A fresh look at some of the stories we reported on in the past weeks.
Sinai 40th
Celebrated
With Style
KIMBERLY LIFTON
STAFF WRITER
Miracle
Mission
Gets
Attention
etroit's Miracle Miss-
ion is still three
months away, but the
impending arrival of some
1,300 community mem-
bers is already making an
impact in Israel.
The Mission, co-spon-
sored by the Jewish
Federation of Metropol-
itan Detroit and The
Jewish News, is the
largest mission ever made
from one city to Israel,
according to Zvika
Gerstel, missions director
D
PHIL JACOBS
MANAGING EDITOR
ith most in T-shirts
sporting the Sinai
Hospital logo, hun-
dreds of employees, board
members, volunteers and
other supporters of the
Jewish-sponsored institu-
tion gathered last Friday
to cut the hospital's 40th
birthday cake.
On hand were many of
Sinai's original support-
ers, including its first
administrator, Dr. Julien
Priver; first baby, Lisa
Levine; and longtime cora-
W
munity activist Leonard
Simons.
"Being No. 1 hasn't
always been easy," joked
Mrs. Levine, an artist,
who said she would donate
a piece of art to Sinai. And
Dr. Priver suggested
Sinai's first 100 days were
just as difficult as
President Bill Clinton's
will be.
It was a festive after-
noon for the hospital,
which in the past few
years has made a tremen-
of the United Jewish
Appeal. The previous high
was close to 900.
When the Detroiters
arrive, they will be occu-
pying 735 hotel rooms, or
better than a third of the
available five-star hotel
space Jerusalem has to
offer. The Mission hotels
will include the Hyatt,
Hilton and the Ren-
aissance, formerly the
Ramada.
Mr. Gerstel added that
35 tour busses have also
been scheduled, each with
its own specially trained
tour guide. Applications to
take the trip are still
being accepted. Three El
Al jets will fly Detroiters
direct from Detroit Metro
Airport to Tel Aviv.
"It is a great deal like
planning 35 separate mis-
sions," said Mr. Gerstel.
"We've planned itineraries
so that no one will be
stepping on each other's
toes."
dous financial turn-
around.
Today the hospital is
back on its feet, and it is
generating a profit under
the leadership of its new
president, Philip Schaen-
gold.
Board Chairman Mery
Manning, Chief of Staff
Norman Bolton, Guild
President Hope Silverman
and Foundation President
Bruce Gershenson all com-
mented on the institu-
tion's years of progress.
MICHIGAN
MIRACLE
MISSION
Jewish
Community
Center
DRAKE ROAD
HALSTEA D ROAD
APRIL 18-28, 1993
Lubavitch
Changes
ALAN HITSKY
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A
SYNAGOGUE
CAMPUS OF
LIVING
JUDAISM
AJE
Director
Making
Transition
LESLEY PEARL
STAFF WRITER
fter a three-year bat-
tle to get their site
plan approved by
West Bloomfield Town-
ship, the Lubavitch
Foundation of Michigan is
s
ince joining the
Agency for Jewish
Education as execu-
tive director in June,
Howard Gelberd has been
keeping busy.
Through the work of Mr.
Gelberd and his staff, the
resource center at AJE
has recently offered
network meetings, work-
shops and conferences for
educators on topics such
as "Parents as Partners"
and "The Importance of
Ritual and Symbol in
Education."
However, much of AJE's
proposing some alter-
ations.
But Rabbi Yitschak
Kagan believes the pro-
posed changes to the
Synagogue Campus of
Living Judaism plan west
of the Jewish Community
Campus on Maple Road
will sail through the town-
ship board. The first
building — the synagogue
— could be up as early as
November. Plans also call
for a mikvah (ritualarium),
a rabbinical college, muse-
um, library and housing
for rabbinical students.
Rabbi Kagan said this
week that Lubavitch has
selected a new architect
for the $15 million cam-
pus.
No changes are expected
in the size or site of the
buildings, he said, but
several architects ex-
pressed dissatisfaction
with some parts of the
plan. "For example, the
present plan calls for flat-
tening the land near the
work during the last sev-
eral months has been in
monitoring and restruc-
turing.
Midrasha - College of
Jewish Studies, the cen-
tral resource in the
Detroit area for adult edu-
cation, is aiming toward
home-based study groups,
weekend retreats and a
Jewish Community
Learning Library of audio
and video tapes.
Among AJE's loftier
goals is the creation of an
educational TV network in
40 electronic classrooms in
20 schools.
"We're in the process of
working with congrega-
tions to put together an
effective school program,"
Mr. Gelberd said. " This
may mean tampering with
the structure. Maybe two
days a week and Sundays
in the classroom is
not enough. Maybe we
should be taking students
and teachers off to camp
retreats once a month.
We're taking a new look
at the role of this busi-
ness."111
entrance to the site to
make a parking lot. All
the architects we inter-
viewed said this isn't
right," the rabbi said.
The Lubavitch Foun-
dation has $7 million in
pledges and Rabbi Kagan
is negotiating with a bank
to float a tax-exempt bond
issue to fund the project.
"The banks want 50 per-
cent of the project amount
in certifiable pledges," the
rabbi said, "so we are get-
ting close."
Howard Gelberd