PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MELTZER FAMILY

FOR PHYSICIANS & HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Bathers at The Schvitz enjoy a meal and camaraderie in this historic photo.

financial reasons.”)
Jessie Nigl, a partner in The Schvitz
restoration project, is a former gen-
eral manager at Selden Standard, the
upscale midtown Detroit eatery. She
envisions her role as one of infusing
the club with high-caliber hospital-
ity and an array of wellness services.
She’s also looking forward to re-open-
ing the space with both women-only
and coed programming (bathing suit
required).
“This had previously been a men-
only club and not considered a safe
space for women,” she said. “I would
say this is what I feel most passion-
ately about in the project, and I feel
very blessed to have the full support of
my partners, Paddy and Alan.”
Jessie may have some histori-
cal precedent to bolster her move:
Paddy’s construction team recently
uncovered what they believe is a
boarded-up mikvah, or Jewish ritual
bath, in the building’s former game/
swingers’ room. They invited Rabbi
Yisrael Pinson, executive director of
Chabad of Greater Downtown Detroit,
to investigate their find and he’s “100
percent” convinced it’s authentic and
probably dates to the time of the busi-
ness’ opening.
“Any bathhouse that Jews frequent-
ed would have had a mikvah,” Pinson
said, noting that the Torah gives two
options for mikvah water sources: (1)
mayyim chaim, literally “living water”
from a river, stream, lake or ocean, or
(2) rainwater collected in an adjoined
reservoir. A small pipe connecting
the mikvah pool, which is filled with
treated city water, to the rainwater
reservoir allows for a free flow, or
“kissing” in Talmudic terms, of waters
between the two pools when a plug
separating them is pulled out.
This exact setup is present in The
Schvitz mikvah, Pinson says, along
with an outside door that would have
allowed women to enter separately
from the men. Finally, he found the
characteristic seven steps into the

mikvah, which correspond to the
seven kavanot (intentions) for mikvah
preparation that a woman would
recite while entering.
Although it might appear odd
that a secular hotel and bathhouse
frequented by gangsters would also
serve as a site of ritual purification,
Pinson notes the richness and com-
plexity of the Jewish community in
1930s North End Detroit as he brush-
es off the doubts.
“Even the Purple Gang came to shul
on Yom Kippur,” he said.
Back at the open house, Yom
Kippur 2017 has just ended and a
motley crew of suburban millennials,
their parents and curious Detroiters
— born-and-raised veterans and
returned expats alike — mill around
The Schvitz, admiring the curious
building. As in all things Detroit today,
the many layers of often-contradicting
history laid upon each other give way
to more than a little bit of cognitive
dissonance. Paddy, Alan and Jessie
don’t seem to mind too much. They’re
focused on honoring the past without
whitewashing it, on seeing the best in
The Schvitz even through its worst of
times.
Nearly a century after its founding,
The Schvitz still steams on. If you
ask Alan how it survived all the years
and the human commotion it engen-
dered across the decades, he’ll make
an analogy to the steam room itself,
where hot coals splashed with water
raise the temperature well above 100
degrees Fahrenheit.
“It’s not the heat, it’s how you
handle it,” he said. “The heat is gonna
be there. You’ve got to learn how to
embrace it.” •

To learn more about The Schvitz, visit
schvitzdetroit.com or call (313) 871-9707. The
Michigan Jewish Historical Society will host
Nosh Gen: A Night at The Schvitz-Rediscover
the Oakland Bath House on Saturday, Feb 24,
6:30-9 p.m. at The Schvitz, 8295 Oakland Ave.,
Detroit. Visit michjewishhistory.org.

Br eaking
Ba d
Ne ws

JHCN, JFMD and HOM invite you to join us for an
important evening with Rachelle Bernacki, M.D., a leading
voice in the effort to teach healthcare professionals

How to Have the
Serious Illness Conversation

A free symposium and workshop hosted by
JHCN Medical Director Jeffrey Forman, M.D., F.A.C.R.

Featuring Rachelle Bernacki, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
Wednesday, November 15

Adat Shalom Synagogue
29901 Middlebelt Road • Farmington Hills

The program will offer:
I How to comfortably and effectively communicate
prognostic information to your seriously ill patients.
I A clinical demonstration of working through the
Serious Illness Conversation Guide.
I A one-on-one workshop for healthcare professionals on
how to use the Guide with their seriously/terminally
ill patients.
Agenda:
6:00 PM – Dinner
7:00 PM – Presentation by Dr. Rachelle Bernacki
7:50 PM – Demonstration with Dr. Jeffrey Forman
& Dr. Michael Paletta
8:15 PM – Dessert
8:30 PM – Workshop (Limited space available)
9:15 PM – Program Ends

Register at:
jewishdetroit.org/events or contact
Cheryl Weiss at cweiss@jewishhospice.org or 248-592-2687

RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW! SPACE IS LIMITED .

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November 2 • 2017

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