March 28 • 2019 5
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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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