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theJEWISHNEWS.com

» Going After Iran Michigan fmally enacts a law
providing for sanctions against Iran. See page 11.

» Cyber Sitter Website alerts parents when children
encounter social media dangers. See page 20.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

» Calling All Chocoholics Rabbi unravels the
history of chocolate. See page 33.

metro

Loving
To Learn

Fourteen women complete 31/2-year
study of all 613 mitzvot.

Lynne Meredith Golodner

Special to the Jewish News

stelle Gelberman has been religious all her life.
She learned all the mitzvot she was obligated to
observe and, throughout the years, she's updated
her knowledge whenever it was relevant. But she never
had the opportunity to learn every single one of the 613
mitzvot — until now.
On New Year's Day, Gelberman, a Southfield resident
and Young Israel of Oak Park member, celebrated the com-
pletion of 31/2 years of learning a single Jewish text, Sefer
HaChinuch or the Book of Education, with a dozen women
in a siyum (completion celebration) at the Oak Park Jewish
Community Center. The class has been a longtime project
of Marilyn Finkelman of Southfield, who has taught the
class four times — twice here, once in Berkeley, Calif., and
once in Boston.
"Years ago, I heard someone speak on getting high on
mitzvahs, and when I finished the last sentence, I could've
jumped," says Gelberman. "If I was a little younger, I prob-
ably would've started dancing around the kitchen."
Although the study began with two classes involving
some 35 women, the siyum celebrated the completion of
the entire text by 14 women: Adina Barth, Sandi Begel,
Judy Blustein, Tamy Chelst, Aviva Cohen, Blanche Engel,
Gelberman, Shiffy Jubas, Marsha Scheer, Mintzi Schramm,
Batya Schreiber, Myra Selesny, Dini Sperka and Miriam
Stocker. The class met weekly in Finkelman's home, with
required homework and reading assignments preceding
each lesson.

Union workers decry state's new right-to-work law.

Harry Kirsbaum I Contributing Writer

W

hen Republican lawmakers turned the state of Michigan into a right-
to-work state on Dec. 11 during a lame duck session in the legisla-
ture, Gov. Rick Snyder said the bill "will contribute to our state's eco-
nomic comeback while preserving the roles of unions and collective bargaining:'
On the FOX News Channel later that day, Snyder said the law was good for
Michigan's workers, and will "bring more and better jobs to Michigan:'
"Indiana's had a strong experience; they did similar legislation back in
February:' he said. "They've seen thousands of jobs come to Indiana, and those
jobs could also come to Michigan:'
After the vote, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said, "For millions of Michigan
voters, this is no ordinary debate. It's an assault on their right to have their elect-
ed bargaining agent negotiate their pay, benefits and working conditions, and to

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Covering and
Connecting
Jewish Detroit
Eve y Week

Laborers
International
Union of North
America (LIUNA)
members marched
to the Capitol in
Lansing on Dec. 11
to protest then-
pending right-to-
work legislation.

