DETROIT I FIFTY YEARS AGO Temple Beth El Is Adopting All-Black Detroit School Half Of Campaign Goal Reached In First Week This column will be a weekly feature during The Jewish News' anniversary year, looking at The Jew- ish News of today's date 50 years ago. PHIL JACOBS Managing Editor T his week's lead headline told the Jewish community that over $526,000 was raised toward the Al- lied Jewish Campaign's $985,000 goal. A Page 1 photograph pictured Campaign chairman Fred M. Butzel as well as Henry Wineman, chair- man of the Campaign committee, Nobel Peace Prize winner Sir Norman Angell and Dr. A.M. Her- shman. News of the war and the destruction of the Euro- pean Jewish community continued. In one story, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill were asked to help the situation among Jews who were dying in Poland. Another story told how 7,300 Greek Jews died of starvation because the Red Cross was forbidden to give aid. On the same page, Rabbi James G. Heller, presi- dent of the Central Con- ference of. American Rabbis, issued a letter to his colleagues to repu- diate the action of 23 rabbis who called for a conference to fight against Zionism. Another story recounted the heroics of Major Max Weil, a Central High and Wayne University graduate, who shot down five Japanese Zero planes during the battle of Ba- taan. B'n.ai Moshe's sisterhood, under the leadership of Mrs. Eugene Gelbman, held a card par- ty to honor the Red Cross. Temple Israel, Detroit's newest Reform Jewish 14 FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1992 congregation, prepared to celebrate its first confir- mation service. There were 39 children confirm- ed. Rabbi Leon Fram wrote a special service for the occasion. Several synagogues prepared for Shavuot ser- vices, including the Downtown Synagogue. Rabbi Herman Rosen- wasser was to preach on the theme, "No Blackout on Sinai's Heights." Detroit Jews were urged to participate in the "I Am An American Day" at the Detroit Institute of Arts auditorium. More than 20,000 Wayne Coun- ty residents became naturalized citizens in 1941-42. Yiddish comedian Menashe Skulnik made a News of the war and destruction of European Jewry continued. AMY J. MEHLER Staff Writer S tudents from the re- ligious school at Tem- ple Beth El in Birm- ingham this month will meet the children from the Woodward Malcolm X Acad- emy in Detroit during a lun- ch and book drive program. Beth El, which recently adopted the inner-city school, is donating 600 preschool and elementary books, ac- cording to Bobbi Charnas, chairwoman of the temple's social action committee. Students from both schools will meet May 23. "We decided to adopt the school because of the excellent work they do in teaching and stimulating in- ner-city children and because we see ourselves as part of the Detroit metropolitan area," Mrs. Charnas said. "As such, we want to do what we can to make the community better." . Books and programming will be shared. to every resource available," Dr. Watson said. Dr. Watson said the dona- tion of books will fill an im- portant need as his students aren't permitted to bring their textbooks home. "It's mostly an economic policy," he said. "It would be too costly for the school district to replace the books our students lose." Beth El is the third in- stitution to adopt Woodward Malcolm X. The University of Michigan-Dearborn and Greenfield Village - Henry Ford Museum adopted the school a few years ago and provide mentor and tutoring programs. Linda Deutsch, chair- woman of the Beth El social action committee's Adopt A School Program, has visited the school on several occa- sions. "I was struck by the com- mitment and excitement I saw among the children and teaching staff," Mrs. Deutsch said. "As you walk in, you see a huge bulletin board with 100 names of students with perfect atten- dance. They all have big, smiling faces." Rabbi Daniel Polish said the temple is committed to the school and intends to promote cooperative pro- gramming and ongoing tutoring. ❑ Amy Bigman To Succeed Rabbi Feder At Emanu-EI ALAN HITSKY personal appearance at the Littman's Yiddish People's Theatre at 12th and Seward in a special repertoire. In addition, the Yiddish talking film Kol Nidre was shown. Flora Miller married Frank Winton, and Rose Harris married Seymour Horowitz. Fruma Brooks was engaged to Dr. Abra- ham Kapentansky, and Ruth Canvasser was engaged to William Rosen. Walter's was advertis- ing dresses for confirma- tion and graduation for $16.95 while Russek's offered shoes for $4.85. In the "20 Years Ago This Week" column, Palestine's Zionists sent thanks to Senator Lodge of Massachusetts for his efforts in securing passage of the resolution placing the U.S. govern- ment on record as favor- ing a Jewish home in Palestine. ❑ Dr. Cliff Watson, principal of Woodward Malcolm X Academy, said his students are excited about the "adoption" and look forward to the joint program. "Our school is 100 percent black, and most of our students have probably never met a Jewish person before. We feel it's impor- tant for them to be exposed Associate Editor T emple Emanu-El has just hired Detroit's first full-time, con- tracted pulpit rabbi who is a woman. And she happens to be a Detroiter. Amy Bigman will com- plete five years of study and be ordained May 30 by the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Re- ligion (HUC-JIR) in Cincin- nati. She will replace Rabbi L. David Feder as of July 1. Rabbi Feder, who has been assistant rabbi at Emanu-El for three years, is leaving to become rabbi of the 140- family Congregation Bet Haverim in Davis, Calif. Ms. Bigman, 26, is a native of West Bloomfield and a former Temple Beth El member. She served as a rabbinic intern at Emanu-El in the summer of 1988. "Her position will focus on youth activities and sin- gles," said Emanu-El's Rabbi Lane B. Steinger. "We also hope to develop more college programming, and she will coordinate our in- troduction to Judaism pro- gram." Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus served at Temple Emanu-El for one year about 10 years ago, but she did not have pulpit duties. Asked if a woman as rabbi would be a problem, Rabbi Steinger re- sponded, "Not for us. Amy grew up in the area; she's a terrific person and very capable. We are excited and delighted that she is joining us." Rabbi Bigman said she has no concerns being the area's first woman pulpit rabbi. "I've done it before," she said, and she credited Can- tor Gail Hirschenfang at Temple Beth El with paving the way in the Detroit area. "She's a known commodity, and she shows that a female can do these kinds of things," she said. "I expect I will get a lot of questions" about being a woman rabbi, she said. "I have in the past. But I don't think of myself as a woman rabbi; I think of myself as a rabbi." Rabbi Bigman has had considerable pulpit experi- ence during her five years at HUC-JIR. She served a con- gregation in Arkansas on a monthly basis for a year and spent two years commuting to Clarksdale, Miss., twice a Rabbi Bigman: Pulpit at home. month to conduct Sabbath services. Since January, she has traveled every other week to Lima, Ohio, to serve as interim rabbi of a congrega- tion. Rabbi Bigman is meeting with Rabbis Steinger and Feder this weekend to discuss her new position. "I want to work with college kids — I want to do more than send them care packages twice a year," she said. "The kids go away to school, and that's when we lose them." In the summer of 1988, following a year in Israel,