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50

Rabbi Daniel Nevins of Adat Shalom Synagogue
is another Detroit newcomer. His trek from New
York wasn't easy. The moving company arrived
three weeks late at his Farmington Hills apart-
ment.
Lifting their spirits was a friendly congregation
that greeted Rabbi Nevins and his wife, Lynn, with
interest and dinner invitations.
"It's a big congregation, but the people really
reached out to make sure we were comfortable,"
he says.
At a newcomers' picnic last spring, Rabbi Nevins
was introduced to many of the congregation's 130
new families. Struggling to remember the names
of hundreds of congregants, the rabbi greeted them
with, "Welcome to town. I know how it feels."
Jewish law considers it a mitzvah to greet the
newcomer. In Hebrew, it's called hakhnasat
orechim, hospitality.
Rabbi Nevins refers to Genesis, chapter 18,
which tells the story of Abraham. While recover-
ing from his circumcision, Abraham welcomes
three strangers into his tent. The strangers turned
out to be angels.
Encyclopedia Judaica reports: "In ancient Is-
rael, hospitality was not merely a question of good
manners, but a moral institution which grew out
of the harsh desert and nomadic existence led

by the people of Israel."
Locally, some Jewish institutions greet new-
comers with tickets to High Holiday services. Most
temples and synagogues offer new-member din-
ners. Hadassah has organized a newcomers' chavu-
rah. Federation sponsors Shalom Detroit teas and
matches seasoned Detroiters with new arrivals.
Despite outreach efforts, Detroit's Jewish com-
munity can't avoid the fact that its population is
hedvily indigenous. Sometimes it's hard for new-
comers to feel part of a crowd talking about the old
days at Central High, canoe wars at Camp Tama-
rack and the fun times cruising Woodward.
Al Sasson is a 29-year-old financial consultant
who grew up in Minneapolis, Minn. He moved two
years ago to Troy from Madison, Wis.
"I do think it's cliquey. There's absolutely no ques-
tion about that. A lot of people have grown up
here," he says. "They've known people all their
lives."
Metro Detroit stands in contrast to Mr. Sasson's
experience with the transient population of Min-
neapolis,- but he's not knocking it.
"Here, people go to their 10-year reunions and
they've just seen each other at the Old Woodward
Grill the Thursday night before," he says.
At his 10-year Minnetonka High reunion, Mr.
Sasson ventured back to Minneapolis.

'Thank God everyone had Joan Chernoff-
name-tags with pictures," he
says. "I hardly recognized Epstein and Gail
anyone."
Budin: The women
It took Mr. Sasson about
nine months to feel at home lead Federation's
in Detroit. The key? Being
proactive. He went to social Jewish welcome
events, alone at first.
wagon. "It's
"Now, I go to (Federation)
Young Adult Division parties frightening to come to
and I feel like I know the
whole room," he says. "I was a new community,"
pretty apprehensive about Ms. Budin says.
moving to Detroit, but I'll tell
you, I've made a lot of friends.
I like it a lot."
Joan Chernoff-Epstein arrived in Detroit 40
years ago — as a newborn. She's lived here all her
life.
"I would never leave Detroit," she says. "I love
the community here. I love my friends. I love the
Jewishness and the family life."
As Shalom Detroit chairwomen, Ms. Epstein
and Ms. Budin feel its their responsibility to make
newcomers more comfortable. They invite them

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NEW TO TOWN page 52