HIGHER PURPOSE “The greatest tragedy is being with a dying nonagenarian who does not have a clue why he or she inhabited this planet.” Rabbi Goldberg teaches kids how to work through their pain by training them to focus beyond the incredible stress they’re facing (Photos: Arjo Photography)

Tt’s two days after Labor Day and though fall is around the corner it’s unbearably hot in Detroit. A late afternoon downpour is a welcome relief but soon enough large puddles are forming on the road and a long line of cars is lined up in rush-hour traffic.

In these conditions going anywhere for the first time is a challenge but somehow I turn into a driveway and inch along a curved road until I see a nondescript office building tucked behind a row of parked cars. Not quite convinced I’ve arrived at my destination my doubts are put to rest when I see five African-American kids spill out of a nearby van — each wearing what’s unmistakably a karate belt. I know that I’ve arrived.

Inside I find the karate studio a large room outfitted with blue pads on the floor and motivational posters on the walls. A crowd of young and old — kids with purple orange or yellow karate belts muscular men with black belts parents caregivers staff and volunteers — move with purpose. The noise level is high the kids giddy — they’d had a break last week and are thrilled to be back — and in the center of them all greeting each person is a bearded man wearing a black suit and large black yarmulke. I watch as he greets a woman and her kids warmly in Spanish and for a moment I’m convinced he knows the language fluently.

The man is Elimelech Goldberg a rabbi and martial arts instructor whose modest bearing says nothing about the unfathomable heights he’s reached in kiddush Hashem. We’re in the Kids Kicking Cancer healing arts studio in Southfield Michigan where kids who have cancer or sickle cell disease (and their siblings) learn to become powerful martial artists tame their disease with their mental power and inspire others around the world with their courage and strength.

The kids spread out on the mat in neat rows Rabbi Goldberg facing them at the front of the room. He welcomes them with his signature catchphrase “Power Peace Purpose” as he places one hand on his fist and bows. The kids chant “Power Peace Purpose” in return bow in unison and the class begins. The kids in the room range in age from about 5 to 16 and all look healthy and energetic. At least for this class it’s hard to tell who’s sick who’s undergoing painful treatments or who has a sick sibling — a reminder that we never truly know the private loads that people carry kids included. The kids punch forward (shouting “Ay!”) double punch (“Ay ay!”) and do a rather complicated-looking double-punch-high kick (“Ay ay ay!”)