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Eight Over 80

Senior adults lauded for humanitarian contributions to local community.

LONNY GOLDSMITH
Staff Writer

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ne helped boys and girls
prepare for their b'nai mitz-
vah. The other helped start
Orchards Children's

Services.
Sylvia Barr and Beryl Winkelman
are two of the eight senior adults who
will be honored at the Jewish
Apartments and Services' "Eight Over
80" program Sunday, May 16, at
Hechtman Jewish Apartments in
West Bloomfield.
There is a $50 charge for an 11
a.m. brunch. The noon ceremony is
free and open to the community.
The event, which inducts honorees
into JAS' Senior Adult Hall of Fame,
provides recognition for the work
that JAS does. It also "increases
awareness within the community of
the benefits that older adults have in
the Jewish and secular communities,"
said Damon Bradley, JAS marketing
and development director.
The event, thanks to the sponsors,
acts as a fund-raiser for food subsidies
that go to JAS residents.
We provide one meal per day and
residents pay about $100 per
month," said event chairman Neil
Gorosh. "Of our 670 residents, 293
have annual incomes of less than
$6,200. They can't even afford $100
per month."
Only over the past couple of years,
Gorosh said, did JAS try to make the
event a fund-raiser. We had been
content to break even, but there are
no shortage of worthy places that
funds could go," " Gorosh said. "The
board decided this is where it should
go.
According to Bradley, a five-person
panel from the Jewish community
selected the eight honorees out of a
field of almost 50 nominations. The
eight stood out above the rest because
of their leadership qualities and
involvement in organizations.
The judges "look at what nomi-
nees have done to benefit the com-
munity, that have motivated others to
take part in the organizations,"
Bradley explained. "They are the
leaders of leaders."

5/14

Henry
Auslander Sylvia Barr
Henry Auslander continues to devote

his life to Jewish
education. A
lifelong student
and mentor,
the 85-year-old
taught Hebrew
school at
Congregation
Shaarey Zedek
for close to 60
years.
"While in
the Army, I
was affiliated with people who were
highly educated. After leaving the Army,
I felt my calling was in the field of edu-
cation. I earned degrees in teaching and
Judaic studies," Auslander said.
The former teacher believes that
without Jewish education, a person can't
become a good Jew. His favorite aspect
about teaching Judaism is explaining the
traditions of how to celebrate the holi-
days.
"Dad loves education and Judaism.
It's through his teaching that he gives
back to the community," said son Ira
Auslander.
The elder Auslander continues to
serve as an usher for his congregation
and was named "Man of the Year" by
the Shaarey Zedek Men's Club in 1992.
Among his various civic commit-
ments, Auslander served as president of
the Hebrew Free Loan Association from
1966 to 1971. "Hebrew Free Loan is
important for those people in the com-
munity who are in need. It helps folks
get established and strengthens the
Jewish community," Auslander said.
Today, Auslander is pursuing a mas-
ter's degree from Wayne State University
in counseling. He is nine hours short of
achieving that goal; upon graduation, he
hopes to work at the university.
Daughter Margaret Silberman
describes her father as a man who has
dedicated his life to giving of himself to
benefit others without desire for recogni-
tion.
"In all his actions, he promotes the
concepts of study, prayer and acts of
kindness in a way that encourages those
around him to take pride in their
Judaism," Silberman said.

For more than 40 years and 2,500 stu-
dents later, Sylvia Barr is still helping
today's children
become out-
standing Jewish
adults through
preparing stu-
dents for their
bar and bat
mitzvahs.
"I've
known Sylvia
for almost all
my life. She
teaches with total
commitment and deep love for what she
is doing. That love is transferred to her
students. She is an example for them to
model," said Robert Lask, a longtime
educator, peer and fellow bar/bat mitz-
vah tutor.
"Child by child, Sylvia is making a
difference in people's lives. She teaches
Torah with love and passion. Her stan-
dards are high, but her devotion moti-
vates her students to excel." "Sylvia
transmits to younger generations a pas-
sion of Torah that is inextricably linked
to a pursuit of excellence. Her students
learn more than reading and pronuncia-
tion skills — they earn an immense sat-
isfaction from a Jewish life-cycle experi-
ence that never leaves them," wrote
Mindy Nathan, a friend and parent who
asked Barr to help prepare her son for
his bar mitzvah.
Barr is known to make "house calls,"
spend hours on the telephone with her
pupils and even spend late hours at
night making sure her students succeed.
Barr lost her 12-year-old son, Maurice,
in 1958. Through his death, she found
her calling.
"I believe her teaching is therapeutic.
She gives to children what her own son
was unable to do. It's God's calling for
her that she spend her life teaching oth-
ers in the memory of the son she lost,"
wrote Nathan.
"Barr succeeded where others failed.
My daughter Mara began her tutoring
knowing very little Torah. By the day of
her bat mitzvah, Mara's mastery of
Hebrew brought tears to my eyes. Our
family owes Barr a debt of gratitude,"
said Ida Sweet, a parent.
"It's rare enough to have a legend in

our midst but rarer still to have one con-
tinuing to transmit her love of Torah
with the same fervor and passion, day in
and day out," Nathan added.
Barr has taught Hebrew and Torah to
children and adults at Temples Israel,
Beth El, Kol Ami and Shir Shalom. In
her spare time, she practices piano a
couple of hours a day.
Barr practices with the same rigor
and determination of excellence as she
teaches her students to learn the Torah
and the Hebrew language.
"As long as God keeps me well, I will
still teach. I'm doing God's work and
that is most rewarding for me," Barr
said.

Bessie Kutnick,

Bessie Kutnick leads by example. If there
is a need, she fills it. If someone is going ,
without, she is there to make sure their —\
cup runneth over.
"Bubble just doesn't give money or
go to meetings
— she gives of
herself. She
finds people
jobs, furniture
and clothing.
She clips
coupons so
that more
money could
be given to
the needy.
She cooks for
people, takes the sick to the
doctor and volunteers endlessly," says
granddaughter Shelley Nadiv.
Just a snapshot of Kutnick's volunteer
activities requires a wide-angle lens.
Highlights include various efforts at
Hechtman Jewish Apartments, where
she has lived for five years. She also is
involved with Jewish Home & Aging
Services' gift shop, Niamat and Israel
Bonds.
For more than 60 years, Kutnick has
been instrumental in the David-
Horodoker organization, which raises
funds for the less fortunate in Detroit
and Israel.
Friends and family describe the 86-
year-old dynamo as always on the go. To
demonstrate this, Nadiv retells a favorite
family story.
"One night I went out with friends