Mandell “Bill” Berman » 1917-2016

COURTESY LEONARD N. SIMONS JEWISH COMMUNITY ARCHIVES
COURTESY LEONARD N. SIMONS JEWISH COMMUNITY ARCHIVES

CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK

COURTESY LEONARD N. SIMONS JEWISH COMMUNITY ARCHIVES

A Visionary Jewish
Communal Architect

Keri Guten Cohen | Story Development Editor

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Bill Berman helped
spearhead the SOS (Supplies
for Overseas Survivors)
campaign, 1947

Louis Berry, David Miro,
Rabbi Morris Adler and Bill
Berman lay the cornerstone
of the new Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield, June 17, 1962

Bill Berman visits Israel, 1961

Bill Berman, along with
grandson Laurence
Freedman, at the dedication
of the Mandell L. Berman
Center for University of
Michigan Hillel, 1988

FACING PAGE:
Madeleine “Madge” and
Mandell “Bill” Berman in
their yard in 2012 — one of
Bill’s favorite photos

Madge and Bill Berman at a
ceremonial groundbreaking
for the Berman Center for
Performing Arts in 2009

10 December 29 • 2016

M

andell “Bill” Berman
of Franklin was a
visionary business-
man and philanthropist who
devoted much of his leadership to
shaping the future of the Jewish
community.
Bill Berman passed away at his
home in Long Boat Key, Fla., on
Dec. 21 at age 99.
“Philanthropy and education
are my passion,” Bill observed in
a JN story commemorating his
90th birthday. “I’m now what
amounts to a full-time volunteer
in the Jewish community, and
my biggest challenge is finding
enough time to do everything.”
Looking and sounding spry
almost 10 years later, he still
spent much time attending edu-
cational events, talking to stu-
dents, teachers and parents, and
getting a feel for the future needs
of the community.
In the meantime, many of
the educational innovations he
started and funded have evolved
and grown.
“One area that stood out for
Bill was formal and informal

Jewish education,” said Dr. Lynda
Giles of Bloomfield Hills. “This
was where Bill and I shared com-
mon philanthropic goals.
“His concern for Jewish con-
gregational life and keeping fami-
lies connected led to the creation
of Jewish Experience for Families
(JEFF). JEFF’s impact on family
education was enormous, chang-
ing how we defined traditional
Jewish education. Bill’s concern
for Jewish education was limit-
less.”
On the national level, he was a
co-founder of Jewish Educational
Services of North America
(JESNA). This think tank was
created to serve the educational
needs of our national Jewish
community.
Former JESNA president
Jonathan Woocher said, “Bill
was the rare combination of a
far-seeing visionary and a down-
to-earth mentsh. He understood
the central importance of Jewish
education long before many of
his peers in communal leader-
ship, and his commitment to
research and evaluation as tools

to strengthen Jewish life was
unmatched among Jewish philan-
thropists.
“But, it’s his personal qualities
those of us privileged to know
and work with him will remem-
ber most. He was warm, he was
enthusiastic, he cared not just
about causes, but about people.
“When we look back on the
last 50 years in American Jewish
life, I’m confident we’ll see Bill
was one of the prime architects
of so many of the things we have
come to value.”
Bill also cared deeply about
Jewish life on college campuses,
providing generous funding to
the University of Michigan Hillel,
which bears his name. He served
as its honorary chairperson,
mentoring a succession of board
chairs, Berman Fellows and stu-
dents.
“The Berman Fellowship was a
transformative experience for me
as a Jewish educator and leader,”
Allie Conn Kanter (2010-2012)
posted on the U-M Hillel website.
“The fellowship provided me
with Jewish learning, mentorship

and a foundation in the Jewish
communal field I would not have
been able to access in other entry
level positions.
“I was fortunate to have spent
time with Bill Berman, and it was
always clear that he felt person-
ally invested in my success, both
while I was a Berman Fellow and
in the years since.”
Other educational projects
include founding the now-
defunct United Hebrew Schools
in Detroit, creating the innova-
tive Berman Center for Jewish
Education at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in 2014 and
Crossing the Line scholarships
at Wayne State University and
Eastern Michigan University.
To train the next generation
of Jewish sociologists, Berman
established the Mandell Berman
Fellowship Program, which sup-
ports two to three doctoral stu-
dents working with Len Saxe at
Brandeis University in the social
scientific study of the contem-
porary American Jewish com-
munity.
He also funded fellowships at

