36 | OCTOBER 6 • 2022
T
he Chabad Jewish Center of
Troy is holding an event for
Sukkot this year that will see
teens expressing themselves with
graffiti in a sukkah.
The event is the kickoff of the
Chabad Jewish Teen Club, which
formed after the Chabad Jewish Center
of Troy received a grant from the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit’s Stephen H. Schulman
Millennium Fund for Jewish Youth to
create a Jewish teen community east of
Woodward.
“What we have planned for this
year is every couple weeks or so there
will be another fun activity, program,
event or trip for Jewish teens,” said
Rabbi Menachem Caytak, director
of Chabad Jewish Center of Troy.
“And it’s not about Jewish learning,
it’s about building a Jewish teen
community. Getting together as a
Jewish community, meeting other Jews
and doing fun things as Jewish teens
together.”
Two teens, Anthony Elizarov and
Ella Dotan, are in charge of the club
and are arranging events
throughout the year,
including this one.
“We’re basically giving peo-
ple the chance to graffiti in
a place where it’s permitted,
in a place where people can
express their artistic talents.
We have an older sukkah,
and we want to bring some
color and life to it,” Caytak
said.
CELEBRATING SUKKOT
Different foods and games will be avail-
able at the event. There will also be an
artist there guiding people, though it’s up
to individuals to express themselves how-
ever they want with the graffiti.
“Sukkot is a time of peace,” Caytak
said. “On Sukkot, we bring four
species together, the lulav, etrog,
hadas and the aravah, which we
all say together every day on
Sukkot. So, I would encourage
people to express themselves
either in a theme related to
Sukkot or a theme related to
peace in general.”
The event takes place on
Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. The event is
off-site from the center, taking
place at 6835 Limerick Lane in
Troy. Individuals can RSVP by emailing
office@jewishtroy.com.
Chabad of Troy is connected with
just around 30 teens and is looking to
grow.
“The reason we’re trying so hard
to bring the Jewish teen community
together is because Jewish teens think
they’re alone and, therefore, very often
feel kind of embarrassed to express
themselves as a proud Jew,” Caytak
said.
“Because they’re the only one in
their public school, they’re the only
one in their class and they’re a little
bit on the sidelines, embarrassed to
express their Judaism out in public,” he
added.
“What we hope to accomplish by
building this Jewish teen community
is to bring together like-minded teens
who are in the same situation and
show them we’re all in this together
and to go out there and express our
Judaism proudly.”
Chabad of Troy held a program with the teens last year during Chanukah time in Campus
Martius.
Chabad of Troy holds kickoff event for the Chabad Jewish Teen Club.
Graffiti in the Sukkah
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
Rabbi Menachem
Caytak
SUKKOT