jews d in the Her Senior Moment Holocaust survivor Erna Gorman earns honorary diploma from FJA. ARI SAMUEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS O As the crowd rose to its feet, Gorman, n stage at the Berman Center for 83, a Holocaust survivor and “hidden the Performing Arts this month, child,” accepted a diploma fate cruelly 58 newly minted alumnae from denied her from earning decades earlier. Frankel Jewish Academy’s Class of 2017 “I was very young when I sat eagerly waiting for the went through the Holocaust evening’s final diploma to be and after I had no opportu- awarded before tossing their nity to go to school,” Gorman mortarboards in the air. explained. “I had to go to work Head of School Rabbi and help earn money.” Azaryah Cohen described the Gorman and her family had unique circumstances faced by been in Poland for an aunt’s the night’s remaining gradu- wedding in 1939 when the ate: “There are generations of Nazis invaded and WWII Jews who experienced atroci- began, preventing the family ties so vile that any element Gorman’s memoir, from returning to their native of humanity was quashed, but published in 2010 France and landing them in somehow found their ‘self ’ one of the country’s notorious rose to inspire future gen- ghettos. erations. We are privileged to Eventually her family found an oppor- have such a person here tonight.” tunity to escape and fled to Ukraine. The 59th “senior” was an octogenar- They sought refuge on a farmer’s prop- ian who accompanied the students on erty, remaining hidden for more than their recent class trip to Poland and Israel, acting as a real-life link between a two years. Following the Red Army’s past they knew from history and moder- liberation of Ukraine, her older sister was married off and her mother passed nity. away. She and her father immigrated to “This individual, who did not enjoy Detroit in 1953. the luxury of a formal education, Gorman went on to marry, raise received an honorary doctorate even without receiving a high school diploma two children and devote many years to Holocaust education. In 2009, she — until this evening,” Cohen said. “On was awarded an honorary doctorate behalf of our board of trustees, our in education from Northern Michigan faculty, staff and students, I would like University. The following year, she wrote to present Mrs. Erna Gorman with a a well-received memoir of her experi- Frankel Jewish Academy diploma.” TOP: Holocaust survivor Erna Gorman with FJA graduates Sidrah Kovan, Ilana Weinfeld, Tatum Partrich and Camryn Otis. BOTTOM LEFT: Gorman receives her honorary diploma from FJA Head of School Rabbi Azaryah Cohen. RIGHT: Gorman joined the Class of 2017 on the Auschwitz-to-Birkenau March of the Living. ence as a hidden child. This was Gorman’s fourth trip with a senior class. She was first approached in 2013 by Debbie Wrotslavsky, FJA’s then- director of professional development, to join the kids for the Auschwitz-to- Birkenau March of the Living. “When we brought her to Poland that first year, it was so powerful,” Wrotslavsky said. “It got both the stu- dents and the staff to pay attention.” That power has not faded with time. Graduates Nicholas Vieder and Ilana Weinfeld each noted how nurturing Gorman was. “Her being there was strengthening to us all,” Veider said. “She inspired all of us to become better individuals, as well as Jews,” Weinfeld added. Graduate Tatum Partrich, founding editor of FJA’s new student newsmaga- zine, @FJA, marveled at Gorman’s vital- ity. “Having Erna on the trip made the experience more meaningful, and her positive outlook on the world amazed me day after day,” Partrich said. “For many, the hardest part about grasping the tragedy of the Holocaust is putting a face to those millions who experienced it,” she added. “Erna gave us a more in-depth understanding of the unimaginable.” • Gentle Giant Goliath, a 20-pound tortoise, cheers Brown Center clients. FRAN VICTOR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS W e’ve all heard about the amaz- ing healing power of ani- mals. Petting a dog has been shown to lower blood pressure and research shows that horses can recog- nize human emotion. But tortoises? For the participants of the Dorothy and Peter Brown Adult Day Program in West Bloomfield, the tortoise won the race … to the hearts of its participants. When Milt Fisk first brought his African Leopard tortoise Goliath to the Brown Center, a joint program of Jewish Senior Life and JVS, he wasn’t sure what 12 June 22 • 2017 jn the program participants, who all live with different dementias including Alzheimer’s disease, would think. But he watched their “faces light up” when they pet Goliath. “I got Goliath when he was barely the size of a quarter,” Fisk said. “I’ve now had him for 20 years and he weighs 20 pounds. His life expectancy is 70, so he’ll outlive me! I love taking him to the Brown Center in West Bloomfield. As the son of Holocaust survivors, I feel our trips to Jewish senior facilities is my way of giving back.” • ABOVE LEFT: Milt Fisk with Goliath, his pet of 20 years. RIGHT: A Brown Center participant enjoys Goliath.