Detroit Jewish News

July 07, 2106

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1236730 2100980 Alicia R. Nelson (248) 557-0109 r(ñîüû r,ñììýûð$ýøû r.íö÷úéðû r5éôôñü÷ü r+ýìéñëé"úü r,íüýê÷ü www.traditiontradition.com Tradition! Tradition! Celebrating 26 Years!! 5",&%0'' ûëú÷ôôûóíüýêéðûüíîñôñö íĀëôýìíìîú÷õûéôí 4"-&&/%4 Need a Lender You Can Trust? We're Making a Complicated Process SIMPLE Again! Loan Products Available: ÛiÌ>ÊUÊÊUÊ6ÊUÊ,ÕÀ>ÊiÛi«iÌÊ ÕLÊUÊÓäÎÊUÊ ÛiÌ>Ê,i>LÊ>ÃÊ "i/iÊ ÃiÊ ÃÌÀÕVÌÊ>à 33200 Woodward Avenue | Birmingham -ÊÊnnäÈÓx Ilene Lubin: 248-556-6275 -ÊÊ£ÎnxÎ{Î ÕLJëiÀÌ}>}i°VV ÜÜܰÕL°Ã«iÀÌ}>}i°VV FREE Home Buyers Seminar Every Wednesday, 6-7:30pm Serving Our Community For Over 45 Years! Jeff Stewart Assistant New Car Sales Manager Serving the Community Since 1969 5FMFHSBQI3Et4PVUIýFMEt t 248-636-2736 Glassman Automotive Group CONGRATULATIONS GLASSMAN SUBARU A division of Rated #1 In Best Purchase Experience in the Midwest 2013 and 2014 2109570 viewpoints » S e n d l e t t e r s t o : l e t t e r s @ t h e j e w i s h n e w s . c o m continued from page 5 8 July 7 • 2016 the same way, and only when grand- parents died did they finally share their secret with their families. As many Polish Jews are still only just learning about their faith of birth, more and more enter the JCCs looking for a way to bring Judaism into their lives. They want to learn about who their ancestors were, and they want to continue to make the Jewish-Polish com- munity grow. While in Krakow, we drove to Auschwitz-Birkenau. When we reached the concentration camp, the sky turned gray and rain started pouring down. We tied Israeli flags to our backs and walked inside security, perhaps never able to be ready to face the reality of what happened there just a few decades ago. But as soon as we stepped outside, the sun was out and the grayness gone. We entered through the infamous gate and passed train tracks and red build- ings where our people were forced to spend their final, terrible days. Inside the buildings, we saw what prisoners had brought with them, cups and mugs, hair brushes, tallitot and a hallway filled with what seemed like millions of shoes. I saw the all-too-familiar pictures of men and w omen with shaved heads in striped uniforms. At Birkenau, we climbed to the top of the guard tower and saw how large this death camp was. Even as we witnessed the remains of a gas chamber, the clouds above were beautiful, and the sun set softly. Birds flocked and flew above bright green grass, grass that didn't exist when this camp was a swampy hell dur- ing the Holocaust. We struggled to comprehend how these places of horror, where innocent Jews were cremated to ashes, the smell of smoke still lingering in the air, could at the same time show us such beauty. As we have fewer and fewer survivors left to tell their stories, the next-best wit- ness is the nature around it. It felt like nature was welcoming us in, wanting us to understand the horrors that had happened in that place's midst and then sending us back to our own lives with the optimistic feeling that hope is what gave us our lives today and Israel as the precious homeland for Jews everywhere. Poland is not merely a Jewish grave- yard; its Jewish community may be small, but it is strong, and Jews today should feel proud, proud that we aren't gone forever like intended. * Lauren Levinson of Bloomfield Hills has spent the past year in Netanya, Israel, participating in Masa Israel Journey's Israel Teaching Fellows pro- gram through Israel Experience. When she returns to the United States this summer, she will begin a new role as Israel engagement coordinator at Penn State Hillel. IT'S SUMMER! Now spring hot ge'endikt,* it's no longer here. Yetzt zummer is doe,** ich zog*** vey is mir.**** S'iz hays, zayer hays,*****oy vey,****** what a pain. It is cool in the house, but aroys vill ich gain.******* Oh summer, hot summer, I still love you dear. * hot ge'endikt — has finished ** Yetzt zummer is doe — Now summer is here *** ich zog — I say **** vey is mir — woe is to me ***** S'iz hays, zayer hays — It's hot, very hot ****** oy vey — an exclamation of anguish ******* aroys vill ich gain — I want to go outside — Rachel Kapen Yiddish Limerick JlYjZi`Y\kf[Xp )+/%*,(%,(.+

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