44 | MARCH 16 • 2023 

Shaun Maxwell Linden, son 
of Dr. Carey Linden and 
Geoffrey Linden, will lead the 
congregation in prayer as he 
becomes a bar mitzvah at 
Temple Israel in West 
Bloomfield on Saturday, March 18, 
2023. He will be joined in celebration 
by his brother Cody and sister Jessa. 
Shaun is the loving grandchild of Terri 
and Marc Chicorel, and Karen and 
Sandy Linden. He is the adoring great-
grandchild of Anne Kessler. 
Shaun is a student at Hillel Day 
School of Metropolitan Detroit in 
Farmington Hills. His most meaningful 
mitzvah project was teaching a baseball 
clinic and helping younger students 
improve their skills.

Jonah Eli Peleg was called 
to the Torah as a bar mitzvah 
at Temple Shir Shalom in 
West Bloomfield on Saturday 
March 11, 2023. He was 
joined in celebration by his 
sisters Ilona and Stella. Jonah is the 
loving son of Ady and Elizabeth Peleg, 
and grandchild of Gerry and Judy 
Herskovitz, and Sam and Danielle 
Peleg. 
Jonah is a student at West Hills 
Middle School in West Bloomfield. His 
mitzvah project was to raise money for 
animals in need.

MAZEL TOV!

HOW TO SUBMIT 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mazel Tov! announcements are 
welcomed for members of the 
Jewish community. Anniversaries, 
engagements and weddings with 
a photo (preferably color) can 
appear at a cost of $18 each. 
Births are $10. There is no charge 
for bar/bat mitzvahs or for special 
birthdays starting at the 90th.
For information, contact 
Editorial Assistant Sy Manello at 
smanello@thejewishnews.com or 
(248) 351-5147 for information 
or for a mailed or emailed copy of 
guidelines.

SPIRIT

The True Gift
M

oses said further 
to the whole 
community 
of Israelites: “This is 
what Adonai has 
commanded: Take 
from among you gifts 
to Adonai; everyone 
whose heart is so 
moved shall bring 
them gifts for Adonai 
…” (Exodus 35:4-5)
What gift would 
you have offered 
when asked by Moses? 
Each year when we 
reach this parashah, 
I think about what I 
might have been able 
to offer up to God. I 
am not a weaver, a knitter 
or a woodworker. I am no 
artist with paint nor pen. Yet, 
I know how many people 
have the skills and would 
be the first to offer them in 

service or celebration of the 
community. Perhaps you are 
one of them.
Instead, I think of my 
offerings as intangible, 
and I do not know 
that Moses nor God 
would have seen them 
as true offerings. I am 
a speaker, a researcher, 
a holder of too many 
facts to be able to share 
them all. For example: 
When asked to give 
something for a silent 
auction years ago, I 
offered up a session 
on “active listening.” 
I spent a few hours 
with the winner both 
modeling and explaining 
the importance of active 
listening in our daily lives. 
Active listening is more than 
just paying attention, it is 
respecting and really hearing 

what a person is saying. It 
shows you understand and 
care. This requires one to not 
be thinking about what you 
want to respond to, which is 
hard for many of us. 
As a parent, I believe 
one of the most important 
things I do (other than 
keep my kids physically 
safe) is to give each one my 
full attention when they 
are speaking. This requires 
the phone being down, 
the TV muted, the screen 
closed. If we want children 
to become independent, 
thoughtful, caring adults 
we have to model that 
behavior for them. For me, 
that starts with listening to 
them, engaging with them 
on whatever topic they 
find most interesting at 
the moment. Perhaps it is 
the newest computer game 

(I know too much about 
“Satisfactory,” which I have 
never played), the book they 
are reading or what someone 
said in class. 
Being fully present is 
not always easy; there is 
always something else to 
do, but we never get those 
moments back. By using 
the skill of active listening, 
I know I am encouraging 
open conversation that will 
continue as they grow older 
and no longer think it is cool 
to talk to their parents.
While Moses and God 
may have been searching for 
physical items to be offered 
as gifts, each one of us has 
gifts to offer — some are 
physical, some are intangible; 
all are important. 

Rabbi Simone Schicker is rabbi at 

Temple B’nai Israel in Kalamazoo.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi 
Simone 
Schicker

Parshat 

Vayekhel/

Pekudei: 

Exodus 35:1-

40, 12:1-20; 

Ezekiel 45:16-

46:18.

