metro

NOW IS THE TIME!

1141111

Unity Day

1

Women to celebrate
Jewish unity at the
Oak Park JCC June 9.

U

Enjoy your retirement in a beautiful
new home at Fox Run.

Our affordable prices and exciting lifestyle make living in this community
a smart decision for you and your loved ones. With so many fabulous
features, you're sure to find an apartment to match your unique taste.

THE BRIGHTON Large one bedroom

This popular floor plan offers the perfect amount of living
space with no extra rooms to clean. The spacious bedroom
has a generous walk-in closet with extra linen storage. And
the gracious living area accommodates both a seating and
dining area, ideal for hosting holiday meals or family parties.

Call 1-877-646-7650 for a FREE brochure
and schedule your visit today.

Fox Run

Add more Living to your Life®

nity is an ideal that is so
often spoken of but far less
often put into practice
said Jerusalem Mayor Barkat.
Unity Day is part of the Jerusalem
Unity Prize, a major project
launched with Barkat and Gesher,
an organization that sparks dialogue
and mediation between Jews of all
backgrounds in Israel, to celebrate
Jewish unity.
The project commemorates the
anniversary of the kidnappping and
murder of three Israeli teens, Gil-Ad
Shaer, Eyal Yifrah and Naftali Fraenkel,
which brought Jews together every-
where in shared grief and resolve.
"The kidnapping of our boys marks
one of the more difficult moments in
Israel's modern history. But the reality
is that out of this bitter tragedy came a
spirit of unprecedented unity amongst
the Jewish people. Our commitment
is to ensure that this sense of unity
remains alive — this is the mission of
Unity Day:' say the boys' parents.
Adds Anat Schwarz Weil, Jerusalem
Unity Prize director, "There is no
disputing that while the Jewish people
have so much in common, there are
bitter divisions within the greater com-
munity and this is a phenomenon that
must be addressed and internalized by
the younger generation as a challenge
which needs to be dealt with."
Esther Sherizen of Oak Park is the
mother of Rabbi Yoni Sherizen, direc-
tor of development for Gesher, who
helped to develop the Unity Prize.
To celebrate Unity Day, Esther
Sherizen is reviving "Women's Night
Out:' a program the Oak Park Jewish
Community Center used to put on that
brought Reform, Conservative and
Orthodox Jewish women together for
dinner and other activities.
This year's Women's Night Out to
mark Unity Day will take place from
7:30-9 p.m., Tuesday, June 9, at the
Oak Park JCC. The program includes
a short film, presentations about what
makes the Metro Detroit Jewish com-
munity so extraordinary, a dessert buf-
fet, an art project and more.
There will be program speak-
ers from Young Israel of Oak Park,
Congregation Beth Shalom, Temple
Emanu-El and Congregation T'Chiyah.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15
at the door. Attendees are asked to
bring a kosher food item for Yad Ezra.
RSVP to Rosa Chessler at (248) 967-
4030 or rchessler@jccdet.org.

❑

Novi I 1-877-646-7650 I EricksonLiving.com

20

May 28 • 2015

Supreme Court
Rules In Favor Of
Torah Center

Jackie Headapohl
I Managing Editor

T

he three-year saga of
the lawsuit by Chabad-
Lubavitch of Michigan
against the Sara and Morris
Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center
of West Bloomfield may be over.
On May 20, the Michigan
Supreme Court dismissed the
lawsuit due to the statute of limita-
tions, granting the Torah Center
a "total victory," according to its
lawyer, Todd Mendel of Barris Sott
Denn & Driker PLLC in Detroit.
The suit, originally filed by
Chabad-Lubavitch of Michigan in
April 2012, led by its Oak Park-
based regional director Rabbi Berel
Shemtov, against the Torah Center,
its Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
and its board of directors, sought
to declare that the organization
had controlling authority over the
Torah Center. It was originally dis-
missed in Oakland County Circuit
Court. Chabad-Lubovitch appealed
to the Michigan Court of Appeals,
which reversed the circuit court's
decision in May 2014.
"This welcome news is a great
relief:' said Silberberg. "The ordeal
of the last three years has caused
great pain and much aggravation.
"It is not for us to gloat over
this victory:' he added. "Rather,
we must give thanks to HaShem
for relieving us of the burdensome
lawsuit, thereby enabling us to turn
our full attention to serving Him
and spreading the light of Torah
and mitzvos throughout Michigan."
According to attorney Mendel,
"The case, barring the U.S.
Supreme Court taking it up, really
is over, ending the tremendous
effort and cost by the Torah Center
to defend itself against a case that
should never have been brought:'
Lead counsel for Chabad of
Michigan, Norman Ankers of
Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn
LLP in Detroit could not be reached
for comment by press time.
The news comes as a relief to
members of the Torah Center.
"We're very happy to have this bur-
den lifted from us," said member
Ilan Aldouby. "Now we are free to
do good things with our money
instead of wasting it on a lawsuit:'

❑