JA R C P R E S E N T S T H E 3 7 t h A N N UA L FA L L F U N D R A I S E R

MORE INFO 248 538 6611

jews d

in
the

Rock out with JARC!

The sound. The hits. The music of British rock legends.

Experience a specially curated celebration performed

by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and a full band

including music of The Who, Pink Floyd, Elton John,

ABOVE: Student government vice president George Victor, a senior, uses one of Genesis Lab’s
laser cutting machines.

Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Queen, and

continued from page 20

The Rolling Stones.

Brent Havens, Conductor | Brody Dolyniuk, Vocals

featuring the DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

monday nov06 730pm

MAX M. & MARJORIE S. FISHER MUSIC CENTER

tickets: jarc.org / events

DANI GILLMAN AND BEN CHUTZ, CHAIRS

pre-glow

UNDERGROUND LOUNGE

before the show
5:30 - 7pm
exclusively for
young adults ages 21-40
free admission

w/ticket purchase to the BRITISH ROCK INVASION

strolling dinner and cocktails

underwritten by

catered by

their children Jewish.
“Regarding the Pew study, this
institution is critical to Metro
Detroit,” Cohen said. “We know
other local institutions serve par-
ticular denominations; our school
serves the entire community. I think
it is critical to have an option that
serves multiple denominations.
“FJA is that community where we
can come together, study together,
get to know each other and break
down barriers. We can extend dereck
eretz, respect, to every person regard-
less of what each believes,” he said.
“The big part of what we want
to do is to open as many avenues
as possible for students to connect
with their Judaism and community
in an authentic way. There is no
single path or model,” Korelitz said.
For example, he points to about a
dozen minyans options, from tradi-
tional to one for ninth-graders with-
out a day school background to one
devoted to creating art after reflect-
ing on prayers.
During the height of contention
with the Reform rabbis, some FJA
students had said they felt disre-
spected by some more observant
students. That does not seem to be
the case today, according to school
leaders as well as parents contacted
for this story.
“Are we aware of any Reform
students feeling disenfranchised?
No,” Sider said. “That’s good news
in a world with so much divisive-
ness. Students who come out of this
school feel like Jaguars [the school
mascot].”

ADDRESSING CONCERNS

As at most schools, some FJA par-
ents had other concerns. These
include teacher turnover, lackluster
academic support and need for bet-
ter communication with parents. Yet
parents interviewed feel there is an
openness toward addressing them.

“I am very hopeful they are chang-
ing and have realized they need to
change for the school to attract stu-
dents,” Reed said. “I really do think
Rabbi Cohen is a much more open-
minded head of school than Rabbi
Grossman, who was not interested
in changing the status quo.”
Cohen may come by his open-
mindedness honestly. He is the son
of the late Rabbi Eliezer Cohen,
founder of Congregation Or
Chadash in Oak Park, an inclusive
Orthodox shul. One of its founding
precepts, according to its website,
was that women have a place in
the synagogue. Following rational-
ist halachic Judaism, women recite
Kaddish in the presence of a minyan,
read from the liturgy, open the ark,
and deliver summaries of the week’s
Torah portion and haftarah — all
activities permitted by Halachah.
Now, Azaryah Cohen serves as co-
rabbi of Or Chadash.
Roz Keith had two children at FJA
over seven years. She and her family
are Temple Israel members. Her son,
Hunter, graduated this year.
“FJA was a great school for both
kids in different ways,” she said. “It
can be a very stressful, competitive
academic environment. It was not
necessarily the best academic situa-
tion for Hunter because they didn’t
always have the right academic sup-
port for him; so, from that aspect,
FJA is not one-size-fits-all.
“It became a different school over
the years we were there; there was
a lot of staff turnover, which was
a bigger negative than the Reform
rabbis teaching. I felt when Hunter
graduated there were a lot of teach-
ers I didn’t know. When Danielle
graduated in 2014, most teachers
had been there for years and years.
“I hope things are changing
with Rabbi Cohen. I like him; he’s
approachable, down to earth and has
the students’ best interests at heart.”

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October 12 • 2017

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