ayes

PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPITT

PAUL L. GABA SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Talmudic
discussion,
rap music and
one-on-one
debate are
on tap at
WPON-AM.

Rabbi
Herschel
Finman at the
studios of
WPON-AM.

I

) espite the beards, it would be a stretch to compare
WRIF-FM radio celeb Arthur Penhallow with
WPON-AM radio Rabbi Herschel Finman.
One hardly expects to hear "Arthur P." discuss
Sabbath candlelighting times in between a Bob
Seger cut or his trademark "Baby!"
Then again, their voices share a sonorousness
that is tailor-made for the airwaves.
"When I was growing up, I had a baritone voice
and used to walk around saying, `You, too, could
have a future in tractor trailers,' " Rabbi Finman,
38, said. "Since I was about 10, I always wanted
to do a radio show."
The freelance Lubavitch rabbi, husband of
. Chana and father of seven children, was able to
make his lifelong dream come true last April when a
student of his, Ken Lawrence, commented that WPON
(1460) had a one-hour open slot on Sunday afternoons
following his own radio show.
Rabbi Finman, who had taken some voice classes
at the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in South-
field, jumped at the opportunity, and the only Jewish-
themed radio program in Detroit was born.
"In New York, there are three radio stations that
are 24-hour-a-day Jewish [programming], and all oth-
er major Jewish communities — Chicago, Cleveland,
Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia — have at least one Jew-
ish radio program you can turn to at least once a week,"
Rabbi Finman said.

`The Jewish Hour," which now airs from 3-4 p.m.
Friday afternoons, is true to its name. One-third of
the show features Rabbi Finman interviewing Jews
of significant local or national interest. There's "News
From Israel," biblical interpretations and a weekly
Chasidic tale. Listeners are entertained with mod-
em Jewish music ranging from Middle Eastern
Bukharan to klezmer to Jewish rap. Or they can "rap"
live with the rabbi over talmudic questions.
"It's really a variety format," Rabbi Finman said.
"We talk a lot about current events, such as the re-
cent benefit for PTACH (Parents for Torah for All
Children), when I talked with spokesman Michael
Hochheiser about the efforts to help children with
learning disorders."
Then there was the on-air debate between Rabbi
Finman and veteran Detroit talk show host Tommy
McIntyre on the hot topic of assisted suicide. Rabbi
Finman argued that, according to Jewish law, the
concept is "absolutely, completely forbidden."
"It is considered murder," Rabbi Pirunan explained.
"This is not a new problem; for centuries, some peo-
ple have wanted to die earlier. But it's dealt with
quite extensively in the Talmud. I have a very solid
background in medical, legal and business ethics and
am very comfortable debating anybody on any sub-
ject in Judaism." •
. • While he loves being on the air, the rabbi is less
thrilled with having to seek out his own sponsors.

"The Jewish Hour" is a brokered show, which means
he has to pay to play.
"I have a core of sponsors, but having to sell my
own advertising time is the only part of the show that
I don't like," he said.
Born and raised in a \traditional Jewish home in
New Jersey, Rabbi Finman ended up attending Yeshi-
va University after befriending a neighbor who was
a Lubavitcher.
"I was very much into Buddhism at the time, and
this person basically persuaded me to check out Cha-
sidic thought. There was a marvelous Chasidic rab-
bi in my hometown who could answer all my
questions, put down all my objections, and I went
to yeshiva."
Rabbi Finman spent seven years at the universi-
ty — the first three years playing catch-up because
of his limited religious upbringing. After matricu-
lating, he spent three years in a fellowship in Aus-
tralia. The 6-foot-8 rabbi now calls Oak Park home.
Landing a radio gig helped Rabbi Finman live out
a second childhood dream, that of doing commer-
cial voice work, particularly for the sponsors who keep
"The Jewish Hour" afloat. But the rabbi is still wait-
ing for his third, and final, childhood fantasy to come
true: singing the national anthem at a sporting event.
"If [Detroit Pistons owner] Bill Davidson reads this
article, maybe we can do the third," Rabbi Finman
said. 0

