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Holocaust survivors' Einstein Lodge of B'nai B'rith
enlists members' children to ensure survival.
ESTHER ALLWEISS TSCHIRHART
Special to the Jewish News
A
fter losing so much in the
Holocaust, many survivors in
Detroit found comfort, friend-
ship and a sense of purpose by
joining Albert Einstein Lodge of B'nai
B'rith.
"In the beginning, everyone lived within
the radius of a mile or two of Dexter and
Davison," said Vienna-born Charlie Growe
of Oak Park, one of the charter members in
1956. The former Einstein president said
the lodge had more than 250 men all
through the 1970s.
"We used to have a bunch of nice guys,"
said Sam Berman of West Bloomfield, a
survivor from Poland. After business meet-
ings in a hall or someone's home, "the men
would have bagels and coffee and play
poker until late at night."
Along with their wives in the B'nai B'rith
auxiliary, the Einstein Lodge members
bought ambulances for Israel and held an
annual Israel Bonds dinner. Their social life
included a bowling league, Chanukah par-
ties and festive dinner-dances — with the
late Eric Roseriow and his group always on
the bandstand.
But 45 years later, the vibrancy was gone.
Einstein Lodge faced extinction as survivors
passed away, moved to Florida or became
too old to participate. Berman said,
"Einstein never merged with other lodges
because of its unique character and our
members' common background."
With fewer than 10 members showing up
for meetings, Einstein President David
Kahan of Bloomfield Hills, a survivor from
Hungary, decided to take action. He opened
up membership to the next generation.
Kahan started with sons Jeff and Doug,
and they invited their friends. "And slowly,
slowly, it's coming together," David Kahan
said. Fifty-six new members were added in a
year to the original 60.
"I'm very excited about this," said Great
Lakes Region President John Rofel, whose
B'nai B'rith offices in Bloomfield Township
hosted the initial planning meetings for the
evolving lodge.
Couples Count
One difference from the old days, said Jeff
Kahan of West Bloomfield, is that the
group is emphasizing lodge membership as
couples. Along with his wife, Tammy, he
said the "core group" includes his brother
and sister-in-law Doug and Ilene Kahan of
Bloom-field Hills, and Neil and Marla
Gorosh of West Bloomfield, Zvi and Joy
Levran of Farmington Hills, and Sheldon
and Elisa Freilich of Bloomfield Hills.
David Kahan hosted the reconstituted
lodge's kickoff meeting in November.
Twenty couples, mostly in their 30s and
40s, attended the program with genealogist
Betty Starkman as speaker in his home.
"A lot of people know each other, a lot
don't, but we have an awful lot in corn-
mon," Jeff Kahan said. For him, it is "only
natural that the survivors' children would be
interested in continuing the lodge."
Said Sheldon Freilich, whose late father
Joseph- was a lodge member: "As a second-
generation, I've always been very concerned
about keeping alive the lessons and memo-
ries of what the survivors' generation went
Clockwise from left:
Rochelle Adler of
Farmington Hills talks to
her 7-year-old son Ariel
during an Einstein Lodge
gathering.
David Kahan, seated, presi-
dent of the Einstein Lodge of
B'nai Brith, is surrounded
by "new blood" including,
from left, Sheldon Freilich of
Bloomfield Hills, sons
Douglas Kahan of
Bloomfield Hills and Jeffi-ey
Kahan of West Bloomfield,
who holds 22-month-old
Seth.
Three young participants at
a Havdalah meeting of the
Einstein Lodge are Niki
Levran, 10, of Farmington
Hills; Michelle Kappy , 10,
of Orchard Lake; and Alyssa
Adler, 9, of West Bloomfield.
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