FEBRUARY 17 • 2022 | 23

was tragically killed in the 
Oxford High School shoot-
ing. 
The program is part of 
Hillel’s fifth grade proj-
ect-based learning unit 
on heroes. Students study 
the qualities of everyday 
heroes in their Tanach class 
through a close analysis of 
Exodus 2. In the biblical 
text, students learn about 
the heroic qualities of 
the midwives who defied 
Pharaoh’s order to kill all 
firstborn boys and kept the 
children alive. They then 
learn about the daughter of 
Pharaoh and her willingness 
to go against her father’s 
decree and save baby Moses. 
As the year progresses, 
students write formal pieces 
in their Language Arts class 
about their own heroes. The 
learning unit culminates 
in the spring when the stu-
dents’ heroes are invited 
into the school for a celebra-
tory reading of the students’ 
writing.
The panel was a huge hit, 
with many of the fifth-grade 
students feeling inspired. 
“I think you can really 
achieve anything you want 
to — it’s what you put into 
it,” said student Eli Panza. 
“Do better in the world and 
make it a better place.”
Student Reemone 
Chudnow said, “I found out 

people I could walk by every 
day, people I could walk by 
on the street are heroes.”
“The main takeaway is 
we’re really surrounded 
by heroes, and sometimes 
you just have to look close 
enough to see them,” said 
student Esther Matthies.
Clara Gaba, longtime 
Jewish Studies teacher who 
launched this learning unit 
many years ago, said, “It 
started with our Bible stud-
ies, and teaching the kids 
that heroes are not necessar-
ily born but can grow up to 
be heroes.” 
Gaba said one student 
last year told her that all 
they want to do is to grow 
up and have a lot of money. 
When Gaba asked them 
why, they said they wanted 
to be like Bill Farber and be 
able to give it back to the 
community. 
“That’s a lesson by itself,” 
Gaba said. 
Added Renee Liberman, 
Hillel language arts and 
social studies teacher, “It’s 
all about taking that time to 
look at humanity and all the 
moments we can rise to the 
occasion and really support 
each other. And that’s what 
we look to instill in our stu-
dents, that value of commu-
nity and supporting anyone 
who may need it in any way 
that you can.” 

Hillel faculty 
member Nicole 
Miller, a close 
relative of 
Tate Myre, a 
student who was 
tragically killed in 
the Oxford High 
School shooting. 

I

n celebration of Jewish 
Disability Awareness, 
Acceptance, & Inclusion 
Month, JCC’s Opening the 
Doors is holding an inspir-
ing virtual event, 
“Changing The 
Norm: Celebrating 
the Beauty of 
Different Abilities,
” 
on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. 
The event 
features Tony 
Award-nominated 
director and cho-
reographer Marcia 
Milgrom Dodge 
and award-winning 
dancer and actor 
Evan Ruggerio. 
Dodge will discuss 
creating her own 
authentic produc-
tions, celebrating 
inclusivity in all forms, includ-
ing in her recent take on Olney 
Theatre Center’s Disney’s 
Beauty and the Beast. Ruggiero, 
who portrayed “Beast” in her 
production, will highlight his 
triumphs on the stage when 
returning to dancing and per-
forming after losing his leg, 
which was amputated above 
the knee after he was diag-
nosed with osteosarcoma, a 
type of bone cancer, at age 19.
Ellen Maiseloff, senior direc-
tor of Opening the Doors, has 
known Dodge for years. When 
Maiseloff spoke with Dodge 
about her take and casting 
on Disney’s “Beauty and the 
Beast,
” she was impressed with 
the choices she made and her 
philosophy, and also how it 
mirrored so much of what 

Opening the Doors strives to 
do; by providing Jewish educa-
tion classroom experiences for 
children of all abilities. 
“When (Dodge) creates a 
play or musical, she 
really doesn’t want to 
replicate what’s already 
been done,
” Maiseloff 
said. “She likes to 
rebrand and reimagine, 
and when she does that, 
she really looks to find a 
way to be inclusive of all 
races, ethnicities, body 
shapes and abilities in 
her casting.
” 
Maiseloff says Dodge 
believes any child 
should be able to come 
to the theater, look at 
the actors and believe 
they might play any 
role, even if they have 
different abilities. 
Dodge, who grew up in 
Southfield, won a Tony Award 
nomination for Best Director 
of a Musical for her revival of 
Ragtime in 2010.
“I was thrilled and honored 
that she would share with us 
what she’s done in the world 
and how our world’s go togeth-
er in recognizing, including, 
celebrating and helping peo-
ple with different abilities to 
belong,
” Maiseloff said.
“I would like people to 
recognize there shouldn’t be 
barriers for people with dif-
fering abilities to be included, 
and that they can do anything,
” 
Maiseloff said. 

To register, visit https://jlive.app/

events/1520. The fee is $5.

JCC’s Opening the Doors welcomes 
award-winning guest speakers.

Jewish Disability 
Awareness Event

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Marcia Milgrom 
Dodge

Evan Ruggiero

