Max Kresch
checks a honey-
comb full of bees
from his hive.
Oak Park teen attracted to sweetness
of caring for bees in his own apiary.
Barbara Lewis
Special to the Jewish News
YouTube videos and spoke to a couple
of beekeepers, one in West Virginia and
one in Michigan.
ome kids have dogs or cats or
Last summer, he bought a wooden
guinea pigs or gerbils. Max
hive online for about $200. He also
Kresch has bees — nearly
bought a starter pack of 10,000 bees
20,000 of them. They live in a hive in the from a beekeeper in Grand Blanc.
backyard of his Oak Park home.
"That sounds like a lot of bees, but
"I was in Israel two summers ago:' said
most of them stay in the hive to take
Max, 17, a senior at
care of the queen, the
Frankel Jewish Academy
larvae and the hive
itself' Max said. "Only a
in West Bloomfield.
"I was walking with a
small percentage go out
friend and we came
to forage for nectar:'
across an apiary [a place
In the summer, the
where bees are kept] in
queen lays up to 2,000
the middle of a field. I
eggs a day — but a bee's
was fascinated.
lifespan is only about
"There were about
three weeks. In the win-
A vial of Max's honey and an
10 hives, and there
ter, the hive goes into a
apple will go to FJA donors.
form of hibernation for
were bees everywhere.
My friend was nervous around so many
up to six months: The queen stops laying
bees, but I was comfortable. They didn't
eggs and all the bees stay in the hive eating
want to hurt me, and I didn't want to
the honey they made during the summer.
hurt them:'
Being a beekeeper is easy, Max said.
When Max came home, he decided he
"On a daily basis, they just do their
wanted his own beehive. He read books,
own thing:' he said. "I do a weekly check
did online research, watched some
to make sure the queen is laying eggs
S
JN CONTENTS
properly and that there are no diseases
or infestations in the hive:' Occasionally,
he rearranges the frames on which the
bees build their honeycombs. If the
combs are too close together, the bees
can connect them, which makes it more
difficult to harvest the honey.
Max wants to start a second hive, but
hasn't yet found the bees. He wanted to
remove a hive from a neighbor's roof,
but it was 30 feet up at the top of the
house. "My dad convinced me it was too
dangerous:' he said.
Max loves showing off his hive to visi-
tors, especially children in the neighbor-
hood. "A lot of them are afraid at first,
but they calm down when they see how
docile the bees are," he says.
Max is building an "observation hive"
on the second floor of his house. It will
have a tube leading out of the house so
the bees can come and go, but the other
side will be glassed in so the bees can
live without any human intervention.
Max has harvested about two pounds
of honey so far this year. His family —
parents Eddie and Susie Kresch and
siblings Talya, 16, David, 14, and Atara,
12 — will enjoy some during their Rosh
Hashanah celebration. Most of the honey
will be used to create New Year gifts for
Frankel Jewish Academy's donors, each
with a custom-labeled vial of honey and
an apple.
Eddie and Susie Kresch are intrigued
with their son's hobby and completely
supportive of it.
"It's amazing what we learn from our
children:' Susie says.
❑
For more on Jewish beekeepers, see page 72
theJEWISHNEWS.com
Aug. 29-Sept. 4, 2013 I 23-29 Elul 5773 I Vol. CXLIV, No. 4
Ann Arbor
84, 88
Around Town
30
Arts/Entertainment ...117
40
Business
46
Calendar
122
Food
Health/Wellness
102
Home
38
Israel
5, 11, 26, 80,
84, 85, 92, 98, 110, 141, 146
84
jewish@edu
5
Letters
Life Cycles
129
Marketplace
131
Metro
8
Next Generation
50
Obituaries
142
Points Of View
82
Red Thread
53
Rosh Hashanah
66
112
Spirituality
127
Sports
Spotlight
141
Staff Box/Phone List ...6
Synagogue List
114
Torah Portion
115
World
98
Shabbat: Friday, Aug. 29, 7:51 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Aug. 30, 8:52 p.m.
Rosh Hashanah: Wednesday, Sept. 4, 7:43 p.m.
Thursday, Sept 5, 8:43 p.m.
Shabbat: Friday, Sept. 6, 7:39 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Sept. 7, 8:39 p.m.
Times are from Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.
On The Cover: Susie Lubell
Columnists
Arthur Horwitz
Danny Raskin
Robert Sklar
Shabbat and Holiday Lights
82
126
50
Our JN Mission
The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that's useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to
reflect the full range of diverse viewpoints while also advocating positions that strengthen Jewish unity and continu-
ity. We desire to create and maintain a challenging, caring, enjoyable work environment that encourages creativity
and innovation. We acknowledge our role as a responsible, responsive member of the community. Being competi-
tive, we must always strive to be the most respected, outstanding Jewish community publication in the nation. Our
rewards are informed, educated readers, very satisfied advertisers, contented employees and profitable growth.
Lubell is a self-taught artist/illustrator in Israel whose
paintings feature vibrant folk imagery coupled with
powerful verse from Jewish teachings. Her work has
been in galleries and private collections worldwide.
She also creates lively ketubot and whimsical children's
illustrations. www.susielubell.com
Page design: Deborah Schultz
The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is
published every Thursday at 29200 Northwestern
Highway, #110, Southfield, Michigan. Periodical
postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and
additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes
to: Detroit Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern
Highway, #110, Southfield, MI 48034.
Graphic designer Evan Berman
and his brother, business manager
Jared, launched their streetwear
company after self-funding a test
run of T-shirts and quickly selling
out at a music festival. Since that
test, they've spent most of their
spare time designing, producing
and selling their clothing across
the country at concerts and festivals.
When the pair decided to make
the business something that
could sustain them, they were
given a loan through Hebrew
Free Loan's Marvin I. Danto Small
Business Loan Program.
"Our business, FyouNK, is really
a creative passion," Evan said.
"We pronounce it funk, and it stands
for Freedom You Now Know. HFL
helped us take that freedom to
the next level."
"Through our website, our reach
has expanded out of the country.
We are rolling out new designs,
and creating new items," Jared said.
The FyouNK team also recently
celebrated the grand opening
of their new retail storefront in
Royal Oak.
"HFL helped us get everything
going and become a real business,"
Jared said. "Our steps forward are
deliberate, but the possibilities are
amazing."
Click. Call. Give Now.
www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184
Health. A fresh start.
A good education.
The next great business idea.
Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-
free loans to members of our
community for a variety of
personal and small business
needs. HFL loans are funded
entirely through community
donations which continually
recycle to others, generating
many times the original value
to help maintain the lives of
local Jews.
HEBREW
FREE*LOAN
hfldetroit.org
We Provide Loans. We Promise Dignity.
6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
M
Hebrew Free Loan Detroit
10. @HFLDetroit
JeW oi& FS.
August 29 • 2013
3