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THE
MAPLE
Syrian Muslim refugee
Moustafa Assad tells his
4135 West Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills
story through an interpreter.
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Refugees And
The Jewish Tradition
Putting a human face on the
Syrian refugee crisis.
M
ore than 135 people — an
intergenerational crowd —
gathered at the Holocaust
Memorial Center Zekelman Family
Campus in Farmington Hills on Dec 8.
The evening's timely topic: What does the
Jewish tradition say about refugees?
Billed as a "community learning
experience the program was organized
and hosted by The Well, Metro Detroit's
6-month-old pluralistic Jewish commu-
nity-building, education and spirituality
outreach initiative.
Rabbi Dan Horwitz, founding director
of The Well, said his goals for the evening
were twofold. "First, to put a human face
on the Syrian refugee crisis. Regardless
of how people affiliate politically or their
proposals for how to deal with the crisis,
it was important to me to provide an
opportunity for folks to remember that
the facts and figures we see on the news
and in political rhetoric are actual human
beings.
"Second, I really wanted to create a
pluralistic and contemporary space for
engaging in one of the most ancient
forms of Jewish learning: text study in
small groups or with a partner."
The evening began with Farmington
Hills resident Shadi Martini, a Syrian
Muslim refugee now working for the
Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees,
sharing his personal story. An eloquent
speaker, the room was silent as Martini
detailed his journey out of Syria and his
continuing efforts to help those still strug-
gling to escape the regional violence.
Attendees then broke into small groups
for text study. Each participant received
a packet of texts, ranging from Jewish-
authored poetry, to Biblical and classical
rabbinic selections and commentaries,
to contemporary Syrian rap lyrics, along
with suggested discussion questions.
Participants were invited to read, deci-
pher and discuss these texts within their
groups. A select cadre of young adults
with extensive text-study experience
worked the room as volunteer facilitators.
After text study, Moustafa Assad, a
Syrian Muslim refugee who settled in
Metro Detroit with his family just six
months ago, told his story. Assad shared
how he, his wife and five children had
escaped the war in Syria to a border town
in Turkey, made their way to Istanbul
to find work, and from there began the
lengthy paperwork and interview process
to come to the United States as refugees.
Horwitz then shared the answer to the
overarching question of the evening. As
Jews, when put in the position to help
save the lives of others, we must act:' he
said.
The Well is geared to the needs of
young adults and those who haven't con-
nected with traditional institutions. Its
philosophy is that Jewish ethics, values,
spirituality and community can be direct-
ly applicable to people's lives and should
drive them to positively impact the world.
The evening closed with attendees
meditating on what spurs them to act in
their lives, singing the blessings and
lighting Chanukah candles together.
They were sent forth with a closing
charge to illuminate the world. *
details
Event partners: AJC ACCESS-Detroit,
NEXTGen Detroit, JCRC, Repair the
World, Detroit City Moishe House and
Royal Oak Moishe House.
Host Committee members: Audrey
Bloomberg, Alicia Chandler, Sammy
Dubin, Rachel Klein, Miki Levran and
Celia Shechter.
Text-Study facilitators: Vadim
Avshalumov, Joshua Goldberg, Jessica
Katz, Ariella Morrison, Ruby Robinson,
Rachel Rudman, Jordan Weiss and
Samantha Woll.
;YE
Attendees broke into small groups to
For showtimes & tickets: themapletheater.com
28 December 17 • 2015
study texts.
Rabbi Dan Horwitz addresses the crowd.