Mazel Toy!

Happy Birthday:

Lifelong Detroiter celebrates 100 years.

The party was held Aug. 27, the day
before Rivkin's actual birthday, at the
Fountains at Franklin in Southfield, a
senior residence where she lives.
"This is life just enjoy what comes
to you," Rivkin said after blowing out
the candles. "Thank God I've had a
good life. It did have its pitfalls, but I'm
very fortunate."
Rivkin was born in Detroit on Aug.
28,1907, the seventh of eight children.
She has one surviving sister, Gertrude
Gray, 98, of West Bloomfield. Rivkin
and her late husband, Malcolm Rivkin,
were married for 48 years and had
three children. Their only surviving
daughter, Carole Price of Manalapan,
N.J., attended the celebration along
with two of Rivkin's granddaughters,
Laurie Antinora of Rochester, N.Y., and

—

Edith Rivkin: still going strong

Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News

I

'm overwhelmed," said Edith
Rivkin as she arrived to find bal-
loons, a birthday cake and about
40 family members and friends assem-
bled to celebrate her 100th birthday.

Aug. 15
Jill (Singer) and Adam
Organ of Durham, N.C.,
formerly of Livonia, are
pleased to announce the
birth of their daugh-
ter, Macy Hannah
(Hannah Yaakovah).
Welcoming Macy home
is big sister Zoe. Sharing in their joy are
grandparents Barb and Dave Singer of
Raleigh, N.C., formerly of Farmington
Hills, Judy and Lloyd Suter of West
Bloomfield and Lisa and Stephen Organ
of Philadelphia, Pa. Also sharing in their
happiness are great-grandparents Selma
and Newton Freedman of Farmington
Hills and Harold Singer of Boca Raton,
Fla. Macy is named in loving memory of
her maternal great-grandmother Mildred
Singer, paternal great-aunt Helen Suter
and paternal great-uncle Jack Saull.

July 28
Marla (Feingold) and
Avi Nachom of Chicago
are excited to announce
the birth of their
daughter, Aeden Julie.
Sharing in their happi-
Nachom
ness are grandmother
Sara Nachom of Gan
Yavne, Israel, and first-time grandpar-
ents Janis and Nathan Feingold of West
Bloomfield. Delighted great-grandmoth-
ers are Golda Feingold of Livonia and
Beverly Travis of Southfield. Aeden is also
the granddaughter of the late Shlomo
Nachom. She is named in loving memory
of her great-grandfather Julius Travis.

66 September 6 2007

July 11
Tiffany (Vescoso) and
Michael Fleischer are
proud to announce the
birth of their beauti-
ful son, Griffin Victor
Fleischer (Yitzhak).
Fleischer
Welcoming home his
new brother with open
arms is Grant, 2. Delighted grandpar-
ents are George and Linda Fleischer of
West Bloomfield and Chuck and Cheryl
Vescoso of Canton. Also sharing in the
joy and excitement are great-grand-
mothers Lilly Farkas, Marta Fleischer
and Rita Vescoso. Grant's middle name
is in loving memory of his great-
grandfather Charles Victor Vescoso; his
Hebrew name is in loving memory of
his great-grandfather Imre Fleischer.

June 5
Gayle (Friedman)
and Lorne Gold of
Huntington Woods are
thrilled to announce
the birth of their
daughter, Madeline
Belle (Meital Bayla).
Gold
Sharing in their hap-
piness are grandparents Beverly and
Fred Apel of West Bloomfield, Harry
Friedman of Novi and Fran and Ed Gold
of Bloomfield Hills. Madeline is named
in loving memory of her maternal
great-grandmother Molly Wepman and
her paternal great-grandmother Belle
Kamin.

Shari Albano of Marlboro, N.J.; a niece,
Betty Stone of Farmington; and two
of her 12 great-grandchildren, Jordan
Albano, 7, and Jake Albano, 6.
"She never complains about any-
thing and she's a true inspiration,"
Antinora said about her grandmother.
"Her mind amazes me; I don't have
her memory," added Price. "She has a
wonderful attitude. She always has."
"I always wanted to be like Aunt
Edith because she was a lady," said
Stone. "She was the world's best cook,
entertainer and just a good person."
For many years, Rivkin and her late
husband owned a "mom and pop"
shop called People's Variety Store on
Oakland and Westminster in Detroit.
Rivkin recalled that the store was
destroyed in the riots of 1967.

May 14
Amy (Berris) and
Daniel Erlbaum of
Philadelphia are
II blessed by the birth
of their daughter,
Tali Rachel, sister to
Erlbaum
Tamar and Dafna. Tali's
proud grandparents
are Marilyn and Herb Lantor, Anne and
David Berris, all of West Bloomfield, and
Vicki and Gary Erlbaum of Philadelphia.
Her great-grandparents are Miriam and
Morris Ockman of Philadelphia. Tali
Rachel is named in loving memory of her
paternal great-grandmother Hinda Rachel.

Rachel Paige Berlin
will celebrate her bat
mitzvah at Temple
Israel Saturday, Sept. 8.
She is the daughter of
Marci and Marc Berlin
and the sister of Eric
and Zachary. She is the
Berlin
grandchild of Phyllis
Cheiman and Mary
Berlin. She is also the grandchild of the
late Fred Cheiman and the late Norman
Berlin.
Attending Farmington Hills Warner
Middle School, Rachel felt her involvement
with West Bloomfield-based Friendship
Circle was the most meaningful of her
mitzvah projects.

Hannah Brooks (Chana) of Bloomfield
Hills will become bat mitzvah at Temple
Beth El on Saturday, Sept. 8. Participating

"I think people should just accept
what's coming to them and don't let
the pitfalls draw you down," Rivkin
said. "Just get up and keep going."
At 100, Rivkin is still active. She
plays bridge twice a week and enjoys
watching her favorite TV shows, Wheel
of Fortune and Jeopardy. Her grand-
daughters say she also likes to drink a
beer and take in sporting events.
"You can speak to her for hours and
she just spews wisdom," said Shari
Albano. "She could go head-to-head
with you about anything — politics,
sports. She knows what's going on."
When asked about her secret to
living for a century, Rivkin replied,
"Your attitude toward life. Just live for
today." I I

in the ceremony will be
her parents, Susan and
Mark, and her brother
Alex. Proud grandpar-
ents are Judith Orbach
of Beverly Hills and
Dr. Eugene and Ann
Brooks of Bloomfield
Brooks
Hills. Hannah is also the
granddaughter of the
late Henry Orbach.
Hannah is a student at Derby Middle
School in Birmingham. Her mitzvah proj-
ects include helping at Yad Ezra in Berkley.

Jonathan Gregory
Deutsch, son of Susan
and David Deutsch and
brother of Daniel, will
read from the Torah on
the occasion of his bar
mitzvah Friday, Sept. 7,
at Temple Israel. His
Deutsch
grandparents are Mari
and Dr. Sheldon Kaftan
and Sylvia and Sam Deutsch; his proud
great-grandmother is Annabel Topper.
Jonathan attends Warner Middle
School in Farmington Hills. He felt his
most meaningful mitzvah project was the
involvement he had with West Bloomfield-
based Friendship Circle for over a year.

Michael Alex Firsten will be called to
the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday,
Sept. 8, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek
Southfield. He is the son of Cindy and
Robert Firsten and brother of Ali. Proud
grandparents are Beverly and Arnold
Weiss and Rita and Saul Firsten. He is also