A

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Light the Lights

A Broadway-style
bar mitzvah couples
meaning with pizzazz.

J.

horeographing a bar mitzvah that
incorporates a love for Broadway with the
true Jewish spirit of the event was no easy
feat, but Eddie Rubin pulled it off with the
grace of a professional actor and an
experienced mensch.
With Eddie's varied acting experience in
local theater productions at the Marquis
Theater in Northville, Greenfield Village
and the Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit, the Broadway theme
that ran through his bar mitzvah this past
May was not a big surprise to family and
friends.
Even the traditional Shabbat service
contained a bit of Broadway.
During his sermon, Rabbi Elliot Pachter
of Congregation B'nai Moshe in West
Bloomfield, likened Eddie to the cartoon
character Charlie Brown. And Eddie had, in
fact, played him in an excerpt from You're a

RONELLE GRIER

Special to SourceBook

Tozket good for
one terrific ofternoon of
fun and entertainment

Price of Admission. Bring one
conned good to be donated
to local food bank

The invitation to
Eddie Rubin's bar
mitzvah party
resembled a
Broadway show
ticket. Admission
charge was one
canned good to be
donated to a local
food bank.

1 6 •

sourcebook

2000 • jn

Good Man, Charlie
Brown in the recent
show Broadway Kids

2000 at the Jewish

Community Center in
West Bloomfield.
"Like Charlie
Brown, Eddie has a
certain sweet
innocence, yet he's very
hard-working," said
Rabbi Pachter, who has known Eddie since
he was a baby. "He studied hard for his bar
mitzvah. It was very important to him to
succeed."
The theatrical theme continued in
earnest at his bar mitzvah party held at
Excalibur Banquet Center in Southfield.
When the candle-lighting ceremony
began, complete with scenery and a
Broadway review performed by a chorus of
Eddie's friends and fellow actors, a collective
gasp was heard from the delighted guests.

The ceremony, written by Eddie's JCC
acting teacher Nancy Gurwin, included a
medley of songs from various Broadway
shows, with the lyrics tailored to his friends
and family members.
For example, Eddie's maternal
grandparents Elaine and Al Fagenson lit
their candle to the tune of "You've Gotta
Have Heart," from the show Damn
Yankees!, reflecting their love of baseball.
Rebecca and Sam Borak are Eddie's paternal
grandparents.
Fran Weinstein, the cousin who fixed up
Eddie's parents, the former Edie Fagenson
and Berry Rubin, lit her candle to a chorus
of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" from

Fiddler on the Roof.

The performers were Eddie's friends
from Gurwin's production of Broadway
Kids- 2000, which featured excerpts from
Broadway shows.
Because they were involved in rehearsals
for other local theatrical productions, the
bar mitzvah troupe practiced in the
evenings, with only two weeks of
preparation time.

MEANINGFUL MITZVAH

Despite the polish and professionalism
of Eddie's candle-lighting ceremony, the
prevailing atmosphere reflected the Rubin
family's commitment to tzedaka and the
real meaning of the word "mitzvah."
"We tried to keep the focus off the
party and help Eddie realize what a bar
mitzvah is really all about," said his
mother, Edie Rubin. "We wanted him to
realize his responsibility to the
community, and to make the event
meaningful to the people who were
there."
This goal was accomplished in several
ways.
When guests received their invitations,