HARVESToF LEARNING

ROBYN KLEEREKOPER

Special to The Jewish News

t all began in 1970. I went
to the Midrasha because I
wanted to get the Israeli
pronunciation. I could read
Hebrew since I was a child,
as I was the product of a traditional
Jewish home . . . I'd been taught by
an Ashkenazi rabbi, and the pronun-
ciation is different. So I really
started going there to get the Israeli
pronunciation."
Sixteen years later, Philip H.
Halper is ready to receive his Master
of Hebrew Letters degree from the
Midrasha College of Jewish Studies.
Halper is 87 years old.
A sprightly resident of Berkley,
Halper continues his story:
"Then I was curious. I thought I'd
try out my Yiddish. I had Yiddish and
"could speak, and read and write it, so I
took some Yiddish courses. After that I
took some other classes which became
very interesting. So I continued my
studying and I thought it would be fun
to have a master's degree from this
institution. You see, I had a master's
degree from Wayne State University
in 1964 in German."
His love of languages was not the
focus of his younger days. Born in New
Haven, Conn., Halper spent his boy-
hood in Bridgeport. His family moved
back to New Haven, and he attended
high school there. He graduated from
the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale)
University in 1920, with a bachelor's
degree in philosophy, majoring in
chemistry.
Chemistry was the area of his first
job in Michigan. He worked briefly as
an iron and steel analyst at the Gen-
eral Motors chemical laboratories on
Grand Blvd. But Halper didn't stay
with science too long. The investment
business intrigued him and he worked
for an investment company until the
Depression, he tried his hand at sev-
eral things until finding the job that
most appealed to him. He worked for
awhile as a watchmaker in a jewelry
store. He was a salesman for many
years. Some of his time in sales satis-
fied him because it gave him a chance
to travel. But it was teaching that be-
came his true interest.
"Those other jobs were just stop-
gaps until I became a teacher. The un-
fortunate thing is, I didn't teach very
long. I love teaching."
When Halper was in his sixties he
went back to school, and while at
Wayne State, he worked as a part-time
German instructor. He taught for a
short time at Wayne after graduating,
and then, "I went over to the general
education department of the Detroit
Board of EducatiOn and taught
English to Hispanics. Then I was
transferred, and I taught math to high
school dropouts. After I retired from
the Detroit Board of Education, I re-
mained teaching math to dropouts on a
volunteer basis."
Keeping busy is very important to

this very outgoing, energetic oc-
togenerian. For many years he has
been involved with volunteer work for
the Jewish Family Service. Here his
affinity for languages has played a
vital part.
"They put me in the Russian-
Jewish department. I used to take care
of the immigrants who came to De-
troit, and I would meet them at the
airport. I can communicate in Russian,
and I can speak Yiddish fluently, so we
could get by. I had taken a few classes
in Russian at Wayne State before I
even went to volunteer with the
Jewish Family Services.
"I used to go two or three times a
week, but now it is two or three times a
month. What's happening now is a

great many of the immigrants can
speak enough English to help the new
ones. A good deal of my work with the
JFS is taking these people to the de-
partment of social services where they
have to register for food stamps and so
forth."
When not taking classes or volun-
teering his time to other, Halper works
in his large garden, a great source of
satisfaction to him.
"Gardening is my main hobby. I.
have a big vegetable garden — not too
many flowers — mainly vegetables
and herbs, and that keeps me busy al-
most year-round. I start as soon as the
ground is tillable, and work long after
the first frost. There's always some-
thing to do. You can see my newest lot

N

Octogenarian
Philip Halper— an avid
gardener — will soon
reap a Master of
Hebrew Letters degree

Philip Halper gets help from teacher Nira Lev.

of lettuces are up. I used to play golf
quite a lot, but once I took up garden-
ing, I gave it up for good."
Halper and his wife of 52 years,
Anna Louise, have lived in their house
on a quiet street in Berkley for 44
years. In it they raised a daughter,
Judith Barry, who is married and has
four sons. The Barrys live in Pennsyl-
vania. Anna Louise was an art teacher
in Illinois for several years before their
marriage. She taught for awhile in
Michigan schools after moving here.
Halper says of the neighborhood in
which he lives, "People come and go
. . . I think we are among the `first
settlers.' "
Receiving a degree at 87 is not a
very common occurrence, but Halper
says he finds himself older than the
rest in most things he undertakes
these days. He enjoys this idea a lot.
But I'm just an ordinary guy," he pro-
tests. "I like my home, my garden. I
have a very successful marriage."
Nira Lev, one of the staff of the
Midrasha, says of Halper, He is very
conscientious. He's always there —
never misses a class. He writes a lot.
He brings in stories he's written every
week, and the work is always excel-
lent."
Halper is not one to just passively
sit in class. According to Lev, who has
been one of his teachers for the past 13
years, He contributes a lot to what's
going on. The other students enjoy
having him there. He makes poignant
comments, and constantly looks criti-
cally at the material and literature we
are studying. He likes to make
chauvinistic remarks when there are
no other men in the class — he has a
very good sense of humor.
For me, he's very special. For two
years he drove me to and from class
when I first came here as I didn't have
my driver's license. He would wait in
his car when he took me home to see
that I got in safely. What you notice
about him is his gentlemanly manner,
and his pep."
Midrasha Director Renee Wohl
says, "Philip Halper has been a most
amazing person in terms of his perse-
verance and commitment. He is
amused when I tell him I'm proud of
him. The staff tells me , of his thorough
research and the careful analysis he
does. He is highly motivated. I'd call
him an example to us all. And coupled
with his commitment to Jewish learn-
ing is his love of gardening. He often
brings tomatoes and zucchinis to class
for the teachers."

In March, Halper and fellow stu-
dents Batia Eizikovic and Allan Gale
will receive their master's degrees, the
first such degrees awarded by the Mid-
rasha.
That accomplishment under his
belt, what are Hapler's future plans?
"I will keep working on my gar-
den," he says. "I need to trim some of
the trees in my garden. They are get-
ting too big and are blocking the sun.
I'm going to continue the rest of my life
learning Hebrew. ❑

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