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DR. RICHARD
HERMAN

and Let

City: West Bloomfield
Kudos: Traditions

-

Dr. Richard Herman, an obstetrician-
gynecologist at Botsford General Hospital
in Farmington Hills, started collecting
Judaica four years ago, mostly over the
Internet. His interest led him to organize
his synagogue's Judaica collection, which
had laid in boxes since 1984, after some
items from the collection were stolen.
Dr. Herman is a member of Congre-
gation B'nai Moshe and his synagogue's
Judaica committee consists of his wife,
Marci, and their daughters, Mindy, 13,
and Amy, 10.
But collecting Judaica is only part of
Dr. Herman's interest. By using Judaica
to celebrate Jewish holidays and
Shabbat, he hopes the items will instill a
love of Judaism in his children's lives.

Why did you start collecting Judaica?
"It's a connection to the past and to
our heritage. By using Judaica to cele-
brate holidays, you're adding to hiddur
mitzvah [embellishing a mitzvah] and
Judaica can enhance a family's tradi-
tion. I have 50 spice boxes at my
house we use and rotate for Havdalah
services. They don't stay on the shelf.
Jewish objects, when used, become
holy and have value and meaning and
tradition."

Victory

Be Your

Mortgage

Mindy Herman, 13, with her father, Dr. Richard Herman, and the family's Judaica
collection.

You've created rituals for bat/bar
mitzvahs using Judaica you found?
"It took us three years to collect the
Judaica for my daughter's recent bat
mitzvah. My wife and I gave her a
Sefer Torah snuck out of Austria right
before the Holocaust — and we read
from it every week. Other people, like
her grandparents and her brother,
Joshua, 6, presented her with items
like a silver Havdalah set from 1800s
Europe and a 100-year-old Megillat
Esther parchment. With the gifts, they
expressed their thoughts about my
daughter, why they loved her and how
they wanted her to continue to keep
the Jewish traditions."

What's most important about your

Judaica collection?
"It's not just getting different objects
— any objects are fine — but being
committed to using them and devel-
oping your own traditions that
become a part of you. What's impor-
tant is to keep the Jewish traditions
alive, especially for our children,
through our practice."

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