I CONTENTS OPINION CLOSE-UP 22 Kosher Kops SUSAN WELCH A new director, new policies, and a state proposal may change kashrut supervision in Michigan. 34 A Fitness Guru CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ A profile look at one of the area's leading health and fitness consultants. 39 Taste Of New York HEIDI PRESS Cong. B'nai Moshe: Other congregations are also considering moving out of Oak Park. B'nai Moshe's Commitment Is To Members, Not Oak Park LEONARD I. WANETIK 0 ak Park Mayor Charlotte M. Roth- stein's letter (Dec. 18) sounded very much like an attack on both Cong. B'nai Moshe's rabbi and our leadership, in an attempt to pressure Cong. B'nai Moshe to bend to Oak Park's will. The letter even ended with the standard "I'll do anything for you, dear" line. Let's stop kidding ourselves and look at some facts. Mayor Rothstein writes of B'nai Moshe as though it were a community organiza- tion. It is not. It serves the community, par- ticularly the residents of the Federation Apartments, but receives no funding from any community organization. It is sup- ported solely by contributions and dues, almost all of which come from its members. As such, an attempt to place the kind of guilt on us which Mayor Rothstein explicit- ly throws at B'nai Moshe is grossly out of place and quite unwelcome. Let the com- munity fund us, and it will have a voice in how we serve our congregants. Until then, butt out, to be quite frank. Or write equal- ly about Young Israel, which recently bought property in the northwest. Or Beth Shalom, which has been quietly exploring its options for years. But don't dump your entire load on one congregation merely because it is honest. Mayor Rothstein asks where B'nai Moshe's commitment to Oak Park is. Ten years ago, B'nai Moshe's leadership con- sidered making a move. Intense pressure from Oak Park's secular government made our leaders reconsider their commitment to our synagogue and place the interests of Oak Park first. Let any objective observer check the record and declare that the interests of B'nai Moshe were served by that decision. Clearly, the interests of Oak Park, Adat Shalom and others were better served than ours. Leonard I. Wanetik heads Cong. B'nai Moshe's ritual committee. Today, B'nai Moshe has at least 40 per- cent of its members — and a greater por- tion of its providers of revenue — located in the northwest. It is equally consistent with the interests of B'nai Moshe to move to serve that population as it is for B'nai Moshe to stay for the Oak Park and Southfield populations. Mayor Rothstein's attempt to interfere in B'nai Moshe's ser- vice to its congregants smacks of a bid by a municipal, secular, government to nose its way into the affairs of a religious organization. Mayor Rothstein, as the head of a secular government, is bound by the First Amend- ment to the Constitution, which prohibits her from involving the municipalilty in the affairs of any religious institution. Thus, I would like to know what concrete proposals this municipality has for assisting a Jewish congregation. If performance is an in- dicator, the answer is none. Of course, where Mayor Rothstein cannot act, Charlotte Rothstein — were she to join B'nai Moshe — would be welcome to add her ideas, vibrancy and power in attracting new members. I question whether the monies spent by the federal and state governments were spent explicitly "to preserve our Jewish community for access to synagogues and temples" because of a love for either the people of Israel or Cong. B'nai Moshe. As she noted, hard political bargaining, threats of lawsuits and possible delays in construction helped bring the government temporarily to its senses. As for B'nai Moshe, it received less than $15,000 in compensation after a trial in which the at- torney for the State of Michigan reported- ly engaged in fairly brutal tactics — tac- tics which make the amounts quoted by Mayor Rothstein irrelevant. Mayor Rothstein's letter was written without her having first spoken with our rabbi. It would have been a nice touch for her to have at least done that, or to have Continued on Page 12 A young adult party brings out the Big Apple in Motown. feeling Good, , center Our special section will help get 1988 off to a healthy start. ENTERTAINMENT Barr None RITA CHARLESTON Motherhood and apple pie takes on a new meaning. SPORTS 59 Up Front MIKE ROSENBAUM Trainer-athlete Jack Front looks at the positive side. SINGLE LIFE Matter Of Scruples 67 DONNA RAPHAEL Values play a major role in relationships according to this EMU philosophy prof. DEPARTMENTS 28 32 36 43 56 62 For Women 63 Engagements 66 Births 69 Youth 86 Obituaries Inside Washington Synagogues Life In Israel Business For Seniors CANDLELIGHTING January 1, 1988 4:53 p.m. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 7