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One Camper At A Time
Local mom builds her Israeli family through Federation's Israeli Camper Program.
Vivian Henoch
and there would be others, as the folks at
Federation had arranged for my campers
to meet me. And, at the end of the day, one
of my camper's parents hosted a dinner for
everyone. It was the best Shabbat ever!"
Special to the Jewish News
G
oing into it, I never expected
to get what I got out of it" says
Molly Chernow as she talks
about her Israeli family.
It's been a dozen years since Molly made
her home in Detroit, moving from Boca
Raton, Fla., to Bloomfield Hills with her
husband, Aaron, a Detroiter returning
to help run his family's business. Now
a mother of three, Molly beams when
she speaks of Sophie, 13, Annie, 11, and
Ethan, 9. But she's quick to add a roster of
other teens from scattered Israeli towns in
the Galilee.
They are teens who have grown from
Tamarack campers to counselors, and oth-
ers who have gone on to become soldiers
and blossoming young community leaders.
All have shared experiences and lasting
memories of summers in Michigan, week-
ends in Molly's home and reunions with
her in Israel.
If Federation's Israeli Camper Program
were to have a "poster" family, the
Chernows would be candidates for the
featured spot. "Israel is a place Aaron and
I love so much, it feels like home to us,"
she says.
Molly's desire to start an Israeli family
started 10 years ago when a friend asked
her to host a teen on tour with the Israeli
Scouts. The Scouts come as traveling
ambassadors every year, stay for a week-
end, then tour area synagogues and camps
with a music and dance show to bring
Israel to life for audiences.
Reflecting on her first instinct to
"mother" these young Israeli visitors in
her home, Molly recalls the Wow Moment:
"I thought that if I could provide Israeli
teens a home-away-from-home for a
weekend, then my own kids would learn
from peers about Israeli culture, language
and Judaism, so that slowly over time we
would start to develop our own family
connections in Israel."
One of Molly's first Scouts was Nina,
who's matured into this "beautiful
woman" as Molly describes her. The first
letter she received from Nina sealed the
deal on her involvement.
"This was before Facebook and Twitter,
and here I was wondering about Nina
when she sent me a letter and pictures,
and she remembered every little detail
of my house and the things she did with
my kids. From that moment on, I knew
Bat Mitzvah In Israel
Israeli camper arrival day 2013: Annie Chernow and mom Molly flank Hila Cheil at
the West Bloomfield JCC.
I wanted to continue to do this. So I got
involved with Federation and the Israeli
Camper Program"
Thanks to Facebook friendships, the
Chernows keeps close tabs on family in
Israel.
"I know our kids love the exchange
says Molly.
"It's fun to see what our friends in Israel
are doing" says daughter Sophie. "I like
hearing about all the stuff they like to do
— what movies they've seen, what music
they like, what TV shows they watch,
what phone apps they use, and how they
celebrate the holidays:'
Making Connections
Now in its 12th season, the program
is a unique partnership of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
Tamarack Camps and the Detroit
Partnership2GETHER region of the
Central Galilee in Israel, with the purpose
of building Jewish identity and creat-
ing person-to-person connections that fos-
ter lasting friendships in the Detroit-Israel
community.
To date, more than 1,200 youngsters in
grades 7-8 and teen counselors have come
from Israel to Michigan to enjoy what
many have described as a life-changing
experience.
Sharing memories of "one of the coolest
things" two of her campers did one year,
Molly describes how her family woke up
Giving back is a big part of the Chernow
family's activities, along with a strong
incentive to stay in touch with their
Israeli camper family. In August, Molly
and Aaron have plans to return to Israel
with their children and parents, Rena and
Gerald Chernow of Birmingham. Though
Sophie celebrated her bat mitzvah at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield
last October, the Chernows decided the
time was right to share their love of Israel
firsthand with their children.
"How could we not go?" Molly says.
Enumerating the many activities planned for
the family, Molly has organized an evening
in the Galilee town of Shimshit, for some 40
former Tamarack campers, parents, sisters
and brothers, all in her growing family.
"I believe we all need each other to be
Jewish:' says Molly. "In Israel, they are Jews
by virtue of living in our Jewish homeland;
and here, many Israelis whom I've met are
surprised to find that we're Jewish because
we keep our traditions. And together — we
have built a life and a vibrant Jewish com-
munity that we share"
one morning to find that their Israeli visi-
tors had labeled her entire household with
Hebrew words translated into English.
"When we opened the fridge, the milk
was labeled" Molly says. "In the bathroom,
over the soap dish, there was a little index
card in Hebrew. And it was like this all over
the house. So much thought went into what
those girls did for us ... we'll never forget"
Vivian Henoch is editor and writer of
Over time, just as Molly had hoped and
dreamed, her Israeli family has grown.
myJewishDetroit.org, where this story first ran.
Her ties to the Jewish com-
munity here are strength-
ened as well. As a co-chair
of Federation's Grosfeld
Leadership Mission to
Poland and Israel last year,
Molly spent a day in the
Galilee she describes as "one
of the top 10 days of her life:'
"We got to Federation's
Partnership2GETHER
region to show off the
many ways we support the
region through Federation
funding. At lunch, two of
my girls suddenly walked
in with their moms, and
there we were, just as I had
imagined, hugging and
kissing like family. Then,
throughout the afternoon,
almost every hour on the
In 2011, Aaron Chernow and children Sophie and
hour, no matter where we
Ethan pick up Israeli campers Zeev and Omer (in tur-
were, we'd get off the bus,
quoise), who are from Shimshit in the Jezreel Valley.
❑
August 29 • 2013
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