I UP FRONT
Far East Side Jews
Host Chanukah Party
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
H
oping to create a
sense of community
awareness, Janet and
Dr. Jeffrey Weingarten are
throwing a Chanukah party
this month for what they
believe is an untapped
Jewish population on
Detroit's far east side.
"It will be a road for a lot
of connections," Janet We-
ingarten said. "I cannot
predict what will happen.
But I'd like to see a Jewish
community develop on the
east side of town."
Janet Weingarten already
has targeted 85 families
which have at least one
Jewish member to invite
them to the Dec. 21 party at
her home in Grosse Pointe
Woods, an area never
populated by many Jews.
The Weingartens are not
looking for a one-time party.
Once other Jewish families
are located, they hope to con-
tinually gather for other
Jewish holidays.
"I think it will blossom,"
Janet Weingarten said.
"The news is spreading like
wildfire. Maybe there are
enough families to start our
own congregation."
So far, Janet Weingarten
has received names through
word-of-mouth. On her list
are several mixed mar-
riages, two single women
who are converting to
Judaism, teachers from Lig-
gett High School, a dentist
who has lived in the Grosse
Pointe area for over 60 years
and widows and widowers.
The Weingartens, natives
of Chicago, moved to Grosse
Pointe Woods nearly four
years ago with their two
young children when Dr.
Jeffrey Weingarten secured
his first job following a
residency in Iowa. He is af-
filiated with Lake Shore
Ear, Nose and Throat in St.
Clair Shores. Janet We-
ingarten is a part-time
critical care registered
nurse.
They realized the area was
"not very Jewish," but they
seemed to like it and wanted
to live near Dr. We-
ingarten's office. They
enrolled their daughter,
Jennifer, then 1, in pre-
school at Temple Emanu-El
in Oak Park.
"We decided we liked the
Continued on Page 14
Kindergarten students Jennifer Schanes, Jessica Robins, Natalie Stern and Matthew Shiffman wait for their new
playground.
Kids Await Hillel Playground
SUSAN GRANT
Staff Writer
H
illel Day School
kindergarten
students stared out
the window and cried when
they saw a bulldozer tear up
their playground one month
ago.
Since construction on a
new playground began Oct.
30, the kindergarten class
has counted the school days
they have been linable to use
it.
- Earlier this year Sadie and
Irwin Cohn, Avern and
Joyce Cohn and Rita and
John Haddow gave the
school a donation to pay for a
new playground and future
maintenance.
Hillel Executive Director
Marcia Fishman would not
say how much money was
donated, but it was enough
to cover the cost of the
drainage work necessary to
keep the playground dry — a
continual problem at the
school since it was opened in
1970.
Hillel Development Coor-
dinator Rhona Fidler said a
new play area has been on
the school's wish list for
some time, but it was not un-
til last spring when the
ing to meet monthly
payments to former owner
Vincent Sardi, a New York
state Supreme Court judge
ruled last week.
Bloch purchased the res-
taurant, located in New
York's theater district, for
$6.2 million in 1982. Sardi
now has the right to re-
purchase the restaurant.
The purpose of the China-
Judaic association is to pro-
mote the study of Jewish
culture, history, religion,
philosophy, literature, socie-
ty and nationhood.
Continued on Page 14
ROUND UP
Why Deena
'Screamed Her
Head Off'
Eight-year-old Deena Loef-
fler of Southfield thought
she was off for a boring
afternoon.
'Home for vacation last
,February, Deena went to
work with her mother, San-
dy Loeffler, Hillel Foudation
of Metropolitan Detroit ex-
tension director at Oakland
University. Included in the
day's work was attending a
lecture by author Julius
Lester, who discussed his
book Lovesong, which
focuses on his conversion to
Judaism.
After the lecture Deena
met with Lester, also the au-
thor of a number of
children's books. "We just
talked," Deena said. "I said
`I'm glad to meet you' and
`I'm glad I came to see you."'
Several weeks ago, Deena
received in the mail a copy of
Lester's latest book How
Many Spots Does A Leopard
Have? a collection of Jewish
and African fairy tales.
When she opened the book,
Deena discovered quite a
surprise. The author had
dedicated the book to her. "I
was screaming my head off
when I saw that," Deena
said.
Israel Ballet Sets
Soviet Tour
Tel Aviv (JTA) — The thaw
in Soviet-Israel cultural re-
lations continued as Israel's
Bat Dor ballet company last
week began a tour of three
cities in the Soviet Union.
At the invitation of the
Soyuz Union of Soviet
Theaters, the dance group
will give 13 performances in
Moscow, Leningrad and
Vilna.
A New Way
To Say L'Chalm?
It may only be coincidence,
but the local Mothers
Against Drunk Driving
(MADD) has produced a
symbol that carries the
message of life and looks just
like the Hebrew letter chet,
which begins the Hebrew
word chai.
MADD says chai
The marker, which actu-
ally is in the shape of a
ribbon to symbolize the
group's logo "Tie one on for
MADD," is part of a MADD
nationwide campaign to
show commitment to driving
sober. Drivers also are asked
to, tie a red ribbon an their
left car door mirror or
antenna to serve as a
reminder to anyone entering
the car not to drink and
drive.
Ivan Bloch
Loses Sardi's
New York — Former
Detroiter and Broadway
producer Ivan Bloch lost
ownership of Sardi's restau-
rant in Manhattan after fail-
China-Judaic
Studies Created
Jerusalem — Professor Xu
Xin of Nanjing University,
who last year visited Israel
as a guest of the Harry
Truman Research Institute
for the Advancement of
Peace at the Hebrew Uni-
versity of Jerusalem, recent-
ly helped establish the
China Judaic Studies
Association at Nanjing Uni-
versity — the first organiza-
tion of its kind in China.
"We believe it is the right
time to do something for
better relations between the
Chinese and the Israelis,"
Xu wrote in a letter to the
chairman of the Truman In-
stitute.
Network Aids
The Elderly
The Association of Jewish
Family and Children's
Agencies has established a
national information and
referral service to help
members of the Jewish
community and their elderly
family members.
Called the Elder Support
Network, the service will
make resources of local
Jewish family services
available to any member of
the Jewish community seek-
ing help for frail, isolated,
physically and/or emotional-
ly impaired elderly adults
and their families.
For information, call the
Elder Support Network, 1-
800-634-7654.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5