than the sting site, and the worst
is swelling of the throat. For both, you
should seek immediate medical atten-
tion. For most stings, I've heard that
taping a penny over the sting helps a
lot."
Letvin said some see the bee's
sting as beneficial to those with auto-
immune diseases like multiple scle-
rosis and arthritis, and he has even
taught a number of patients how to
handle the bees so they can be stung.
"It's a form of alternative heal-
ing," he said. "Bee venom seems to
stimulate the immune system and get
it functioning correctly. It is a very
difficult protocol of up to 20 stings
three times a week. There are about
100 doctors in the U.S. that purchase
injectible venom and use it instead of
stinging. It is less painful. Of course,
all my statements are as a beekeeper
and not as a health care professional,
which I am not.
"Whenever anything is bothering
me I sting it or rub honey on it, or
treat it with propolis (a resinous mix-
ture collected by honeybees)."
He added, "Honey is probably the
best wound or burn dressing. It is
hygroscopic, which means it sucks
the moisture out and thereby kills all
bacteria, and gives off a time-release
hydrogen peroxide to further clean
and disinfect."
From the beeswax, he makes lip
balm and also candles for Shabbat
and holidays.
Letvin, who works at Monroe and
Associates in Southfield, is a member
of Ohel Moed of Shomrey Emunah in
West Bloomfield, studies Talmud with
Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg at Young
Israel of Southfield and attends week-
day morning services at Dovid Ben
Nuchim in Oak Park.
Before Rosh Hashanah, he gave a
presentation on bees at Ohel Moed,
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah in Oak Park
and Akiva Hebrew Day School in
Southfield. In mid-September, he dis-
played a glass-sided hive at the Shofar
Factory at the West Bloomfield Jewish
Community Center.
Lisa Gilan of West Bloomfield, her
husband, Ethan, and their children
Eden, 11, and Jonah, 9, were able to
see the hive. "It is hard to believe that
sweet honey for Rosh Hashanah is
made from insects that I don't like
very much:' Eden said.
To those who complain about bees
coming after the honey in their suk-
kahs over the Sukkot holiday, Letvin
says, "Those aren't honeybees, which
have orange or grey and black-striped
abdomens. What is in the sukkah are
yellow jackets, which are wasps, and
are probably attracted to meat odors:'
he said. "Bees are vegetarians." P1
•
Berkley High School. ranked one of the top High Schools
in the United States by Newsweek, offers 21 Advanced
Placement courses.
•
Berkley Schools offers a robust music and fine arts
program from Kindergarten to 12th grade.
•
Norup International houses both the MYP and PYP
International Baccalaureate Programs.
www.berkleyschools.org
248.s37.s000
May the New Year
bring to all our friends
and family
health, joy, prosperity and
everything good in life.
Dharlene, Chuck, Jordan &
Zach Norris
Sara and Ben Kalish
Rosh Hashanah
2011
5772
a.
)16
September 29 • 2011
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