Heather Mantle of the
JCC reads to Gabriella
Schnayer, 4, Carly
Gordner, 2, Tori
Sheifetz, 2, and Joshua
Morrison, 2.
Above: Congregation Shaar Hashomayim:
The second oldest Orthodox synagogue in Windsor.
At right: Gravesite of Moses David, Windsor's
first Jewish settler.
48
FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1991
said, "but we have the same
community services and
organizations as Detroit.
Most of us only go into
Detroit when we want to see
a good play or see a sporting
event," she said.
"And because of our close
proximity, we can take ad-
vantage of the best Detroit
has to offer without having
to deal with the seamier
side," she said. Occasionally,
Mr. and Mrs. Schmitz drive
to Detroit to buy kosher
meats and products that are
more expensive and harder
to find in Windsor.
"We have a store where
you can get kosher meat, but
sometimes they don't have it
in the quantities you need,"
Mrs. Schmitz said. "We also
have a bakery where you can
buy kosher challah, but you
have to special order any
other kind of kosher cake or
pastry.
"Even though the cost of
living in Windsor is higher
than it is in Detroit," Mr.
Schmitz said, "we still think
that our advantages
outweigh financial disad-
vantages.
"The crime problem in
Detroit was a factor in our
move to Windsor," he said.
"I find Canadians friendlier
and less aggressive and the
overall pace of life less
stressful."
Lina and Jack Shanfield
say the relative safety of
Windsor as well as their
well-known business has
kept them in Windsor the
last 50 years. The Shan-
fields, who own and operate
Shanfield's China and
Porcelain shop in downtown
Windsor, say their commun-
ity has everything they
could wish for except a
strong Orthodox presence.
The Shanfields belong to
Shaarey Zedek, the first Or-
thodox synagogue in Wind-
sor. It was established by 14
families in 1893.
Shaarey Zedek hasn't had
a full-time rabbi in more
than 20 years. The syn-
agogue has seen its member-
ship dwindle from a few
hundred to fewer than 50.
The shul has lost most of its
regular worshipers to Shaar
Hashomayim, the Orthodox
synagogue down the street.
Today, the synagogue's
members are mostly in their
late 50s, 60s and 70s. "It's a
miracle we're even here,"
Mrs. Shanfield said. "We're
more of a do-it-yourself syn-
agogue. So we just keep on
going."
However, like the families
of today, the Shanfields sent
their children to Jewish
schools in Detroit. Their two
daughters attended Bais
Yaakov and their son at-
tended Yeshivah Beth
Yehudah.
"We might have con-
sidered moving had our
business and friends not
kept us here," said Mr.
Shanfield, who was born in
Toronto. "It wasn't easy
then to be Orthodox in
Windsor and it's not that
easy today to be Orthodox in
Windsor." Today, several
carpools still travel the
Windsor-Detroit route back
and forth every day. One
carpool drops kids off at
Akiva Hebrew Day School,
Hillel Day School, Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah and Bais
Yaakov.
Ora Davy, of Windsor,
sends her daughter, Amrav,
11, and son, Erez, 9, to
Hillel.
"I wanted them to socialize
with other Jewish children,"
said Mrs. Davy, who is
originally from Israel. "I
could have sent them to the
afternoon Hebrew school at
the Shaar, but I wanted my
kids to have a more
thorough education that
will, in the long run, have a
greater impact on their de-
velopment."
David Jarcaig of Windsor,
a freshman at Wayne State
University, remembers the
years he spent commuting to
Akiva.