Something Extra
Bringing It Home
Help For Dementia
Crystal Wish Webster has
been singing at Temple Israel
since she was 8. Now a 22-
year-old vocal performance
senior at Oakland University,
Webster is bringing her senior
recital to the temple — even
without the faculty.
Webster is inviting her fam- Webster
ily and the community to a
free, 70-minute concert at
Temple Israel, 7 p.m. Thursday, June
24. If her wonderful voice isn't enough
of an attraction, she will also provide
refreshments.
"This is a testimony to my passion
for Judaism," said Webster, "and my
thanks for the support of the Jewish
community over the past 14 years of
my growing up as a person and a
musician."
Light-Years Ahead
Last Friday night, some
Shabbat-observant Jews were
reading by the light of a sim-
ple, ingenious invention
allowing them to lighten
their homes without switch-
ing on electricity or using a
pre-set timer.
The KosherLamp,
designed by Rabbi Shmuel
Veffer of Toronto, is com-
posed of a compact fluores-
cent bulb and two inde-
pendent shades, each with a
window While the bulb
burns throughout Shabbat, the inner shade
can be rotated to either allow light to escape
or keep all the light inside. The lamp will
vent heat when in its closed position.
The rabbi created the lamp after his wife
Chana, an avid reader, expressed her wish to
have a light that.could be turned off on
Fir-t7(11-7, 'cha
Don't Know@
She has been both a per-
former in and leader of
Temple Israel's junior choir, a
teaching assistant and substi-
tute cantorial soloist at the
temple. This year, she is also
part of the temple's "Shabbat
Unplugged" band and is in
the cast of the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre's Fiddler on
the Roof.
The June 24 recital is also a tribute
to her grandparents, Diane and
Harvey Wish, who will be celebrating
their anniversary.
Webster will perform for the OU
faculty at a later date but is bringing a
program of classical numbers, Hebrew
and Yiddish to the temple.
— Alan Hitsky, associate editor
Shabbat without affecting the electrici-
ty. In a single dav, Rabbi Veffer and
his son visited a local hardware and
built the first working model of the
KosherLamp.
By the next Shabbat, family and
friends were clamoring for one of
their own and, on June 7, the lamp
became available for purchase.
"With a lamp like this, I'll be able
to find things in the baby's dresser
drawer Shabbos night and then turn
`off' the light so it doesn't disturb
him," said the Veffers' neighbor, Rob
Sheinbein of Toronto.
"I've already looked into it," said
Rabbi Reuven Spolter of Young Israel
of Oak Park. "It's a really nifty idea and I
would be very interested in trying one."
To order the KosherLamp, call (866) 661-
5483 or access the Web site at:
www.kosheriamp.com
2004
— Goldfein
jasox :Jamsu-v
16
Residence is a secure residential facility
for adults with dementia that serves
those whose caregivers can no longer
meet the needs of their loved ones at
home.
The Memory Club, to open at JVS
later this summer, is for mature adults
who want to improve their memories.
According to Ostrow, these programs
work collaboratively, which allows for a
smooth transition from one service to
another. When appropriate, referrals
flow between these programs and the
other COJES agencies: Jewish Family
Service, the JCC and Jewish Apartments
& Services.
For information on these and other
programs for older adults, call ElderLink
at (248) 559-1500.
— Keri Guten Cohen,
story development editor
New Name, New Game
The annual fund-raising golf
outing benefiting the Food Bank
of Oakland County has a new
name and a new location.
Now called the Bernie
Smilovitz Celebrity Golf Classic,
the outing will be held on
Monday, June 21, at Tam
O'Shanter Country Club in West
Bloomfield.
The WDIV-TV (Channel 4)
sports anchor will be the tourna-
ment host and has lined up
Detroit sports celebrities to par-
ticipate.
For ticket information, call the
Food Bank of Oakland County,
(248) 332-1473.
— Alan Hitsky, associate editor
— Shelli Liebman Doifman, staff writer
Quotables
Although 250,000 Holocaust survivors live in
Israel, only one serves in the Knesset (Israel's par-
liament). Who?
6/18
2004
In the aftermath of former President
Ronald Reagan's death, Detroit Jewry's
communal leadership reminds the corn-
munity about local programs that aid
patients with Alzheimer's and other
dementia disorders.
Through the Commission on Jewish
Eldercare Services (COJES), the mem-
ber agencies of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit have developed a
continuum of services, said Peter Ostrow
of the Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish
Community Adult Day Care Program.
This program, with centers in West
Bloomfield at Jewish Home and Aging
Services and in Southfield at JVS, helps
those at all stages of dementia to remain
able, active and alert. The program also
provides many support services for their
family caregivers.
The Dorothy and Peter D. Brown
Memory Care Pavilion of Fleischman
"The challenge of the synagogue is to make the
preschool experience the best vehicle it can be for
serious Jewish education. Rather than seeking
teachers who are willing to work for the salaries
that we offer, we must seek to pay salaries that
attract the teachers who will offer the best Jewish
education for our children. It is vital that syna-
gogues view the preschool as an educational
opportunity rather than as a 'profit center.'"
— Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein,
executive vice president of the
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Do You Remember?
June 1974
Bertha Robinson, principal of Detroit's Central
and Henry Ford high schools, died at age 77. She
produced and directed USA Law Day in the pub-
lic schools. During Central High's centennial in
1958, she produced and directed a yearlong cele-
bration. She also created the first counselors'
workshop.
— Sy Manello, editorial assistant