Metro

DESIGNS IN DECORATOR
WOOD & LAMINATES, LTD.

Special Report

It Doesn't Have To Cost A Fortune...Only Look Like IN

• Interior Design Service
•Wall Units
• Bedrooms
• Dining Rooms
• Home Theatre
• Kitchens & Baths
• Offices
• Woods
• Formica
• Stones
• Glass • Lucite

SOUL OF OM( PARK from page 25

1.64 for other Jewish women.
There's also the ba'alei teshuvah move-
ment, which has drawn non-Orthodox
Jews into the Orthodox lifestyle, adding
more than 100 newly Orthodox families
to Oak Park, says Rabbi Jacobovitz of
Machon Inbrah.
One big reason that Oak Park has
attracted so many Orthodox is its infra-
structure, not the least of which is the
mikvah that opened in 2001. Because
Detroit is so far west in the Eastern
Time Zone, and women may not
immerse in the mikvah until nightfall,
the old mikvah, with only four prepara-
tion rooms, kept women out until 1
a.m. in the summer.
It's expensive to build a new mikvah.
Without cross-community support,
including Federation, it wouldn't have
happened, says Rabbi Weil. "If we didn't
build the mikvah, we'd be lacking the
infrastructure to service our communi-
ty: ,

Lois Haron, Allied Member ASID • 248-851-69891 ,

Courtyard by Marriott

31525 W. 12 Mile
Farmington Hills, Michigan

The Courtyard by Marriott would like to be your
hotel of choice for all your special occasions.

co- Weddings
ca FREE Certified Wedding Planner on Site
ca Bar & Bat Mitzvahs
ca On-Site Catering
c' Corporate Meetings
ca Social Events
ca 4,000 sq. ft. of Banquet Space

Mention this ad
receive 10% o
you I .
next special event

ff

Elaine Weston of Huntington Woods
during an exercise class at
the Oak Park JCC.

www.marriott.com/DTWFM

248.553.0000

947290

Interior & Exterior

TRAINED IN EUROPE • 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE

Wallpaper X Stucco X Caulking X Faux Painting
Aluminum Painting X Power Washing

$100 off

$_300 off

Any Paint Job Over $1,000

Any Paint Job Over $3,000

w/coupon

NT/coupon

one per customer

one per customer

Free Estimates & Insured

There is anecdotal evidence that the
Orthodox population is growing,
though. Rabbi Judah Isaacs, an Oak
Park resident and head of Federation's
Alliance for Jewish Education, concurs.
While there are no numbers, formerly
diverse streets in north Oak Park have
become almost entirely Orthodox popu-
lated, note Rabbis Isaacs and Spolter.
Rabbi Alon Tolwin of Aish HaTorah
agrees. "A lot of young, directed,
upwardly focused couples who used to
buy in Oak Park now [are] buying in
Royal Oak, Berkley, Ferndale," he says.
Part of this rapid growth in Orthodox
population might be simple math. The
United Jewish Communities' 2000
National Jewish Population Survey
showed an Orthodox birth rate of 3.7
children, compared with a birth rate of

And it works both ways.
Says Rabbi Freedman, "I cannot iden-
tify a time when anyone in the
Orthodox community picked a fight
with Temple Emanu-El or Beth Shalom,
despite things going on that they weren't
necessarily comfortable with. Feuds are
not endorsed or rewarded. In the few
instances where people wanted to pick a
fight, they were subdued."
The soul of Oak Park comes out in
different ways, but it can best be seen on
a balmy summer Saturday, late in the
day, when Shabbat is waning and fami-
lies step outside.
The heat has broken. The sun sets in a
fiery ball on the horizon. And Jewish
families from every point on the spec-
trum traverse the sidewalks in Oak Park,
wishing each other "Good Shabbos" and
offering genuine smiles. ❑

Lynne Meredith Schreiber, a former JN
staff writer, lived in Oak Park for five
years before crossing over to Southfield
with her husband and children.

Summer Torah Study

• Bridal

• Special Occasion
Lingerie

• Expert Bra Fitting

LINGERIE

on the

1

•

Davwear

• Sleepwear

thelkoaculwalk

6/ 2

2005

24

6907 Orchard Lake Rd.
West Bloomfield, MI

(248) 626-1020

Exploring concepts of Jewish community, philosophy and spirituality, Dr. Mitch
Parker and Michael Weiss will conduct Federation's annual Summertime Torah
Study for adults at the Max M. Fisher Federation Building, 6735 Telegraph Road in
Bloomfield Township. .
Under the auspices of Federation's Alliance for Jewish Education, the six-week
program will offer a choice of topics: "Judaism on the Fringe: Mapping the
Boundaries of a Covenantal Community" will be 7-8:30 p.m. Thursdays, June 23-
July 28, and 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Fridays, June 24-July 28. "The Experience of
Exile" will meet 10- 11:30 a.m. Fridays, starting June 24.
"What is the Purpose of Creation" is a critical look at the first five chapters of
Genesis and will be held 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, July 6 - Aug. 10.
"Thursday Mornings with Abraham Joshua" Heschel will meet 10-11:30 a.m.
Thursdays, July 7- Aug. 11. There is a charge. To register by phone, call Marion
Bronstein, (248) 642-4260, extension 372.

