"This is great! One teen who participated has not been involved since his Bar Mitzvah, and one of the girls and her
family have not been involved in YEARS! This is such a testament to the value
of new avenues to connect Jewish teens!"
Lisa Robitshek
Traverse City, MI
Religious School Director Ahavat Shalom, TC
On a recent Teen program in Traverse City that attracted fifteen local Teens to a bowling event featuring kosher food and Jewish discussion groups.
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Registration for Jewish Summer Camp Subsidies now open!
You can register your child for Summer '09! The First-Time Jewish Experience Subsidy Fund provided more than 40
subsides to Michigan Jewish youth last summer. Don't miss out in '09!
For info on additional camp scholarships, click here.
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 Hebrew Class
to begin Feb. 16
Mon. 2:05 - 2:45; Fri. 12:00 - 12:30 It's not to late to enroll! Take advantage of this opportunity to learn Hebrew and you'll be amazed when you find yourself referring to the Hebrew side of the Haggadah at this year's Passover seder. The phone-in class will focus on reading comprehension of the prayer book, Tanach and other Jewish texts. Amazingly, you'll go from merely being able to sound out the words to actually knowing what they mean in only a few months. Click here for more info... |
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Statewide Community Calendar For program information, please email Jeff Surowitz. Flint & Bay City 2/15*
Jewish Teen Connection Events
Benton Harbor 2/15*
Rabbi Tzvi Muller of Partners in Torah offers his second class in a four part interpersonal relationships series "Am I My Botherer's Keeper?"
Lansing 2/22*
Area pre-schoolers visit Shalom Street, the Detroit community's Jewish children's museum.
Grand Rapids 2/22*
Jewish Teen Connection Inagural Local Event
Mt Clemens Feb Date tba*Lecture on Kosher Food Visiting Lecturer TBA Lansing 3/1*
Lansing's second of four seminars in Young Jewish Leadership Development Training Traverse City 3/1*
Jewish Teen Connection Event Grand Rapids 3/1 - 3/2
Auditions for spring performance of Jewish Theatre of Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids 3/1Comedy of Joel Chasnoff Mt Pleasant 3/8*
Lecture by Rabbi Avi Cohen, Partners in Torah, Detroit Flint 3/8*
Joint Jewish Teen Connection Event with Bay City - Flint Generals Game
Purim 3/10
Lansing 3/25
Michigan Jewish Conference and the Government Relations Oversight Committee of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit will be co-hosting a Legislative Reception
Passover (first day) 4/9
Kalamazoo 4/19*
Jewish Film Festival Lansing 4/22Michigan Jewish Conference will host the
Official Statewide Holocaust Commemoration Ceremony at noon in the Capitol
Rotunda in Lansing. Legislators, Elected Officials and
Holocaust Survivors will all participate in this very moving ceremony. Traverse City 4/26*
Klezmer concert featuring Lansing's Heartland Klemorim Lansing Spring Date tba*Statewide Religious School Principals Forum Grand Rapids May 3-7Jewish Film Festival Please continue to email me about Jewish events you will be running in your communities so we can get the word out. Thanks! * indicates fully or partially funded by the Ravitz Initiative
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Phone (from) Home
More people join every single week. Don't be the last Jew in Michigan to be off be part of the discussion!
You can gain a personal connection to
Jewish life and wisdom...on the phone! Explore
Judaism with a personal touch from the comfort of your own home. Jeff Surowitz, Statewide Outreach Coordinator,
leads the phone discussions and allows participants to probe Jewish topics of
their choice. We learn, we argue, we laugh.
If only Hebrew School
had been like this!
Classes meet over the phone and there is no charge and no commitment.
Got Gossip? A Lesson in Proper Speech
Wednesdays 11:30 - 12:30pm
How we speak of others -- how we see them, judge them, empathize with
them and, when necessary, how we criticize them -- defines us as people
and as Jews. These aspects of life occur throughout each day, and these
are the aspects that the class addresses.
The Secret to Happiness
Tuesdays 9:30 - 10:30 am
The key to happiness is to appreciate what you have. Sounds simple. So why are so many people unhappy? Join us as we work through the book Gateways to Happiness and learn some practical ways to be more happy.
Jewish Philosophy/Kabballah
Thursday 9:00 - 10:00pm
A study in a classic book in Jewish philosophy called "The
Way of G-d." The book lays out clearly,
layer by layer, the very fundamental principles of the universe, and the very
things expected of us all as a consequence of them. Sounds heavy? It is. But if you like a good philosophical schmooze, this is for you!
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To join one of these exciting classes, call Jeff Surowitz at 248-914-1138 or send Jeff an email.
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Greetings!
Purim's not far away, spring is approaching. Much is happening in your communities and with the Ravitz Initiative. In this issue you'll learn about: an exciting pilot Young Leadership program being run in Lansing, the opening of the 2009 Grant Cycle, recent Jewish happenings throughout the state, some great information about upcoming Israel trips, the Michigan Israel Business Bridge. As always, we'll try our hat at some Jewish humor and a Jewish thought.
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Lansing's Young Jewish Leadership Training Seminar With an eye toward the future, the Lansing Jewish community is utilizing a grant from the Ravitz Initiative to launch an exciting pilot program to train new community leaders. About fifteen participants - all of whom were nominated by area rabbis - will use the four session seminar to:
gain practical skills; learning about
advocating Jewish issues from an experienced lobbyist and Jewish
legislators,
acquire deeper knowledge of important
and relevant Jewish topics; i.e., the current situation in Israel and America, and
help unite their
local community by meeting, discussing and planning with other young Jewish
leaders from other parts of the community.
 The first session kicked off January 25 with guest speaker Andrew Echt,
a Lansing native and the chief financial resource development officer for the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit.
Andrew Echt leads the discussion
 Andrew discussed how he became
inspired to take a lead position working
for one of North
America's
premier Jewish not-for-profit organizations. A lively discussion
followed that centered on how to successfully grow the community and
raise Jewish kids in a largely non-Jewish environment. With so much passion and excitement in the room, the sky's the limit for what this group of future leaders will accomplish for their community. Stay tuned...
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Quick Jewish Joke of the Month
With all of the (not funny at all) Jewish connections to recent financial scandals, you may have missed the
recent story in the Jewish Chronicle about the theft of egg-enriched dough from
a north London
warehouse?
Unfortunately, the theft happened just before Shabbat and it forced many local bakeries to bake their
challas with plain, white flour. A leading rabbi was quoted as saying, "I'm appalled by the rise in white
challa crimes."
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Jewish Stimulus Package There's quite a bit in the news about the Stimulus Package. It's the perfect time to announce that the 2009 Community Grant cycle is now open and you can start bringing a Jewish stimulus into your community. Seventeen communities throughout Michigan received grants to run dozens of Jewish programs in 2008. Already many communities have applied for 2009 grants. Don't delay, download the grant application here to bring Jewish programs to your community this year.
If you're interested in going above and beyond for your community and bringing even more Jewish programming, you should check out the Jewish Women's Foundation grant. The Petoskey community put together a great proposal last year and was awarded a $12,000 grant to run their impressive program, Growing Jewish Families. The program aims to develop a stronger Jewish community in Northern Michigan by offering
Jewish programming for "tots", teens and women. The goal is to enable Jewish families in the broader Petoskey area to raise their
children Jewishly, enjoy Jewish learning and experience life cycle and
social activities in a Jewish context.
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Recent Jewish Events in Your Communities Here are the latest Jewish sponsored highlights since our last newsletter:
- February 8 - Kalamazoo* Jewish Teen Connection - Western Michigan. Jewish teens and pre-te
 ens from Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo strengthened their friendships during discussion groups and sledding at Echo Valley, a Kalamazoo area Toboggan run. Thanks to coordinator Alyssa Simko for organizing and Steve Kremer, Amy Frieden, Judy Ravitch, Beth Grode and Cathy Cheron. - February 5 - Flint* Political and Military Analyst Elliot Chodoff discussed the current situation in Gaza and the upcoming Israeli elections to a packed house. Thanks to Gary Alter and his committee for making it happen.
- January 27 - Kalamazoo Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman addressed the audience following a screening a the award winning PBS television documentary: Surviving Auschwitz:
Children of the Shoah - which features her heroic story. Thanks to Steve Chappel for his hard work on this.
January 25 - Petoskey & Traverse City* Jewish Teen Connection - Northern Michigan kicked off its inagural events with a bowling event for teens in Traverse City and  Putt Putt Golf for Petoskey's teenagers. About twenty five teens participated in the day's fun, the first Jewish teen programming of its kind in many, many years. Thanks to coordinator Eric Awerbuch, Nancy Dwan, Lois Kowalsky, Lisa Robitchek and Susan Abraham for the planning. - January 25 - Lansing* Young Leadership Development Training Seminar - Andrew Echt, the Chief Financial Resource Development Officer for the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit spoke on Jewish Leadership to Lansing's
up-and-coming Jewish leadership. Thanks to Elaine Pearlman, Rabbis Bigman, Weingarten and Zimmerman, and to all the participants!
January 24 - Grand Rapids Israel TV Icon and senior political correspondent Gil Tamary gave an insider's view of the two new administrations in Israel and the US. Thanks to Jeff Slotnick and his team at the Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids for their effort.
January 24
- Saginaw Nearly 40 people attended the fourth annual JewPardy, a
trivia competition, at Congregation Beth El. Categories included: Jewish Anagrams, Mel Brooks, 1/3 of the 39 Things You
Shouldn't Do on Shabbat, and the ever-popular Is It Kosher To Say This In
Temple?. Thanks to David Baskind for serving as Alex Trebek, the Buchalters for arranging the food and Rabbi
David Nelson for playing score keeper.
- January 11 - Flint & Bay City* - Jewish Teen Connection - Eastern Michigan. Jewish teens met up for kosher pizzas and riveting Jewish discussion groups followed up by laser tag in Saginaw and bowling in Flint. Thanks to coordinator Zach Goodwin for putting the whole thing together.
- January 11 - Grand Rapids - The Jewish Theatre performed Women's Minyan.
December 28 - Iron Mountain - The community celebrated its annual Chanukah celebration and Latke Party. Thanks to Donna Minsky for organizing.
* denotes fully or partially sponsored by the Ravitz Initiative
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Israel Mission Options
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism - Midwest Region
February 22 - March 2, 2009 - $3995/person; click here for info. It's not too late to join the Midwest Region of United Synagogue's Mission to Israel...be so much more than just a tourist! Experience the spirit of Shabbat in Jerusalem, see Israel through the lens of the Conservative Movement, tour central Israel with experienced tour guides and noted speakers and much more.
Albion College's Holocaust Studies Trip to Poland May 9-18, 2009 - $3,450.00/person; click here for info. This unforgettable trip will be led by two Albion history professors and a Polish-Jewish child survivor of the Holocaust. The group will visit Holocaust sites, including the Warsaw Ghetto, Treblinka, and Auschwitz, and spend a morning working with current Albion students in the ongoing restoration of the New Jewish Cemetery in Wroclaw. The trip will also explore the architectural beauty, cultural richness, and historical drama of Poland's great cities.
The Soul Train & Mofet Institute's JTEC Summer Seminar
June 23 - July 14 2009 - cost: travel expenses + $500 Click here for info on trip and further subsidy possibilities. Study, tour and get to know other educators and leaders of other small Jewish communities. The group will meet Israeli leaders, members of the Knesset, officials from
the Ministry of Education, leaders of social organizations and many
more. It will also hold symposiums on the
different issues and topics that are of interest and concern to small Jewish
communities.
URJ's
Summer Adult Institute
July 22 - August 5, 2009 - $4,595/person; click here for info. Join this unique opportunity for adults of all ages to engage
in an adult education experience in Israel, modeled on the EIE program. Explore ancient and modern Israel and study and experience the history of Israel. Celebrate Shabbat on the Kibbutz Tzuba and in
a congregation of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism.
Jewish Federation of Grand RapidsDec. 20 - 29 2009; price tba - click here for info. This Community mission is geared for all ages; more info soon. Return to Top |
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Spotlight on the Michigan Israel Business Bridge Continuing our effort to make known the important work of various Jewish organizations helping your communities, we'll look at the Michigan Israel Business Bridge.
It may be difficult to believe that there is anything
positive about the current economic situation in Michigan
but believe it or not, the economic crisis has created a unique opportunity for
Michigan and Israel to explore economic and
business partnerships.
The State of Michigan
must diversify its economy in order to stimulate the economy and provide jobs
that meet the needs of the 21st century. Michigan,
largely dependent on its manufacturing prowess, must move towards higher tech
industries including life sciences, advanced technology, alternative energy and
homeland security. Michigan's
international development has traditionally focused on the larger countries. While
we know that the small State of Israel is a high tech powerhouse, it would have
been ignored in better times. The economic crisis has made people think outside
the box, think creatively and finally look towards Israel for business partnerships.
Meanwhile, in 2006, a group of volunteers began to explore
the potential of business/economic relationships with Israel. As a result, the Michigan
Israel Business Bridge (MIBB) was officially established in 2007 as a statewide
non-profit organization. It's mission being to promote business and economic
partnership between Michigan and Israel
for the benefit of both. Since its inception, the MIBB has held two automotive
match making events, brought over 30 Israeli businesses to Michigan
and been involved in 4 business missions to Israel. The last being the November
2008 Governor's mission in which MIBB helped arrange over 100 business meetings
in Israel. The MIBB played a key role in bringing the Governor on a Business
Mission to Israel.
The tough economic times have been difficult for non-profits
that depend on membership and contributions to survive. The MIBB, still in its
infancy needs to continue the momentum that it has generated in the last year,
sparking interest in bringing Israeli businesses to Michigan. The MIBB needs the statewide
Jewish community to support it, while it reaches out to educate the larger
community about the significant opportunities with Israeli businesses and Israel's need
for global partnerships. Please consider joining the MIBB or making a
contribution and/or referring people with business interest to MIBB. For
additional information, please see MIBB's website at www.michiganisrael.com.
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Thanks for taking the time to look through this newsletter. I hope you found it helpful and shared it with your community! Please encourage others join the list by clicking the button to the left.
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Be well,
Jeffrey Surowitz
Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit
Outreach Program Coordinator
surowitz@jfmd.org
248-914-1138 (cell)
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