MONUMENT CENTER INC. "Same Location 45 Years" (7.71 - 111 Obit Aries Obituaries are updated regularly and archived on JN Online: www.detroitjewishnews.com A Bringer Of Joy • Monuments and Markers • Bronze Markers • Memorial Duplicating • Cemetery Lettering & Cleaning CEMETERY INSTALLATION ANYWHERE IN MICHIGAN Call 248-542-8266 661 E 8 MILE ROAD FERNDALE 1 1/2 blocks East of Woodward Under the Supervision of the Council of Orthodox Rabbis WE NOW HAVE EATING FOR YOUR INDOOR DINING PLEASURE. FULL LINE OF COMPLETE HOMEMADE DINNERS AND MEAT OR FISH TRAYS WE CATER TO MEET ALL YOUR NEEDS 25270 Greenfield • Oak Park (248) 967-1161 "Embracing Robin" A memorial in loving remembrance of ROBIN JODY ADLER-GOLDSMITH January 8, 1958 September 8, 2001 Sunday, November 25, 2001 at 3:00 p.m. Jewish Community Center Maple at Drake Road ffnai Moshe's Shalom Ralph befriended every visitor. T ALAN HITSKY Associate Editor housands knew the little redhead with the big smile. Say hello to him on Shabbat, and a piece of hard candy would magically appear in your hand. Come to the weekday morning prayer minyan to say Kaddish, and he would be the first to greet you, to show you the page in the prayer book or give a helpful, non-judgmental hand with the tefillin. Shalom Ralph was Congregation B'nai Moshe for most Detroiters. It was a congre- gation he loved for 53 years, that he served as sexton since 1948, and that he continued to serve after retirement. Mr. Ralph, of West Bloomfield, died Sunday, Nov. 18, in his sleep. He was 91. As Rabbi Elliot Pachter fondly related last year, after the congregation honored him by naming him sexton emeritus. "The very next day he showed up for work." The new tide didn't change the old status. At B'nai Moshe, whether in Detroit, Oak Park or West Bloomfield, Shalom Ralph was Shalom Ralph. at the shul seven days a week. He kept sport coats available for any man who came to services without one. When Soviet Jewish immigrants began arriving in Detroit in 1979 in greater num- bers, he made sure that the synagogue had Russian-language prayer books available. One immigrant, astonished by Mr. Ralph's kindness and knowledge of Judaism, told a congregant, "In Europe, the sex- ton was a job given to some poor shlemiel (bum)." That was hardly Shalom Ralph. Born in Poland, Mr. Ralph immigrated to Palestine after World War I. He moved to Philadelphia, then to Detroit, and became B'nai Moshe's sex- ton in 1948. He was a sweet man, with a twinkle in his eye and a ready joke, often about himself On Shabbat, he would hand out the aliyot to the deserving and the underdeserving, and supervise the reading of the Torah service. Then he would trail the Torah procession to the aron kodesh, all the while greeting congre- gants, telling jokes and handing out candy. He would also take pride in the b'nai mitzvah he tutored. Congregants would recognize his distinctive tropes (musical notes), and say that the bar mitzvah had been "Ralphed." His kindness extended beyond humans. In Oak Park, he would take bread and rolls left from a simchah dinner and deliver them to the seagulls in the synagogue parking lot. Although his health had been up and down the last few years, he seemed to be doing well in recent weeks. He attended his grandson's wedding in Florida, and was at B'nai Moshe Shabbat morning services and evening minyan last Saturday. When asked how he was feeling Saturday night by longtime B'nai Moshe member Seymour Ungar, Mr. Ralph responded with his characteristic, "Near perfect!" Margie Charnes first met Mr. Ralph when he began tutoring her daughter Ellen 36 years ago. After they became friends, "he would call me three or four times a week, and always after Shabbat — that was his ritual," she said. Congregant Bernie Klein said Mr. Ralph became a regular Saturday , night caller to him when Mr. Klein became ill several years ago. Klein spoke to Mr. Ralph at 10:45 p.m. Saturday, "and he was just as cheerful, kind and generous as ever." When Mr. Ralph was honored with Jewish Apartments & Services "Eight Over 80" award last year, Charnes said, "he was hon- ored for his generosity to charity. There isn't a charity in Israel that doesn't know him. "There couldn't be a more beloved, pious man," she said. Last year, B'nai Moshe created a Shalom Ralph historical alcove in his honor. Mr. Ralph is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Sandra and Earle Endelman of Bloomfield Hills, and Caren and Martin Redish of Highland Park, Ill.; and grandchildren Eric and Alyssa Endelman, Brett Endelman, Jessica Redish and Elisa Redish. He was husband of the late Eleanor. Services were held Tuesday at Congregation B'nai Moshe. Interment at Machpelah Cemetery. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. Contributions can be made to Congregation B'nai Moshe, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, the Lubavitcher Center, Fleischman Residence or a charity of one's choice. 0 Lower Level - Room 107-A Please bring photos and memories to share. CELEBRATION CONNECTION DIRECTORY 11/23 2001 122 in our Classified Section MELVIN ALTER, 74, of Highland Park, died Nov. 13. He was an attor- ney and World War II Navy veteran. He is survived by his son, David Alter of New York; sister and brother- in-law, Roberta and Marvin Lieberman of Illinois; nieces and nephews, Stacy and Steven Bornstein, Scott Lieberman, Susan Lieberman. Interment at Beth Tefilo Emanuel. Contributions may be directed to a charity of one's choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. MAX BELL, 85, of Oak Park, died Nov. 16. He was a manufacturing shipping clerk. He is survived by his wife, Sarah Bell; son and daughter-in-law, Sanford and Karen Bell of New York; daughter, Linda Bell of Oak Park; grandchil- dren, Catherine Bell, Jonathan Bell; sisters, Gertrude Schneider of Oak Park, Freda Moore of Calif. Mr. Bell was the dear brother of the late Ruth Berg. Interment at Beth Tefilo Emanuel. Contributions may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.