MARCH 24 • 2022 | 15 never seen places like Masada or Independence Hall will be able to do those things, ” Bill Goldstein said. Both Goldsteins have been on Grosfeld Missions, one of the several Federation mis- sion programs designed to strengthen the Detroit Jewish community and develop connections between young Detroiters and Israel. One of Diane Goldstein’s most mem- orable trips to Israel was on a Grosfeld Mission. “We started in Poland and flew into Israel. Poland was right out of a movie, gray and rainy, and we landed in Israel to beautiful sunshine and the birds fluttering, ” she said. “I just remember being moved to a point of tears when we landed in Israel of just how much we as a people have persevered, how much we’ve supported each other and how strong our communities have been historically. “I remember landing and calling Bill and saying we’re canceling our winter break plans, and we’re coming back to Israel because there’s just no other place to be, ” she contin- ued. “ All the time and money you spend there comes back twentyfold. ” That experience led the Goldsteins to bring their chil- dren to Israel on a family mis- sion, meeting and connecting with an Israeli family in the Partnership2Gether region. “We got to know this family fairly well just in an evening of dinner at their home, realizing we were way more similar than we were different, even though we live in such differ- ent places and opposite sides of the world, ” Bill Goldstein said. “ And that’s the plan for this mission as well, ” Diane Goldstein added. “There will be an evening spent in a home with an Israeli family, which I think most people who come back from our Detroit trips rank pretty highly. ” NEW THINGS TO SEE New things to see and experi- ences to be had in Israel that weren’t necessarily there 10-to- 15 years ago — such as the many startups and advance- ments in the tech and medical fields — could be among the many stops on the trip. “But even if that’s not in their wheelhouse, I’ve done a fabulous graffiti tour there. There’s a bunch of stuff hap- pening with fashion and food and wine and culture surrounding that, ” Diane Goldstein said. The Goldsteins said hun- dreds of couples and singles showed interest in Motor City Mission months before regis- tration went public, consisting of a wide range of people from all different backgrounds. Every time the Goldsteins have been to Israel, they’ve felt better about the country and about being a Jewish person. Both said they believe that will be a similar experience for Motor City Mission par- ticipants — no matter how many times they’ve been to the country. “It’ll wrap up everything, ” Diane Goldstein said. “It’ll hit your intellectual curiosity. It’ll hit your heartstrings. It’ll hit your emotional ties, both to the country and the people there. We’ve traveled exten- sively, and it’s hard to come up with another trip that hits and checks off so many boxes. ” Federation President Matt Lester’s Jewish journey began with a Federation young adult mission to Israel in 1999. Lester hopes Motor City Mission can have a similar impact on others. “We know, as American Jews, that Israel is a second continued on page 16 While in his last year of college, Jon Berman was looking with concern at the balance in his college fund. “I was fortunate to grow up in a family that helped me establish that college fund, because at home, we tended to frown on debt,” Jon said. “As a result, I’m pretty squeamish about that kind of financial obligation. However, I needed to finish undergrad, and I was short. So when a friend mentioned Hebrew Free Loan as a source for interest-free money for college, and then my grandmother also mentioned HFL, I looked into it.” Jon went to the HFL website and learned about the agency’s William Davidson Jewish College Loan Program. “I applied, but I didn’t expect to be helped,” Jon said. “I wasn’t sure if there was a level of ‘Jewish enough’ that I would have to meet in order to get money from a Jewish agency. Also, I was at the end of my under- grad experience, not the beginning, and I didn’t know if that mattered. None of that factored in at all, but still I felt it necessary to package myself to them as a good investment: a person with a good internship, and great post-graduation prospects. HFL just looked at me as a person who had a need, and they worked with me.” Jon, who majored in physics and math, graduated and went on to become a data scientist, a job that allows him to work with the numbers he enjoys. He also repaid his HFL loan as quickly as he could. “HFL helped me, and I was grateful for it,” Jon said. “I also learned that it’s the borrower loan payments that return to HFL and combine into fresh loan capital and then allow new loans to be made. It really opened my eyes that my loan payments could help the next person. It’s a group effort – community for the community.” STORY My STORY My C l i c k . C a l l . G i v e . A p p l y . www.hfldetroit.org • 248.723.8184 Hebrew Free Loan Detroit 6735 TELEGRAPH ROAD, SUITE 300 • BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICHIGAN 48301 @HFLDetroit Community donations help Hebrew Free Loan give interest-free loans to local Jews for a variety of personal, health, educational and small business needs.