24 | NOVEMBER 28 • 2019

A Place
to Gather

Clover Hill gets ready to open the
Berman Shiva Center on the grounds
of the cemetery.

JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jews in the D

S

hortly after Clover Hill
Park Cemetery Executive
Director Kim Raznik and
Clover Hill Board Chairman
Gregg Orley came to their posts
in the summer of 2018, they
shared a discussion
about consistent
changes in the
way shiva was
being observed by
families in Metro
Detroit.
Specifically,
shivas were getting
shorter, one or two
days, and many
were being held at
impersonal places.
“Long ago, a number of peo-
ple moved out of state,
” Orley
said. “
As their parents died,
they’
d come back home but not
have a place to hold shiva, so
they would go to a restaurant,
for example. That struck us as a
sad way to celebrate a life.
”
Orley and Raznik wanted to
create a place at Clover Hill for
families to celebrate the lives
of their loved ones, and they
realized the Mandell L. Berman
Administration Building

would be ideal. Renovations
at the building, now called
the Berman Shiva Center, are
nearly complete, and families
will be able to hold shivas and
gatherings there beginning in
December.
“We’
ve removed walls and
created a comfortable space for
families to gather with friends
and loved ones after an unveil-
ing or after an interment for
shiva and services. Families
will be able to bring in a kosher
meal as friends come to comfort
one another,
” Raznik said.
“Geographically, we are cen-
trally located so the Berman
Shiva Center is ideal for out-
of-towners who have few local
connections or for those who
want to gather with friends
and family in a convenient and
meaningful space.
”
According to Rabbi Aaron
Starr of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek, which
owns the cemetery,
“Clover Hill Park
Cemetery seeks to
fulfill the Jewish
values of kavod
hamet (honoring

Orley

continued on page 26

TOP: The Mandell L. Berman Administration Building has
been transformed into the Berman Shiva Center. ABOVE: The
Davidson/Hermelin Chapel was recently renovated.

PHOTOS BY RUDY THOMAS

Raznik

Starr