moments

Bernie with his children, Marc Jonas, Suezanne Winkelman and Rabbi Shmaya Jonas

A Family Man Turns 95

R

emember
your class trip
to wherever
it may have been?
One memento was
probably a class
picture that, when
unrolled, covered
Sy Manello
the table top.
Editorial Assistant
Imagine, if you
will, such a large
photo but of only
one family. This is
the case of most simchahs celebrated
by the family of Bernard Jonas of West
Bloomfield, who turned 95 on July 28.
Attending a luncheon at The Shul
were his children and their spouses as
well as many of his 35 grandchildren
and 75 great-grandchildren.
Bernie has strong Midwestern roots,
having been born in Aurora, Ill., in
1923. He was the oldest of 12 children,
seven of whom are still living. The
importance of family shows itself in
the fact that four of the siblings, in
this area, still meet each Tuesday for
lunch.
Though Bernie had a career — he
worked for several companies all
dealing with the fastener business
and in 1970 was inducted into the
Ohio Fastener Hall of Fame — the
driving forces in his life are family and
tzedakah.
The idea of giving to others was
instilled in Bernie at a young age by
the example set by his father. When
asked for contributions, Bernie’s
dad made sure that the boys were
present before funds were transferred.
The kids were encouraged to get
explanations for the use of the money
from the solicitor and were then
told to get checks prepared. It was
important that they realized what the
money was going toward.
Helping others is demonstrated
by Bernie in his work at Yad Ezra,
among other volunteer projects. He
has even arranged to have one of his
own children donate unsold calendars
from his stock to the deserving

40

August 23 • 2018

jn

families served by the food pantry.
Yad Ezra recognized Bernie’s work by
naming him Volunteer of the Year in
2007.
Bernie has been an active
member in other facets of the Jewish
community in Detroit for many years.
Early on, he became a member of the
board of the B’nai B’rith Organization
and remained so for more than 50
years. In addition to Yad Ezra, he has
worked with the American Jewish
Committee and Hebrew Benevolent
Society. He was also involved with the
Northwest Detroit Baseball League,
and he remains a stalwart presence
at Congregation B’nai Moshe in West
Bloomfield.
Because of his active involvement,
he was honored by Jewish Senior Life
as a recipient of an Eight Over Eighty
Award in 2016.
The honors are nice, he admits, but
what brings a real twinkle to Bernie’s
eyes? His family. He is delighted to
recount the latest simchah, the work
experiences, the educational progress
of each and every one of the young
ones.
When asked if he keeps a roster of
who’s who, he acknowledged that he
has a list, prepared by his daughter,
of all the offspring, noting each one’s
birthday. At the beginning of each
month, he sits down and writes
checks for that month’s “honorees.”
The return of this “investment” is in
the form of regular phone calls to
check up on him or to just visit briefly.
At least five local grandchildren call to
visit regularly before Shabbat.
Of course, I had to ask this
nonagenarian his secret to such a long
life. One component, Bernie admits,
is thanks to two of his children who
arranged for a personal trainer to
come to his home two or three times a
week to supervise workouts.
Family and giving are the mainstays
of Bernie Jonas’ being. L’chayim,
Bernie, to a life well lived and to many
more productive years. •

Jessica Sarah
Bienstock, daugh-
ter of Sheryl and
Michael Bienstock,
will chant from the
Torah on the occa-
sion of her bat
mitzvah on
Bienstock
Saturday, Aug. 25,
2018, at Temple
Israel in West
Bloomfield. She will be joined in cel-
ebration by her sister Rebecca and
proud grandparents Vickie and Dr.
Burton Leib, Rise Bienstock-Stein
and Norman Bienstock.
She is a student at Orchard Lake
Middle School in West Bloomfield.
As part of her family’s tradition,
Jessica formed her own Relay for Life
Mitzvah Team called Team Jessica
Bienstock. The team raised funds
to help find a cure for all cancers.
As part of this project, Jessica also
collected coins during the year for
donation to Relay for Life.

Alexa Ronnie
Kessler, daughter
of Dr. Michelle and
Paul Kessler and
sister of Madison,
will lead the con-
gregation in prayer
as she becomes a
Alexa Kessler
bat mitzvah at
Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield on
Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. She is the
loving grandchild of Illene and Gary
Rochlen, and the late Rosaline and
Morley Kessler.
Alexa is a student at West Hills
Middle School in Bloomfield Hills.
Among her many mitzvah projects,
she found creating an Instagram
page to market and sell “Slime for
Smiles” to raise funds for the Crohn’s
and Colitis Foundation to be the
most meaningful. She was also able
to donate the slime to pediatric
patients at Beaumont Hospital.

Madison Ellie
Kessler, surround-
ed by family and
friends, will chant
from the Torah on
the occasion of her
bat mitzvah at
Temple Israel in
Madison Kessler
West Bloomfield on
Saturday, Aug. 25,
2018. She will be
joined in celebration by her proud
parents, Dr. Michelle and Paul
Kessler, and sister Alexa. Madison is
the grandchild of Illene and Gary
Rochlen, and the late Rosaline and
Morley Kessler.

She is a student at West Hills
Middle School in Bloomfield Hills.
For her most meaningful project,
Madison created and sold “Slime
for Smiles” from which she donated
all proceeds to St. Jude’s Research
Hospital. She also provided slime
to pediatric patients at Beaumont
Hospital.

Elliana Sibelle
Michaels, sur-
rounded by family
and friends, will
lead the congrega-
tion in prayer as
she becomes a bat
mitzvah on
Michaels
Saturday, Aug. 25,
2018, at Temple
Israel in West
Bloomfield. She will be joined in cel-
ebration by her proud parents,
Stephanie and Cantor Neil Michaels,
and brother Shane. Ellie is the lov-
ing grandchild of Audrey and Lucian
Michaels, and Alicia and the late
Fred Garza.
She is a student at Clifford
Smart Middle School in Commerce
Township. For her most meaning-
ful mitzvah project, Ellie gave her
time to help end food insecurity in
our community by volunteering at
Temple Israel’s Fresh Food Pantry.

Noah Ostheimer
will become a bar
mitzvah on
Saturday, Aug. 25,
2018, at Temple
Beth El in
Bloomfield
Township. Noah is
Ostheimer
the son of Camilo
and Jennifer
Ostheimer, the
brother of Sarah and the grandson
of Leonor and the late Gerd
Ostheimer, and Alice Labowski and
the late John Labowski.
He is in the eighth grade at
Clarkston Junior High School. With
Rabbi Daniel B. Syme’s support,
Noah helped to create Angels and
Dreamers, a charitable organization
that assists children in their person-
al quests to heal the world.

continued on page 42