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 OUR COMMUNITY COVER STORY