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Orthodox singles in town for a Shabbaton work to solve a murder mystery as

post-Shabbat entertainment.

Meet In Motown

Orthodox "Singles Shabbaton"
draws locals, out-of-towners.

Susan Tawil
Special to the Jewish News

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6907 ORCHARD LAKE RD • ON THE BOARDWALK

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President

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LECACY SINAI

30

o•1

September 10 • 2015

Supported by

The Jewish Federation

OPPORTUNITY/

OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT

ring together 56 amiable, eli-
gible men and women from
across the country — and
Canada, too — for a weekend of mixing
and mingling, and you've got "Meet in
Motown:' Metro Detroit's first Singles
Shabbaton.
Out-of-towners joined Detroiters
(about a third of the group) at Young
Israel of Southfield (YIS) Aug. 14-16 for
good food, fun activities and the possi-
bility of meeting their beshert (intended).
All participants were shomrei Shabbat
(Sabbath observant), but spanned
the spectrum from "Yeshivish" to
"Conservadox." Ages ranged from 28-45,
with most in their 30s.
The event was organized by a small
group of local women; most had
attended such events in locales like New
York and decided the time had come for
Detroit to host one of its own. Although
based at Young Israel, the event was not
sponsored by any organization.
The Midwest location drew par-
ticipants from New York, New Jersey,
Pittsburgh, Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Denver, Georgia,
Los Angeles — and one woman visiting
from Israel.
Local families graciously opened their
homes to host participants, with accom-
modations available at a nearby hotel
(for an extra fee) for those who pre-
ferred. Attendees received welcome bags,
including a list of fellow participants, a
map of the area highlighting host homes
and the eruv (Shabbat boundary), info
on fun things to do in Detroit as well as
water bottles and snacks.
The Motown theme carried through
the weekend with toy car centerpieces
and local products such as Vernors and
Faygo pop, and Better Made potato chips.
The event began with an elegant
Friday night Shabbat dinner. Speed
Dating, an activity designed to allow all
the men and women to briefly meet each
other, followed the meal. Afterward, a
late-night Oneg Shabbat provided free
time to mingle, play board games and

enjoy a nosh buffet.
Saturday morning, Shabbaton guests
joined congregants at YIS for services
and Kiddush. Preceding Shabbat lunch,
the keynote speech was given by YIS
Rabbi Emeritus Rabbi Elimelech
Goldberg, executive director of Kids
Kicking Cancer and a 2014 CNN Hero.
In his talk, "A Perfect God Created an
Imperfect World Perfectly," he explained
how a purpose-driven life empowers
people to face challenges.
Shalosh Seudot (the third Shabbat
meal) took place at Doni and Zehava
Ungar's home, followed by a musical
Havdalah ceremony to end the Shabbat.
The Saturday night activity was a
professionally staged interactive murder
mystery set in the gangster-era Roaring
'20s. To get everyone in the mood,
Shabbaton organizers passed out feather
boas to the women and plastic fedoras
to the men — some participants even
came in costume. Roles and props were
assigned to various members of the audi-
ence and the play began.
The task was to discover the identity
and motivation of the murderer; since
this could only be accomplished by
questioning others in the room, the
show proved to be a great mixer activity,
besides being a lot of fun. Participants
enjoyed a pizza party during intermis-
sion and, following the successful con-
clusion of the play, the group mingled at
an ice cream social until the wee hours
of the morning.
The Shabbaton ended Sunday after-
noon after brunch. Participants filled out
surveys (overwhelmingly positive), then
left for their respective cities. All made
new friends and a good number found
"persons of interest" at the weekend.
Organizers are doing follow-up, and it
is hoped that, through networking with
friends and family, every single who
attended the Shabbaton will soon find
their beshert.

❑

Due to popular request, another Shabbaton
for Orthodox singles ages 35-50ish is
tentatively set for the weekend of Nov. 7.
For details, contact Susan Tawil at (248)
483-9797 (leave message if no answer).

