frontlines
Spirited Bubble, 92,
Croons On YouTube
T
o know 92-year-old Edith
has grown to include 59 great-grand-
children (and counting). With them
Butrimovitz of Oak Park is to
know the embodiment of joy
in mind, she constantly collects new
and kindness in its purest form.
stuffed animals and toys that reside on
Edith and her late husband, Nathan,
her couch. When one of "the kids" visit,
married in 1942, during war years.
he or she can pick out a "friend" and
They were soul mates who spent 57
take it home to remember "Alta Bubby."
wonderful years together.
Having just completed her most cur-
rent painting, The Eagle, she reflects
After Nathan died in 1999, their
three children and 14 grandchildren
about rejuvenation and aging with
worried about how she would make a
strength and grace (inspired by Tehillim
new life on her own without her ador-
103 Ch 5).
ing husband. Knitting and painting
And she has just found a brand new
filled the first few years, and then each
way to share her zest and personal-
spring she would use her
ity — short videos. Just
flower garden as an out-
launched is Edith's ongoing
door palate, always add-
series of her favorite tunes
ing whimsical characters
on YouTube called "Bubby
Belts Em."
to amuse neighbors and
visitors.
In the videos, Edith sings
While inside her home,
well-known songs with
she would continue to
her own characteristic pep.
paint expressions of her
Sometimes she is dressed
spirituality, love of life,
in a red robe; in one she
sings to her family of stuffed
God and her Judaism.
In 2000, she was proud
animals on the couch while
reading song lyrics from a
to have an art show at
Edith Butri movitz
the Oak Park Jewish
notepad.
Community Center, a ret-
"I love YouToo [her ver-
rospective spanning five decades.
sion of YouTube], and maybe if enough
As talented as she is as an artist,
people like my videos I will go viral and
Edith's greatest talent has always been
be on Ellen," she says.
making friends everywhere she goes,
"So please watch my videos and after
from Rite Aid to the bank and from
you like them, share them with all of
grocery stores to English Gardens.
your friends. I will even take requests,
At 92, she still paints and her family
but no 'Wrecking Ball."'
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Edith's latest painting: The Eagle.
Her videographer and adoring fan,
daughter Suzi Terebelo of Southfield,
says, "This adorable array of videos
has been viewed from coast to coast, in
Thailand, Paris and Israel."
Longtime friend Dr. Charles Silow
of Huntington Woods says, "I think
she has shown us that even as we grow
older, we can still be young at heart and
that we can still experience the joys of
childhood that are a part of all of us.
Edith Butrimovitz is truly inspirational
and is a role model for all of us."
Perhaps Edith says it best: "I feel that
God has given me a long life to put joy
into other people, to give happiness to
people around me. Life is hard enough;
I try to put a smile on everyone's face
— that's my purpose in life:' ❑
theJEWISHNEWS.com
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2014 I 29 Shevat - 5 Adar I 5774 I Vol. CXLIV, No. 26
Ann Arbor
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Arts/Entertainment .. 55
Calendar
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Health & Wellness ... 52
Israel.. 5,10, 22, 25, 46, 47, 52
JN Archives
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Letters
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Life Cycles
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Marketplace
68
Metro
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Next Generation
63
73
Obituaries
Out & About
57
Points Of View
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Red Thread
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Staff Box/Phone List... 6
Synagogue List
50
Torah Portion
48
Shabbat
Lights
Shabbat: Friday, Jan. 31, 5:27 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Feb.1, 6:31 p.m.
Shabbat: Friday, Feb. 7, 5:36 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Feb. 8, 6:40 p.m.
Columnists
Arthur Horwitz
Alan Muskovitz
Danny Raskin
46
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Pearl draws a crowd when she
enters a room. "She is pretty great,"
says her mom, Rachel Schwartz,
"and worth the wait."
When Rachel and her husband,
Aaron, wanted to begin their family,
the options eventually came down
to one: in-vitro fertilization.
"We called Hebrew Free Loan for
help with some of the costs," Aaron
said, "because traditional medical
loan payment amounts and terms
were out of our reach. There are grants
available, but they are limited, and
once you apply they can take years
to come through. We didn't want to
wait that long."
"Hebrew Free Loan was very helpful,"
Rachel said. "They worked with our
budget, which became even more
important when Pearl was born. She
was early, and was in the hospital for
weeks, so the medical bills were huge."
Rachel and Aaron discuss Pearl's
story, and Hebrew Free Loan, quite
often. "Our friends are impressed to
learn HFL makes this sort of loan,
and how approachable and kind
everyone was," Rachel said. "We've
asked, and those we know who aren't
Jewish don't have this sort of commu-
nity-supported place to turn. Everyone
at Hebrew Free Loan was incredibly
kind, and now we have Pearl."
Help strengthen our
Jewish community.
Become an HFL Donor.
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
1[11 Hebrew Free Loan Detroit
.10. @HFLDetroit
TIVeTsi'0U=
January 30 • 2014
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