24 May 30 • 2019
jn

Measles ‘Outbreak’ Over 
Despite New Case in St. Clair County

The measles outbreak that shook Metro 
Detroit for about a month has died 
down. After 43 measles cases were 
reported by the Michigan Department 
of Health and Human Services from 
March 13 to April 17, no new cases 
were reported until May 18, when 
it confirmed a new case in St. Clair 
County from an international traveler. 
The new case is not related to the origi-
nal outbreak, health officials say.
During an April interview with the 
JN, epidemiologist Dr. Jeffrey Band 
predicted the outbreak would be under 
control after Passover, due to the efforts 
of local health departments identifying 
possible exposure zones and getting 
people vaccinated within 72 hours of 
exposure.
“It has died down largely because of 
the health department’
s excellent sur-
veillance coupled with immunity rates 
in the low 90s,” Band said. “In any case, 
in a cluster, we have a high chance of 
extermination. It is harder in big cities 
like New York.”

Band believes the outbreak raised 
awareness of the measles problem and 
prompted people to get vaccinated, with 
help from the health departments.
“It’
s been a wonderful effort from 
the Pontiac and Southfield depart-
ments,” he said. “Not only on-site, but 
at certain locales as well, bringing the 
vaccinations to public places such as a 
synagogue.”
This measles outbreak has also raised 
more awareness for vaccines in general. 
Recently Band saw a college student 
with a case of rubella, commonly 
known as the mumps, which is prevent-
able with the same MMR vaccine that 
combats measles.
“It’
s been at least 10 years since the 
last mumps case I’
ve seen,” he said.
According to the Oakland County 
Health Division, if you do not have 
documentation of two measles vac-
cines from a doctor or Michigan Care 
Improvement Registry (MCIR), get 
vaccinated. If you are unsure if you’
ve 
had measles, contact your healthcare 
provider to get vaccinated. ■

MICHAEL PEARCE JN INTERN

Patti
 
Nemer

Empl
oyee 
of
 
t
he 
Year

Aldri
ne 
Walton

Barbara 
and 
Irvi
ng 
Nusbaum
Vol
unt
eer 
of
 
t
he 
Year

Renee 
Unger

Communit
y 
Par
t
ner 
of
 
t
he 
Year

ACCESS

Incoming 
Chairperson

Juli
e 
Tei
cher 

Out
going 
Chairperson

Suzan 
F. 
Curhan

1st 
Pl
ace- Tom Sherman 

2nd 
Pl
ace- 

 3rd 
Pl
ace- Samuel Gawel 

Essay 
Cont
est
 
Winners


J E W I S H F A M I L Y S E R V I C E 
A N N U A L M E E T I N G
and Community Recognition Night

Kehillat Etz Chayim of Detroit will 
welcome Rabbi Irving “Yitz” and Blu 
Greenberg for its first Visiting Scholars 
Weekend, from Friday, June 14, through 
Sunday morning, June 16, sponsored in 
honor of Drs. David and Judith Singer. 
Rabbi Greenberg has served for six 
decades in the American rabbinate, in 
academia (Yeshiva University) and in 
Jewish communal organizations and 
lay leadership education. He has been 
a leading thinker on pluralism and 
dialogue, theology after the Holocaust 
and the ethics of Jewish power. He is 
the author of The Jewish Way and For 
the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New 
Encounter of Judaism and Christianity.
Blu Greenberg, known as the “mother 
of Orthodox feminism,
” is a lecturer and 
activist in the Jewish communal world 
with interest in Jewish family, the inter-
action of tradition and contemporary 
living, and dialogue, both interfaith and 
Jewish-Palestinian. She is the author of 
On Women and Judaism: A View from 
Tradition and How to Run a Traditional 
Jewish Household.
She will speak at 7:30 p.m. Friday 

during services, 13000 Victoria, 
Huntington Woods. Rabbi Greenberg 
will speak Shabbat morning after ser-
vices on “The Death and Resurrection 
of Modern Orthodoxy: Is it good for 
the Jews?” Services start at 9:30 a.m. at 
14601 Lincoln Road, Oak Park. 
At a Seudah Sh’
lishit open to the 
community at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at 
25322 Parkwood, Huntington Woods, 
Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Etz Chayim will 
lead a discussion with the Greenbergs 
on “Contemporary Challenges Facing 
Modern Orthodoxy.
”
The Greenbergs will also lecture at 
10 a.m. Sunday morning, June 16, on 
“Every Human Being is in the Image 
of God” (Irving) and “The Agunah 
Problem and the Resolution” (Blu). 
Sunday’
s lectures will showcase Rabbi 
Greenberg’
s participation in a new 
Orthodox rabbinic organization, Torat 
Chayim, with several rabbis from 
Detroit.
Go to etzchayimdetroit.org for details, 
or send an email to etzchayimwoods@
gmail.com. ■

jews d
in 
the

Rabbi Irving and Blu Greenberg 
Will Be Visiting Scholars In June