jews
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in
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faces

More than 200 children and adults of all ages enjoyed an afternoon of volunteering
at Adat Shalom in December. The enthusiastic participants produced 120 homemade
dog biscuits, 100 dog toys, 15 bags of supplies for the Michigan Animal Rescue
League and Pets for Vets, 60 bag lunches for the homeless, 18 fleece blankets, seven
new-baby baskets, 30 scarves for clients of the Hope Hospitality House and Warming
Center, 36 cards for IDF Soldiers and American military personnel, 40 activity bags for
patients at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, 35 “feel better” cards for adult patients
at Henry Ford Hospital, 50 jars of soup for clients of Crossroads Social Services in
Detroit, seven recycling boxes for school classrooms and 25 sustainability pledge
cards in partnership with Hazon. Whew! In addition, 30 bags of plastic bags were
assembled, along with five large balls of plastic yarn to be made into four sleeping
mats for the homeless in partnership with the Song and Spirit Institute for Peace. •

places

On Thursday, Jan. 19 — on the eve of the presidential inauguration — Professor Alan
Dershowitz spoke at Temple Beth El in front of 1,400 community members. His dia-
logue with Rabbi Mark Miller wove together personal stories about his upbringing in
Brooklyn and life in the public eye for the past 50 years, with strong statements about
a wide variety of issues that concern him.
Dershowitz discussed being a loyal Democrat who is disappointed with recent
U.S. actions related to the Iran deal and the U.N. abstention. He forcefully defended
Israel’s rights, while arguing that as Americans, we should all want our next president
to succeed … and be ready to fight if anyone begins to chip away at civil liberties.
The event was put on by Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, with support from
the Jewish Federation and JCRC/AJC, and sponsored by a group of Temple mem-
bers led by Ed Levy and Linda Dresner. People walked out of the sanctuary, which
Dershowitz called the most beautiful he’s ever seen, dazzled by his warmth, wit, intel-
ligence and passion. •

PHOTOS BY JOHN HARDWICK

Jen Goren with Sammy, 5, Goldie Fox, 8, Shayna Goren, 8, and Ariana Schwartz, 9, all of
Bloomfield Hills; and Chava Norber, 8, and Zoe Golan, 13, both of Farmington Hills

Clients of Crossroads
Social Services will
enjoy the tasty jars
of soup ingredients
put together by
Jolie Banooni, 16, of
Bloomfield Hills, and
Ruth Zerin, Michael
Betman, Lisa Betman,
Ariana Steffes, 11, and
Sharon Kaplan, all of
West Bloomfield.

Rabbi Mark Miller of Temple Beth El is in conversation with Professor Alan Dershowitz
before a packed audience.

Temple Beth El President Jordon Wertheimer introduces the dialogue between Rabbi
Miller and Alan Dershowitz.

Special holiday greetings to Israeli and Jewish
American soldiers around the world are coming
from Jordyn Tepman, 6, of West Bloomfield and
Savannah Somers, 5, of Farmington Hills.

A new-baby basket, assembled and all
set for delivery by Ben Wasser, 7, and
his mom, Sara, of Farmington Hills

A representative from the Song
& Spirit Institute for Peace
showed how strips from ordi-
nary plastic grocery bags can
be transformed into materials
to create sleeping mats for
the homeless. Scott Katz, 14,
and Isaac Miller, 17, both of
Farmington Hills, Jacob Hirsch,
11, of West Bloomfield, Dayna
Starr, 11, of Oak Park and Rose
Gallatin, 12, of West Bloomfield

32

January 26 • 2017

jn

Dershowitz speaks to the group attending
a pre-glow.

Federation CEO Scott Kaufman, Temple
Beth El President Jordon Wertheimer, Alan
Dershowitz and Cathy Deutchman