rarmin on Hilts Inn
ASSISTED uLIVING FOR SENIORS
/ 1111161111111L
'
ie:1111111111r
lcnln
h:
a:ih ere; Sandy
At Adat Shalom: Joan Stern, Bloomfield
cherrer,
Sherman and Sue Feldman, both of Farmington
Birmingham.
Never Too Late from page 14
24-Hour Personal Care Staff 3 Delicious Meals Daily
Individually Tailored Care Plans
Medication Administration Bathing Assistance
Daily Housekeeping Weekly Laundry
Full Calendar of Activities Visiting Physician
Physical Therapy Services Satellite TV Free Wi-Fi
Single Story Building Backup Generator
Quality, Affordable Assisted Living
and Memory Care
All Services and Amenities included
at one low monthly price!
I
Private Studios $2,820/month
Semi-Private $1,895/month
Call today
to schedule
a tour!
30350 W. 12 Mile Rd.,
Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334
248-851-9640
www.FarmingtonHillslnn.com
VA Benefits and Long Term Care Insurance Accepted
Locally owned and operated • Licensed by the State of Michigan
1982620
CONGRATULATIONS
GLASSMAN SUBARU
lOr
A division of
RAW M 11111
AUTOMOTIVE GROUP
Rated #1
In Best Purchase Experience
in the Midwest
2013 and 2014
Jeff Stewart
Assistant New Car
Sales Manager
248-636-2736
"C110 SUBARU.
HYUrIDRI
SUBARU OWNER
PROG RAM
Serving Our Community For Over 45 Years!
28000 Telegraph Rd • Southfield
16
May 14 • 2015
1998840
ed his bar mitzvah in 2014. Jim, raised as
a Protestant in Vicksburgh, Mich., said
he never met a Jewish person until his
sophomore year of college.
Though he regularly attended church
as an adult, he disagreed with much of its
teachings. With little exposure to Jews or
Judaism, Survival in Auschwitz by Primo
Levi had an enormous impact on him as
a high school student
"It made me so curious to find out
who were these people the Nazis wanted
to eliminate Rawlinson said. "Later on,
in my 20s, the Six-Day War broke out
and it made me very upset that so many
Arab nations wanted to attack the Jews."
He spent his professional life as a pho-
tographer and learned more about Jewish
life-cycle events after he moved to Metro
Detroit and documented Jewish wed-
dings and b'nai mitzvah.
"I noticed at these occasions, there
was a stronger pull to family and com-
munity, a greater warmth than I had ever
encountered in the non-Jewish commu-
nity:' he said.
In 2009, Rawlinson began to attend
services at Temple Israel when he
decided this would become his spiritual
"home:' As he explored the possibility of
converting, he took introductory classes
in Judaism and Hebrew.
At a certain point, I realized I wanted
to explore Judaism from the inside
instead of being an outsider:'
He enrolled in the class, where he
felt accepted by his classmates. Alone at
night, he studied Hebrew and his Torah
reading for hours every night. And come
this year's High Holiday season, he will
chant Torah on Yom Kippur morning.
"Becoming a bar mitzvah at this stage
of my life has been fabulous," he said.
"I consider Temple Israel my home and
could not ever imagine living in a com-
munity where I would have to travel a
long way to get to a temple:"
Women Role Models
Doreen Millman, 81, of West Bloomfield
was one of the first women to become a
bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in the 1980s.
Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., when
girls received a minimal Jewish education
and only boys were called to the Torah,
she credits the memory of conversations
with her grandfather as an inspiration for
picking up her Jewish studies later in life
and becoming a bat mitzvah.
"He was born in a shtetl, yet he was
a very forward-thinking person who
believed girls as well as boys should have
a Jewish education:' Millman said. "I
thought I was crazy for doing it — I was
up to my elbows raising my children —
but I had a lot of encouragement to take
on this challenge:'
Milman said she enjoyed studying
Jewish history and learning how to read
Torah. Since her bat mitzvah, she has
read Torah at Temple Israel on other
occasions, including on Yom Kippur.
"I feel much more comfortable in
services now:' said Millman, who attends
a weekly Torah study group at Temple
Israel. "When I go to services on a
Shabbat morning, I can comfortably fol-
low along with the Torah reading:'
Other women also expressed pride in
ownership of their Jewish learning and
becoming a bat mitzvah to serve as a role
model, and a study resource, for their
own daughters.
Shari Stein of West Bloomfield grew
up at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield, also at a time when girls
were not called to the Torah. It was only
well into adulthood, and a few years shy
of her own daughters beginning their
bat mitzvah studies, that she decided to
become a bat mitzvah in 2006 at age 41.
She said she did it not only to deepen her
connection to her own spirituality, but
also to serve as a feminist role model of
"breaking barriers" for her children.
"[A bat mitzvah] can be much more
meaningful as an adult," said Stein, who
admits her years of Jewish education at
Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills
equipped her with the skills to quickly
learn and chant from the Torah and
glean insights into the sacred texts.
Stein said that 10 years later, the sig-
nificance of being publicly welcomed
into the Jewish community has much
meaning and carries through in her spiri-
tual and professional life. A partner at a
Birmingham design firm, she has given
her talents to many charitable projects,
including Yad Ezra.
"Judaism is a constant process of
learning and growth, a practice of tikkun
olam and of asking yourself what, as a
Jew, can I do for my community?"
❑