Rabbi Herschel Finman
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You might see Herschel Finman puttering around Oak Park in his
1992 red Plymouth Colt Vista Wagon, but chances are he won't be
transporting his entire family of nine. Why? The car only seats five
people — and that's the way the Chasidic rabbi likes it.
"I basically got it off of a marshalling lot for Chrysler — they give
all their car dealers and employees new cars to run for a year or two,
and then after that they sell them. I went there to pick up a minivan,
which is what my last car was, but they had no minivans.
"I saw this thing sitting all the way in the corner in the back," Fin-
man says. "Got a great deal on it. Paid it off in three years."
The best thing about it is that the 6-foot-8-inch tall Finman "can
sit up straight in it without hitting my head on the ceiling."
Is the little red rabbi-mobile with a bumper sticker about the Moshi-
ach (Messiah) on the back symbolic of his beliefs?
"No! If I had my druthers, I'd be driving a Lamborghini — or at
least a Cadillac, one of the big ones. I chose it for practical reasons."
According to the teachings of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Men-
achem Schneerson, Finman keeps a chumash (Bible), siddur (daily
prayerbook), tzedakah (charity) box and mezuzah (a small scroll of
parchment inscribed with the Sh'ma) in the glove compartment "to
help out the car. You never know when you might need some of those
things."
Rabbi Herschel Finman:
"It I had my druthers, I'd
be driving a
Lamborghini."
Herschel Finman is a member of Michigan
Lubavitch Foundation and the host of "The
Jewish Hour," a weekly radio show at 3 p.m.
Fridays on WPON.
t's a blast from the past. It's a traffic jam of all-vin-
tage cars — the classic and not-so-classic — that runs
from Ferndale to Pontiac. It's the Woodward Dream
Cruise, and it's happening tomorrow, Aug. 16.
Last year's cruise saw 40,000 to 60,000 cars of all
kinds participating; this year's Woodward Dream
Cruise promises even more. And if you don't want to
get stuck in traffic on metro Detroit's most famous av-
enue, there are events in the seven participating cities
that should entertain you from dawn to dark. Call for
a complete list of activities. Here are some highlights.
Berkley: 1695 W. 12 Mile Road, 11/2 blocks west of
Woodward. (248) 546-2450. Aug. 15: 7 p.m. Classic car
parade followed by street dance and, at 9:30, a classic
1957 car and rock 'n' roll movie. Aug. 16: 9:45 a.m.-8
p.m., Entertainment featuring the Sun Messengers,
the Teen Angels, Reflections and Shout.
Birmingham: (248) 433-3550. 12-9:30 p.m., Shain
Park stage entertainment featuring the Village Play-
ers Musical Revue, Zeemo the Yo-Yo Man, Satin Dolls,
the Cooties with Buddy Holly, Teen Angels, Elvis with
Five Piece Band, Peabody and the Wayback Machine
and Special Guests the Contours at 8:30 p.m.
Ferndale: (248) 433-3550.8 a.m.-3 p.m., Official Clas-
sic Car and Thick Show at 9 Mile; 8 p.m.-midnight,
Sock hop, Gage Oldsmobile.
Huntington Woods: (248) 541-3030. 12-5 p.m., The
Train Down Memory Lane with Dan the Choo Choo
Man, '50s beauty salon, face painting and tattoos for kids, contests, games, food.
Pleasant Ridge: (248) 542-7322. 1-5 p.m., Entertainment featuring the Satin Dolls, Av-
enue, Bonnie and the Working Class and D.J. Dave.
Pontiac: (248) 857-5603. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Classic cruise car preview at Pike and Wide
Track; 8:30-10 p.m., top Motown entertainment.
Royal Oak: (248)-544-9710. Saturday, Aug. 16: Michigan Hot Rod Association dis-
play, all at the Northwood Shopping Center; 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Entertainment featuring
Sweet Adelines, Steve King and the Dittlies, Dick Purtan and Purtan's People, Elvis with
the Teen Angels and Haywood Banks.
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz
Rabbi Aaron Bergman: "It was my concession that I was no longer cool."
Rabbi Aaron Bergman
Bergman may drive what he describes as a "daddy mobile" — a white 1995 Buick
Skylark — but he's still young at heart, if not by car.
It all began the week before the High Holidays, recalls the Conservative rab-
bi. "My wife and I actually had just one car the first four years we lived here, which
everybody thought was just insane. Being in Detroit without a second car was sac-
rilege."
When they had their second child, it was time to get a second car. Bergman saw
an ad in The Jewish News for "a reliable daddy mobile. Reasonable price. I had a
Toyota Corolla for a while, so I was a little nervous to make the switch.
"It was also my concession that I was no longer cool. When we first got here, I
was 28 years old, driving around with The Ramones blasting on the stereo. Now,
with a car seat in back, rm not cool anymore. I drive a car that's solid and reliable.
The rabbi's dream car? A 1967 Jaguar.
But the Buick "was largely symbolic of my bank account at the time. I wanted
solid, dependable, safe for the kids."
Aaron Bergman is rabbi of Beth Abraham Hillel Moses in West Bloomfield.
Schwartz slinks around town in his sleek, black 1996 Saab convertible, complete with
black leather seats. If you're looking for him in traffic, just check out the license plate:
RAGS.
"I basically got what I liked, and it wasn't price, it wasn't that it ran faster than any-
thing else. It's a nice-looking car, and it's a convertible," Schwartz says. "rm out there
when it's 60 degrees with the top down."
Is the sporty yuppie mobile indicative of Schwartz's rabbinic style? "Definitely. When
I was at a different kind
of congregation and I
was not necessarily my
own person, I drove a
very conservative, very
traditional, older car,"
the Reform rabbi attests.
"This is certainly very
relaxed, very laid-back
and yet it can be tradi-
tional. When people see
`Rabs' on the license
plate, they know who it
is."
!Janne! Schwartz is
spiritual leader of
Temple Shir Shalom in
West Bloomfield.
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz: "I'm out there when it's 60 degrees with the top
down."