'A Hidden Treasure'
Rabbi Glazer's memory kept alive by Beth El members
aiding Detroit school.
BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News
D
etroit never forgot the late
Rabbi B. Benedict Glazer. A
school was named after him —
the first time a Detroit public school
was named in honor of a rabbi. Now,
members of Temple Beth El, where Dr.
Glazer was the revered spiritual leader,
are making sure that the Glazer
Elementary School is remembered.
Although seemingly worlds apart,
the Bloomfield Township synagogue
and the central Detroit school have
been brought even closer together in
recent years, thanks to the Glazer fam-
ily and the efforts of dedicated volun-
teers from the congregation.
They tutor the school's children,
keep the library supplied with books
and magazines, and donate money
throughout the year to help make life
easier for the children, most of whom
come from low-income families.
"It's an amazing accomplishment that
this school in a poor section of Detroit,
that's almost 100 percent African
American, can have such a close rela-
tionship with a highly affluent, all-
white, synagogue in the northern sub-
urbs — but it's happening," said Mark
Glazer of Bloomfield Township.
He was only 2 years old when his
father, a rabbi who was beloved and
highly respected in the community,
died suddenly May 15, 1952, of a cere-
bral hemorrhage at the age of 49. He
was stricken while reading in his study
at his home in northwest Detroit. He
had been the temple's senior rabbi for
11 years, while the congregation grew
from 900 to nearly 1,600 families.
The governor, mayor, senators,
judges and Detroit-area residents of all
races and religions attended the funeral
at Temple Beth El for the native Texan,
the son of a rabbi, who was educated
in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, ordained
in 1926 and, during his brief, dynamic
decade in Detroit, gave of himself
totally to humanitarian causes.
A most touching scene at the service
was the entrance into the auditorium of
members of the 1952 Temple confirma-
tion class, whom Dr. Glazer was to ded-
icate to service to Judaism June 1. They
had asked for the privilege of paying
their final respects to their "teacher."
Temple Beth El President Dennis
Frank of West Bloomfield, a longtime
member of the congregation, remem-
bers attending the funeral at age 11 as
a friend of the Glazer children.
Elizabeth May of Bloomfield Hills
and Arlene Rubinstein of Birmingham
work in the library with Principal
Florene McMurtry.
"It was my first funeral, and I never
forgot it," he said. "Thousands of peo-
ple were there to express their love for
the rabbi: It's wonderful that the tem-
ple now is the sponsor and benefactor
of the school. It's an important link
between a poor section of Detroit and
an affluent suburban community. Dr.
Glazer would be proud of us."
The rabbi is memorialized each year at
the Glazer Institute of Judaism, which
he began 10 years before his death. The
63rd annual institute will be held this
year over the Feb. 11-13 weekend.
Principal Proud Of School
Glazer Elementary opened in 1967,
with about 800 pupils and 27 teachers
in a simple reddish brick and aluminum
building on LaBelle Street between 12th
and 14th streets, near Linwood. It's a
neighborhood of tree-lined streets and
old, modest, well-kept homes.
Because of changing demographics
and Detroit Public Schools cutbacks,
there are now 315 students — all but
one who is African American — and
20 teachers. In the neighborhood, 88
percent of the families qualify for free
or reduced-price lunches because their
incomes are below the poverty level.
The school's principal since 1987,
Florene McMurtry, calls it a "hidden
treasure," with clean premises, brightly
decorated classrooms and a "quiet, but
cheerful, secure environment."
It's highly appropriate that the school
is named after Dr. Glazer, who was often
cited for his efforts to improve relation-
ships between African Americans and
Jews in the community. He was named
one of seven Detroit citizens who "con-
tributed most to the advancement of
Negro welfare." He organized a civil
rights committee and pushed for fairer
employment and housing practices for
African Americans. He also fought for
better mental health facilities and hous-
ing for the poor and served on numer-
ous boards and committees.
In a speech gleaned from Dr.
Glazer's papers in the Rabbi Leo M.
Franklin Archives of Temple Beth El,
the rabbi pointed out that "a personal
price must be paid for every moral
gain made in the world ... nothing is
lasting that is not born of man's will-
ingness to give up something of him-
self for the sake of the social good."
Dr. Glazer learned about this the hard
way. While vacationing with his wife in
northern Michigan during his first sum-
mer in the state, they were turned away
by resorts and motels because he was
Jewish. He then launched a one-man
campaign of speeches and writings that
resulted in Michigan becoming the first
state to ban discriminatory literature in
resorts and hotels.
"Our family is proud to be carrying
on his work and traditions," said his
son. Temple volunteers visit the school
on a regular, rotating basis and provide
a tutoring/reading program for first-
grade students, one-on-one, usually
for 30 minutes per student.
"This year, we implemented a read-
ing log for each child so we could
track their progress and update new
volunteers on exactly what was accom-
plished in prior weeks," explained
Susie Fenster of Bloomfield Hills, who
coordinates the tutors.
"The kids really appreciate it; they're
starving for attention," she said. "In
June, we host a year-end party for the
first-graders. We treat them to cookies
and juice, and each child selects a
book to take home. The kids are really
excited to get their own book to keep,
and they give us hugs and certificates
of appreciation."
HIDDEN TREASURE on page 56
1/27
2005
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