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Rappelling Rabbis

Yedwab and Shere go over the edge
to aid kids in Nepal and Detroit.

Elements Inc.

Martin Michalek | Special to the Jewish News

Rabbi Paul Yedwab at the top of the First National Building

M

ountains are a recurring
theme in the Jewish faith.
From Sinai and Ararat to
Zion and Carmel, the metaphor of
mountains represents places of serenity,
enlightenment and elevation. For Rabbi
Paul Yedwab, mountains are also places
for escapism and thrill seeking; after all,
he’s been climbing up and rappelling
from mountains since age 3.
“My mother was sort of wild, I guess,
because she had me rappelling from
mountains in New England when I was
very young,” says Yedwab of Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield.
His enthusiasm for descending sum-
mits became a lifelong passion.
Though Yedwab and his family have
scaled mountains in every Zion from
Zion National Park in Utah to the moun-
tains of Israel, May 6 was the first time
he rappelled down a skyscraper.
The idea began with longtime friend
and Temple Israel member Dr. Richard
Keidan, who founded the Detroit to
Nepal Foundation (D2N). A surgical
oncologist at Beaumont Health System,
Keidan has had a profound interest in
Nepal since 1983.
“It has been a real passion for me
to support children in both Nepal and
Detroit for many years,” said Keidan, a
Detroit native. “In 1983, I took my first
trip to Nepal and I’ve gone back many
times since.”
Following 2015’s devastating earth-
quake, which claimed more than 8,000
lives and injured more than 21,000
people, Keidan partnered D2N with Over

30 May 26 • 2016

Rabbi Rachel Shere dressed as Thor for the occasion.

the Edge Detroit to raise money for both
victims of Nepal’s cataclysmic earthquake
and for children of Detroit schools. The
event is again co-sponsored by Quicken
Loans and Bedrock Detroit.
Rules for the fundraiser were simple:
Participants raised $1,000 for the privi-
lege of rappelling more than 340 feet
down the historic First National Building
in Downtown Detroit, designed by Albert
Kahn in 1921 and now owned and man-
aged by Bedrock Detroit. This year, 150
people rappelled down the building.
Last year, Over the Edge Detroit and
D2N raised more than $240,000. This
year Keidan says they have grossed
$400,000.
Significant portions of the money
raised go toward building schools and
homes in Nepal as well as to American
Promise Schools, an organization provid-
ing college prep and scholarship pro-
grams to underserved Detroit students.
“My wife, Wendy, works closely with
students in Detroit,” Yedwab said as he
was hooked into a harness. “I’m glad
this will support the work she does and
also the work of Richard [Keidan]. He’s a
great guy. Don’t print that, though. I don’t
want it to go to his head.”
He then removed his keys, wallet and
cell phone from his pockets. (As par-
ticipants rappel, their pockets must be
empty for safety reasons.)
Rabbi Rachel Shere of Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills had no
pockets to empty. Of the 75 people par-
ticipating, she was one of few who rap-
pelled in a costume, which was encour-

aged.
“I chose to dress as Thor because one
of his superpowers is an extended life-
span,” Shere said. “The work of organiza-
tions like D2N helps people who may
otherwise have been unable to live out
the true length of their days.”
Shere did some rock climbing in col-
lege, but this was her first time rappelling.
After waving to the crowds on the
ground of the First National Building,
the rabbis donned helmets and ascended
26 stories to the top of building on
Woodward Avenue. From the top of the
skyscraper, the views were astounding:
birds flew at eye level, skyscrapers were
visible from Windsor to Southfield, and
the details of Detroit’s architecture were
prominently visible.
“It was incredibly quiet and peaceful
up there,” Shere said. “I had a great view
of the whole city.”
Rappelling down the First National
Building was unlike any other mountain-
eering experience, Yedwab added. After
all, he is accustomed to looking down
from lofty heights and seeing wild shrub-
bery, rivers and the red rocks of Utah.
It’s quite different to rappel past pre-
Depression-era Corinthian columns and
neoclassical limestone architecture.
Wendy Yedwab is not as enthusiastic
about heights, though. Still, as her hus-
band descended from the First National
Building, the crowds cheered, the cel-
ebratory music blared and Wendy imme-
diately gave him a congratulatory hug.
Yedwab had successfully conquered yet
another summit.

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LEED adviser Jim Newman,
Managing Partner, Newman
Consulting Group, LLC; Rabbi
Norman Roman; John Claycomb,
MICCO Construction, LLC; and
Paul Gross, TKA co-president

KOL AMI GETS
DESIGN HONOR

On May 1, Temple Kol Ami
in West Bloomfield received
the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED)
certification for its religious
school wing.
At the encouragement of
Senior Rabbi Norman T. Roman
and then-Assistant Rabbi Ariana
Silverman, the 2008 construc-
tion, which also renovated the
synagogue’s administrative
offices, added 2,300 square feet
to both the basement and main
level, and was constructed with
great care and consideration to
the environmental impact.
The Temple’s building com-
mittee worked closely with the
architect, contractor and LEED
consultant. They had to make
many decisions about materials
and design to ensure not only an
environmentally responsible con-
struction, but also a significantly
healthier indoor environment
than what is experienced by
students in non-LEED certified
classrooms.
Temple Kol Ami is proud to
set this example of tikkun olam
and provide a healthy classroom
experience for its religious school
students and their teachers.

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