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Striving For Excellence

Richard Joel inspires local Jewish professionals to work to rebuild the Jewish world.

DON COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

R

Be a professional. Jewish life is too important not to be
run as a business. Get your love at home. You can be fully
Jewish without being a Jewish professional. Only do it if
you are dedicated to it.
Learn and do Jewish. We need to know our product.
"We need to grow Jewishly," he said, "and be knowledge-
able as well as passionate."
Joel would scrap the term "Jewish communal service"
because it implies the professionals are "servants" to the lay
"leaders."

ichard Joel can rightly be called a "Renaissance
Man." He's been a New York state prosecutor,
then dean of Yeshiva University Law School before
becoming president and international director of
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in 1988.
Joel has coined the term "Jewish renaissance" to describe
what he sees as the re-invigoration of Jewish life in America
and beyond.
When the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit began organizing its "Striving for
Excellence" conference, he was the planning
committee's first and unanimous choice for
keynote speaker, said Kari Alterman,
Federation's director of community outreach
and education.
"We knew he could bring us together in a
shared sense of purpose — and he did," she said.
Planned by representatives of Federation and
non-Federation agencies and congregations, the
half-day conference took place Nov. 2 at the
West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center. It
brought together 200 Jewish communal profes-
sionals from throughout Southeastern Michigan.
And, no surprise, "renaissance" was on Joel's
mind.
"We are at an unbelievably opportune
moment to rebuild the Jewish world," Joel said.
At this moment of renaissance, we need to
identify, attract, nurture and grow the best
Richard Joel
Jewish professionals."
"We are involved in melechet hakodesh, sacred
"We only serve God; like the priesthood we represent
work," Joel reminded the group. "We have enjoyed great
success but much more is possible."
and teach the community," he said. "Both professionals
and lay leaders desire to work in a partnership."
But Joel doesn't stop at identifying a vision of a Jewish
community "moving forward, advancing civilization and
Joel quoted comedian Woody Allen's one-liner, "the
Jewish definition of swimming is not drowning."
being a light unto the nations."
Joel said his work with college students has made it clear
He has some clear prescriptions about the role of Jewish
communal professionals:
that today's Jews have higher expectations for their lives.
Keep your eye on the prize. Fight diversions. Remember
Young people don't subscribe to that vision of being
Jewish, he said. "They don't want it. They want to swim
the nobility of our goals. "If we lose focus when Israel
strong; they want to win."
explodes, we do ourselves and Israel a disservice," he said.
For Susan Herman, director of the Michigan Jewish
Transcend the process for the product. "God delivered
the Torah on Mt. Sinai, not the process." Focus on creating Conference, "the need to 'keep your eye on the prize'
struck an important chord.
a valuable, meaningful, positive Jewish life.
Have a life. "Work very hard, but work is not the most
"Sept. 11 has changed some important things, but not
everything," said Herman, who has headed the statewide
important thing. Remember to value things (spouse, fami-
ly, God) outside of work," he said.
public policy agency in Lansing for the past year. "I'm con-
cerned that meeting the needs of security and rebuilding
Joel told his audience not to sacrifice themselves to work
can distract us from our communal and local needs and the
in the Jewish community: "Judaism is the religion that out-
importance of our particular missions.
lawed human sacrifice. Jews don't sacrifice; they make
investments."
"We need to keep focused, and Joel helped us to do that." ❑

11/16
2001

34

From the pages of the Jewish News for
this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.

1991

The board of directors at Detroit's
Akiva Hebrew Day School voted to
require uniforms next fall.
Reports from Bonn indicate that
the Klu Klux Klan is actively
recruiting in Germany.
Detroiter Dr. Hugh Beckman,
chair of Sinai Hospital of Detroit's
department of ophthalmology,
received the Max Osnos Award for
Distinguished Leadership.

Detroiter Sol Drachler resigned as
the executive director of the Jewish
Welfare Federation.
Ambassador Zvi Brosh, adviser to
the mayor of Jerusalem, spoke at a
dinner honoring Rabbi Benjamin
H. Gorelick of Congregation Beth
Achim.

1971

Nine-year-old Detroiter Carrie Sills
took two first-place ribbons in the
Flint Ceramics Show.
Detroiter Sharon Rose was elect-
ed president of the Akiva Hebrew
Day School student council.

The Detroit Dormitory at Bar-Ilan
University in Israel was recently
dedicated in honor of the
Muskovitz and Pershin families.
Detroiter Allen E. Schwartz was
elected president of Wayne State
University Press.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld
the constitutional right of George
Lincoln Rockwell, leader of the
American Nazi Party, to hold a
public meeting in New York City.

Vern Leopold of Detroit accepted
the leadership of the Young People's
Club of Temple Beth El in Detroit.
The Young People's Club of
Congregation B'nai Moshe in
Detroit was renamed the Stanley
Riegler Youth Club in memory of
its late president, who lost his life
in the armed forces.

—Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant

