32 | MARCH 16 • 2023 

J

Learn, The J Detroit’s 
lifelong learning depart-
ment, will offer a pop-up 
class on human rights next 
week as part of its JLearn Now 
series. 
“Give Me Your Tired, Your 
Poor: A Story of Immigration” 
will be led by Rabbi Ari Witkin 
via Zoom on March 23 and 
March 30 at 7:30 p.m. Tuition 
is $36.

Witkin will give his firsthand 
account of the U.S. southern 
border crisis, based on trip to El 
Paso, Texas, as part of a rabbini-
cal human rights visit. Witkin is 
director of leadership develop-
ment at the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit and serves 
part-time as rabbi of Temple 
Beth Israel in Bay City. 

Along with 15 other rabbis, 
the rabbinic human rights 
organization T’ruah and the 
immigration rights organiza-
tion HIAS, Witkin traveled in 
December 2022 to learn more 
about the realities of the crisis. 
He is a founding member of 
T’ruah’s workgroup on immi-
gration.
In January, Witkin penned an 
opinion piece for the Detroit Free 
Press following his trip, saying 
that helping asylum seekers is a 
moral imperative. 
“My own motivation to par-
ticipate in this trip was very 
much born out of my identity as 
a Jewish American,
” he said. “So 
much of my people’s history is a 
story of migration and a search 
for a safe home in which to 

build a better life.
” 
In light of increasing num-
bers of migrants and asylum 
seekers at the border and an 
ever-deepening gridlock in 
Washington, this two-part 
course will explore the realities 
of the situation today as well as 
what a Jewish response looks 
like and what our tradition 
says about our responsibility to 
those seeking a better life here 
in America.
“We are honored to have 
Rabbi Witkin share with us his 
experience and knowledge so 

the Jewish community can be 
reminded of our responsibility 
to others in need,
” said Shelley 
Wish Chaness, senior director 
of JLearn. 
A goal of the JLearn Now 
pop-up events is to explore and 
analyze current events around 
the globe through a Jewish lens. 
 “Our ancestors were immi-
grants, and the Torah obligates 
us to help those in need. It’s 
imperative that we as a people 
explore this further.
” 

Call (248) 205-2557 or visit JLearn.

example, would be divided up 
amongst several volumes of 
braille to prevent the books 
from becoming too heavy.
There are also two grades 
of braille printed: grade one 
(uncontracted) and grade 
two (contracted). Grade one, 
Mazzara says, is for beginners 
just learning braille, while 
grade two is for more advanced 
readers. Bindery books include 
print on the opposite side of the 
braille as well to help sighted 
parents teach their children 
braille correctly.

BOOKS FOR ALL
Printing braille books, but 
most importantly, printing free 
braille books, is a need that 
Remer says continues to grow. 
A recent survey by American 
Community Survey found 
there are more than 560,000 

children with vision difficulty 
in the United States.
The Bindery often finds 
itself getting calls from school 
librarians with blind or low-
vision students who don’t 
have any braille books in 
their libraries. “Reading is 
important,
” Mazzara says. “If 
we can get books to every child 
out there, that’s just fine with 
me.
“I’ll keep doing it until I can’t 
anymore,
” she adds. “It’s an 
important part of my life.
”
While there are many 
orders for the typical children’s 
literature, such as the famous 
Harry Potter or Goosebumps 
series, the Bindery’s inventory 
includes everything from 
mystery books to books 
about outer space. It offers a 
convenient online checkout 
process that Mazarra says has 

significantly expanded the 
Bindery’s reach.
In fact, Temple Beth El 
Bindery is such a crucial 
resource for free braille books 
for children that it’s been 
recommended as a key source 
by Perkins School for the Blind, 
where author and disability 
rights advocate Helen Keller 

studied for four years.
“We’re thrilled every day that 
we participate in helping blind 
children,
” Remer says. “It’s 
important to me. It’s important 
to Janet. It’s important to 
everyone who volunteers at the 
Bindery. Our dream is to bring 
literacy to blind or low-vision 
children.
” 

continued from page 31

RIGHT: Bruce Plisner of Farmington Hills, Karen Lowen of Farmington 
Hills, Pirjo Ritta Gray of Beverly Hills, Cathy Segel of West Bloomfield, 
Beth Michelson of West Bloomfield, Earl Remer of West Bloomfield, 
Sandy Marks of West Bloomfield and Jan Mazzara of Rochester Hills. 

A Jewish Lens

JLearn class focuses on Rabbi Witkin’s 
experience at the U.S. southern border.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

