DETROIT

New American Emigres Spend
A Jewish Sabbath With J.E.F.F.

AMY J. MEHLER

Staff Writer

S

habbat in Kishinev
was never like this:
Gleaming white
candlesticks on every table;
big, braided challot; sparkl-
ing red wine for kiddush;
Hebrew blessings explained
in Russian; families singing
zmirot, Shabbat songs.
As Alla and Roman
Polevoy experienced their
first Shabbat dinner last
week, their daughters,
Rimma, 3, and Ludmila, 5,
kept busy trying out plates
of hot, roasted chicken,
sweet tsimmes and crunchy
noodle kugel.
So did more than 40 other
Jews from the Soviet Union.
They were part of a special
program sponsored by
J.E.F.F., Jewish Experi-
ences for Families, which in-
troduced Shabbat dinner to
the 78 new Americans who
came to Detroit in May.
Sue Stettner, who works
for J.E.F.F., said the pro-
gram, which was held at the
Jimmy Prentis Morris Jew-
ish Community Center, will
target new American
families.
"We started with the new
Americans who arrived in
May," Mrs. Stettner said,
"but we'll be doing the same
for the new Americans who
came in June, July, August
and so on."
According to Sandy
Hyman, director of the
Resettlement Service, 308
new Americans came to
Detroit this summer — 104
in June, 86 in July, and 40 so
far this month.
"The problems and crises
new Americans face when
they first arrive can be
overwhelming," Mrs. Stett-

Rimma and Ludmila Polevoy.

14

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1991

ner said. "While they learn
about Shabbat, they have a
chance to set aside a lot of
their worries, and just relax
among friends and
families."
Mr. and Mrs. Polevoy, who
are from Kishinev, a city in
the Russian republic of
Moldavia, knew little of
Shabbat rituals.
"We knew Jews light
fires," said Mrs. Polevoy, an
economist. "Now we hope to
learn as much as we can so
we can do it on our own."
Mr. Polevoy, a mechanical
engineer, said he expected to
meet a lot of Americans and
sit down to a big meal.
"I knew something about
Jews joining together, but
this was something we never
did in Russia," Mr. Polevoy
said. "When we came here,
we said we will do what
every Jew in the community
does."
Susannah and Gennadiy
Shmulinsky from Zhitomir,
a city near Kiev, never
heard of Shabbat. On Friday
nights, they'd play with
their son, Edward, 15 mon-
ths, go to movies or read
books.
"We will try to have
Shabbat next time. We want
that Edward will know
about it and be free to have
it if he wants to," Mrs.
Shmulinsky said.
Irma Starr, who does Rus-
sian acculturation for
J.E.F.F., said each family
takes home a set of
candlesticks and Russian-
English guidebooks.
Marcy Feldman, president
of the Resettlement Service,
said more of the Jewish
community should share
Jewish experiences like
Shabbat with the new
Americans. She is asking
synagogues and families to

sponsor upcoming Shabbat
dinners.
Irving and Barbara
Nusbaum, who sponsored
the dinner Aug. 2, said it
was an experience they'd
always remember.
"It's beautiful to share
Shabbat with Jewish
families who never had the
opportunity to experience it
before," Mrs. Nusbaum said.
"Language is no problem
this evening. I can't talk to
them very well, but we
communicate through our
eyes."
Sonya Perchikovsky, who
came to Detroit from
Moscow 41/2years ago, was on
hand to interpret the rituals
and practices of Shabbat into
Russian.
Mrs. Perchikovsky's 22-
year-old daughter, Anna,

The Shabbat table.

was recently married at
Congregation Shaarey
Zedek, and her son, Ilya, will
be bar mitzvah in October.
"I enjoy helping
newcomers and sharing my
experiences with them,"
said Mrs. Perchikovsky, a
member of Congregation

Shaarey Zedek. "I didn't
know much about being
Jewish when I arrived here,
but my family and I have
learned as much as we
wanted to through the
Detroit community.
"Shabbat Shalom," Mrs.
Perchikovsky added. ❑

JPM Director Moving
To J.E.F.F. Program

AMYJ.MEHLER

Staff Writer

I

rma Starr, director of the
Jimmy Prentis Morris
Jewish Community
Center, will leave the Oak
Park branch in September to
work for Jewish Experiences
for Families, an agency bas-
ed at the Maple-Drake
center in West Bloomfield.
Mrs. Starr, who'll work
part-time at J.E.F.F., will
deal exclusively with Rus-
sian acculturation. She's
agreed to remain at JPM un-
til Sept. 13. to facilitate the
transition.
Morton Plotnick, executive
director of the JCC, said
Mrs. Starr's administrative
duties will be distributed
among staffers at both
center locations. He said no
decision has been made to
fill the vacancy.
Mr. Plotnick wouldn't
comment on the reason for
the change but said the
move "was in everyone's
best interest." He said pro-
grams would continue status
quo.
Mrs. Starr, full-time direc-
tor at JPM for two years,
said the news came as a sur-
prise.
"I wasn't prepared for it; it
just appeared," she said.
Mrs. Starr, who came to
JPM 16 years ago, said she
thinks JPM should have a
full-time director.
She said six years ago,
when she became the part-

time director, JPM had no
baby-sitting, no nursery, no
latchkey program, no child
care, no day camp, no birth-
day parties and no family
programming, including
Russian family accultura-
tion.
"Now Jewish families of
all ages come to JPM," Mrs.
Starr said. "The Center
meets everybody's needs.
That's why the Center needs
a central person whom
everybody knows to be a
liaison to both buildings.
Staff will have all it can do
to keep the on-going pro-
gramming in place. It'll be
difficult to initiate programs
in a site you don't sit in."
JCC Assistant Executive
Director Leah Ann
Kleinfeldt said four depart-
ment heads, one at JPM and
three at Maple-Drake, would
absorb Mrs. Starr's ad-
ministrative respon-
sibilities.
Miriam Sandweiss, direc-
tor of the senior adult
department; Fredelle
Schneider, director of child
development; Adele Silver,
director of cultural arts; and
Candy Bousequet, director of
physical education, will help
keep things afloat, she said.
Mrs. Starr said with JCC
Assistant Executive Direc-
tor Marty Oliff leaving the
Center, Dr. Plotnick was
redesigning staff configura-
tions.
"He and I didn't agree
where I could best be used,
so I made a conscious deci-

Irma Starr:
Moving to J.E.F.F.

sion to work part-time for
the JCC in the J.E.F.F.
department," she said.
Mrs. Starr has worked
with J.E.F.F. since its incep-
tion five years ago, accor-
ding to Harlene Appelman,
director of J.E.F.F.
"Nothing's really chang-
ed," Mrs. Appelman said.
"Irma's work with Soviet
Jews has always been a vital
part of the kind of family
programming we do."
Mrs. Appelman said Mrs.
Stan- will remain active in
the Shalom Sundays and
planning Shabbat dinner
programs for Soviet Jews.
The first Shabbat dinner
for Soviet Jews arriving this
May was held Aug. 2 at
JPM. The program attracted
more than 40 participants. ❑