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A New Chapter

Bnei Akiva brings extended programming to West Bloomfield.

Shelli Liebman Dorfman I Contributing Writer

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vide furnishings for the apartment.
"I saw this opportunity to help strength-
en our community," said Ethan Gilan, who
rallied the synagogue group. They came
through with beds, desks, dressers, pots
and pans, dishes and more.
"The Sunday before the bachurim
arrived, [Ohel Moed member] Eddy Barak
[of West Bloomfield] drove a huge truck
through our neighborhoods and, with an
able crew of volunteers, they picked up
item after donated item, and within a few
hours, an apartment was transformed into
a home:' Gilan said during a talk at Ohel
Moed. "Upon arriving, Amots and Atai
were quite humbled by their furnishings
and the community's generosity:'
Gilan's wife, Lisa, circulated an online
link through www.mealtrain.com for syna-
gogue families to offer to host Amots and
Atai for meals each Shabbat and holiday.
"Families quickly volunteered and our
community embraced the idea of inviting
the shlichim into their homes to get to
know them better; Lisa Gilan said.

warm welcome and the love to have us as
part of the community. I feel like a friend
with the people; I feel free to approach
them about any matter. I feel comfortable
and happy to spend meals on Shabbat with
them. The people are taking care of us
24/7 and with a smile; and there is no bet-
ter feeling than that:'

Working Together

There has been a Bnei Akiva presence in
Oak Park for five years and in Southfield
— now headed by Erica Kelman, 17, of
Southfield — for 35 years, with volunteers
in each city becoming involved with a
synagogue, school and community.
The West Bloomfield inclusion is new,
but on the agenda of both FJA and Bnei
Akiva for quite some time.
"It has always been a dream of FJA
to have shlichim to enhance the Zionist
mission of the school;' said Rabbi Eric
Grossman, head of school.
The partnership was initiated through
the collaboration of Grossman and Israeli
Shmulik Fried, Bnei Akiva's Midwest
regional director. Fried and his wife, Dina,
have spent the past two years in Metro
Detroit on behalf of the organization, with
Dina also teaching at Akiva Hebrew Day
School in Southfield.
With West Bloomfield and Ohel Moed
looking to expand their Bnei Akiva youth
involvement as well as adult education
and holiday programming, Fried said "We
made a shiduch (match) among all three:'
In addition to the professional leader-
ship, FJA senior Eli Sherizen, co-leader of
Bnei Akiva's Oak Park youth chapter along
with Hillel Klugerman, 18, of Southfield,
was involved in the collaboration.
"This would not have happened this
year without Eli's initiative and Shmulik's
vision, and with supporters and workers
behind the scenes:' Grossman said.
Wanting to connect FJA students to
Zionism, Eli asked Israelis Ohad Orbach
and Yishai Lev — the two Bnei Akiva
shlichim who volunteered in Oak Park
during the 2011-2012 school year — to
spend time at the school.
"They had one day a week off from their
other volunteering job, so I brought them
to FJA during lunch time and we served
falafel in the main hallway:' said Eli, 18,
of Huntington Woods. As students and
teachers passed by, I would introduce
them to Ohad and Yishai. People started
to slowly catch on; the Hebrew faculty

8 June 6 • 2013

Historical Background

FJA students Laurenne Kaufman, 18, of Orchard Lake and Natalie Bloom, 18, of
West Bloomfield with Amots in Poland

especially. After that, Shmulik told me FJA
was looking to bring their own bachurim
(young men) in, and the rest was history:'

Israeli Volunteerism

"Amots and Atai are among 25 young
adult shlichim now volunteering in North
America:' Fried said. "They are a group
who have finished army service and come
as volunteers for one year.
"The two young men volunteer at FJA
every day and do Shabbat and holidays
as well was educational programming
through the shul and the community"
Amots and Atai have long been involved
in Bnei Akiva.
"I started when I was 8 years old, the
first year that you are allowed to par-
ticipate as a chanich (camper):' Atai said.
"After a few years, I became a madrich
(youth leader) for fifth- and sixth-graders.
I was a `Bnei Akiver' for most of my school
years. After my military service, I got the
position to be in charge of all the Bnei
Akiva youth activities on my kibbutz.

"My grandpa, who is also Amots' grand-
father, was a shaliach in the 1960s; my
uncle, Amots' father, was and so was my
cousin and a lot of people I know," Atai
said. "I hope my children will also do it:'
Atai and Amots trained together for
their current position in West Bloomfield.
Amots said, "Since I wasn't ready to start
school after the army, I was looking for
something meaningful to do in my life. I
knew this would provide the opportunity
to contribute in a meaningful way:'

A Hospitable Community
"Wherever someone volunteers, hospitality
is arranged:' Fried said. "Bnei Akiva gives
a stipend to use for expenses, food, trans-
portation, phone, Internee'
Beyond that, the community takes over.
FJA took care of renting an apartment
for Amots and Atai, with a bulk of addi-
tional funds coming from the school.
The Ohel Moed and greater West
Bloomfield community stepped up, helping
to cover some general expenses and to pro-

Bnei Akiva, translated as "children of
Akiva," is the world's largest religious
Zionist youth organization, with more than
125,000 members, from elementary school
age through college, in 37 countries.
It was established in 1929 as the youth
wing of the religious Zionist Mizrachi
movement. The group's objectives are to
educate Jewish youth with values of Torah
vAvodah, loosely translated as religious
commitment and study, along with work-
ing for the development of Israel.
Bnei Akiva has been operating on and
off in Metro Detroit since the 1950s.
Many members of Detroit Bnei Akiva
have moved to Israel, and a former direc-
tor, Otniel Schneller, served in the Israeli
Knesset from 2006 until earlier this year.
Nationwide, Bnei Akiva youth are
involved in leadership seminars and local,
regional and national Shabbatonim as well
as a high school summer program in Israel.
There are four Bnei Akiva camps in North
America, with a contingency of young
members from Metro Detroit going to
Bnei Akiva-operated Camp Stone in Sugar
Grove, Pa., each summer.
"When I came here two years ago, the
only presence in West Bloomfield was
SNIF, which is Bnei Akiva chapter pro-
gramming:' Fried said. "They were meeting
just once a month.
New Chapter on page 10