Editor's Letter
jam
www.jarc.org
Getting Together Communally
D
istinctive bloodlines help distinguish one Jewish
organization, synagogue or school from another.
They give clarity and purpose to the various roles
each plays in our communal universe.
So I'm intrigued by the announce-
ment that Congregation Shaarey
Zedek of Oakland County will close its
Beth Hayeled early childhood program
and support the new early childhood
center set to open this fall at Hillel Day
School of Metropolitan Detroit. Hillel,
a 500-student community day school
with declining enrollment over the
past decade, certainly needs to create
Robert Sklar
a more direct feeder pool for its K-8
Editor
curriculum. Beth Hayeled also has
experienced an enrollment decline,
but still boasts more than 100 students. So Shaarey Zedek
preschoolers can benefit from Hillel's vaster school resources
although parents who prefer the smaller synagogue setting
may be disappointed.
The bigger question is the prudence of this joining together
as part of a trend trajectory given Jewish Detroit's declining
population and growing social service demands. I do think
there's merit to what's happening. As a community, we need
to think more strategically toward the reality of a smaller
population, with all of the accompanying tough decisions and
necessary collaborations. Federation's 2005 population study
figure of 72,000 Jews in Metro Detroit already has declined;
over the next 15 years, our population will drop to between
50,000 and 60,000.
While our communal model isn't broken, it does require a
tune-up. Cooperation ... it's a word that Jewish Detroit will be
using more and more. It's part of a larger conversation we're
already having about our shifting demographics and strained
economy — and about sharing more resources. It's a con-
versation that must remain at the center of our community
dialogue.
With increased demands and a shrinking contribution
pool, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit is in no
position to meet every community need. Combining more
resources would relieve some of the pressure on Federation's
Annual Campaign.
.. • ,,
IL ' i
A Ready Model
We certainly have great examples of our coming together
to take advantage of cost savings — and to provide more
effective and beneficial services. Examples include ATID:
The Alliance for Teens in Detroit, a Monday-night program
developed by our Conservative synagogues and hosted by
Hillel Day School; Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit,
a merger of Jewish Housing and Aging Services and Jewish
Apartments and Services; and Frankel Jewish Academy's new
home at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield.
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah found a place for two outreach pro-
grams, Jean and Theodore Weiss Partners in Torah and Beth
Yehudah Kollel, on its Southfield campus.
Here's hoping the success of these collaborative programs is
a precursor to the success of the new Hillel-SZ venture.
In the case of the newest preschool, Hillel Day School cer-
tainly ventured beyond its comfort level. While many of our
community organizations hesitate in the face of changing
demographics and cling to tried-but-old ways of doing things,
Hillel last year decided to become a community day school, a
daring decision in its own right given the 52-year-old school's
long association with the Conservative movement. That the
school board chose this year to open a preschool is refresh-
ingly strategic and good for the future of a changing Detroit
Jewish community.
Looking Ahead
In this context, I think it also is important to recognize Shaarey
Zedek's strategic and visionary step regarding its Beth Hayeled
preschool. In a community where the status quo is an attractive
comfort and where turf can be zealously guarded, SZ's leader-
ship made a tough, but wise decision to encourage its preschool
families to enroll their children in the new preschool. By doing
so, SZ has ensured that the children of its member families will
have a high-quality preschool experience where all of Hillel's
resources can be leveraged.
The collaboration between these two educational pro-
grams has all the earmarks of being a win-win: Hillel gaining
students who come for preschool and stay for kindergarten
and beyond, and the synagogue gaining and keeping congre-
gants via a relationship with the SZ rabbis and staff who get
involved with the new preschool.
Hopefully, the decisions by Hillel and Shaarey Zedek will
help lead the way toward a new, and necessary, era of coopera-
tion between and among our communal entities. Classroom
and meeting space thus can be maximized, whether the get-
together is to support Israel, promote a humanitarian service,
advocate for social justice or engage youth or adults in new
learning or interactive experiences.
Shared Resources
On a higher plane, the ability to share facilities, supplies, staff
— and the associated costs — can't be discounted. Plus, the
sharing of ideas and energy should spark bountiful opportu-
nities to grow together, individually or as a group.
Consider the Max M. Fisher Federation Building in
Bloomfield Township, home to several communal organiza-
tions beyond the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
There are planning and synergistic advantages to having so
many communal leaders under one roof; and Federation cer-
tainly benefits by having a revenue stream from the leases.
Passover, the most celebrated of all Jewish holidays, begins
Monday night as families and friends gather around the seder
table. The eight-day celebration is a good time to think about
furthering our communal economies of scale. While a holiday
of religious freedom, Passover also reminds Jews about the
cultural rewards from getting together to embrace the heri-
tage and the spirit of Judaism.
Anything we as a Jewish community can do to bring Jews
closer day to day via learning, service or social interactions,
preferably at Jewish sites to increase their usage, the more
efficient Jewish Detroit and its range of institutions and orga-
nizations will be despite our falling numbers. 0
0 : What are your ideas for uniting
•
N Cr more of our communal resources?
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I— Ca
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0 0
13
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Are our communal leaders abreast
of how best to combine services?
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March 25 • 2010
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