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Chabad Lubavitch of Michigan
included a mezuzah cam-
paign — ProtectionForIsrael.
com — in its response to the
events of Oct. 7 in
Israel, says Rabbi
Kasriel Shemtov,
vice president
and executive
director of Chabad
Lubavitch of
Michigan. When
the Jewish world
went through a very tough
time following the Yom
Kippur War, the Rebbe, Rabbi
Menachem M. Schneerson,
spoke about the need for the
community to be confident,
to look forward with optimism
and even joy, Shemtov says.
The Rebbe launched a cam-
paign to have mezuzahs on
all Jews’ doors, and to have
existing mezuzahs checked to
make sure they’re kosher.
“The mezuzah has the
extra-special quality, that we’re
told it protects the Jews,”
Shemtov says. “On the outside
of the scroll there’s three let-
ters, one of the names of God.
We’re taught that it protects
you in the home and when
you leave the home, wherever
a Jew is, you’re protected by
the mezuzah.”
With spiritual connection
in mind, he says, Chabad
Lubavitch of Michigan got to
work, raising money to sub-
sidize kosher mezuzahs and
bringing in an extra scribe
from Israel to help check exist-
ing ones that need repair.
Their goal is to put up 1,800,
and they’re well on their way,
he says. Chabad Lubavitch
of Michigan has put up close
to 1,100 new mezuzahs and
checked more than 1,500,
according to Rabbi Levi
Shemtov, working with the
Michigan Mezuzah campaign
of Chabad of Michigan. “We
finished the ones from our first
shipment and another 1,200
are on the way,” he says.
“The response is very heart-
warming,” says Rabbi Kasriel
Shemtov. “There are many
people who are putting up
mezuzahs and they’re doing
it with joy, they’re doing it with
excitement — they feel better
protected.” Some are also
adding mezuzahs to other
doors of their houses. “It’s a
wonderful experience. We’re
in touch with community lead-
ers and individuals, and we’re
moving ahead.”
Charlotte Weinstein, 13,
A Mezuzah
on Every
Jewish Door
Rabbi
Kasriel
Shemtov
A Mezuzah
At her recent bat mitzvah held after
Oct. 7, Charlotte Weinstein, shown
with her parents and brothers,
decided to have guests make an
original mezuzah to put up at home
to celebrate Judaism.
Examples of handmade mezuzahs
by guests at Charlotte’s bat mitzvah
PHOTOS COURTESY WEINSTEIN FAMILY
added extra security while
going ahead with their regu-
lar activities.
“I’m not worried as a
synagogue community, but
we’re also being aware of
what the world is saying,”
says Rabbi Mike Moskowitz
of Temple Shir Shalom,
which, with Federation,
unveiled a display of 220
chairs and highchairs on its
property to raise visibility of
the hostages taken in attacks
on Israel Oct. 7.
“We wanted to do some-
thing more public. We
know how much traffic
passes at Orchard Lake and
Walnut Road, that’s why we
have that platform,” says
Moskowitz, adding it’s espe-
cially significant as well for
the congregation’s Israeli
families, and even his own,
as his son recently returned
from college studies and
volunteering in
Israel.
As for the
fear so many
are feeling, he
says much of
it comes from
individuals with kids living
on college campuses or in
smaller Jewish communities
that feel less surrounded by
the strength of community.
“They’re real concerns, and I
think we need to be smart,”
he says. “It’s important not
to put yourself at risk, and to
know when to speak up and
where to speak up.”
He says personally he’s not
taking down his mezuzah
but adds that he lives in a
neighborhood where he
feels respected by his Jewish
and non-Jewish neighbors.
“I believe they’ve been there
in support; they’ve reached
out to me in these past
weeks, but if I didn’t live in a
community like that, I might
think differently,” he says.
“I respect someone who
feels like they could be
threatened, but I think
maybe we need to live in
areas where we know we’re
OK. The question is where
are we safe? Is there any-
where we’re safe — and
that’s what a community
does for one another, how
we offer that strength.”
continued on page 16
14 | NOVEMBER 30 • 2023
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of the local JCRC/
AJC, stands in front of his window displaying an Israeli flag
and posters of those people captured by Hamas on Oct. 7.
continued from page 13
Rabbi Mike
Moskowitz
continued on page 16
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