to activities director Jenny Marroni.
"You don't have to know how to pro-
nounce the words, which is helpful
for non-speakers," she said.
Anyone interested in learning
Yiddish can try an online course
through Mango Languages in
Farmington Hills, which has several
Jewish founders, including Jason
and Michael Teshuba. Mango intro-
duced its Yiddish course within
the last year; courses often are free
through local public libraries.
Longtime Yiddish Group
After her mother died, Emily
Arnold, 86, of West Bloomfield
mentioned to a friend that they
should organize a Yiddish group.
That was the beginning of Freylekhe
Fraynt (Happy Friends). Another
original member since November
1983 is Charlotte Goldin of Walled
Lake.
"We're an independent group
that came together for the love of
Yiddish:' Dworkin said, noting that
the women involved come from
"different points of view in terms
of Jewishness," including members
of Congregation Beth Shalom in
Oak Park, Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield and Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
"Other Yiddish groups fall apart if
you say, 'Let's just talk:" Arnold said.
"Our group has always had a struc-
tured program," including officers,
dues, monthly theme and Yiddish
song.
Before each meeting, the women
catch up on their lives in English.
Then the conversation is mostly
Yiddish to discuss books, articles
and the program theme.
"The group has a really warm,
friendly feeling," Arnold said.
"People from our Russian popula-
tion and other English-speaking
residents have found common
ground in speaking Yiddish:' said
Colleen Janis, administrator at Teitel
Apartments in Oak Park, part of
Jewish Senior Life. "It's interesting
that people from completely dif-
ferent worlds come here and then
discover they have almost a secret
language [Yiddish] that they can use
to communicate with each other."
Eichenhorn said, "I think outside
of New York, Yiddish thrives most
in Detroit. The number of Jews who
are conversant in Yiddish in Oak
Park is enormous when compared
with Jewish communities of a simi-
lar size."
To him, "Detroit is a great place
for Yiddish and Yiddish culture:' ❑
'Beyond Swastika
And Jim Crow'
T
he Holocaust Memorial Center
Zekelman Family Campus and
Charles H. Wright Museum of
African American History are partner-
ing to host a two-event series, Dec.
5 and Dec. 12, focusing on Jewish-
African American relations.
The presentations are part of a
current Holocaust Memorial Center
exhibit, "Beyond Swastika and Jim
Crow:' which is on display through Dec.
15. The exhibit tells the story of Jewish
professors who fled Nazism and came
to America in the 1930s and 1940s,
finding teaching positions at histori-
cally black colleges and universities.
The first event takes place at 7
p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, at the
Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) in
Farmington Hills.
Howard
Lupovitch, direc-
tor of the Cohn-
Haddow Center
for Judaic Studies
at Wayne State
University, will pres-
ent "Emancipation
and Abolition: The
Howard
Transatlantic Search
Lupovitch
for Freedom."
Admission for the event is $8 (free for
HMC members).
Lupovitch will explore the activism
of a group of Jewish freedom fighters
who fought for Jewish emancipation
in Central Europe until 1848 and then
came to America and joined with the
Abolitionists to fight against slavery.
On Thursday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m.,
the Charles H. Wright Museum (315
E. Warren Ave.) in
Detroit will host
University of North
Carolina Professor
of History Genna
Rae McNeil for a
presentation on
"Convergence in the
Midst of Conflict:
African Americans
Genna Rae
and Jewish
McNeil
Relationships, 1930-
1954:' Admission is free.
McNeil will discuss the courage of
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was mar-
tyred in Germany during World War
II, the impact of Jewish scholars at
historically black colleges and universi-
ties, and Jewish defenders of the rights
of African Americans prior to the Civil
Rights Movement.
"The strong relationship between
Jews and African Americans is not
something that everyone knows
about," said Stephen M. Goldman,
HMC executive director.
BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL
FOUNDATION
TRIPLE
I
TRANSFORM AN ENTIRE GENERATION
Thanks to the Gilbert Family Foundation*
and the Adelson Challenge** your gift is
eligible for a local and national match if
you give today.***
More than 350,000 participants have
experienced Birthright Israel. Help us
send more Detroit area participants on
the trip of a lifetime.
Visit birthrightisrael.com/Detroit today
or call Gary Weinstein at 312-357-4951
*All new and increased gifts up to $100,000 will be matched
by the Gilbert Family Foundation up to a total of $500,000
in 2013.
**For donors who made a gift prior to 2013, your gift
will be eligible for the Adelson Challenge match to the
extent that it exceeds the lesser of your 2011 or 2012 gift.
***Gifts must be made by December 31, 2013.
❑
JN
December 5 • 2013 11