26 | DECEMBER 19 • 2019 

Jews in the D

one of the most beloved 
is Jewish Family Service’
s 
Adopt-A-Family program. 
Families in need give an 
anonymous “wish list” to 
JFS, which then shares it 
with generous local families 
who try to fulfill them.
Julie and Eric Rosenbaum 
of Novi are one of several 
families who adopt a family 
with the PJ Library network 
of parents. “We deliberately 
seek out families with kids 
the same ages as ours, 
which gives us a tangible 
and direct opportunity to 
talk with our kids about 
how, while they enjoy 
holiday abundance, there 
are other kids who don’
t get 
to enjoy the same things. 
So, we’
re making sure they 
have a nice experience like 
we have,” Rosenbaum said. 
Though she admits her 
kids Simon, 4, and Pearl, 2, 
are really too young to fully 
comprehend yet, she said 
these discussions are surely 
planting the seeds for the 
future and how they want 
their children to act. 
“Doing this builds a 
connection to a family 
we don’
t know; it’
s an 
opportunity to reinforce a 
value we try to embody,” 
she said. 
Beyond sending money 
and gifts, some people give 
the gift of themselves. Last 

year, the Fradkin family of 
Farmington Hills joined 
The Shul as they visited 
residents at Fleischman 
Residence of Jewish Senior 
Life in West Bloomfield for 
menorah lighting.
Dr. Anna Strumba, Yakov 
Fradkin and their sons 
Eliyah, 14, and Shlomo, 4, 
sang while Eliyah played 
the piano. Strumba said, “It 
was so meaningful to see 
how happy the music made 
the residents and how much 
they appreciated our visit.”
She said her thoughts 
naturally turned to 
her father-in-law, now 
deceased, who at the time 
was in a nursing home 
in Minnesota. She hoped 
families in Minnesota were 
brightening his holiday just 
like they were doing for the 
folks at Fleischman. 

continued from page 24

The Fradkin men with a Fleischman 
resident last Chanukah

COURTESY FRADKIN FAMILY
COURTESY FRADKIN FAMILY

Debra Yamron Yamstein and her 
children Shira, 10, and Noa, 8, play 
dreidel with Bubbie.

COURTESY YAMSTEIN FAMILY 

Dr. Anna Strumba, Yakov Fradkin and 
their sons Eliyah, 14, and Shlomo, 4

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