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453-7500
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40475 Ann Arbor Rd. at 1-275, Plymouth, MI
SOUTHFIELD
WEST BLOOMFIELO
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30878 Orchard Lake Rd.
Farmington Hills, Mi.
851-3590
HAIR FASHIONS
BY RONALD
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23720 Southfield Rd.
Southfield, Mi.
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207 S. Woodward Ave.
Birmingham, MI 48011 642-0460
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PATRICK NAGEL
19011 W. 10 Mile, Sfld.
"CN -12"
An Original Serigraph.
Bet. SM. & Evergreen
352-1080
Mon: Sat. 9:30.6
Thurs. till 7
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The twelfth in a limited commemorative series.
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29555 Northwestern Hwy., La Mirage Mall
Southfield, Michigan 48034
544-1711
358-0830
22961 Woodward, Ferndale, MI
FRIDAY, SEPT, 11, 1987
mother was a Seventh Day
Adventist.
In college, Douglas began
discussing religion with a
Jewish friend. His interest in
Judaism grew. He took a
religion class taught by a rab-
bi and began studying a little
harder about Judaism.
"I was introduced to Reform
Judaism," he says. "I felt com-
fortable with it more and
more the more I learned
about it." He studied with two
rabbis over a period of 15
months before converting.
Friends of his were "off into
Islamic religion, but I wasn't
comfortable with it. There
was nothing I liked about it."
Douglas says he felt really
good about his conversion,
but that his feelings were
really hard to explain. "But I
didn't jump into it just for the
sake of jumping into it."
He has found more support
than obstacles from the
Jewish community. "I was
prepared for questions on my
mother's Jewish name, but
people have been warm and
nice. I've had no problems," he
says. "I'm very ambitious and
have confidence in myself, a
lot of faith in myself, so I was
prepared to hold my ground if
I met with any obstacles.
Nobody could keep me from
practicing my religion. My
only obstacles have been car
trouble which prevented me
from going to services at Tem-
ple Kol Ami."
If anyone there is upset
about his affiliation, he has
not notifed it. "Temple Kol
Ami is not big, it's very in-
timate. You get to meet peo-
ple. I try to attend and par-
ticipate as much as possible,
but my car keeps breaking
down on me."
Douglas says he has been
invited to other members'
homes for Passover and other
holidays, and that "Rabbi
Conrad made sure I was
taken care of." His 12-year-old
son from a previous marriage
often attends services with
him, and his six-month-old
daughter was named during
a ceremony in August.
While in California this
spring, he was searching for a
synagogue to attend services
during Passover. He
discovered that the family of
the rabbi who converted him
were members of the
synagogue he selected. The
family invited him to their
seder and called the rabbi
who was living 300 miles
away.
After his conversion,
Douglas continued his studies
with an Orthodox rabbi. "He
was totally opposed to conver-
sion not performed in accor-
dance with Halachah (Jewish
law), and finally I couldn't
hold my tongue," he says. "I
thought he was a great per-
son. He showed me another
side to Judaism. I've had an
opportunity to look at
Reform, Conservative and Or-
thodox."
While Douglas openly
discusses his religion with
family and friends in order for
them to better understand it,
he says that blacks, like most
people, "feel you've got to be
white to be Jewish. I explain
that Judaism is not a race of
people, it's a religion. A lot of
them don't understand. I try
to explain it to them. If they
don't (understand), it's
tough."
While Douglas says he
doesn't know any other black
Jews, he has made many
Jewish friends. But, he
laments, "some of the guys I
hang out with were born
Jews, but I can't get them to
go to services with me."
❑
I LOCAL NEWS I'm'
Toast L'Chayim
At Family Day
The main Jewish Com-
munity Center will serve as
host to a pre-High Holiday
family event on Sept. 20 from
2 to 4 p.m. The event is being
sponsored by The Jewish
News and Jewish Experiences
For Families to introduce .
families to L'Chayim, a mon-
thly family supplement of
The Jewish News, designed to
enhance Jewish family life.
Entitled "Apples, Honey,
and Lots, Lots More," it will
feature storyteller Helen Ut-
chenik, musicians Stuart
Rogoff of Class Act Orchestra
and Loie Meeron, Rabbi Nor-
man Roman Of Temple Kol
Ami and the Beth Abraham
Hillel Moses Youth Choir. In
addition there will be a varie-
ty of hands-on crafts booths,
cider making, a model succah,
and a chance to learn to braid
challah.
Cong. Beth Shalom, Temple
Emanu-El's Holiday
Workshop, the Detroit Soviet
Jewry Committee of the
Jewish Community Council,
the Lubavitch Women's
Organization, and the Jewish
Parents Institute all will be
represented.
Jewish Experiences For
Families is a combined effort
of the Fresh Air Society,
Jewish Community Center
and United Hebrew Schools,
designed to enrich Jewish
family life in the Detroit
metropolitan area. It is made
possible by a grant from the
Mandell L. Berman Family
and the Max M. Fisher
Foundation.