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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?" ❑