(Jewishness). At that ppint, Newman
and his wife, Michelle, had recently
become Shabbat-observant. He real-
ized, though, the deep chasm between
himself and Gruskin.
"He ended up talking about evolution.
I almost stopped at the side of the road
to listen to him," Newman recalled.
"As soon as we sat down, the rabbi
pulled out a sefer [religious book] —
he didn't waste a second — and start-
ed studying."
Newman started praying at B'nai Zion
shortly afterward, and came to consider
the rabbi a second father, he said.
"He was a pious man, praying at the
right time and with the proper respect.
I tried to catch it as much as I can,"
said Alan Elman of Southfield, a long-
time regular at B'nai Zion.
Dr. Tawil switched to B'nai Zion
for the morning service because it
suits his schedule. He lives in
Southfield and works in downtown
Detroit for the Detroit Medical
Center. But Rabbi Gruskin is the rea-
son he started going at all.
"He was an extremely busy man, he
never said no, he was constantly involved
with people that other rabbis or commu-
nity leaders weren't willing to spend time
with. He was also very insightful in terms
of helping solve problems. I felt very
close to Rabbi Gruskin. He was my rabbi
and he still is," said Dr. Tawil.
The sunrise minyan and the obser-
vance of Yom Kippur katan are
holdovers of Rabbi Gruskin's traditions.
Rabbi Gruskin's imprint can be felt in
the greater Jewish community as well.
JARC's first residential home was
established in 1980 in Southfield and
named for Rabbi Gruskin, so signifi-
cant was his impact on Jews who had
been institutionalized for developmen-
tal disabilities, said Joyce Keller, execu-
tive director of Farmington Hills-based
JARC. The home did not survive the
encroachment of 1-696, but Southfield-
based Kadima, which serves adults with
mental illness, named a home after
Rabbi Gruskin that still is in existence.
Keller recalls that on Fridays, Rabbi
Gruskin would bring salamis or corned
beef to patients and do a service in
preparation for Shabbat. When JARC
began to place people in the communi-
ty, the rabbi was ecstatic, she said.
"He was that lone soul out there who
said, These are lone Jews and we have to
reach out to them and do what we can
so they know that.' He brought them a
little Yiddishkeit. For a lot of folks we
serve, what they came with is what Rabbi
Gruskin brought them," Keller said.
Even with the departure of Rabbi
Gruskin and dwindling attendance,
especially on Shabbat, Dr. Tawil, 44, is
pretty confident in B'nai Zion's future.
There is no mortgage, and aside from
a broken water pump in the basement
that needs repair and a mikvah (ritual
bath) in need of renovation, expenses
are low and commitment is high
among its members.
"When I go to work, I pass many
churches with Magen Davids on them.
I don't want it to become an institu-
tion like that," he said.
Local historian Irwin Cohen of Oak
Park said he can't imagine B'nai Zion
will meet the same fate. It's too small
and parking is almost nonexistent, he
said. That may be why it is the only
synagogue Cohen can think of that
has continued in a neighborhood that
has few Jews left.
Before he left for New Jersey with his
wife, Gertrude, Rabbi Gruskin told his
acolytes at B'nai Zion what they needed
to do: maintain a minyan until the entire
neighborhood is non-Jewish, he said.
Rabbi Gruskin believes the syna-
gogue he nurtured for so many years
will remain a beacon for all Jews
because it always has. Even 25, 30 years
ago, he said, it was a struggle to make a
minyan for afternoon and evening serv-
ices, especially during the winter. Rabbi
Gruskin's strategy was to pay yeshivah
students 50 cents apiece to come, and
he consid.ers- the $2.50 or so he spent
each week a great investment. "These
boys, believe it or not, are teachers in
some of the leading yeshivahs in the
United States," the rabbi said.
Still, it is a challenge to maintain a
minyan. The last two Yom Kippur katan
services brought in 10 men for each.
And money, of course, is scarce.
"Not having a rabbi means not
attracting money," Newman said,
picking up a vacuum cleaner and
pushing it around the sanctuary.
When he finished, he made sure there
were paper supplies in the restroom.
"If not for Stewart, this shul would-
n't be here," said Sam Weinberger, 81.
Weinberger served as B'nai Zion's
president until before last Rosh
Hashanah. Rabbi Gruskin, he
laughed, wouldn't let him resign,
despite the fact that he had moved to
West Bloomfield years earlier and
made the drive every day. He has con-
tinued his routine, stopping at
Zeman's Bakery on Greenfiel4 Road in
Oak Park along the way to pick up
cake.
"I make it my business to come,"
Weinberger said. "This is part of my
life. I was here for 26 years.
"You see what we do here. We sit down
and have a shmooze. It's part of me."
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