anyone’s charity of their choice 
to increase kindness in the 
world. 
“I know there have been 
many incidents in recent years, 
but we did not experience any 
of that at all,” Shemtov said. 
“On the contrary, people were 
kind, so maybe that can speak 
to the hope that things are not 
as dark as we perceive them 
to be.” 
Slonim, steeped in the 
Jewish teachings of Divine 
providence, believes it was no 
coincidence they came upon 
finding northern Michigan 
Jews in a seemingly random 
way. He said he also believes 
this based on the three 
summers he spent as a roving 
rabbi in Arizona. He said 
recently he was contacted by a 
man in Arizona whom he met 
who now wanted to order a set 

of tefillin to practice the daily 
mitzvah. 
“Everything in this world 
happens for a reason, and I see 
this when I do this work when 
I’m on the ground, and I see 
how this concept plays out,” 
Slonim said. “We could be on 
the street, in a supermarket 
or in a library, and at that 

very specific time, we meet a 
certain person who will lead 
us to another until we find 
Jewish people in these towns.”
How do roving rabbis keep 
up with their own observances 
on the road? In terms of 
keeping kosher, they know 
how to pack a cooler with 
kosher foods and then rely on 

well-stocked produce sections 
in local groceries. 
They planned some trips 
so they could arrive back in 
Detroit for Shabbat. Other 
times, they spent Shabbat at 
Camp Gan Israel in Kalkaska 
and shared their stories with 
campers and counselors. The 
rabbis made stops to pray 
three times daily, most times 
without a minyan. 
“Judaism should be lived 
anywhere and everywhere, 
even at times and places 
where there is no access to 
a minyan,” Slonim said. “So 
in terms of davening, we just 
figure that out. But doing this 
this summer was completely 
worth it. We did what we set 
out to do, to find every Jewish 
soul we could and make them 
understand that they count no 
matter where they live.” 

In Houghton, meeting a fellow 
Jew at a small supermarket

SEPTEMBER 28 • 2023 | 23
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