Mazel Toy!

Charlotte illittenthid had lots o
Mindy support atTemple Israe

LISA BRODY
Special to The Jewish News

T

he birth of a grandchild is
one of life's special perks. It
means you have succeeded
in raising your child to
adulthood, and now you can revel in
the mutual admiration and enjoyment
that comes from the next generation.
For Edie Slotkin of Bloomfield
Hills, it is certainly no different. Her
five grandchildren are the light of her
life, the delicious dessert after the hard
work of raising two sons, Jim and Bob
Mittenthal, and daughter Jan Rosen.
As a long-time member of Temple
Israel, last Thanksgiving came to mean
more than turkey to her and husband
Donald Slotkin, and her children's
father and step-mother, Stuart and
Diane Mittenthal. They had the privi-
lege of participating in the naming
and conversion of their latest grand-
child, Charlotte S. Mittenthal.

A new granddaughter draws
a family closely together.

Charlotte is the daughter of Bob
Mittenthal and his wife, Hilarie Sheets
of New York City, and younger sister
to 2-year-old Owen.
While Hilarie Sheets is not Jewish,
she and Bob have committed to rais-
ing their children as Jews. According
to Reform Judaism's stance on patri-
lineal descent, Charlotte and Owen
are Jews, and no further conversion is
necessary.
But Bob and Hilarie wanted more,
to tie their children to their ancient
heritage. They chose to bless Charlotte
in the mikvah at Temple Israel. "My
non-Jewish daughter-in-law, who feels
Jewish, and my son wanted to do this
symbolically," says Edie. "It was very
special."
Gathering at the mikvah were baby

Charlotte, her parents, grandparents
and brother, uncles and aunts Jim and
Elyse Mittenthal of Scarsdale, N.Y.,
and Jan and David Rosen, and
cousins Paige Mittenthal, Matthew
and Allie Rosen.
Rabbi Harold Loss officiated and
Rabbis Paul Yedwab and Elliot Sharp
were witnesses, in the Jewish tradi-
tion of requiring three witnesses to a
conversion. Charlotte was carried
into the ceremonial rainwater by her
father.
"My other two grandsons were
crying that they wanted to go in,"
laughs Edie. "So Uncle Jimmy rolled
up his pants and took them in!"
Following the ritual bath, the
family went into the sanctuary at
Temple Israel where, in a private

naming ceremony, Rabbi Loss
blessed Charlotte, her brother
Owen, who had a similar mikvah
experience in 1996, and all of the
cousins, using their Hebrew names.
Charlotte was named Chaya Mina
in memory of her paternal great-
grandmother; Ida Chasanov of
Cincinnati, "who was a very dynam-
ic woman who headed our family,"
says Edie. "She was like a mother-
figure to the whole community. She
took in the stray people, and fed the
rabbis. When I was growing up, she
was the financial secretary for
Workmen's Circle."
From a grandmother's point of
view, it was a very moving day, and a
thrill to watch the conversion of a
grandchild. It also meant a great
deal to Edie to have a namesake for
her grandmother.
"It was special to me, because no
one else had named a baby after
her," she says. [1

2/26
1999

Detroit Jewish News

48