6 | MARCH 9 • 2023 1942 - 2023 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel. VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity. DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com Publisher The Detroit Jewish News Foundation | Board of Directors: Chair: Gary Torgow Vice President: David Kramer Secretary: Robin Axelrod Treasurer: Max Berlin Board members: Larry Jackier, Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer Executive Director: Marni Raitt Senior Advisor to the Board: Mark Davidoff Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: Mike Smith Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: Arthur Horwitz Founding Publisher Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory Editorial Director of Editorial: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com Contributing Editors: David Sachs, Keri Guten Cohen Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz dschwartz@thejewishnews.com Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@thejewishnews.com Digital Manager: Elizabeth King eking@thejewishnews.com Contributing Writers: Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky Advertising Sales Director of Advertising: Keith Farber kfarber@thejewishnews.com Senior Account Executive: Kathy Harvey-Mitton kmitton@thejewishnews.com | Business Office Director of Operations: Amy Gill agill@thejewishnews.com Operations Manager: Andrea Gusho agusho@thejewishnews.com Operations Assistant: Ashlee Szabo Circulation: Danielle Smith Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner | Production By Farago & Associates Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Kaitlyn Iezzi, Kelly Kosek, Deborah Schultz, Michelle Sheridan PURELY COMMENTARY L ast summer, I participated in a CTeen (Chabad Teen) Israel program. The trip was created to bring Jewish teens together from all around the country to travel to Israel. It last- ed a whole month, and, oh, was it fun! I met so many new friends from across the USA and we made a lot of memories. Ironically, this trip might not have been something I was initially excit- ed about, and yet it became the greatest vacation I ever had. It was on this trip that I heard an interesting story from one of my counselors, PK. (Whether it was true or not I cannot say, since the story is not mine, but it did have a very meaningful message.) The story is about PK’s rela- tive, — Uncle? Grandfather? I don’t remember — who lived in Russia long ago. When he was about 18 years old, he was draft- ed to fight in the war. One time, he was sent to the front lines, ordered to operate a machine gun and tasked with firing on enemy lines. Some time passed, and then he heard a gruff, strong voice behind him saying, “Hey, you!” The poor and afraid Jewish boy turned around to see a tall and young fellow Russian sol- dier. This man must have been referring to him since their eyes connected like magnets. The words: “You stupid Jew, that’s not how you use a machine gun. Get off there and let me show you how it’s done!” came out of the soldier’s mouth. Hearing these words of hate, PK’s relative could have held on to a feeling of pride and rejected the Russian soldier’s proposal. How could someone dare to scoff at his methods, allegedly because of his heritage? It was insulting, to say the least. The temptation was itching at his tongue and hands to do some- thing about it. However, he decided that there was no good outcome from escalating the sit- uation and allowed the soldier to take his place. What followed seemed like it came from a movie. PK’s rela- tive walked some distance from the soldier and the gun, when he heard an object fall onto the ground and then some kind of rolling sound. Every soldier knew not only what this sound came from, but also that an ear-piercing explosion followed it. Somehow, PK’s relative was able to turn around and witness the aftermath of the explosion without sustaining a single cut. There, he saw the soldier who took his place at the machine gun, now heavily injured and yelling out in terrible pain. Call it Divine providence, karma or crude timing, but many people would agree that this sudden ending would have no chance of happening at all, right? But it did. It must have happened. The fact that this story could have no chance of being believed means that nobody would have imagined it in the first place, let alone told it to a live audience. And yet I heard it. Judaism believes that there is a Divine justice that exists in the world, one that is not affected by differences in time. Knowing that every action has a consequence, it can be fur- ther deduced that behind every consequence and action, there is a reason behind what caused it and why it happened, and it has a lot to do with the morality of the action. However, like this story, some consequences come around coincidentally. Eliyah Fradkin student’s corner My Opinion on Divine Providence