metro

-Side Silver Anniversary

Jewish Detroit celebrates the miracle of lights and 25 years in Grosse Pointe.

Blessings at the GPJC Jewish Interfaith Thanksgiving Service in November

Vivian Henoch
Special to the Jewish News

T

o think it all started with a
Chanukah party ...
Twenty-five years ago, Dr.
Jeffrey and Janet Weingarten were new-
comers to Detroit. Coming from Iowa,
where Dr. Weingarten had finished his
surgical residency, they chose to make
their home in Grosse Pointe Woods to be
near Jeff's medical practice. They also fell
in love with the beauty and serenity of
the Grosse Pointe neighborhoods.
In the spirit of the holidays that first
winter, the Weingartens decided to throw
a little party and asked the few Jewish
neighbors and colleagues they knew to
spread the word that they were hosting a
Chanukah celebration in their home.
Expecting no more than a handful of
couples to attend, they were astonished
when more than 100 people responded to
the invitation.
The party that night stirred more
than a few new friendships. Those who
were there still talk about their delight
in learning that there were far more
Jewish families living in and near the
Grosse Pointes than they ever imagined.
Exchanging addresses, the group didn't
take long to organize a committee, name
a board of directors and create what
would become the Grosse Pointe Jewish
Council — the GPJC.
There were 63 founding families in the

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December 18 • 2014

GPJC in 1989. Today the council serves
150 families with the goal "to preserve
and promote the heritage and traditions
of the Jewish religion and culture for the
benefit of its membership and the com-
munity of Metropolitan Detroit's east side
and to offer an educational and social
forum for its members:'
It should come as no surprise that
there are many east siders who have cho-
sen to live outside of what is considered
to be the traditional "core" of the Jewish
community (defined as the 23 zip codes
in southern Oakland County listed in the
2005 Jewish Population Study conducted
by Federation). Jewish Detroit has a long
history of mobility, and Jews have lived
in the five Grosse Pointes for almost a
century.
Jewish Detroit's "core" strength con-
tinues to grow from its rich diversity,
its communal energy and resources
flowing through all corners of the
metropolitan area. With the return of
NEXTGeners to the city of Detroit, the
resurgence of Downtown and Midtown
neighborhoods, the strong presence of
the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue,
the Reconstructionist Congregation of
Detroit and now Chabad in the D, GPJC's
numbers have grown and continue to
grow.
While some members of the GPJC have
transplanted themselves from the west
side, the majority don't have west side ties
or memories. They have come to Detroit
for business and employment opportuni-

The congregation watches Rabbi Ariana Silverman during a lakeside ceremony.

ties. They include physicians, lawyers
and judges in practice Downtown or in
or near the Grosse Pointes; professors
and teachers at Wayne State University
and University Liggett School; couples
and families with varying identities and
needs — all seeking a connection with a
Jewish community in a beautiful, well-
maintained community on the shores of
Lake St. Clair and close to Downtown and
Midtown.
"When I tell people that I serve as the
rabbi of the Grosse Pointe Jewish Council,
the response is almost invariably surprise
that there's a Jewish community in Grosse
Pointe says Rabbi Ariana Silverman, a
resident of Detroit since moving from
New York City to Detroit in 2010.
"Whenever I get into one of those con-
versations, the chorus to 'Wherever you
go, there's always someone Jewish' plays in
my head. It's remarkable, in an age when
a device in my pocket can instantly send
a message to Jews on the other side of the
world, we are often unaware of the Jews
who live on the other side of town:'
This spring, Silverman taught a
class that met in the houses of wor-
ship for the Downtown Synagogue,
the Reconstructionist Congregation of
Detroit and the GPJC. In any given week,
participants could attend at any of the
locations. In pairing activities with syna-
gogues in the city, members are starting
to join more than one congregation.
"We mesh weir observes Michael
Kasky, past president of GPJC and current

director of religious activities. "There
are an increasing number of cooperative
efforts among the three congregations.
While we respect the liturgical differ-
ences among our three congregations, we
also recognize our shared Jewishness and
try to focus on activities in which we all
can feel comfortable amid a larger Jewish
presence.
"If there's a substantive distinction
between the Grosse Pointe Jewish Council
and most congregations, it is a 'distinc-
tion with little difference" Kasky adds.
"We call ourselves a council rather than
a congregation in order to be a universal
Jewish organization
welcoming anyone who
has any kind of Jewish
affiliation, whether it
be religious, cultural,
social or family-based.
As the years have pro-
gressed, the trend for
our community has
Mike Kasky
been to become more
religiously involved,
and we've been able to
provide worship services that are com-
fortable and meaningful to our members,
many of whom are interfaith families or
those who don't have a strong religious
background:'
Organized somewhat differently than
most congregations, the Grosse Pointe
Jewish Council doesn't own or rent its
own building. Instead, they've established
a relationship with a Grosse Pointe church

