14 | FEBRUARY 1 • 2024
came and danced in the driveway. His
three kids, who are now in first grade
and freshmen in high school and college,
were in the house at the time as well, and
his older boys put on tefillin with the
students. “Everybody was at home,
” he
says. “It was a very positive experience
when they’
d come.
”
Growing up in Ukraine, attorney
Lebedinski says he was not exposed to a
lot of Jewish traditions. “It’s a totally dif-
ferent situation in the United States and
in Southeast Michigan, where we enjoy
being able to go to services and practice
Judaism,
” he says. “But there’s only so
much time and we’re not able to do it on
a regular basis, so when they come, you
feel like ‘this is great’ because it helps you
get educated.
”
MEET SOME FRIDAY BOYS
The bond between the boys and the
people they visit can be a lasting one as
well, he says, noting that he attended one
of the boys’ weddings during COVID
on Zoom. “Some of the boys call on
Fridays or holidays; they call to see how
I’m doing and tell me what’s going on in
their lives,
” he says. “There’s a connec-
tion that develops and stays beyond their
visits.
”
Nosson Gurary, 16, from Atlanta,
Georgia, is one of the Friday Boys who
visits Lebedinski. He has been studying
in Detroit for more than two years and
says he enjoys his weekly route in Troy.
Growing up as part of a Chabad emis-
sary family, he says he’s used to meeting
new people, but that going around to
offices trying to see who might be Jewish
was a new experience.
“When you first go out, you’re going
to someone’s office and you’re knocking,
you don’t even know who he is,
” he says.
“When I came, I was a 14-year-old kid
speaking to these guys, so it’s definitely a
challenge starting, but you get used to it.
”
These days he knows when to set up
meetings in advance by call and text and
when to just stop in, he says, adding that
sometimes people even message him to
see if he’s coming.
“People are telling me they appreci-
ate it and how much it means to them,
they’re actually looking forward to it,
” he
says, adding that he often tackles ques-
tions about Jewish holidays and what
happens on them. Overall, he says, he
finds it meaningful to connect people
more deeply with their Judaism. “When
you see positive results, it gives a whole
new boost to it.
”
Mendel Zaklikofsky, 16, from
Houston, visits Bloomfield Hills build-
ings and recently started visiting people
in their homes. He says he has gotten
all kinds of responses over the time he’s
approached community members but
says it’s all preparing him for one day
when he’s likely to have a Chabad com-
munity of his own.
“The experience for me is two things
— it’s that fact that from the foundations
of Chabad, the Judaism we experience
is not just something that’s meant to
be kept to ourselves — it’s meant to be
shared. Also, it’s extremely educational
on a practical level. It’s something I gain
from over time, getting to engage with
people older than me, speaking to them
about deep things and things that are
meaningful, things that are important.
It’s something that’s good for me on a
personal level.
”
Zaklikofsky says he can spend the
better part of each Friday meeting
with 30-40 people. “Being able to take
Judaism, to take Torah, to take mitzvot
and bring them out of the synagogue
and into the world, take them into
the streets, into people’s homes, into
the offices, to take the good and the
positivity and put it all out in the open,
that’s what the idea is,
” he says. “It’s all
incredible.
”
If you’d like to be visited by the Friday Boys, call
Sholom Smith at (754) 303-4578.
Friday Boy Levik
Shmotkin and Adam
Weiner
continued from page 12
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