March 28 • 2019 5
jn

F

or decades, the Jewish com-
munity moved in a north-by-
northwest direction as the 
bulk of its population followed a 
path that took it from Northwest 
Detroit to Southfield, Farmington 
Hills, West Bloomfield and as far as 
Commerce. Anticipating or respond-
ing to this geographic shift, the Jewish 
Federation, many of its beneficiary 
agencies, synagogues and other orga-
nizations invested in facilities, build-
ings and programs.
Findings from the Federation-
sponsored 2018 Detroit Jewish 
Population Study — including signif-
icant increases in Jewish young fam-
ilies in the older inner-ring suburbs 
of Huntington Woods, Oak Park, 
Ferndale, Royal Oak and Berkley and 
significant loss of Jewish population in 
places like Farmington Hills — require 
fundamental reassessments of long-
term planning and resource allocation. 
Quite simply, our Jewish community’
s 
physical and programmatic epicen-

ter is shifting toward 10 Mile and 
Greenfield in Oak Park or 11 Mile and 
Coolidge on the Huntington Woods/
Oak Park/Berkley border — and 
away from Maple and Drake (West 
Bloomfield).
As our cover story shows (see page 
12), Jewish life along the Woodward 
Avenue corridor from Ferndale up to 
Birmingham — especially for young 
families with children — is increas-
ingly vibrant, diverse and in need of 
additional communal resources and 
engagement. And while the Jewish 
community in adjoining Oak Park 
has remained relatively stable in top-
line numbers, just beneath its surface 
remains a burgeoning number of 
Orthodox families with young chil-
dren.
According to the study, 41 percent 
of the Detroit Jewish community’
s 
Orthodox population is under age 18 
and concentrated in this area.
The 2005 Detroit Jewish Population 
Study had served as a benchmark 

to measure the community’
s size, 
composition and geographic progres-
sion. Unlike Farmington Hills, West 
Bloomfield continues to possess a 
major Jewish population concentra-
tion. However, these Jewish house-
holds now skew heavily toward elderly 
and empty-nesters whose needs — 
especially through agencies like Jewish 
Family Service and Jewish Senior Life 
— are likely to continue to grow.
The 2018 population study data 
should be raising yellow flags for any 
Jewish school, day camp, synagogue, 
youth group or social service agency 
whose population assumptions and 
business models are not built around 
family composition and growth con-
centrated in older eastern Oakland 
County communities. Federation 
needs to assure that the data from the 
study are used to update a strategy 
and compelling vision for our Jewish 
community — and that it fully solicits 
input from the overall community 
before, and not after, doing so. ■

S

ometimes there’
s a fine line 
between being optimistic and 
being in denial.
For example, 
despite many 
previous shopping 
trips ending similarly, 
I’
ll tell myself, “Hey, I 
only need two things 
from the grocery 
store — its such a 
lovely day — why not 
walk?’
 And off I’
ll go, 
feeling all pleased with myself. 
Then I’
ll get to the store and 
think, “Oh, I don’
t need a shopping 
cart; I’
m only getting two things; 
I’
ll carry them.” So, I’
ll breeze past 
the carts with all the optimism of 
a chronic dieter with the mantra: 
“This time will be different.”
Fast forward five minutes. Twelve 
items are balanced on top of each 
other in my arms; my chins (both 
of them) have the important job 
of firmly holding the top item into 
place so things won’
t come toppling 

down like a scene in The Cat in the 
Hat, and I’
m shuffling carefully to 
the check-out line. 
Murphy’
s Law says there 
are going to be five folks with 
overflowing carts in front of me 
(Murphy’
s Law is in the same 
category but mostly unrelated to 
Mommy’
s Law, which is when the 
kids start crying as soon as the 

phone rings … and Coles Law, 
which is shredded cabbage and can 
be found in the vegetable aisle.)
Then I’
m walking home with five 
or six heavy plastic bags digging 
into my fingers, which leave painful 
red marks for the next few hours. 
I blame the sales. And that 
mysterious magnetism that comes 
with the words “limited edition.” 

 editorial
Reassessing Our Communal Needs

 
Rochel Burstyn

views

Fine Lines and Grocery Shopping

continued on page 10

essay

For information, 
contact Tracey Proghovnick 

(248) 661-1836 
jslmi.org

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