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

