DETROIT

‘Maccabi Matchmakers' Making
Host Pairings Without Computer

RICHARD PEARL

Staff Writer

a

omputers, step aside:
this one is "hands-
on."
The ubiquitous electronic
marvels are taking a back
seat to doing things by hand
in the major task of pairing
approximately 925 Detroit-
area host families with 2,000
teenaged athletes coming to
Detroit from around the
world for the Jewish Com-
munity Centers North
American Maccabi Youth
Games Aug. 19-26.
Although housing
assignments won't be mailed
to host families and athletes
until Aug. 1, host-family in-
formational meetings have
begun. The first was Monday
night at the Maple-Drake
JCC and drew 400 people.
Of the seven remaining
meetings in the series, three
will be at Maple-Drake (7:30
p.m. July 19 and 24 and 11
a.m. Aug. 5); and two each at
the Jimmy Prentis Morris
Building (11 a.m. July 22,
7:30 p.m. Aug. 9) and the
Washtenaw County JCC in
Ann Arbor (10 a.m. July 22
and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7).
Families are given infor-
mation packets explaining
the criteria for the Games —
bus schedules, medical in-

formation, ho .st-family
groupings by neighborhood,
plus letters addressed to the
age 13-to-16 Games par-
ticipants spelling out what's
expected of them while they
are guests here.
Meanwhile, the "Maccabi
matchmaking process" is in
full swing. And doing things
the old-fashioned way are

The whole
housing/hosting
process is "a labor
of love" for all
involved, said
Robinson and
Eisenshtadt.

Barbara Robinson and Carol
Eisenshtadt, co-chairmen of
the Games' housing com-
mittee.
"Oh, we're using compu-
ters in our Maccabi office to
compile and assemble the in-
formation for host families
and athletes, but the mat-
ching-up is strictly by hand,
by Carol and me," said
Robinson.
"Carol and I read every
single housing application
form" in an effort to "look at
everything both groups (host
families and athletes) are
requesting."

Applebaums Will Be
Weizmann Honorees

> ciD

The Detroit Committee for
the Weizmann Institute of
Science will hold its annual
dinner Sept. 24 at the Hyatt
Regency. Honorees will be
Eugene and Marcia Apple-
baum
The Applebaums have been
longtime supporters and
activists in behalf of the
Weizmann Institute. Eugene
Applebaum serves as vice
chairman of the Detroit
Board and is also a member
of the national board of
directors.
Dr. Joseph M. Jacobson,
chairman of the Detroit
board, has announced that
immediate past chairman
Robert Sosnick and Susan
Sosnick will chair the black-
tie event. Proceeds will
benefit the research institu-
tion in Rehovot.
Joseph and Nancy Jacobson
will host a cocktail party on
Sept. 18 to mark the
establishment of the Eugene

Eugene and Marcia Applebaum

and Marcia Applebaum Pro-
fessorial Chair at the Weiz-
mann Institute of Science.
For information, call Edie
Slotkin, 855-4112.

"All I know is, six years
ago, during the last Maccabi
in Detroit, I didn't need to
wear glasses," said Eisen-
shtadt. "Now I can't work
without them."
Many families said they
had no preferences regar-
ding the athletes they would
host. But some families re-
quested boys or girls only;
others sought youngsters by
the sport they play; and still
others have asked for
athletes by dietary pre-
ference — at least one family
has requested vegetarians.
In addition, some athletes
ask placement with team-
mates while others want to
room with teens from other
delegations whom they met
at previous Maccabi Games.
And many families and
athletes have requested non-
smokers.
The two Maccabi
"matchmakers" try to pair
same-sport athletes, but a
key consideration is to
"make it all as simple as
possible for everyone." For
example, matching families
to only one delegation will
keep transportation efforts
to a minimum.
"We are trying real hard
to give everybody what they
want," said Robinson. "We
are trying to look at every-
thing. Some will get exactly
what they asked for. But I
hope that everybody has
signed up in the best of spirit
for the Games and that they
will accept placements in
that spirit."
Nevertheless, she said, "I
find myself lying in bed at
night, trying to make match-
ups in my mind. But the
whole process is absolutely
exhilarating. It's like doing
a four-mile-square jigsaw
puzzle," a reference to the
northwest suburban area
where most host families
live.
The whole housing/hosting
process is "a labor of love"
for all involved — mat-
chmakers as well as host
families, said Robinson and
Eisenshtadt.
Because of its response to
the requests for housing, "I
think the Detroit Jewish
community is the most
warm, hospitable commun-
ity anywhere," said Robin-
son. "It gives me goose
bumps — without them, the
Games wouldn't have been
possible.
"Well over 900 families
have said 'yes', and even

Sinai Hospital rehabilitation inpatient Bennie Rhodes joins physical
therapist Sharon Katz on the dance floor at the hospital's summer
"beach party" July 13. The party, one of three during the summer,
had live entertainment, dancing, and an opportunity to practice new
skills in a social setting.

though some have had to
drop out along the way, at
least in their hearts they
have been with us. We even
had some sign up as host
families back in 1989.
"This is the largest gather-
ing of Jewish youth in the
United States. And there
will be 200 more athletes ac-
commodated by the Detroit
Jewish community than at
the Chicago Maccabi Games
two years ago, and we're do-
ing it with only one-third the
Jewish population," said
Robinson.
"We all know we have to
help each other to make this
happen. There is a sense of

bonding within our com-
munity."
Although the 925-plus
families is short of the
1,000-family goal, neither
Robinson nor Eisenshtadt is
worried. They would like
more families to volunteer,
but some host families now
are saying they will take
more athletes.
"One lady who already is
hosting two athletes said she
would take three more.
She'll take them from
Australia and Mexico, she
said, so she's really going to
have an international
household," said Eisen-
shtadt.

❑

I FOLLOW-UP

Yeshiva Delays Move,
Begins Construction

SUSAN GRANT

Staff Writer

A

lthough Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah has begun
to convert the former
Congregation B'nai Moshe
building into classroom
space, school officials don't
expect to use the facility un-
til September 1991.
When the school purchas-
ed the Oak Park synagogue
earlier this year from United
Jewish Charities, yeshiva of-
ficials hoped to move the pre-
school in Southfield and the
Sally Allan Alexander Beth
Jacob School for Girls in
Beverly Hills into the reno-
v ate d building in
September.

Those plans fell through
when construction was
delayed. Yeshiva officials
had hoped to begin renova-
tion work in April, but could
not do so until the syn-
agogue vacated the building
at the end of June.
Although the pre-school
may also have to wait a year,
school administrator Rabbi
E.B. Freedman says the
school may be able to move
into the former synagogue at
Church and 10 Mile roads in
January.
Moving the pre-school
classes sooner would ease
overcrowding at the Joseph
Tanenbaum Boys' School in
Southfield which has been a

Continued on Page 16

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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