July 4 • 2019 23
jn

Shutterbugs

Teens document other teens’
 Jewish
involvement with their cameras.

F

rom high above the Detroit 
skyline or down low at street 
level, the teen photographers 
behind the scenes of the website 
jewsofmetrodetroit.com have been 
hard at work creating new content 
each week that documents the lives 
of area teens involved with their 
Jewish youth groups to share them 
with the world. 
Teens like Aaron Rudman, Ryan 
Goodman and Josh Rifkin, all of West 
Bloomfield, interview, photograph, 
and then edit and create content 
about their Jewish peers. Through 
their work, they get to better know 
their Jewish peers around town, thus 
strengthening the future of Detroit’
s 
Jewish community, say their youth 
advisers at three Reform synagogues: 
Temple Israel and Shir Shalom in 
West Bloomfield, and Temple Beth El 
in Bloomfield Township. 
Jews of Metro Detroit was launched 
in the fall of 2018 and funded by a 
grant from the Schulman Millennium 
Fund. 
Rudman will head to the University 
of Michigan this fall. Though not 
religious, he said his involvement 
with Jews of Metro 
Detroit has deepened 
his appreciation and 
insight into the local 
Jewish community 
while improving his 
craft in photography. 
An aspiring film 
director, his favorite 
project for the website, his last as a 
high school senior, was interview-
ing and photographing his friend, a 
musician, in a photo shoot among all 
his instruments. 
Goodman, a student at Groves 
High School, was always interested 
in photography, a skill he learned by 
watching his father. For the website, 
Goodman has photographed teens 
involved with everything from vol-
unteering at Cass Community Social 
Services to starting school envi-
ronmental clubs to combat climate 
change. 
When he isn’
t taking photos for 

the website, Goodman heads into 
the city with his Canon camera to 
the Dequindre Cut or the Eastern 
Market to take photos 
of objects most of us 
walk by without giving 
a second thought. 
“I am interested in 
taking photos of an old 
toy someone left on the 
ground or sewer grates 
from a unique angle right after it 
rains,” Goodman said. “
As one of the 
three photographers of the Jews of 
Metro Detroit website, I try to photo-
graph teens in a location that fits into 
the story of what they are passionate 
about and what they are trying to 
accomplish.”’
He keeps an Instagram for his 
shoots: r.goodman_photography. 
When using Instagram, Goodman 
advises his peers to slow down, put 
thought into a photo and ease off the 
selfies. 
“Most kids will angle their phone 
in a certain way for looks when tak-
ing a selfie but other than that, they 
are not looking for a quality shot,” 
said Goodman, who says he has 
more artistic goals in his photogra-
phy. “I do believe that platforms like 
Instagram are useful and positive 
when it comes to sharing photog-
raphy to develop and expand their 
following.” 
Rifkin, a member of Shir Shalom’
s 
Youth group, uses his Mavic PRO 
drone to fly high over his favorite 
stomping grounds like Birmingham 
or around Detroit. Rifkin has always 
wanted to fly and using 
his drone helps him get 
a bird’
s eye view of his 
favorite places without 
ever leaving the ground. 
“Ever since I was 
young, I’
ve always had 
constant interest in avi-
ation,” Rifkin said in a 
statement for the website.” In fact, 
my dream is to one day be a pilot. 
I’
m excited to tell the stories of fellow 
Jewish high school kids in my com-
munity.” ■

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Josh Rifkin

Ryan Goodman

Aaron Rudman 

Lawmakers Discuss Issues with Hadassah

At a June town hall-style meeting of Hadassah, Greater Michigan Region, state 
lawmakers spoke of issues such as gun control, reproductive choice and com-
batting anti-Semitism — all high priorities for Hadassah members. Lawmakers 
on the panel (see photo) were State Reps. Ryan Berman and Kyra Bolden, State 
Sens. Jeremy Moss and Mallory McMorrow, and State Reps. Christine Greig and 
Robert Wittenberg. 

Jewish Women’
s 
Foundation Hands 
Out Grants

The Jewish Women’
s Foundation of 
Metropolitan Detroit (JWF) marked 
its 20th grantmaking year with 
$229,988 in support of organizations 
that advance social change by expand-
ing opportunities for Jewish women, 
their families and community. 
The Jewish Women’
s Foundation 
Trustees each have a vote in sup-
porting causes that impact the lives 
of Jewish women, their families and 
community. This is achieved by pool-
ing their charitable donations and 
then, together, deciding how to allo-
cate funds. “I am very proud of the 
JWF and the grants it has approved,” 
said Debra Singer, JWF Chairperson.
To see grant allocations or find out 
about joining the Jewish Women’
s 
Foundation, visit JWFdetroit.org or 
contact JWF Director Susan Cassels 
Kamin at (248) 203.1524 or kamin@
jfmd.org.

Tamarack Camps 
Announces Its 
Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the Fresh Air 
Society of Detroit (Tamarack Camps) 
will be held on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 10 
a.m. at Camp Maas in Ortonville. 
Every Jewish contributor to the most 
recent annual campaign of both the 
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit and Tamarack Camps is enti-
tled to vote.
At the annual meeting, there will be 
the election of the new directors to the 
Board of Directors of Tamarack Camps 
and a presentation of the President’
s 
Award to Jonathan Lowe.
Following the Annual Meeting, there 
will be a brief Board of Directors meet-
ing to elect the slate of officers for a 
one-year term. In accordance with the 
current bylaws of Tamarack Camps, a 
designated a list of nominees for elec-
tion can be viewed at thejewishnews.
com/event/notice-of-annual-meeting-
of-the-fresh-air-society.

FedEd Becomes JLearn

The Jewish Community Center’
s Adult 
Jewish Learning Department, former-
ly FedEd, has been renamed JLearn. 
This better represents the transition 
of the department from the Jewish 
Federation to the Jewish Community 
Center, almost two years ago. The 
majority of classes continue to be 
held at the Max M. Fisher Federation 
Building as well as other locations 

throughout the Detroit metro area. 
“Everything is the same, except for our 
name.” 
JLearn continues to offer the same 
large selection of classes and talented 
instructors. The new fall catalog of 
offerings will soon be available both 
by mail and at jccdet.org/JLearn. Call 
(248) 205-2557 for more information 
.

