18 Friday, April 6, 1979
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
U-M's Jewish Student Congregation and the Union Service
By IRVING I. KATZ
Beth El for nearly 50 years,
surveyed the situation' of
Jewish students at the Uni-
versity of Michigan in 1914
for the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations. He
found that a number of
fraternities, literary
societies, etc., existed on the
campus, whose membership
was exclusively Jewish.
Chief of these was the
Michigan branch of the In-
tercollegiate Menorah
Society.
Rabbi Franklin found,
however, that neither the
Menorah Society nor the
fraternities essentially
touched the religious.life of
the Jewish young man and
young woman. The one was
concerned with the cultural
life of the Jew, and the other
was social in character.
Rabbi Franklin reported,
"The young man and the
young woman come to the
prone at once to draw the
inference that what they
hear from the rostrum of
Rabbi Leo M. Franklin,
the teacher takes the
spiritual leader of Temple
foundation from under
DRIVE A CAR or
all that heretofore they
SEND YOUR CAR
have heard from the lips
of their parents and their
TO ANY STATE
preacher. To say the
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least, their religious posi-
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tion is very badly upset
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"It was strongly felt,
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therefore, that some influ-
ence had to be brought into
the life of the Jewish stu-
dent that would tend to save
'
him
from falling, through
RABBI FRANKLIN
sheer ignorance and unpre-
"Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all inhabitants thereof."
university at the most cru- paredness, into . the abyss of
These words of Moses are inscribed on the Liberty Bell.
cial period of their spiritual skepticism and denial. Ex-
So many rich and meaningful experiences are associated with the
unfolding. It is the time perience. had proved that it
joyous festival of Passover. There was the struggle of our people out
when forces working upon is just during their college
of bondage and into that freedom and liberty in the new land, which
them from without and from years that many of the very
Moses proclaimed. There are the expressions of purification and
within, find them mist sus- flower of our American
atonement: There is the season of the reawakening and rebirth of
ceptible to influences, both youth has been lost to the
nature. And there are the happy times when those within the family
good and bad. For the first cause of Judaism. This,is a
circle come together in meaningful reunion.
time, in many instances, are
loss, the significance of
And indeed, as life insurance people, we contemplate the parallels
they parted from home and •which can scarcely be over-
between our profession and our faith and at this time of year we pledge
parents, from synagogue estimated."
ourselves anew to the service of our clients, faithfully and in the spirit of
and the religious school,
To stem this tide, Rabbi
dedication.
and thrust upon their own Franklin founded in 1914 a
Sincerest good wishes for a happy Passover.
spiritual resources.
pioneer movement in
"Moreover, at the col-
American Judaism = the
1766 City National Bank Bldg.
Phone; 965-3134
lege or the university,
Jewish Student Congrega-
■
they obtain their first tion (JSC) at the University.
taste of philosophy and
of Michigan with himself as
Richard Love CLU
science, and, due to
supervising rabbi.
THE DOMINION LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY
Manager
human nature,, they are
He felt- that if week by
week the Jewish students
would be brought together
for religious services and
hear the message of
Judaism forcefully and
faithfully expounded by
men, who through learning
and experience spoke with
authority, the Jewish con-
- sciousness of the young men
and women would be
deepened and enthusiasm
for the Jewish cause would
take the place of indif-
ference among them.
Membership, at 25
cents per month, during
the scholastic year, was
open to any Jewish stu-
dent or member of the fa-
culty of the University of
Michigan, as well as to
any Jewish person of
good character.
University authorities
annually held five services
on Sunday evenings during
the year for all students as
well as residents of Ann
Arbor in Hill Auditorium,
seating 5,000 persons. Each
service was conducted by a
Christian association of
students of different de-
nominations.
Following the organiza-
tion of the Jewish Student
Congregation, the Regents
of the University extended
an invitation to the Jewish
Student Congregation to
conduct the Service on Sun-
day evening, Feb. 21, 1915.
This was the first time the
university service was to be
a Jewish service, with
Rabbi Franklin officiating;
the choir of Detroit's Tem-
ple Beth El rendering the
liturgical music; Rabbi Max
Member FDIC
Heller, spiritual leader of
Temple Sinai in New Or-
leans, delivering the ser-
CLINTON TOWNSHIP
STERLING HEIGHTS
16673 E. 15 Mile Road
44500 Van Dyke
mon; and the president of
792-1470
739-0300
the Jewish Student Con-
HAMTRAMCK
REDFORD TOWNSHIP
WEST BLOOMFIELD
WATERFORD TOWNSHIP
9301 Joseph Campau
25719 Grand River Ave.
6705 Orchard Lake Road
4330 Highland Road
gregation extending wel-
871-944
538-4405
626-3970
681-4830
coming remarks.
The novelty of the service
Hours: Monday - Thursday 9:30-4:30, Friday 9:30 - 7:30, Saturday 9:30 - 4:30 (Except Hamtramck)
(since the Christian stu-
Drive-In Hours: Monday thru Friday 8-8 Saturday 9:30-4:30 (Except Hamtramck)
dents and the residents of
Ann Arbor had never
Executive Secretary
Temple Beth El
OUR PASSOVER HERITAGE
Do•
minion Life
Best Wishes for
a happy, healthy
and joyous
Passover
to the entire community
FROM THE DIRECTORS
AND OFFICERS OF
attended a Jewish service)
aroused wide interest. The
churches of Ann Arbor dis-
pensed with their services
that Sunday evening, "the
first time
the history of
American cities when all
churches have closed their evv4
doors even for a single serv-
ANY
ice for such a purpose."
-On the evening of the
service, Hill Auditorium
was packed to capacity,
service-was an outstare
success.. The Engli -
Jewish as well as the gen-
eral press were lavish with
their praise.
Rabbi Franklin spared no 0-o
effort, in advancing the suc-
cessful functioning of the
Jewish Student Congrega-
tion. Meetings and religious
'services were held in rented
-..r4
quarters. The services were
addressed by prominent
rabbis from all parts of the
country.
The highlight each year
was the annual service con-
ducted by the Jewish Stu-
dent Congregation at Hill.
Auditorium, with the ser-
mon being given by some of
the leading rabbis in the
country, including Stephen
S. Wise, Abba Hillel Silver,
Louis Wolsey, William
Rosenau, Nathan Krass,
Abram Simon, Samuel H.
Goldenson, Solomon B.
4
Freehoff and others.
Financial assistance
Came from the Union of
American Hebrew Congre-
gations, Detroit's Temple
Beth El, and others. A sub-
---4
stantial contribution was
made by philanthropist
Julius Rosenwald of
Chicago.
-
The first Officers and
Trustees of the Jewish
Student Congregation
were: Rowland W. Fixel,
president; Judith
Ginsburg, vice president;
Lester Rosenbaum, sec-
retary; Sol W. Marx, trea-
surer; and Louis David,
Harry Rabinowitz, S. J.
Rosengarten, Richard
Thorsch, Milton Marx.
The presidents who fol-
lowed Fixel were: Sol W.
Marx, Edward W.
Hoffman, Samuel' D.
Frankel, Charles _L.
Kaufman, "Abraham J.
Gornetzsky, Harry
Stocker, Harry E.
August, Sydney
Sarasohn, Oscar A.
Brown, Joel L. Nathan-
son, Leo I. Franklin, Ju-
lian H. Cohn, Lill.
Simaiisky.
The Jewish Student Con-
gregation existed until 1926
when it gave 'way to the
Bnai Brith Hillel Founda-
tion at the ,University of _4
Michigan, third to be or-
ganized in the U.S.
.
ADL Promotion
NEW YORK — Daniel S.
Mariakhin has been ap-
pointed director of leader-
ship for the Anti-
Defamation League of Bnai
Brith. Mariaschin, who has
been director of ADL's,Mid-
dle Eastern Affairs De-
partment since joining the
agency in 1977, succeeds
Abraham H. Foxman, now
the League's associate na-
tional director.
' 4111.111
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