DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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Arthur M. Horwitz
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EDITORIAL
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Senior Columnist
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RED Ttan
Managing Editor
Jackie Headapohl
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Contributing Editors
Gail Zimmerman
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frontlines >> letters
Akiva Grad/Teacher
Is Proud Of School
As a parent, teacher and former student at
Akiva Hebrew Day School in Southfield, I
have a vested interest in its future.
I was happy to see that the Jewish News
recognized our innovative steps toward
providing a successful schooling experi-
ence in its article "Multi-Grade Upgrade"
featured on the cover of the Aug. 28 issue.
As a teacher, I am proud to be working at
an institution with a bright future in sight: a
place where I know my students are meeting
academic challenges while loving to learn.
I am now in my second year teaching a
new Talmud curriculum to middle school
girls, and I meet daily with other teachers
of all grades to integrate our lessons across
the disciplines to create a more global edu-
cation for our students, whom we love.
My husband, Mikey Skoczylas, and I are
both Akiva alumni, and we are proud to
September 26 • 2013
theJEWISHNEWS.com
maintain our involvement in the school and
participate as it continues to grow. As par-
ents, we continue to choose Akiva because
of its supportive administration and its abil-
ity to incorporate both Judaic and secular
subjects into everyday life. We are excited
for our now 2- and 3-year-old boys to grow
up in a strong learning atmosphere.
Thank you for sharing Akiva's new
and continued strengths with the Greater
Detroit Jewish community.
Ariella Skoczylas, Class of '06
Yeshivat Akiva, Southfield
Correction
• In "Legal Action Dropped" (Sept. 19,
page 24), the legal complaint to com-
pel Frankel Jewish Academy in West
Bloomfield to release information about its
most recent board election and subsequent
board governance changes was served on
Sept. 9 and withdrawn on Sept. 13 by the
three former FJA parents who filed it.
Modern Orthodox Scholar
To Speak On Innovation
he Cohn-Haddow Center for
Judaic Studies at Wayne State
T University and Akiva Hebrew
Day School are co-sponsoring a pub-
lic lecture by Rabbi Ashera Lopatin,
newly appointed president of Yeshivat
Chovevei Torah in Riverdale, N.Y. He
will be speaking on "The Tradition of
Innovation in Halachah."
Lopatin has emerged
in recent years as a lead-
ing voice and vision-
ary within the world
of Modern Orthodox
Judaism in America.
Like his predecessor
at Chovevei Torah,
Avi
Weiss, Lopatin
Rabbi Asher
is
an
advocate of an
Lopatin
Orthodox Judaism
that is "open, non-
judgmental, knowledgeable, empathetic"
and that "meaningfully and respectfully
interacts with all Jews, regardless of affil-
iation, commitment or background:'
To this end, Lopatin has boldly ques-
tioned the "siege mentality" that contin-
ues to characterize Orthodox Judaism
in America despite decades of vigorous
expansion and growth. He supports
a more pluralistic Orthodox Judaism
that actively engages the non-Orthodox
Jewish world. "Pluralism:' he contends,
"is only going to strengthen an already
strong Orthodoxy, not destroy it:'
Lopatin's lecture will address the
dynamic nature of Jewish law and cus-
tom, focusing on a fascinating paradox:
As much as Jewish tradition needs to be
passed down accurately from generation
to generation, it also requires each gen-
eration to strive for innovative and new
ways of interpreting the tradition.
Lopatin will examine this "tradition of
innovation" and show how it continues
to be practiced by today's Torah scholars.
The lecture will take place 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10, at Akiva Hebrew Day
School in Southfield. The lecture is free
and open to the public.
❑
JET's 25th Anniversary Gala
Fetes Famed Community Leader
T
he Jewish Ensemble Theatre
(JET) announces its 25th
Anniversary Gala Celebration to
be held 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, at Glen
Oaks Country Club in Farmington Hills.
The honorary chairs
for this dinner and
entertainment event
are Gina and Arthur
Horwitz, publisher/
executive editor of the
Detroit Jewish News.
The entertainment
Mary Lou
will be by the Alvin
Zieve
Wattles Trio. There is a
charge for the event.
Founding member and past president
Mary Lou Zieve is to be celebrated and
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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
honored for her community achievements.
She produced the Jerry Lewis Telethon
for WJBK-TV for five years and served
as board member and/or president of 15
vital community organizations including
the Wayne State Press, Detroit Historical
Society, Karmanos Cancer Foundation,
Michigan Opera Theatre, Music Hall
Center for the Performing Arts and the
Jewish News Foundation.
She has won numerous awards for her
broadcast and theater experience. She also
established her own advertising and pub-
lic relations company, ML Productions.
For information about the event or
ad journal, contact Christopher Bremer,
(248) 788-2900 or c.bremer@jettheatre.
org.
❑
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