hree years. A lot
can happen in
three years.
Consider this: Congrega-
tion B'nai Moshe became the
Sally Allan Alexander
School For Girls; a Miracle
Mission has filled three
planes with over 1100 De-
troiters bound for an April
trip to Israel; Days of Deci-
sion provided needed monies
for domestic Federation-sup-
ported programming; Oper-
ation Exodus turned into a
mission of miracles; a strate-
- ,gic plan streamlined the
way Federation will operate
in the future; agencies,
meanwhile, were asked to
prioritize their budgeting
process; the Agency for Jew-
ish Education and the Home
- for Aged were both re-
vamped to preserve their
very survival; Federation
dedicated its Max Fisher
Building in Bloomfield Hills;
- and the community rallied
in support of the Allied
Coalition and Israel during
the Persian Gulf War.
It almost reads like a Bil-
ly Joel song or an almanac
of sorts, and it all happened
so fast. When history looks
I, at the period of 1989 to
1992, it will see that like
other great American Jew-
ish communities, Detroit
was faced with a response to
- D a serious economic recession
as well as facing the grow-
ing needs of the State of Is-
rael.
This was the first time in
recent memory that the
Jewish poverty level was
' measured as high as five
percent, that Federation
agencies were told to budget
better, that educators were
asked to study their goals
and teaching methods, that
the condition of the frail el-
derly and the concern of

,---

their families was not just
considered but changed for
the better.
History will show that
Detroit's Jewish communi-
ty not only withstood the re-
cessionary onslaught, but
that its course was redirect-
ed. History will also show
that the man under whose
watch these major events
and changes happened, per-
formed in a way that
brought leaders from across
the community together.
There is no way these
changes could have been
made unless consensus
building was first achieved.
Mark Schlussel was al-
ready used to making histo-
ry. When he became the
Federation's first Orthodox
president, there were those
who wondered how his faith
would reflect in terms of
leadership. Nobody won-
dered for long, though.
When incoming president
David Page talked about
Mr. Schlussel at last Thurs-
day's Federation annual
meeting at Shaarey Zedek,
he used the words "consen-
sus builder."
For three years, that's
who Federation had at its
helm, a man who sought out
and included everyone, no
matter what spiritual, philo-
sophical or economic back-
ground. During those years,
though, Mark Schlussel also
learned more about the big
picture in Jewish life. He is
protective of the Jewish
community; he worries
about it like any father
would his children.
At last Thursday's meet-
ing, Mr. Schlussel chose to
leave the path of a typical fi-
nal speech. Few words were
spent talking about himself
and his achievements. In-
stead, Mr. Schlussel talked

of the future. It wasn't about
fund-raising or missions to
Israel or anything like that.
It was, instead, he and 500
other people. But the silence
in the sanctuary made
everyone aware that this
might as well have been a
personal conversation. It
was if it was being done one
on one.
This time of year, when
we see our rabbis crying in
their prayer for forgiveness,
Mr. Schlussel's speech was
a fitting plea for cohesive-
ness, for action. It was a dis-
cussion that won't soon be
forgotten.
Mr. Schlussel wondered
out loud not about a thriv-
ing Jewish Detroit and
American community, but
instead one that he worries
is dying. He said that the
American Jewish communi-
ty is being killed by the
American dream. Its anxi-
ety to succeed in this coun-
try comes at a sacrifice of its
spirituality and culture. It,
he added, should be no sur-
prise that our children know
less and less of their faith
because they see their par-
ents caring less and less.
Mr. Schlussel called on
the rabbis and religious
leaders to heal the wounds
of difference between Jew-
ish denominations. But he
also called on his audience,
his community, not to wait
if the rabbis do not respond.
He said that the Jewish
community should get back
to proselytizing if necessary
to save the faith. He said
that if an intermarriage oc-
curs, non-Jewish spouses
should be welcomed with
the hope that they would
one day consider conversion.
"We have a limited time
to make ourselves relevant
or we will cease to exist as a

Mark Schlussel believes that the American Jewish community must look
carefully at itself and make major changes to insure its survival.

people," he said. Mr. Schlus-
sel emphasized change. He
cited how, throughout his-
tory, flexibility and change
helped the Jewish people
survive. Then he added that
there was no longer a need
for American Jews to be "up
front pursuing the American
dream." He concluded that
as we do during the Days of
Awe, Jews must "choose
life."
It was this choice of life
that Mr. Schlussel put into
his work and into this
community, according to
Federation executive vice
president Robert Aronson.
The two worked so closely
together that Mr. Schlussel
said "they grew up togeth-
er" in the highest levels of
Detroit's Federation.
Our children gravitate to
other religions, seeking to fill
the empty void which has
been left by our materialis-
tic excesses. We have failed
to introduce them to the rich-
ness and glory and the spir-
itualism of Judaism. In fact,
we have made our religion
conform with the coldness

we find around us. — ex-
cerpted from Mr. Schlussel's
speech.
No fewer than 10 major
events or changes took place
in his three years as presi-
dent, each one of them im-
portant and long-lasting in
effect. It was under his
watch that the future of the
former B'nai Moshe Syna-
gogue changed from church
to Sally Allan Alexander
Beth Jacob School For Girls.
Federation involvement
here helped solidify the Jew-
ish growth of the 10 Mile
and Greenfield area in Oak
Park. It was considered the
first major accomplishment
in Mr. Schlussel's adminis-
tration, and it is also one
that instantly preserved a
neighborhood and demon-
strated Federation's com-
mitment to the area.
It also paved the way for
another Schlussel adminis-
tration accomplishment, the
funding for expansion and
renovation of the Jimmy
Prentis Morris Jewish Com-
munity Center, also in Oak
Park. Under Mr. Schlussel's