Front Lines
T
k
Institute Of Harmony
Irma and
George Mogill
T
emple Beth El President
Dennis Frank remembers
when he was a student in
the religious school and B.
Benedict Glazer was the rabbi of
the then Detroit-based syna-
gogue.
0 0
On Feb. 10, Frank greeted par-
ticipants of the 64th annual
Rabbi B. Benedict & Ada Glazer
Ada Glazer
Institute on Judaism in
Handleman Hall of the now Bloomfield Township-
based synagogue. The institute is an annual day of
unity, learning and harthony building with rabbis,
non-Jewish ministers and Judaic scholars specially
invited in collaboration with the Glazer family.
"Rabbi and Mrs. Glazer's daughter, Stephanie
Glazer Ettelson, and I grew up together as neigh-
bors and classmates in Detroit, and my wife, Peggy,
and I have developed a lasting friendship with their
son, Mark Glazer, and his wife, Mania;' Frank said
at the 2006 institute luncheon hosted for Catholic,
Eastern Orthodox, Muslim and Protestant clergy.
"We treasure this continuing family connection!"
Rabbi Glazer — a Zionist,
social activist and civil rights
fighter — served Temple Beth El
from 1941 to 1952, when he died
at age 49. He founded the insti-
tute at the height of World War II
to fight the hatred and prejudice
that had divided Detroit. His
hope: to inspire understanding
and mutual respect among
Rabbi Glazer
Jewish and Christian clergy. The
clergy denominational pool was expanded over the
years.
Every Beth El rabbi since Rabbi Glazer has kept
the tradition of the institute going. Ada Glazer died
in 1999 at age 89. To honor the rabbi's memory,
Glazer Elementary School opened in central Detroit
in 1967.
This year's institute chair, Marjie Federman,
lauded the Glazer children for "continuing their
parents' vision and quest for goodwill among all
people!'
-Robert A. Sklar, editor
Women's Seder For All Generations
The Women's Campaign and Education Department of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit is
sponsoring the ninth annual Women's Seder on Tuesday, March 28, at Congregation B'nai Moshe.
Rebecca Starr, associate director of Federation's
Alliance for Jewish Education, will conduct the seder
with the musical direction of Lisa Soble Siegmann,
associate director of Federation's Jewish Experiences
for Families. JEFF is part of Federation's Alliance for
Jewish Education.
The Women's Seder joins in spirit with the women
in Federation's Partnership 2000 region of the Central
Galilee of Israel.
Dietary laws will be observed. Registration will
begin at 6 p.m. with the seder and festive meal begin- Horwitz
ning promptly at 6:30.
"At every seder, it is a tradition to ask, 'How is this night different from all others?" said Pearlena
Bodzin, co-chair with Gina Horwitz. "On this night, we plan to ask ourselves how we can make every day
count as a special day in our lives':
Welcoming generations of women to attend together, the seder is open to females 12 years and older.
The cost is $40 per woman and $30 for those younger than 30 — with a required minimum pledge of
$18 per person to•Federation's 2006 Annual Campaign. Reservations are requested by March 13; they can
be made online at www.thisisfederation.org .
In the tradition of maot chittim, guests at the seder are requested to bring donations of canned or
packaged food that are kosher for Passover for distribution to families in need.
Associate chairs are Joyce Sherman and Valeri Sirlin. Adviser is Trudy Weiss. Women's Department
president is Sandy Schwartz; the vice president is Leah Trosch.
For seder information, contact Heidi Hirsch, (248) 203-1459 or e-mail hirsch@jfmd.org .
t4
KERET rcha Don't Know
Rabbi Bonnie Koppell of Temple Beth Shalom in Chandler, Ariz., was the first
female Jewish chaplain in the U.S. Army. What other distinction did she
recently achieve?
- Goldfein
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Long Lost Relatives
T
he first time Melvin Mogill saw his second cousin, Dr.
George Mogill, Melvin was lying in a Paris hospital. A
combat infantryman with the 28th Division in Germany
near the end of World War II, Melvin had been evacuated to Paris
with partially frozen
toes.
"{George] walked
down the row of beds,
looking at patients'
charts and signing
them. When I saw his
name Melvin said, "we
started talking!'
The Mogills are a
Melvin Mogill
large Detroit family and Melvin Mogill
the two men did not stay during WWII.
in touch — for 60 years.
Last month, Melvin's friend, Etta Solway of Bloomfield
Township, met George's wife, Irma, at a synagogue function. The
two women brought the men together again at a bi-monthly
Shaarey Zedek sing-along Feb. 7 in Oakland County.
Melvin, now 82, is a semi-retired insurance agent living in West
Bloomfield. George, now 88, lives in Bloomfield Hills and contin-
ues working several times a week in West Bloomfield as a family
practice physician.
"There's no reason the wings of the family weren't close George
explains. "It was just geography. It just happened that way."
The two couples plan to continue to get together, he said,"defi-
nitely at the singalong."
- Alan Hitsky, associate editor
JCCouncil Board To Meet
The next board meeting of the Jewish Community Council of
Metropolitan Detroit will be held 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, at
the Max M. Fisher Federation Building in Bloomfield Township.
Although the agenda is still being formulated, one item for pub-
lic knowledge will be a presentation by Joyce Keller, executive
director of JARC, and board member Marc Shulman on the status
of mental health issues in Michigan. Also on the public agenda
will be a report from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs Plenum,.
held Feb. 25-28 in Washington, D.C.
- Harry Kirsbaum, staff writer