Spring into Action AT THE FRANKLIN CLUB This spring, come see how we can jazz up your life THE FOUNTAINS AT FRANKLIN enhance your full and active lifestyle with low cost month- to-month rental options and convenient a la carte services Shared Healing New edition of "Kaddish Minyan" brings experiences of mourners to print. hen Andrea Gordon's mother died, she found herself in a situation she never envisioned — recit- ing Kaddish (the prayer for the dead). "Kaddish was what I watched other people stand up and say in shul," said Gordon of Southfield. "I, for some rea- son, always felt I was exempt. I never understood the depths of what it was to say it myself." But on the day after her mother's funeral, there she was in the chapel at Adat Shalom Synagogue, the newest member of the synagogue's "Kaddish minyan," a daily service named for the quorum of 10 required to recite the prayer. "Everything was brand new to me, but I knew some of what to expect from stories I read written by others who had said Kaddish," she said. The book was The Kaddish Minyan: The Impact On Ten Lives, edited by her rabbi, Herbert Yoskowitz, who corn- piled personal reflections written by Adat Shalom members of their experi- ence reciting the prayer. So, two years later, when the rabbi expanded the book into the 2003 edi- tion of The Kaddish Minyan: From Pain to Healing; Twenty Personal Stories, Gordon was eager to add her own chap- ter. The updated book, which also con- tains chapters written by therapists and Jewish funeral home directors, includes the words of the Kaddish written in Hebrew, English and transliteration and is accompanied by an audio CD of the prayer. Adat Shalom Rabbi Daniel Nevins added linear translation and commentary and the synagogue's can- tor, Howard Glantz, wrote of the impact of leading the recitation of the prayer. Real Life Stories Each author of the book's short chapters takes a very personal approach to what they want to share. Contributions included stories of how the Kaddish was a source of personal healing, of the ben- efit of saying the prayer in the company of others and the bond created between those who say Kaddish together. "There are people who will always be special in my heart because they were with me during the year I said Kaddish," Gordon said. • When she was still new to the serv- ice, she said, "a couple of ladies came over to show me the ropes and to tell me how to follow along." Jewish News columnist George Cantor penned a chapter. He wrote that to say Kaddish for his daughter Courtney for the traditional full 11 months, rather than the required one month for the loss of a child, was an unshakable personal obligation to my daughter's memory. That I never fore- saw was that it would also restore my wife and me to life," he wrote. SHARED HEALING on page 54 Martin and Helen Lattin Founhzind THE FRANKLIN CLUB offers value priced retirement living with THE FRANKLIN CLUB rates as low as $995 a month! You simply can't live any better for less. AROUND THE WORLD DINNER Mardi 29, starting at S p.m. Join us for a gourmet meal featuring courses from different countries. To RSVP, call Rita at (248) 353-2810. Call us today to join the club, The Franklin Club. (248) 353-2810 THE FOUNTAINS AT FRANKLIN Retirement Living • Assisted Living • Alzheimer's Care 28301 Franklin Road • Southfield, MI 48034 www. thefountains. corn Al:#630084627 • NPDJ031904 LIVV4V,Irn The holidays can be crazy—especially when "decking the halls" means adding a second story to your 3,000 square foot ranch. Yet, the Reichenbachs report smooth operations on the extensive renovations Gittleman performed at their Livonia home last winter. The New Year would find them with a fully remodeled kitchen and dining room, expansive new great room with cathedral ceiling, a spacious office, additional space in their master bedroom and a mouthful of praise for Gittleman. "They were wonderful to work with...so accommodating from start to finish," explained Nancy Reichenbach, whose husband Tom's work schedule would only permit meeting with the architects at 6:30 am—weekly—and they were happy to oblige. Gittleman's crew was so spirited, in fact, that daily, during the Christmas season, they would remove the Reichenbachs' outdcior decorative lights to work on the home's exterior during the day, then restring them at night. Though subtle from the outside, a world of change has befallen the Reichenbach home. Nancy no longer runs her home-based income tax business from her son's old bedroom, and they now have ample space to accommodate him, his fiancée and their daughter's college friends on visits home. "I wake up every morning and say, 'I love my house,"' Nancy beamed. And that's Gittleman's job— to ensure that your dreams don't end when you wake, but that you wake up in your dream home. Just ask the Reichenbachs. GC CONSTRUCTION GITTLEMAN Andrea Gordon of Southfield and Susie Graham of Test Bloomfield in the chapel at Adat Shalom. inc 28580 ORCHARD LAKE RD., SUITE 102 FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334 248.538.5400 www.gittleman.net IN 3/19 2004 53