Socializing after the discussion
are, from left: Miriam Huffstutter,
Irwin Levy, Louis Kamber and
Pauline Katan.
The Singles Chavurah is both a
learning and socializing experience
JAN LOVELAND
Special to The Jewish News
fitting in the home of Shani
S Kerman on this hot Sunday
evening, one might not be-
lieve that the 40 or so single
adults gathered there are
listening with rapt attention to Rab-
bi Elimelich Goldberg speak on the
Torah. It's a serious talk: he has
managed, in the last few minutes, to
touch on the history of the Hebron
area in Israel, the role of yeshivah
students in the Yom Kippur War,
Arab Xenophobia, and thousands of
years of Jewish history; he has thrown
in several jokes which stir the crowd
into laughter. Despite a whispered
side conversation going on in the kit-
chen, these might be 40 children get-
ting their earliest lessons in Judaism.
Instead, these people have come to re-
learn their past in the Singles
Chavurah, an organization whose
mailing list numbers 150 unmarried
men and women.
The Jewish singles scene has
grown in every dimension in this com-
munity. But the chavurah has a
distinctly different purp-ose from the
other activities provided for those
looking for Mr. or Ms. Goodbar. Says
Judy Broder, the group's president:
106
FRIDAY, OCT. 9, 1987
"It's clear that there's an interest in
the community to study Torah, to get
together in a non-threatening en-
vironment, to come and learn!"
Adds David Kruger, who assisted
Rabbi Goldberg in organizing the
group in 1985, "I felt that we needed
an opportunity to get people together
under more spiritual circumstances,
(to give them) an opportunity to ex-
plore Jewish ideas and values."
Broder says that the group is not
successful because of the number of
serious relationships that it has
fostered. The success, she adds, is that
"people come away with more
knowledge of the Torah."
From a casual survey of the crowd,
it is clear that participants have
primarily come to hear Rabbi
Goldberg. He is a natural speaker, one
who takes the most complex point and
makes it at once clear and entertain-
ing. His witty eloquence no doubt ac-
counts for the rise in attendance from
an initial handful to the current 40-50
attendees per meeting.
Rabbi Goldberg speaks on topics
that might fill a self-help book:
"Judaism and Human Sexuality,"
Judaism and the Single Parent," "The
Torah's Guide to Self-Esteem" and
"Being Alone' with Yourself!' But
these pop psychology titles belie the
serious religious and cultural
Bob Mc Keown
Turning On
To Torah
The chavurah holds meetings in members' homes.
messages woven into each. For exam-
ple, on this particular night, he gets
into a serious discussion of intermar-
riage and individual loss of Jewish
identity, a topic that he later says
comes up frequently.
"We're losing Jews," he explains
to the group, his voice emphatic and
serious. "Historically, that battlefield
is more overwhelming than the one
with the missiles!' From that point of
departure, he launches into a history
of the sectarian Judaism practiced in
the U.S., concluding, "Sects are not as
meaningful as the unity of the
Diaspora.
"How often do you confront your
Judaism? How often do you use it?"
he asks, bringing the global back to
the personal level. He concludes the
session by calling Judaism both "a
sense of looking backward and a sense
of looking forward!'
For each person in that room,
there is something in his words to
take away from the evening. "What
we try to do is to reach everyone,
regardless of backgrond," he later
says. "The real purpose of the group
is to allow singles to feel a part of a
vibrant Jewish community, to educate
them about Judaism and to introduce
them to 3,000 years of Jewish
history."
One woman, who is attending the
group for the second time, says she
came back because she likes
organizer Broder and enjoys the rab-
bi's talk. "I think it's really important
for single people to keep an identity,
since Judaism is so family oriented!'
she adds.
A first timer who wished not to be
identified, says his interest in dating
brought him to the meeting. "I en-
joyed it — the rabbi did a good job," he
comments. Another first timer, call-
ed the evening "fantastic. .It spurs
discussion and provides a means of
communication!' -
Jerry Stein, who describes
himself as "single for most of my
adult life and Jewish for all of it,"
started attending singles programm-
ing tvio years ago. He came to the
chavurah feeling that dances and
other activities weren't "cutting it for.
the over 45 crowd!' As a delegate from
B'nai B'rith to the Jewish Communi-
ty Council, Stein had taken it upon
himself to advocate for more funding •
for singles programming within the
Detroit community. He enjoys the
chavurah, but emphasizes that "the
thrust of most people here is to meet
Jews, not to hear° the rabbi:'
Sybil Glaser has been coming to
the group for over a year and
disagrees with Stein on the reason for
its healthy attendance. "I like to