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ated Jews in their 20s and 30s in Jewish life. There are also many social
service and support groups, from helping families with transgender
teens to families dealing with death and dying.
It is in one of these subsets of Temple Israel life — the daily library
morning minyan — where longtime member Kenny Lipson has found
his place.
Lipson of West Bloomfield, a member with his wife, Nancy, for
several decades, found his place at Temple within the supportive
atmosphere of the daily morning minyan for the last 15 years. After
enduring two painful losses in his life and experiencing health issues of
his own, Lipson said the daily minyan was a place to give and receive
comfort. Because of this support, he created the Lipson Family Minyan
Fund. This fund, along with the Samson Family Minyan Fund, pro-
vides finances to buy
breakfast for the library
morning minyan that
meets at 7:30 a.m.
Monday-Thursday and
9 a.m. on Sundays.
“The more I give to
Temple, the more it
gives back to me,” he
said. “In the minyan, I
have found spirituality
and community. When
I had to undergo heart
surgery, nothing gave
me more strength than
hearing the minyan
sing the Mi Shebeirach
prayer to me.”
Lifelong member
and longtime religious
school teacher Judy
Pearlman of Bloomfield
ABOVE: Steve and Carolyn Cohen of West Bloomfield Hills recalls her family’s
with children Alec, Carly and Drew. friendship with the fam-
ily of Cantor Harold
Orbach.
“Every year for 33
years, our families had seder together,” she said. “I can still remember
Cantor Orbach singing the Passover melodies. I didn’t know it then,
but [Temple and the Orbachs] made a big impact on my life and sent
me on my journey of lifelong Jewish learning and teaching.”
Now, with 65 years of memories at Temple Israel, she continues
to pass down the Jewish traditions to her grandchildren and future
generations. Pearlman, with her husband, Sheldon, 67, participated in
Mitzvah 613, dedicating sentences in the Torah that focus on feeding
the poor and overcoming adversity.
“Temple Israel is as big or as small as you want it to be, and you can
be involved as little or as much as you wish,” Pearlman said.
Another founding family celebrating their children becoming Jewish
adults are Carolyn and Steve Cohen of West Bloomfield. This year,
their twin children, Drew and Carly, 14, became b’nai mitzvah and are
also the next link in a long family chain of involvement.
Cohen’s grandparents, the late Samuel and late Sylvia Ruskin, fol-
lowed Fram from Beth El to become a founding family of Temple. She
can point to photos hanging in the building of her late uncle, Herbert
Ruskin, who was part of the temple’s first confirmation class.
Though Carolyn spent her childhood in Cincinnati, Steve grew up at
Temple Israel. When Carolyn moved back to Michigan for law school
and met Steve, she says, “There was no question in our minds that
Temple Israel was the place where we wanted our wedding.”
Since then, they have raised their three children, including Alec, 18,
from preschool through their b’nai mitzvah. Alec just graduated from
Hebrew high school and last year went on the congregation’s Teen
Mission to Israel. Their children are also active in BBYO as well as
Temple’s NFTY chapter.
“With our families as charter members, we feel such a connection
here, and I hope that as the years pass, our children will also keep that
connection going.” •

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