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Hanging
Dut
Coby's Judaica at the JCC is
like a one-stop "Little Israel!'
A
Stories by Barbara Lewis I Contributing Writer
small Judaica shop nestled next
to the gym in West Bloomfield's
Jewish Community Center has
become a happy hangout for expat Israelis.
They come to drink tea, eat Israeli vaffe-
lirn (wafer cookies), watch Israeli TV and
complain, usually in Hebrew, about every-
thing from politics to the unavailability of
good falafel in Detroit.
Non-Israelis are welcome, too.
Coby Goutkovitch, 55, owner of Coby's
Judaica, grew up in Zichron Ya'akov in
northern Israel and came to Michigan in
1989 to work for General Dynamics.
In 2000, he purchased Esther's Judaica in
the Sugar Tree Plaza in West Bloomfield.
"Esther used mostly vendors from New
York, and a lot of the merchandise was
made in China:' said Goutkovitch of West
Bloomfield. "There was an intifada going
on in Israel and no one was going there. I
brought in made-in-Israel products to help
the artists in Israel:'
Coby's Judaica still sells mostly made-in-
Israel merchandise, though Goutkovitch
also has items made by local artists, includ-
ing well-known glass artist Dani Katsir.
"I'm very fanatic that most of the inven-
Mann
Alex Raab, left, and Hai Eretz, right, enjoy the "Little Israel" feel of Coby Goutkovitch's
Judaica store at the JCC in West Bloomfield.
A limited edition menorah commissioned
by the Israeli government, $1,800, at
Coby's Judaica
tory comes from Israel; he said. "My shop
is helping keep seven or eight Israel families
alive."
Michigan's economic recession hit Coby's
Judaica hard, and when his lease on the
Sugar Tree store was up in 2007, he accept-
ed an invitation from Mark Litt, the JCC's
executive director at the time, to move his
store to the center.
"It's become a little institution of its own;
Goutkovitch said. "Even people who don't
usually come to the JCC come here."
One of those is Hai Eretz, 55, of Oak
Park. He grew up with Goutkovitch in
Israel and moved to Detroit last summer to
join his now-wife, Sharon Sullivan, whom
he met in Israel. He teaches Hebrew at
Temple Israel's religious school.
Alex Raab, 82, is another regular. He
works out at the JCC health club a few
times a week and always stops in at Coby's
afterward for a good shmooze.
Raab was born in Poland, survived the
Holocaust and lived in Ramie, Israel, for 14
years after World War II. He came to the
U.S. with his family in 1962 and is a retired
plumber.
"I've been coming here since he opened,"
said Raab of West Bloomfield. "It gives me
a feeling of Israel:'
Goutkovitch keeps half a dozen chairs
along a side wall of his shop for his visi-
tors. The chairs are just behind his desk,
so everyone can watch the Israeli television
shows Goutkovitch likes to stream on his
computer. Some of his visitors call his shop
"Little Israel:'
The store also functions like an informa-
tion center.
"One day a guy came in and said he had
an auto mechanic shop, but he wasn't get-
ting any business:' Raab said. "Coby started
talking up his shop to his customers, and
he started getting busier. When I needed a
dentist, I asked Coby where I should go and
he told me.
"It's like a kiosk," he said, referring to the
Israeli street stands where locals congregate
and community information is posted.
"This is a big asset for the community:'
Raab said. "We're very. fortunate to have a
place like this here:'
GIFT TRENDS
n addition to Coby's Judaica (248-661-
6800), there are a number of Detroit-area
Judaica shops with large selections. Check
out the smaller gift shops at synagogues
and Judaic bookstores in Oak Park for some
gems, too.
A big seller is always menorahs. Alicia
Nelson of Tradition! Tradition! (248-557-
0109) in Southfield has a new stainless-steel
travel menorah ($75) that folds into its own
case. Prices range from a Sculpture in Glass
menorah by artist J. Anthony Atkins for
$575 to a miniature bronze menorah for
$18.
Children's Chanukah menorahs are in big
demand at the Temple Israel shop (248-661-
5700) in West Bloomfield, said Mary Lou
Berndt, one of the three co-chairs."We have
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A red metal children's menorah
A pink star menorah at
at Temple Israel, $69
Temple Israel, $24
a train, a car, a motorcycle and an airplane,
which people are loving:'
Lisa Wasserman, another co-chair,
says they try to have new menorahs and
dreidels every year for collectors. The shop
also carries a wide variety of Chanukah-
themed decorations, kitchen and party
items in addition to candlesticks, Kiddush
A menorah made from ceramic mah jong tiles at
cups and more.
"We don't carry gifts so much as items for
celebrating the holiday," said Wasserman.
"We're more into celebration than presents:"
Among Coby's one-of-a-kind pieces is a
silver folding menorah by Moishe D'vash,
a 17th-generation Jerusalemite, that sells
Tradition! Tradition! $75
for $1,100. Owner Coby Goutkovitch also
has one of a limited edition of menorahs
commissioned by the Israel government for
$1,800, on display along with photos show-
ing the same menorah being presented to
President Bill Clinton and Israel's president
Shimon Peres.