OUR COMMUNITY continued from page 14 ON THE COVER added a mitzvah to her Oct. 14 bat mitzvah when her family decided they would add mezuzah decorating to their event and send guests home with mezuzahs, scrolls and all — that they could hang in their homes. “It made me feel good because you should celebrate that you’re Jewish, and we celebrated that at my bat mitzvah by making mezuzahs,” she says. “I hope they took it as a good meaningful experience, and they took it and put it on their doors.” Her father, Dr. Bryan Weinstein, and his wife, Dr. Roya Soleymani, got the idea for their youngest child’s bat mitzvah after Bryan talked with Rabbi Levi Shemtov following the Oct 7. tragedy in Israel. They had a Havdalah service and party planned, but he wasn’t sure how to move forward with a celebration just a week later. “[The rabbi] said, ‘Why don’t we think of doing something that elevates the night into a much more spiritual place, so it’s not just a party, but rather, an elevation of spirituality,’” Bryan Weinstein recalls. “That really resonated with me. He brought up the idea of making mezuzahs at the bat mitzvah and getting everyone to add an extra mezuzah to the home.” They let guests know, too, that Shemtov could help get the mezuzahs on their doors if they needed it. “I got on the mic and said to the whole crowd that the way we fight this in America is we don’t back away from our celebrations because that’s what the terrorists want, they want us to be scared,” Bryan says. “And we won’t be scared, we’re always going to celebrate our Torah and celebrate our traditions and celebrate our people.” Rabbi Benny Greenwald of Friendship Circle in West Bloomfield points out that the mezuzah is more than just the sometimes- ornate case that goes on the door. It’s the scrolls inside, checked to make sure they’re kosher, and the unique energy of the mitzvah that give the mezuzah meaning, he says. “To me, it’s a time to re-examine my mezuzah,” he says. “I try and encourage people to make sure they have mezuzahs on their doors.” — Karen Schwartz, Contributing Writer continued from page 14 Rabbi Bentzi Geisinsky helped the Katz family of Birmingham put up their mezuzah. FINDING SAFE SPACES Brooke Leiberman of Farmington Hills says she’s seen more moms ask to join the Jewish Moms of Metro Detroit group on Facebook in past weeks than they have in a long time, adding that she thinks they’re coming together to find support as they face the unknown. Leiberman is one of the founders and administrators for the group. “There’s been talk on the Jewish Moms board about how you can protect yourself, and debate with- in the community about what’s appropriate and what’s not appro- priate,” she says. “We just feel like we’re the safe place where people can ask those questions, where they can talk with other Jewish women about how they’re feeling and how their kids are feeling.” Meanwhile, she says, her daugh- ter recently presented about Judaism to her culture class at Farmington STEAM Academy in Farmington Hills. Additionally, she says her daughter has friends there from many different cul- tures, and that she and her hus- band, Chaim, have reinforced to her that other students should also be allowed to express their own beliefs, as long as they’re not wish- ing her harm. Chaim Leiberman, who helps moderate a Facebook group for Israelis in Michigan, says he’s concerned about recent events but also resolute in showing Jewish pride. “I’m all for not hiding who I am, and at work, I don’t hide that I’m Israeli and I don’t hide that I’m Jewish — everybody knows it,” he says. At the same time, he explains, it’s important to be mindful of one’s surroundings and, as they say in Israel, that it’s better to be smart than to be right. With security in mind, Leiberman says he might put more cameras around the house but won’t be taking down the sign that says his name in Hebrew on his door or the Israeli flag that’s in his garage. And he’s upped his security mindset as well, making sure events he’s working on, such as a recent gathering of some 60 Israelis, had security. “That’s not something in the past that we put any emphasis on, but that definite- ly changed,” he adds. BE JEWISH, BE PROUD Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Huntington Woods, local executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee and rabbi of Kehillat Etz Chaim in Huntington Woods, says the large Israeli flag in his front window didn’t seem to discourage any trick-or-treaters on Halloween, and that they had no issues or complaints. He says he doesn’t want to live in fear or to give antisemitism a victory over him and his family by worrying about it. There are risks to being visibly Jewish, he says, citing the kippah he wears on his head, as well as having mezuzahs up or wearing Jewish symbol-based jewelry. However, there are also risks to driving cars, he notes, but people take those risks because of the value that capability provides. “I think we have to think of our Judaism as essential as driving my car. Judaism is as essential as that.” He urges caution, he says — and reminds his daughters at University of Michigan not to walk home alone at night, but with a message of Jewish pride. “I’m not saying be foolish, but I’m saying be Jewish; don’t give up your Judaism, don’t let them win.” Moreover, he says people across Metro Detroit are standing up for the Jewish community. “We have a list of 25 names of clergy — Black, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Chaldean — they’re all standing up for us. We have to be proud and be proud of our Judaism.” 16 | NOVEMBER 30 • 2023 J N WWW.NBN.ORG.IL 1-866-4-ALIYAH Aliyah: It's your move.