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carving club believing that if I could make 
things out of clay, I could make them out 
of wood,
” Kowalsky said. “I didn’t have any 
tools, but I found out what I needed from 
the members.

CARVING A LEGACY
“I started carving very simple things until 
I was thinking about my grandsons’ and 
great-grandsons’ upcoming bar mitzvahs. 
They are very learned in Hebrew studies 
and will be capable of reading the Torah, 
and I thought about trying to carve yads. 
“I tried one with assistance from mem-
bers of the club — carving, chipping away 
and sanding. From a rectangular block of 
wood, I carved the shaft of the yad and 
moved on to the hand. I worked at it and 
came out with a pointer finger and added 
fingernails. The hand has an extended 

index finger.
”
That first yad, finished five years ago, was 
given to a grandson in New York, and its 
appreciation further motivated Kowalsky to 
do four more for the boys living in Israel, 
where their celebrations will be upcoming 
over time. 
After the yads were built, Kowalsky went 
to a sofer (scribe) in Israel and told him to 
have the appropriate parshah listed on each 
one along with the appropriate birthdate 
of the designated recipient. All that was 
painted on along with Kowalsky’s initials in 
English and Hebrew inscribed on the stem.
The Kowalskys, proud of all seven grand-
children and eight great-grandchildren, 
feel they haven’t left out attention to grand-
daughters and great-granddaughters, who, 
according to the Orthodox tradition they 
observe, will not be called to the Torah.

Cherna Kowalsky — a retired English, 
French and social studies teacher who 
worked at Hillel Day School for 38 years 
— enjoys cooking traditional Jewish foods 
and has taught her granddaughters and 
great-granddaughters the hows and whys of 
the delicacies linked to observances.
“We have given the girls knowledge, 
and I think that’s pretty important,
” said 
Cherna Kowalsky, who also expressed pride 
in their daughters’
, granddaughters’ and 
great-granddaughters’ various interests in 
academics and careers of their own choos-
ing, including teaching and social work.
The couple — who belong to both Young 
Israel of Southfield and Young Israel of Oak 
Park as well as Congregation Torah Ohr in 
Boca Raton — have traveled to Israel just 
about every year since 1973. Before their 
daughters moved to Israel, Cherna’s parents 

OUR COMMUNITY

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

ABOVE: Eugene’s carvings, including yads he made for his grandson and great-grandsons (right). They took him four years to make.
BELOW: Needlepoint that Cherna did. Each one took 100 hours to do. 

