AROUND TOWN

Play Date!

Families flock to Temple Israel for Labor Day picnic.

Olivia Goldstein, 2, of Huntington Woods with her
grandfather Michael Goldstein of West Bloomfield

Rachel Berris, 5, and Gordon Berris of West Bloomfield Mini choo-choo train giving rides

L

abor Day has become one of the Jewish community's biggest "play dates" of the
year at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. Hundreds of families flocked to the
synagogue Sept. 6 for the annual Labor Day picnic, open to the entire commu-
nity, free of charge, regardless of synagogue affiliation. The tem-
ple's grounds were transformed into a wonderland for children
with train rides, pony rides, enormous bounce-houses, magi-
cians, arts and crafts, a DJ, face painting and more. Kosher beef
hot dogs, turkey dogs and veggie dogs flew off the grill non-stop
all day long. Watermelon, chips, drinks, snow cones and several
different kinds of ice cream also were available.
"This is a fabulous day," said Temple Israel Rabbi Jennifer
Kaluzny. "This is our way of saying, 'Weclome to Temple Israel!
We love having you here!'"
Lauren and Craig Aronoff of West Bloomfield were there
Robin Schwartz
with their young daughters for the fourth year in a row. The 4-
Columnist
and 6-year-old girls made a beeline for the hula hoop contest.

"It's a great family event:' said Craig. "It's great to see how many of the kids actually
know each other and interact outside of school. As parents, we see a lot of people we
grew up with here, too:'
Minutes after arriving at the event, Rachel Berris, 5, of West Bloomfield was riding
a pony with a big smile on her face. Jonah Cetner, 1, of Birmingham had a tough time
prying himself away from the mini choo-choo train that did countless runs around the
parking lot. There were smiles all around on the faces of parents and grandparents, too.
The weather was on the cool side and there were even a few showers; but that didn't stop
the free family fun.
"Our vendors have been more than generous:' Rabbi Kaluzny said. "At temple, we're
very blessed to have families who allow us to continue to do the things we love and this
is one of those things. It's about having the community come and enjoy themselves for
one day without having to worry about money"
Spotted in the crowd were: Gayle and Lorne Gold and Shayna and Josh Levine,
all of Huntington Woods; Shirley and Lenny Cetner of Birmingham; and Randi and
Gordon Berris of West Bloomfield.

❑

Israeli Divorce Woes

Film tells of women not granted Jewish divorces.

T

he National Council of Jewish
Women-Greater Detroit Section
(NCJW/GDS) is showing a spe-
cial documentary called Sentenced to
Marriage, about the extreme plight of
women in Israel who unsuccessfully seek
a Jewish divorce from their husbands.
The film will be shown at 12:30 p.m. on
Sept. 21 at the NCJW-GDS office, 26400
Lahser Road, Suite 306, Southfield. The
event is free to members and $10 for non-
members.

18

September 16 • 2010

iN

Keren Alpert
will speak on
women's plight
after the film.

Women who are
not granted a Jewish
divorce by their hus-
bands are known as
agunot. This term
figuratively means
they are chained to
that marriage. If these
women choose to
remarry, that marriage
and any children from
it are not recognized

by some rabbinic authorities.
Accompanying the documentary will
be a lecture by guest speaker Keren
Alpert, rabbinic associate at Temple Beth
El in Bloomfield Township. She will dis-
cuss domestic violence, agunot in Israel
and the effects it has locally.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Limited space is available. Call (248)
355-3300 to make reservations. A gen-
eral meeting also will be held.
Alpert has worked for Temple Beth

El since 2004. As rabbinic associate,
she is a full-time member of the clergy,
conducting Shabbat and lifecycle cel-
ebrations. She also is the Monday- night
school principal and a regular instructor
for the temple's adult ed classes and the
Florence A. Melton Adult Mini-School.
For more information on the docu-
mentary event or the National Council of
Jewish Women-Greater Detroit Section,
call (248) 355-3300, ext. 0, or visit www.
ncjwgds.org . El