anchor in Oak Park's diverse Jewish sea.
The JCC offers programming and food that meet
Orthodox standards while providing ample exercise
opportunities and events for the non-Orthodox.
"I love the flavor of the Oak Park `J' because it's a
cross-section of life — different ages [and] cultures,"
says Lauren Hirsch, a Reform Jew who lives in near-
by Huntington Woods and exercises at the JCC. "I
like the intimacy of the smaller space; [it] facilitates
interaction."
Some say the JCC is what keeps Oak Park
Jewishly diverse. It draws from the greater Oak Park
Jewish community, which includes parts of Berkley,
Huntington Woods, Southfield and Royal Oak
Township. The JCC offers single-gender swim and
exercise classes and a kosher cafe, but retains a
diverse membership. On any given day, the health
club is populated by women in skirts and baseball
caps trudging on treadmills next to biker shorts- and
tank top-clad peers. No one bats an eye.
This widespread acceptance is backed institution-
ally. The Campus Committee, started by Marion
Freedman and the Neighborhood Project, meets
every six weeks at the JCC to discuss issues, commu-
nity needs and programming ideas, according to
Jennifer Rube, a seven-year Oak Park resident and
geriatric social worker at the Jewish Apartments &
Services.
The committee involves staff and lay leadership
from the JCC, the apartments, the English as a
Second Language Program, the Institute of Retired
Professionals, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah's Beth Jacob
School for Girls and Supportive Communities. It
also includes representatives from all area religious
groups, including YIOP, Beth Shalom, Emanu-El,
the Workmen's Circle and T'Chiyah, the
Reconstructionist synagogue that now uses JCC
space for services.
"It's nice that people of all denominations really
work together for the betterment of the communi-
ty," says Rube, who can't say enough good things
about this city's synergy. "It's very obvious in Oak
Park, having worked and lived here, that it really is
a community center, very unified. The JCC itself is
a wonderful model of community organization [as
evidenced by] the playground that was built literally
by the hands of the residents, everyone together."
Population Studies
Jews come together across denominational lines a
lot — even at the mikvah which, located next to the
JCC, is run by Orthodox women but open to any
Jewish woman who wants to observe the mitzvah.
Despite a caveat that only Orthodox rabbis may
perform conversions there, Rabbi Nelson supported
the building of this facility — a prime example of
the way Oak Park Jews work together, says Rabbi
Weil.
In 1989, Detroit was home to 6,720 Orthodox
Jews, according to a Federation survey. The same
study showed that 26 percent of Jewish households
in Oak Park identified as Orthodox, says Howard
Dembs, Federation's director of marketing and com-
munications. Although there are no current num-
bers to compare this figure to, Dembs says
Federation is doing a new study now that may be
released as soon as next year. The 2004 Women's
Orthodox League directory, the phone book for the
Orthodox community, listed 986 families.
Charles Borenstein shelving books at Borenstein Book
Music Store in Royal Oak Township.
SOUL OF OAK PARK on page 26
Answering the door' of
their Oak Park home
dressed lbr Purim are
Shmuel Ashin, 12,
left, and siblings
Binyomin, 9 fanny
glasses), Moshe, 7,
and Aiyeh, 6 -
months, being held
by friend Sarah
Rubinoff of
Toledo, Ohio.
Carly
Saltsman, 2, of
Huntington
Woods enjoys a
treat from New
York Bagel in
Royal Oak
Township.
2005
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