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CSZ Board Acted In
Best Interests Of Shul
As a past president of the Sisterhood
of Congregation Shaarey Zedek (2001-
2003), I learned of discussions with
the rabbi and with the conclusion of
those discussions through the emailed
letters from synagogue President
Mary Knoll and Rabbi Joseph Krakoff.
(And from rumors before and after
that ranged from ugly to ridiculous.)
Knoll's letter to the congregation
stated that the agreement reached
with Rabbi Krakoff involved and was
"overwhelmingly approved by not
only the executive board, but also
the entire board of trustees, which
includes all 16 of the past presidents
as well as the presidents of the Men's
Club, Sisterhood and the Seniors."
Past presidents of those affiliate
organizations were not privy to prior
information.
During my eight years as a member
of the shul's board of trustees (2001-
2009), I did have access to informa-
tion that couldn't be shared generally.
The Town Hall meeting at the syna-
gogue on July 15 more than fulfilled
leadership's responsibilities to share
information with the congregation
about the process and the decision.
The CSZ officers, trustees, past
presidents and honorary past presi-
dent Bill Berman — most of whom
were on the dais at the Town Hall
meeting — represent a diversity in
age and in business and professional
acumen. These are men and women
respected and successful in their own
fields. These are men and women
who know and love our shul, if mea-
sured only by the thousands of hours
they have volunteered there over the
decades.
I am convinced that they did not
reach their decision lightly and did
so with the best interests of our syna-
gogue and Rabbi Krakoff and his fam-
ily in mind.

Karen Katz
West Bloomfield

The Term 'Convert'
Was Inappropriate
The sub-headline of the story
"Maccabi Medicine: A Jewish convert
to serve as medical director for the
Games" (July 24, page 22) drew my
attention, but probably not in the
intended way.
I think it would have been more
appropriate to say something like,
"Medical volunteer comes with fas-
cinating life story" or "Jewish doctor
from Taiwan on Maccabi medical

team" rather than to identify Dr. Chu
in the sub-headline as a convert to
Judaism.
I was taught that once a person
becomes Jewish he or she is consid-
ered Jewish and should be referred
to as Jewish, not as "a convert." I get
how Dr. Chu's personal journey makes
this a great "human interest story,"
but I don't think the word "convert"
belonged in the headline.
On an unrelated topic, kol hakavod
[good job!] to Jesse Arm for his excel-
lent letter to the editor, "Shortened
Teen Trip Sends a Bad Message" (July
24, page 5). I agree with him com-
pletely. I believe that JFMD made a
bad decision when it cut short the
Teen Mission, just as I felt when the
same thing happened in the summer
of 2006.
There seems to be a pattern here,
and it is not a good one. An article
on the Times of Israel website around
the time the Detroit Teen Mission was
being aborted stated that no teen trips
had been canceled or cut short. I guess
the writer of that article did not get
the word that the Detroit Federation
had taken a different approach from
everyone else.

Nancy F. Kaplan
West Bloomfield

Muslims, Extreme Leftists
Were At Local Gaza Protest
It is possible that readers of my report
on the anti-Israel rally held in Detroit
on July 13 may think that many Jews
were present because the rally was
sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace, a

Yiddish Limerick

It's Tisha b'Av and tzu shul mir vel

gain.*
Mir gedaynken der Beit Hamikdash **
with love and with pain.
We sit on the floor,
Lamentations we'll say.
Nisht shmoozn, nisht lachn,***
so somber the day.
We mourn the Temple so hailig un
shain.****

* tzu shul mir vel gain — to the
synagogue we will go.
** Mir gedaynken der Beit
Hamikdash — We remember
the Temple
*** Nisht shmoozn, nisht lachn —
No chatting, no laughing
**** hailig un shain holy and
beautiful

—

Calling All
Angels And
Dreamers

T

he JN has a new feature "Angels and Dreamers" - focusing on
Jewish children ages 7-11 who dream of performing a mitzvah but
don't quite know how to do it.
If you are such a child, or are a member of the community or
business owner who would like to be on call as an "angel" to make
these dreams come true, email jheadapohl@renmedia.us with "Angels
and Dreamers" in the subject line. Or you can send a letter to: Angels
and Dreamers, c/o the Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., Suite
110, Southfield, MI 48034.

❑

Your Legal
Issues

Tisha B'Av

- Rachel Kapen

Letters on page 6

Ask Attorney
Ken Gross
about...

Yes, you guessed it '"rock."
at was easy. Let's try
nother one. If you have
30,000 of Credit Card debt
at 20% interest, how much interest
will you pay per year on the debt? The
Answer is $6,000. If you are in a 30%
tax bracket, do you know how much
you need to make to pay your taxes
and net $6,000 to pay the taxes? The
Answer is $8,571. If you are making
$85,710 per year, do you know much
of your income you are wasting on
the interest? The Answer is 10%. Next
Question - If you have credit card
debt like this, do you know what you
should do? The Answer is YOU NEED
TO TAKE ACTION to get rid of the
debt, so the $8,571 goes to pre-tax
retirement savings instead. If you earn
7% on your money in an IRA or 401(k),
do you know how much the $8,571
will be in 15 years? The Answer is
$226,405. If you would rather have the
$226,405 then pay the credit card debt,
do you know what to do? The Answer
- Call Thav Gross - we do many things
- but there is nothing better than what
we do with credit card debt!

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July 31 • 2014

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