Arts &Life

Life With Father

New book celebrates Jewish fathers.

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

T

hree Michigan dads — one reg-
ularly appearing in the public
eye, a second serving as a role
model after the death of a friend and a
third remaining optimistic about his
youngsters' special needs — explain their
approaches to parenthood in Jewish

Fathers: A Legacy of Love (Jewish Lights;
-
$30).
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin recalls lessons he
learned from his father and wants to
pass along to his children. Attorney
Sanford Schulman discusses holding on
to the essence of a man hardly known to
the man's own son. Lawyer Jeffrey
Cohen explains the joy he feels sharing
life with twins he hopes will realize the
richness of their potential.
The book, with interviews by Paula
Wolfson and photographs by Lloyd
Wolf, introduces the lifestyles and ideas
of 36 contemporary men who have
forged diverse ways of raising children
mixed with diverse ways of religious
observance.

The pages include the family philoso-
phies of actor Theodore Bikel, oncology
group director Al Wong, Carnegie Deli
owner Sandy Levine, manufacturer
David Zabarsky and presidential adviser
Stuart Eizenstat. Rabbi Harold Kushner,
author of When Bad Things Happen to
Good People, wrote the foreword to put
fatherhood in the context of Jewish
teachings.
The new publication comes as a natu-
ral sequel to the first Wolfson-Wolf col-
laborative project, Jewish Mothers:
Strength, Wisdom, Compassion, a•work
that brought the team to the West
Bloomfield Jewish Community Center
for an annual fall book fair.
"I did this book as a social worker,"
says Wolfson, who currently is employed
as a clinician but spent some time work-
ing as a photographer for Washington
Jewish Week. "We wanted to bring-in dif-
ferent perspectives while having the
book serve as an affirmation of father-
hood."
Wolfson and Wolf, who met at a party
and became friends, found their subjects
by thinking about people they knew and

asking for recommendations from
people in Jewish communities they
visited.
While Wolfson did the interviews,
Wolf took -the pictures. After the
essays were written, the fathers were
asked to edit them.
....,paThitep by Lloyd V` Wolf Es
ay
Essays
"It feels good to reveal these posi-
.
tword b Rabbi HaroIdK.u. Shi4r
tive experiences in public," says Wolf,
`An affirmation offatherhood"
a freelance photographer whose
images have appeared in People,
National Geographic and the Detroit
since interviewing for Jewish Fathers, but
Jewish News. "We did have specific types
that has not taken time from his rela-
of men in mind as we began our search
tionship with his best friend's son, Alec,
so we could keep with our goal of diver-
who was 2 years old when his dad died
sity."
and recently celebrated his bar mitzvah.
Carl Levin expresses the idea of com-
Schulman, who decided to change
municating ideals and standards.
from Reform to Orthodox observance
"My three daughters were born after
since his friend passed away, helped with
my father died, but I believe his values
some of Alec's Reform bar mitzvah prac-
have been transmitted through our fami-
tice and enjoys watching sports events
ly," says the senator, who deems it
with his godson.
important to hold regular get-togethers
"According to Pirke Avot ("The Ethics
for relatives. "They are very proud to be
of Our Fathers"), the greatest gift that
Americans and very egalitarian. They
you can give a friend is to help guard his
dislike privilege and are very independ-
family and possessions as your own,"
ent."
says Schulman, of West Bloomfield. "Joe
Sanford Schulman had his third child

bi6bla

Celebrating Dads Through Song

Danna Banana — a.k.a Dan Cohen — releases family-friendly Father's Day CD.

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

D

an Cohen's mother gave him a
nickname, Danna Banana,
which much later became a
stage name, but his late father got into
the act through the singer-songwriter's
new CD, Daddy-04 a family celebration
for Father's Day.
"Daddy-0," the tide song in the 15
country-folk-rock selections for kids,
includes a line showing pride in the
father-son relationship: "Ye s , my dad
can do anything he wants to, and he
wants to do it with me!"
While Cohen's nickname came in
childhood, his decision to entertain chil-
dren came much later, after he found
work in opera and musical theater.
"My dad and my children were inspi-
rations for my work, and I try to com-
municate the fun and joy I get out of

6/18

2004

38

being a dad,"
says Cohen, 43,
the father of
three. "My kids
turned my life
around in a posi-
tive way, and I
include their
voices and
involvement in
the recording. I
think young
voices make the
CD kid-friend-
y."
Cohen wrote
all the songs on
Danna Banana
his own except
(Dan Cohen)
for two, which
were musical col-
laborations with pianist Peter Moffitt.
He tapped into the talents of an uncle
by marriage, singer-actor Hal Linden, as

another voice for the record-
ing and also included
Metropolitan Opera soprano
Korliss Uecker.
"Many people have per-
formed lots of songs about
moms, cats, dogs and
dinosaurs, but there's not a
lot of material about what
dads deal with day after
day," he says. "I'm out to
change that."
The song "Jungle Gym"
captures some physical and
intellectual
activities shared
Dallt10.
Banana 1.)Q 1, 64%4
by a dad and
young kids. "I
Snuck Up on
Daddy"
describes a
child watching
a father stand-

ing at the refrigerator as he is about to
break his diet. "Whatchamadingy"
questions the whereabouts of a tool
missing from a dad's collection. "My
Baby Mine" expresses a man's thoughts
about a new infant.
Daddy-0 received an iParenting
Award this year. Bananappeah Cohen's
first album, earned the same award in
2000. The entertainer's song "What
Would You Do?" won the grand prize in
the 2002 John Lennon Songwriting
Contest.
"Kids are always honest and the
source for great stuff," says Cohen, who
teaches music in a New Jersey school
formed from a public-private partner-
ship. "My opera background played into
it because it showed me the importance
of telling stories. When I'm working in
concert, I like to get the audience
involved with what I do."
Cohen, very shy as a youngster, was