NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 11

The above two encounters 
illustrate the way in which 
Jews can bond.
Another bonding custom 
among the Orthodox is the 
shivah, the seven-day mourn-
ing period after a funeral. 
Prayer services are conducted 
in the home of the bereaved 
family (except on Shabbat, 
when even the mourners 
attend them at synagogue). 
Meals are regularly provided 
to the mourners all week as 
well. 
The shivah, when the 
bereaved stay at home for a 
full week and receive guests 
with whom they reminisce 
about their lost loved one, 
has been lauded by many as 
the best way to work through 
grief.
Happy occasions, too, are 
enriching. When a baby is 
born, for example, many 
Orthodox communities pro-
vide one or even two weeks 
of dinners to the parents. As 
a father of six, I can attest 
that these meals were a huge 
help. Such gestures are a boon 
to all involved, not just the 
grateful recipients.
Still, many Orthodox out-
reach programs stress teach-
ing and learning, without 
encouraging participants to 
embrace greater Jewish obser-
vance. When I asked teachers 
of the unaffiliated why they 
didn’t request of male stu-
dents that they wear kippot 
while studying, one answered 
that he doesn’t know how to 
push mitzvot the way I do. 
Somehow, though, he knew 
how to push for payment 
from his adult attendees.
Little gestures, such as 
that which I suggested to the 
teacher and those I extended 
to friends, can be magnified. 
The internet provides access 
to assimilated Jews who could 

just as easily get excited about 
their Judaism.
Birthright and other groups 
that bring young Jews to see 
the miracle of Israel can have 
a big impact, but follow-ups 
are needed to ensure that the 
effects are long-lasting. One 
such idea is that, upon their 
return, Birthright partici-
pants be invited by Orthodox 
families to Shabbat meals 
to observe the beauty of 
Judaism.
The Pew study found 
that only 26 percent of 
American Jews believe in 
God, compared to more than 
half of all Americans. The 
complexities of the world and 
the amazing realization of 
the prophecies of the Jewish 
people’s return to Israel — 
a military, economic and 
technological power, with a 
tenfold population increase in 
73 years — should be among 
the concepts employed to 
change the figures among 
Diaspora Jews.
I am among those fortunate 
Jews able to lead a religious 
Jewish life. Sadly, only a small 
minority of Jews have had 
such a benefit, and so many 
more would want to enjoy 
it if they could just taste the 
experience.
We need to be like 
Abraham and Sarah and 
bring our fellow Jews into our 
homes and let them know of 
the beauty of the religion into 
which they were born — and, 
in too many cases, have never 
ever learned about. Time is 
running out, and we need to 
act now. 

Farley Weiss, former president of the 

National Council of Young Israel, is an 

intellectual property attorney for the 

law firm of Weiss & Moy. The views 

expressed are the author’s and not 

necessarily representative of NCYI.

Welcome Home,
Danny Fenster!

The Detroit Jewish News joins 
the community in joyful relief 
that Huntington Woods native 
Danny Fenster is coming back 
to Metro Detroit after having 
spent
176 days

in a gruesome prison in 
Myanmar (Burma).

Follow the news at 
https://bringdannyhome.com

and 
BringDannyHome.fenster-verse.tumblr.com 
facebook.com/groups/1164768597279223

Journalist Danny Fenster was released from prison Monday 
morning. See story on page 23.

