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36 Under 36
I
WINTER/SPRING 2017
COURSES
PICK A CLASS THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU!
Just a sampling of FedEd Winter/Spring classes
Go to jewishdetroit.org/feded for a complete listing or call
248-205-2557 for a brochure
JANUARY
Bringing Jewish Values to the Holidays...........Rabbi Tzvi Muller
Making Sense of Jewish Denominations .........Ruth Bergman
“Judaisms” that Went Extinct ..........................Dr. Justin Sledge
Principles of Jewish Worship and Belief .........Rabbi Joseph Klein
Total Beginner’s Hebrew ..................................Bosmat Dovas
FEBRUARY
History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict ...................... Ruth Bergman
Yiddish I ............................................................... Saul Hankin
When History and Faith Collide ........................... Professor Howard Lupovitch
Jewish Messianism ............................................. Rabbi Joseph Klein
MARCH
Seduction, Love and Drink! ................................ Rabbi Aaron Bergman &
Ruth Bergman
A History of Jerusalem ........................................ Dr. Mitch Parker
Jewish Recipe for Justice .................................... Sue Salinger
Generations in Modern Hebrew Poetry ............... Dina Routin
An Introduction to Jewish Philosophy ................ Dr. Justin Sledge
A Brief History of Judaism ................................... Rabbi Joseph Klein
A Jewish Lens to the Sixties ................................ Professor Howard Lupovitch
APRIL
Prelude to the Defiant Requiem .......................Visiting Lecturers
Practical Kabbalah ...........................................Rabbi Levi Dubov
History of Reform Judaism .............................Rabbi Joseph Klein
MAY
Archaeology of Israel ......................................Dr. Michael Pytlik
248-205-2557
2148010
8
January 12 • 2017
jn
t was the fall of 2010 and the
national economy had col-
lapsed, with Michigan being
hit particularly hard. Our local
Jewish population survey indi-
cated the number of Jewish 25-to-
34-year-olds
living in Metro
Detroit was fewer
than 2,700 — only
4 percent of the
Jewish com-
munity. In other
words, there were
Rabbi Dan
so few Jewish
Horwitz
young adults
living here that
their estimated
percentage of the community was
equivalent to the margin of error
of the study.
When conceptualizing 36
Under 36 last year, one of the
questions that came up —perhaps
unsurprisingly — was whether it
would be sustainable annually,
given the perception there are still
relatively few Jewish young adults
here. Without a second thought,
the answer was “of course it will
be — there are tons of amazing
Jewish young adults impacting
our community and region!” What
a change!
Obviously, there are many
to thank and acknowledge for
this change, from investors like
Dan Gilbert, to the Jewish News,
which shortly after the collapse
launched the “Southeastern
Michigan Jewish Alliance” fea-
ture, which highlighted job
opportunities, available talent
and the myriad social opportuni-
ties still existing for those here,
to a Jewish Federation that was
incredibly forward-thinking in
launching CommunityNEXT,
which ultimately was enveloped
into their NEXTGen Detroit
young leadership department
and incubating ComePlayDetroit,
which has had a huge impact on
social life for young adults in the
area.
At a time when the national
(and frankly often local) narrative
about Metro Detroit was entirely
negative, emphasizing the incred-
ible talent and opportunities that
existed here became a way to
help shift the narrative — frankly,
in a positive-psychology sort of
way.
The 36 Under 36 feature is
meant to be a continuation of
that important work (just as The
Well’s monthly Nice Jewish Boy/
Nice Jewish Girl feature highlight-
ing eligible singles is) as we rec-
ognize, highlight and celebrate
the incredible talents that many
in our community possess, and
to shout from the rooftops that
Metro Detroit is an incredible
place to live, both professionally
and as part of an inclusive Jewish
community.
The Jewish News was a logical
and exceptional partner for The
Well in executing this feature.
Why turn to them? Easy! The
Jewish News has been part of my
daily life personally since we
moved to Detroit in 1986. But
even more importantly, it’s one
of (if not “the”) most successful
weekly Jewish publication in the
country, with significant reach
and standing, and with warm
and fuzzy associations for many
of those we’re honoring who
can fondly (albeit awkwardly)
recall their bar and bat mitzvah
announcements in its pages (and
now again in the amazing word-
searchable Detroit Jewish News
William Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History, found
at djnfoundation.org).
For me personally, this project
has been particularly gratifying,
as I admittedly have positioned
myself as a communal social but-
terfly, striving to connect and be
a welcoming rabbinic face for
all, and I make it my business to
meet as many people as possible.
And yet, there are names and
faces in this feature that are new
to me! Talk about an incredible
change in such a short time.
A huge thank you to our part-
ners at the Jewish News, to The
Well’s board members Steve
Hurvitz and Ron Elkus, who took
the lead on this project, to the
many people who voluntarily
submitted nominations, and to
our volunteer independent judg-
es who made the time to review
dozens of submissions.
There is no better place in the
country to be a young Jewish
person than Metro Detroit! Don’t
believe me? I’ll let the list do the
talking. Turn to page 24 and meet
some incredible people. •
Rabbi Dan Horwitz is founding drector
of The Well: a Jewish community-building,
education and spirituality outreach initiative.