10 | FEBRUARY 1 • 2024 J
N

D

iane Diem was at work when a young 
man approached her to ask if she was 
Jewish or knew anyone in the office 
who might be. She said “yes.
” Thus began a series 
of weekly Friday visits with pairs of Lubavitch 
Yeshiva of Detroit students, “Friday Boys” who 
as part of their studies visit her and other Jewish 
professionals around Metro Detroit to share the 
weekly Torah portion and chat about Jewish top-
ics. 
She was first visited by the Friday Boys more 
than a decade ago as part of the program, which 

is more than 25 years old. As a result of the 
Jewish learning in her life, which includes their 
weekly chats, she explains, she’s been learning to 
look at life differently. “I ponder more and think 
about certain things in everyday life,
” she says. 
“I try to see differently or think differently, a bit 
more spiritual.
” 
Currently, 136 students go out weekly in pairs 
of two, covering 68 routes and meeting with close 
to 2,000 people each month. They put on tefillin 
with about 800 monthly. They give out some 300 
challahs monthly and 1,000 Shabbat candle kits, 

KAREN SCHWARTZ
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY
COVER STORY

Thank God It’s
FRIDAY!

Chabad’s Friday Boys visit workplaces
to spread mitzvot and a word of Torah.

Nosson Vogel, Shea Shmotkin 
and Arik Shechtman prepare 
for “Torah Night - A Yeshiva 
Experience,” where the people 
they visited were invited to the 
yeshiva for an in-depth learning 
experience.