DETROIT

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

K

en and Mike Shecter
are products of the
Neighborhood Pro-

ject.
The 29-year-old twin
brothers and business part-
ners, each of Oak Park, ob-
tained loans from the
Neighborhood Project, a
program of the Jewish Fed-
eration of Metropolitan
Detroit that encourages
home buyers to locate and
remain in the area by pro-
viding interest-free loans.

Partly because of their con-
tact with Neighborhood Pro-
ject, the twins, of Shecter
Landscaping, Inc., were asked
to participate in the Neigh-
borhood Project's first Home
Sweet Home Show last Sun-
day at the Southfield Civic
Center Pavilion.

"It was our first home
show," Ken Shecter said.

"We weren't sure what it
was going to be. But it was -
successful. We made a few
appointments."
For the past nine years,
the Shecters have handled
many landscaping and con-
dominium maintenance jobs
from their Oak Park office.
They have done work for
Temple Emanu-El, Machon
L'Torah and the Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah. Now on their
agenda is the landscaping
for Shaarey Zedek's Paren-
ting Center in West Bloom-
field.
The Home Show, they
hope, will help them to fur-
ther promote their business.
The Shecters joined 46 other
businesses and an estimated
1,000 people at the show,
where businesses manned
booths.
Available were literature,
prices, and stacks of infor-
mation needed for home im-
provements.
Included on the premises

were home construction
companies, roofers, cabinet
makers, interior designers,
upholstery cleaners, lumber
companies, heating and air
conditioning companies,
electrical businesses,
lighting manufacturers,
alarm companies, home ac-
cessory wholesalers, window
and wall treatment services,
repair companies and finan-
cial institutions.
Sponsored by the Neigh-
borhood Project and co-
sponsored by The Jewish
News and the City of
Southfield, the show was
called a success by its
planners.
"We were thrilled," said
Marion Freedman, Neigh-
borhood Project staff associ-
ate. "We are planning to do
it again next year. Everyone
liked it."
Throughout the day,
speakers attracted hundreds
of interested observers.
Detroit Free Press columnist
Lon Grossman spoke to a full

Photo by G len n Triest

Home Sweet Home Show
Called A Smashing Success

Lon Grossman discusses home repairs at Sunday's Home Sweet
Home Show in Southfield.

house on "The How-To's of
Home Improvement."
Also speaking was Barbi
Krass, an interior designer
with Colorworks, who ex-
plained how homeowners
can renew their spaces. Leo
Stein, an architect, talked
about buying or renovating.

And Cynthia Richardson, a
landscape designer with
Four Seasons Garden
Center, provided tips on
landscaping homes.
Several of the booths held
raffles for prizes. A clown
made balloon figures for
children. ❑

Rich 1133 nai David History Moves To 2nd Century

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

M

el Richman re-
members well his
nostalgic stroll .
through the old B'nai David
building at 14th Street and
Elmhurst in Detroit.
It was 1957, and men were
loading trucks outside for
the move to Southfield. Mr.
Richman, then president of
the congregation, was
supervising the move.
"I walked through the
main sanctuary and up to
the aharon kodesh and bent
down to make sure nothing
was left there," he said. "I
saw something gleaming in
the corner and crawled in
there."
He found a sterling silver
spice box, cast with filigree
elements, from Russia.
Years later, he would learn
the spice box he discovered
was an artifact from 1876,
appraised at $10,000.
After the move, Mr.
Richman found other ar-
tifacts. He discovered a
crown that had been pre-
sented to the synagogue in
the early 1900s, stored in
terrible condition in a paper
bag in the robing room. It is
dated to the last quarter of
the 19th century and is
valued at $50,000, ap-
praisers said.

14

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1992

Cantor Friedman, Rabbi Yolkut and Alex Blumenberg examine the
artifacts.

With money raised from
some congregants, the ar-
tifacts have been restored
and are being kept in a safe.
B'nai David President Alex
Blumenberg said the ar-
tifacts, including a sterling
Torah pointer, will be
displayed at the new syn-
agogue, expected to be open
by 1994 at 14 Mile and
Halsted in West Bloomfield.
Mr. Richman had no idea
how valuable the objects
were. Rather, his interest
was in preserving their

historic importance as the
synagogue was nearing its
100th anniversary.
Beginning April 30, B'nai
David will kick off its
centennial with a cantorial
concert and a dinner dance.
The congregation has
about 300 families, with an
average age of 60. Syn-
agogue officials hope the
move to West Bloomfield
will help the aging con-
gregation, considered a tra-
ditional synagogue, attract
younger members.

Mr. Blumenberg is confi-
dent the synagogue will pro-
sper in West Bloomfield.
They are expected to take
their plans to the West
Bloomfield Township Plann-
ing Commission for zoning
approval in the coming mon-
ths.
B'nai David's history is
plentiful. In its early days, it
was established as a con-
gregation dedicated to
preserving Jewish tradition
and the maintenance of Or-
thodox ritual standards.
One of the earliest con-
gregations in Detroit Jewry,
B'nai David was founded by
Russian immigrants in May
1892. Many members
brought with them religious
objects and donated them to
the synagogue.
The synagogue started as
Beth David near Eastern
Market on Hastings Street.
For the first eight years,
services were conducted in a
rented hall on the upper
floor of a building on the
northwest corner of Gratiot
and Hastings.
Beth David's first perma-
nent home was at Adelaide
Street in 1900. Rabbi Judah
Levin was the first rabbi,
who presided at other con-
gregations as well. Rabbi
Jacob Scheinman was the
first full-time spiritual
leader. In the early 1900s,

the synagogue boasted 750
congregants. Today, Rabbi
Morton Yolkut serves as
spiritual leader.
In its early days, the syn-
agogue provided separate
seating for men and women.
Today, Rabbi Yolkut said,
B'nai David provides an Or-
thodox type of service with
mixed seating.
The synagogue moved a
few times, finding a home at

Centennial events
will look to the
future while
commemorating
the past.

Elmhurst and 14th in 1928.
During the Depression, the
synagogue filed for protec-
tion under U.S. bankruptcy
laws, reorganizing as Con-
gregation B'nai David in
1933.
With the reorganization,
Rabbi Joshua Sperka took
over the pulpit. He remained
there for 20 years. Rabbi
Hayim Donin was another
prominent spiritual leader.
Today Rabbi Yolkut is joined
by Cantor Stuart Friedman
in leading the congregation.
Plans call for B'nai David
to build its fifth home on the
10-acre parcel in West
Bloomfield. ❑

