The Talmud Torah,
Detroit's first Hebrew
day school, built in
1902.
Mark Sloman, who
saved the lives of many
runaway slaves, and
the grounds of his first
house, as it appears
now.
A MAN OF MORALS
From the women's groups
who sewed warm clothes, to
the up-and-coming politi-
cians who raised money,
Jewish Michiganians were
eager to do their part for the
Civil War.
As recounted in Robert
Rockaway's The Jews of
Detroit, 1762 1914, despite
rampant anti-Semitism in
the 1860s, Jews could not
seem to do enough to help
their country during the
war.
Simon and Herman
Freedman gave $500 to
Michigan's emergency war
fund. Edward Kanter helped
recruit soldiers for the
state's regiments. The wives
of several prominent Jews
created the Ladies' Soldiers
Aid Society, the first organ-
ization of its kind in the
United States.
Half of the 181 Jews from
Michigan who served in
Union Army were from
Detroit. Those who could not
serve did their part on the
home front.
Among those who stayed
in Detroit but still felt
strongly about helping the
cause was Mark Sloman. A
fur dealer, Sloman was a
member of the civilian police
force throughout the war.
But perhaps his greatest
legacy is that he helped
many fugitive slaves escape
to freedom.
Sloman lived at 133 Con-
gress in 1863 and at 169
Congress in 1862.
Both residences have long
-
since ceased to exist. The
Lodge Freeway covers the
area where Sloman's 1863
home once stood, while his
house at 169 Congress is the
site of a parking garage.
SCHOOL DAYS
On Sept. 8, 1901, a group
of Jewish women put on
their finest hats and most
elegant gowns and walked
with their husbands, looking
equally dapper, downtown
Detroit.
The excitement that day
was unparalleled: Detroit
was about to lay a
cornerstone for its first Heb-
rew day school.
The school was located at
49 Division in the Hastings
Street area, the heart of the
Jewish community from the
late 1800s to the 1920s. Just
around the corner on
Winder, between Beaubein
and St. Antoine, was the im-
pressive Shaarey Zedek
Synagogue, built in 1903.
The Shaarey Zedek building
stands today, though it is
empty, ruined and sur-
rounded by weeds.
The Hebrew day school
was the project of the
Talmud Torah Association,
organized in 1898 by mem-
bers of Shaarey Zedek Syn-
agogue. The school held its
first classes in a rented cot-
tage.
The new school was in a
brick building that included
four school rooms, an
assembly hall and a library.
Dr. Jacob Baruch served as
the school's first principal,
while Samuel Ginsburg was
the Talmud Torah Associa-
tion's first president. The
school was established for
boys, though one classroom
was used for girls. Classes
met Monday through Thurs-
day.
Among the most generous
contributors to the new
school was Kate Roth, who
gave $3,000, while Samuel
Ginsburg donated $1,500.
Because the Talmud Torah
catered mostly to immi-
grants, it suffered from fi-
nancial difficulties almost
from the day it was estab-
lished. By 1909, the school
had merged with the new
Shaarey Zedek afternoon
school, with Rabbi Abraham
Hershman as principal.
The building that once
housed the Talmud Torah
was destroyed. Today, only
one block of Division Street
still exists. The area where
Detroit's first Hebrew day
school stood is now occupied
by the Brewster-Douglas
Housing Projects.
SPECIAL APPEARANCE
In its long history Detroit
has hosted numerous famous
and infamous guests. One of
its most celebrated visitors
among the Jewish commun-
ity at the turn of the century
was Shalom Aleichem. The
great Yiddish author visited
the city in 1915, almost one
year to the day before his
death.
Shalom Aleichem, born
Sholom Rabinowitz in 1859
in the Ukraine, first made a
1A'AYNE STATE UNIVERSITY THEATRE
The Bonstelle Theater, formerly Temple Beth El.