Editor's Letter

Detroit's Young Pacesetters

I

n Portland, Ore., Moishe House, an innovative subsidized
housing and learning program, allows young, eager Jews
to create their vision of an ideal Jewish communal space.
It illustrates how the Oregon Jewish community is appealing
to 20- and 30-somethings.
Meanwhile, in Detroit, an ambitious, growing outreach sys-
tem is striving to build awareness and
understanding of what our Federation
and its Young Adult Division (YAD)
do to support the local Jewish corn-
munity and how everyone can make a
difference. Improved events and study
opportunities have helped increase
participation in YAD, a key to assuring
that Federation remains a multigen-
erational bellwether for Jewish Detroit.
There's a link between these
Portland and Detroit success stories:
Young Detroiters lead the way.
In Portland, transplanted Detroiter Jodi Berris, 29,
received a grant from the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Forest
Foundation (theforestfoundation.net ) to open a Moishe
House, one of just 14 in the country. After moving to Portland
three years ago, the Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit
graduate was struck by the dearth of activities there for young
Jewish professionals. So, working under the rubric Portland
Jewish Events and with a philosophy of "keep it cool, keep it
cheap:' she planned a host of events, with some drawing hun-
dreds of participants. Her first score: a Carlbach traditional
service, Shabbat dinner and oneg.

Up With Moishe
The Moishe House grant comes with a monthly program bud-
get of $500 (requiring seven events) and a rent subsidy of 75
percent for each housemate living in the four-bedroom home.
Berris has adapted her already established Dodgeball and
Drinks League into the Moishe House lineup as well as intro-
ducing activities like Torah on Tap and Hebrew with HeBrew,
which offer informal Jewish study.
Berris is an analyst with Nike Global Soccer Equipment.
It was a no-brainer when she learned about the Moishe
House concept last fall. Coupled with her event planning
background, she already had committed to the Professional
Leaders Project, a Los Angeles-based national initiative cre-
ated to foster the next generation of Jewish communal lead-
ers. The PLP impetus came from Robert Aronson, CEO of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Berris is a master at generating ideas that click. She told
the Portland Jewish Review that she has a "whole slew of idea
events in my head"— a men's basketball league, Shabbat din-
ners at Moishe House, yoga for women, house parties, Guys
Night with the Rabbi.

Detroit Vibes
In Detroit, the young adult Jewish community also is tak-
ing innovative steps. Under YAD President Brad "Bubba"
Urdan, programs like Fed 101 and Entree help explain how
Federation not only works as our central planning and fund-
raising agency, but also takes care of the community. The
intent is to get more YAD participants involved.
Knowing a good thing when it comes, YAD has continued
its successful Lathe Vodka event during Chanukah in down-

town Detroit. To boost participation, YAD has made it easier
to attend events by holding them in more and varied loca-
tions.
YAD also has stressed Jewish life and learning. Successful
programs like Shabbat Dinner Exchange and Shul Crawls have
been joined by Torah on Tap. All mix a social atmosphere with
inspirational discussion about Judaism.
Young adult donors have helped enable YAD to contribute 3
percent of Federation's Annual Campaign, or about $970,000.
The Grosfeld Leadership Group, which takes annual trips to
Israel, Poland and Kiev, further feeds the young adult leader-
ship base.

Beyond The Flight
Keeping the YAD participant pool fresh is never ending. It's
nice to see old friends, but new faces are pivotal.
Federation's 2005 demographic study shows the Detroit
Jewish community losing a lot of young adults, following
friends or dreams, to hipper metropolises with more job and
social options. Some don't leave only because they can't afford
to. The brain drain of young Jewish professionals is a constant
source of frustration. Some transplants come back in a few
years to raise a family; too many don't. For many who stay
away, it's the hurdle of Michigan's bad economy.
We lament the loss of so much homegrown talent to dis-
tant bright urban lights. But Jodi Berris is one example of a
young Detroiter making Judaism resonate for peers elsewhere
thanks to her PLP experience, funded in part by Detroiters
Bill Davidson and Eugene Applebaum.
Still, the flight isn't absolute. Metro Detroit remains home to
young stars in real estate, e-commerce, law, finance, education,
medicine and business ventures. Many are primed to take
the leadership reins in Jewish Detroit. We need to do more to
reach those beyond the edges of organized Jewish life.

Affirming The Challenge
YAD, meanwhile, presses on with unrelenting resolve. We're
not lacking for young adults who want Jewish Detroit to
matter. As YAD board member Jordan Glass, a pension and
actuarial consultant with the Glass Freedman Company in
Bingham Farms, put it: "We are going to continue to build and
strengthen our Jewish community just as those great commu-
nity leaders who came before us."
Given continued global attacks on Zionism and Jews, I'm
glad to hear Glass say that YAD aims via its Campaign gifts
to make a difference "and positively impact the lives of our
extended Jewish family in need of support — locally, in Israel
and around the world."
A vexing concern is how to inspire more young adults,
wherever they live, to cultivate their Jewish heritage, if not
their religious tradition. We must impress upon those with
untapped passion to seize the responsibility of getting
involved. It is they, tomorrow's potential leaders, who will
dictate what kind of Jewish world the next 10 to 15 years will
bring. ❑

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February 14 • 2008

A5

