Limited Space Available
ENROLL YOUR CHILD NOW AT
Hebrew Memorial
AKIVA HEBREW DAY SCHOOL
.
Continued from preceding page
Excellent Programming in:
. . . Pre-School: Parent-Toddler & On My Own
. . . 3 & 4 year old Nursery, Kindergarten
. . . Elementary: K-6
. . . Junior High School: 7-8
. . . Senior High School: 9-12
. . . Excellent, certified staff
With transportation from:
Southfield, Oak Park, Ann Arbor
and now
West Bloomfield
Photos by Glenn Triest
For Information Call:
Akiva Hebrew Day School
27700 Southfield Road
Lathrup Village, MI 48076
552-9690
DENNIS RODMAN
Abe Selesny, managing funeral director Mark Klinger, Rabbi Boruch Levine and funeral director Robert Bodzin.
family members must be
considered very carefully,"
echoes Abraham Selesny,
president of the Hebrew
Benevolent Society.
The Benevolent Society is
nonprofit, but funds are re-
quired to pay 18 employees'
salaries and for the upkeep
of the graveyard. Rabbi
Levin would not discuss
details, but the caskets do
bring in a profit, he says.
Despite the variety in
price — caskets range from
about $500 to $7,000 — it
would take an especially
discerning customer to catch
the differences between most
of the coffins. That's no
mistake.
Rabbi Levin believes
strongly in what he calls
"the democracy of death."
That Judaism permits only
wooden caskets and burial
shrouds for everyone is as it
should be, he says.
"Death is not the time for
a fancy gown or suit, but the
time we meet our Creator in
a pure state," he says.
He labels this prescribed
uniformity "the beauty of
what we do. We give the
same service for the rich or
the poor."
Hebrew Memorial services
Orthodox, Conservative and
Reform Jews, including
Conservative and Reform
converts who are not always
regarded as Jewish by the
Orthodox.
"We consider them Jewish
because the community
does," Rabbi Levin says.
The society also will bury
in its cemetery embalmed
Jews and those who have
committed suicide. The
-
largest Jewish burial ground
in the Midwest, the Chesed
Shel Emes Cemetery is the
last resting place of great
rabbis, former Purple Gang
members and everyone in
between.
Hebrew Memorial offers a
grief counseling program,
which is open to anyone in
the community. Dealing
with families hurting from
the loss of a loved one is part
of Rabbi Levin's daily life.
Hebrew Memorial
handles about 400
funerals a year,
only a handful of
which are pro bono.
A former administrator of
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah,
Rabbi Levin was named ex-
ecutive director of Chesed
Shel Emes in 1986. The job
was new, his desk was not.
"They asked me if I want-
ed a new desk," he says,
running his hand across the
thick wood. "But I said no.
Too many years have
saturated this one."
Rabbi Levin describes his
work as difficult, "often
heartwrenching." Seeing
the death of a child is espe-
cially painful, he says.
"That's the one that doesn't
let you sleep at night."
A grieving family often
finds comfort hearing that
loved ones will be reunited
in the afterlife, Rabbi Levin
says. But pain always
lingers.
"It's the most difficult
question, the question Moses
asked God: Why do the righ-
teous suffer?" Rabbi Levin
says. "I don't have the an-
swer."
Rabbi Levin says his belief
in God remains unshakable
despite the tragedies he
regularly sees. "But every
day I pray to God: Don't test
me."
Hebrew Memorial handles
about 400 funerals a year,
only a handful of which are
pro bono (free of charge).
Chapel officials insist the
vast majority of families who
take advantage of the free
service do so only because
they have no option. But
they acknowledge Chesed's
reputation leaves them open
to some rather irreverent
characters.
On several occasions,
families have requested pro
bono work, only to arrive at
the funeral driving their
Cadillacs. But Hebrew
Memorial officials are not
about to start demanding to
see anyone's tax record.
"It's worth it for us to be
fooled a few times and to be
cheated a few times so long
as not one person is em-
barrassed," Rabbi Levin
says.
They've also been surpris-
ed a few times. Mr. Selesny
and Rabbi Levin recall some
of the more unusual funerals
they've seen.
Relatives of a murdered
labor leader wanted "We
Shall Overcome" played at
his funeral.
Families have asked that
letters and photographs be
buried alongside the dead.
"But usually funerals are
very dignified," Mr. Selesny
says. "It's the last important
thing you can do for the
deceased."
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University of Michigan,
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July 13-17 Grayling Schools, Grayling, Ml.
Pick up your registration
form at any Buddy's Pizza or
participating 7-Eleven.
Join the Dennis Rodman Fan Club!
Call (313) 458-6501
for more camp & fan club information.
The Dennis Rodman All-Star Basketball Camp is
owned and operated by
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COLORWORKS STUDIO
OF INTERIOR DESIGN
• Fine Furnishings
• New Construction
Expertise
• Custom Fabrication
Barbi Goodman-Krass
allied member ASID
Linda Bruder
Linda Hudson
The Courtyard
32506 NORTHWESTERN HIGHWAY
FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334
As featured in Style Magazine
851-7540
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
55