COMMUNITY VIEWS Remembering Detroit's Dean Of American Jewish Social Workers JUDY, DEBBIE AND SUSAN SOBELOFF Special To The Jewish. News 0 ur grandfather, Isidore Sobeloff, known to many affectionately as Soby, died this past year on Thanksgiv- ing Day at the age of 99. Though Soby finished his career in Los Angeles, he had special ties to Detroit, where he was executive direc- tor of the Jewish Welfare Federation from 1937 to 1964. We want to share some background and personal reflections of our grand- father, the man known during his hey- day in Detroit as "the dean of Ameri- can Jewish social workers." Soby was born in Baltimore and worked as reporter and editor at the Cumberland Daily News before becom- ing director of the Jewish Community Center in Jersey City. From there, he worked for several organizations in New York City, including the Jewish Federation, Welfare Council, Federa- tion of Jewish Philanthropies and Traveler's Aid Society. He was on the board of many national Jewish organizations as well — among them the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Joint Distribution Committee, National Jewish Welfare Board, Jewish Tele- graphic Agency and National Founda- tion for Jewish Culture. Judy Sobeloff is a resident of Ann Arbor. Debbie lives in Columbus, Ohio. Susan is a Seattle, Wash., resident. He served as president of the National Council of Jewish Social Welfare. He retained his early love of jour- nalism during his years in Jewish com- munal service, acting as editor of the social work publications Jewish Social Service Quarterly and Better Times. Soby was our history book, our memory. You could ask Soby about any topic and the stories would come, complete with the exact year, which always amazed us because we had so many fewer years to keep track of Memory is a slippery ani- mal. Soby taught us that mem- ory is not about conflicts that happen, but about how you take these experiences into yourself, how they feed and transform you, how you turn them into stories to share with the people you love and so learn from them. A visit to Soby meant catching up on current events as well as events from the past, reading aloud articles to him from the various newspapers to which he subscribed, or listening to political commentary on TV or the radio with the sound turned up loud. He would talk to us in his chair late into the night, dispensing advice and great stories and correcting our grammar, smoking his pipe (until he quit in 1996). The lesson we take from his quitting smoking after 80 years is: If you're on a path and get a result that's unsatisfactory, don't worry 0 0 0 0 Above: Max Fisher honors Isidore Sobeloff in 1963 for his 25 years of ser- vice to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Left: Isidore Sobeloff in 1976 about it, just readjust, cor- rect course and continue. As a former reporter and editor, Soby loved language, one of his great- est gifts to us. He loved being present- ed with difficult situations and helping us to puzzle out possible solutions; he had a rare ability to help people see simple answers, and he did so with humor. As our family motto, created by Soby and our father Jonathan, says, Quod non scimus fabulamus (What we don't know, we make up). Soby's death on Thanksgiving Day posed our family the kind of challenge with which he had enjoyed grappling — finding meaning in a difficult situation — and it forced us to confront issues central to Soby and to Jews all over, issues of continuity and community. In addition to the keen narrative grasp our grandfather had over his own life, telling stories in his chair late into the night, he always thought about people in a larger context as well. As a child, he used to go with his father on Shabbat to hear Jewish statesmen talking in Yiddish and Eng- lish about the Jewish freedom move- ment. DEAN on page 31 L'\ Shelli Dorfman, your editorial assistant, is to be commended for the excellent job she did in recapturing the ceremony in a sensitive and meaningful manner. I greatly appreci- ate the time she took and the numer- ous telephone calls to ensure that the information was accurate and com- plete. Elan Village is pleased to be able to continue to honor the memory of Rabbi Abraham Gardin by rededicat- ing our chapel in his name. The chapel is just one of the many ser- vices we offer in maintaining a Jewish environment. We look forward to continue working with the Jewish agencies to better serve our Jewish elderly. Marcia Mittelman Executive director, Elan Village Southfield Call For Caution On Jordan King LETTERS types of cancer. Hadassah hospitals and clinics throughout Israel employ and treat all the peoples of Israel and often those of other Middle Eastern countries. The late Prime Minister Rabin called Hadassah the peacemakers of the Mid- dle East. Beverly W. Apel President, Greater Detroit Hadassah West Bloomfield and writing — and the end result was a lovely mix of past, present and phi- losophy. For Keri's time and talent, for Gail Zimmerman's excellent editing and for the lovely spread and photos, sincerest thanks. Elaine Heumann Gurian Acting director Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills Profile Article -Well Received Rededication Of Chapel I'm writing to express my appreciation for Keri Cohen's article ("Museums On The Move" Jan. 29). Keri obviously spent a great deal of time with me, speaking to colleagues I am writing to thank The Jewish News for "One In A Million," published Jan. 29, on the rededication of the Elan Village chapel in memory of Rabbi Abraham Gardin. 2/19 1999 28 Detroit Jewish News Despite glowing reviews of King Hus- sein bin Talal's reign ("Friendship With American Jewry" Feb. 12), Jews should be especially cautious. Jews should remember that Jordan, the creation of the British Empire in 1922, is the eastern side of Palestine. Its true name is "transJordan" and is the missing part to a complete Israel. However, since most everyone talks of Jordan, no one seems to know its name is fake, its boundaries are fraud- ulent and that Israel is truncated. Although having "always peaceful intentions" when questioned about Israel, Jordan looked at its neighbor, filled with Jewish infidels, with cov- etous eyes.