metro Jewish Memories Former Detroiter Yoel Finkelman now curates Judaica at the National Library of Israel. At work: Cheryl Mcllhon of Bloomfield Hills, Teresa Bowers of Farmington, Dianne Kern (also an instructor) of Northville, instructor Terrye Mock, and Toby Faber and Lorraine Applebaum, both of West Bloomfield. Increasing Movement Ballet class helps Parkinson's sufferers. Barbara Lewis Contributing Writer T Yoel Finkelman at the National Library of Israel T o fulfill their mission, libraries have had to change to adapt to the digital age. In the past, libraries provided the public a service by storing and preserving books for patrons' visits. Now libraries also need to help make information available to people in the most convenient formats. These new tasks demand librarians who master a new and changing set of skills. The National Library of Israel recently hired former Detroiter Yoel Finkelman as curator of the library's vast collection of Judaic materials. Listing his responsibilities, Finkelman defines the traditional tasks of a library: "By law, the National Library of Israel is responsible both for creating as compre- hensive a collection of Jewish books and print material as possible:' So the curator works at preserving the current collection, setting policy for acquiring newly published works and for acquiring old works of continuing value. But the library also has new tasks, actively projecting the collections to the general public. In Finkelman's words, it seeks to "make that material as acces- sible as possible" New tasks include digitizing the library's treasures, cooperating with other collectors to digitize their trea- sures and making those digital files available. Curators find ways to use electronic formats to put even fragile materials on mass display. Library administrators, including curators, host cultural events to bring the library's mission to the public. Finkelman sees a perennial Jewish theme in his new post. "There are few things that Judaism values more than memory, and it is a privilege to be charged with the task of gathering the raw materials out of which that memory can be constructed, 24 October 2 • 2014 JN whether by a scholar poring over a manuscript, a rabbi looking for prec- edent for a legal decision or someone from the wider population trying to track down the time that the newspaper published an article about their grand- mother," he said. Before assuming his post as curator, Finkelman taught at the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Contemporary Jewry and in the Israel Experience program for for- eign students at Bar-Ilan University. He served in the administration and taught Talmud and Jewish Thought at Midreshet Lindenbaum, a program for post-high school women in Jerusalem. He also served as director of projects at the ATID Foundation in Jerusalem, a program for Jewish educators. He worked as managing editor of the journal of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Judaism, Contemporary Jewry. And he is the author of many articles on contempo- rary Judaism and one book, Strictly Kosher Reading. Finkelman earned a doctorate in Jewish Thought at Hebrew University, writing on religion and public life in the works of major 20th-century American Jewish thinkers; he earned his undergraduate and master's degrees at Yeshiva University in New York. After graduating high school at Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield, Finkelman studied at Shaalvim in Israel and served as a combat soldier in the armored divisions of the Israel Defense Forces. He had earlier attended Yeshiva Beth Yehuda. Yoel Finkelman lives in Beit Shemesh, Israel, with his wife and their five children. His parents, Louis "Eliezer" and Marilyn Finkelman, reside in Southfield. ❑ welve years ago, Toby Faber was diagnosed with breast cancer and Parkinson's disease — on the same day. She overcame the cancer, but there's no cure for Parkinson's, a chronic and progressive movement disorder marked by tremors, rigidity and difficulty maintaining balance. On a bad day, says Faber of West Bloomfield, walking can feel like trudging through cement. Movement is helpful for people with Parkinson's, who number 1 million in the United States. That's why Faber eagerly enrolled when she learned about a new class for people with Parkinson's at Christina's Adult Ballet & More in Farmington Hills. The six-session program, called Movingthru: Dance & Parkinson's, started Sept. 15. Instructor Terrye Mock follows the pattern she uses in most of her ballet classes. She starts with exercises, set to music, to warm up the students' bodies; the Parkinson's stu- dents do this while seated in chairs arranged in a circle. Then the students go to the barre for standing stretches and exercises. Finally, they do a series of short dances on the floor to a variety of tunes, ranging from classical ballet to swing and klezmer. Mock, a former principal ballerina with the Indiana Ballet Theatre, took special training to teach students with Parkinson's. The program was developed by the New York-based Mark Morris Dance Company and follows the idea that professional danc- ers are movement experts. Dancers under- stand balance and rhythm and how dance increases awareness of the body and the space around it — all skills helpful to those with Parkinson's, Mock said. Mock also has taught movement and music at Friendship Circle and other pro- grams for people with special needs. Dianne Kern, an occupational therapist, assists in the class. Faber, 74, a member of Temple Shir Shalom and NCJW had a long and varied career before she fell ill. She was a speech Instructor Terrye Mock is pleased with Toby Faber's dance moves. and language therapist, taught school for 14 years and worked in advertising sales. Faber's Parkinson's didn't bother her much until a few years ago. She traveled to Israel and frequent visits with her daughter in Seattle. Locally, she liked being active with her son and his family, including grandsons now 15, 12 and 9. She knows she won't get better, but she takes each day as it comes. "Without exercise I feel stiff and rigid," she said. She tries to walk three miles a day and practices yoga with friends. She continues to be startled that she can't do what she used to. "Sometimes I'll tell my foot to lift, and my foot will say, 'Not today!" she sighed. Faber said she always enjoyed dancing. When she was young, she said, her parents couldn't afford to give her dance lessons con- sistently, but as a teen she enjoyed ballroom dancing, and she dabbled in tap as an adult. "The movement just makes you feel good:' said Faber, who enjoys Mock's class because it's happy and upbeat. Christina's Adult Ballet & More, tucked behind a parking lot on 13 Mile Road just west of Orchard Lake, offers classes in a variety of dance styles — ballet, Zumba, hip-hop, samba, modern — for adults only. Owner Christina Kimmuller, a former principal dancer with a company in Brazil, taught adult classes at other area dance schools for more than 20 years before open- ing her own studio last winter. For details on the class or to register, call Terrye Mock at (248) 505-3951. ❑