Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor
H
ere's a great way to learn about interesting Jewish figures past and present, and at
the same time fulfill your secret dreams of becoming a famous politician, or a base-
ball star, or an opera singer.
All you have to do is affix Figure A to a piece of sturdy cardboard and cut out. Place a
photograph of your own head atop, then cut out one of the costumes and place it on your
new doll (costumes really fit).
"Guys & Dolls" appears monthly in The AppleTree, always with the same figure, so you
can save all the costumes and amass a terrific collection. If you would like to see any par-
ticular figure from Jewish life portrayed here, just write:
Guys And Dolls,
c/o The AppleTree,
27676 Franklin Road,
Southfield, Ml 48034
(No phone calls, please.)
Rabbi Abraham and Miriam Hershman
Rabbi Abraham M. Hershman was the first Conservative rabbi of Congre-
gation Shaarey Zedek (which was originally Orthodox).
Born in Lithuania, he was 16 when he came, with his parents and older
brother, to the United States in 1896. He attended the College of the City
of New York, where he studied history, English literature and
philosophy. He also was a student at the- Jewish Theological
Seminary for America, where he was especially interested in
Hebrew language. He was ordained in 1906.
Rabbi Hershman took his first pulpit in New York. In 1907, he
came to Shaarey Zedek, which was then was located on the
city's east side on Winder Street; its membership num-
bered 135. He remained in this position until his retire-
ment in 1946.
While still at JTS, Rabbi Hershman had met a young woman named Miri-
am Lewin-Epstein who also was keenly interested in Hebrew and Zionism.
The two married (drawings show clothing they wore during their honey-
moon) in 1909.
In addition to serving Shaarey Zedek, Rabbi Hershman organized the
Detroit chapter of the Zionist Federation of America, and served on the
board of the United Synagogue of America and the Rabbinical Assembly of
America. His wife was a founder of the city's first Hadassah chapter.
Though most of his life was dedicated to Jewish interests, Rabbi Hershman
also was a great baseball fan. Writing in Michigan Jewish History, his
daughters, Ruth and Eiga, recall, "he learned the batting averages of play-
ers, knew their strong and weak points, criticized and corrected the team
managers ..."
Miriam Hershman died in 1955, and Rabbi Hershman died in 1959. H
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1998
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