18 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020
Her family grew up at Temple Israel,
where her great-grandparents were
founding members. Through her hus-
band, they’
re connected with The Shul.
But not everyone these days is choos-
ing to engage with Judaism through
such classic routes, she noted.
“
A lot of people my age haven’
t con-
nected the same way,
” she said. “So,
we need some other way to connect
us because we’
re looking for people of
a similar stage of life to connect with
Jewishly.
”
Megan Topper joined the Facebook
group about four years ago when she
had her first child. Over the years,
it’
d been a place to search for doctors
and get recommendations — and
then she used it to find a house. It was
2018 when she saw a post by someone
whose neighbor was selling their home
in a West Bloomfield neighborhood
she’
d been interested in.
“I saw the post and figured it
couldn’
t hurt to check it out,
” she said.
“We literally sat down for coffee and
bought their house.
” The mom who
wrote the post lives across the street.
Meanwhile, Barr, who has also
found a sense of camaraderie in Jewish
Moms Of Metro Detroit, said being
part of the group has built her com-
munity. For example, once when she
responded to a post by a woman look-
ing for maternity clothes, she wound
up with a playdate.
“She pulled into my driveway and it
was late summer,
” Barr recalled. “My
daughter was playing in a kiddie pool
on our front lawn, so her son runs out
of the car and jumps into the pool.
”
Years later, the families are still
friends. Working full time and living in
Bloomfield Hills, while the other fam-
ily lives in Commerce, Barr said she’
s
not sure they would have met other-
wise. “It’
s kind of a spur-of-the-mo-
ment chance meeting, and we formed
a really nice friendship,
” she said.
Barr said she appreciates that
Jewsish Moms Of Metro Detroit is
always only a tap away, but also wishes
she could meet more of the moms in
person.
“The same moms I talk to in the
group, I’
d love to be able to sit down
with them and go out for coffee, but
the reality is that everyone is trying
to fit so much in Monday through
Sunday,
” she said.
“When it’
s not possible to have that
face-to-face interaction, this is really a
great starting point — it’
s convenient,
it’
s quick, and it’
s sort of 24/7.
”
Local Jewish Facebook
Groups Gain Traction
Moms aren’
t the only ones finding their communi-
ties online. Growing Facebook groups exist around
topics such as Detroit’
s Jewish history, area events,
food and memories.
Detroit Jewish History, which has some 4,700
members, started small but has expanded to include
Jewish Detroiters from all over the country, who use
it as a place to connect and share memories.
Larry Gunsberg of Northville, a fourth-gener-
ation Detroiter, said he enjoys taking part in the
community that is emerging and, in many cases,
reconnecting via the group. His brother, who lives
in Chicago, listed a bunch of pizza places from the
1960s. “It generated literally hundreds of responses,
and debate going back and forth about who made
the best pizza and why,” he recalled.
Conversations pop up around pictures, neighbor-
hoods and more, he said. “I would say this particular
page has generated and really opened up this whole
source of memory and information that people have
been carrying around with them their entire adult
lives, and gives them the opportunity to share this
with their friends, neighbors and relatives.”
Fred Cislo of Wyandotte, who until recently was
an admin for the group, said its membership has
exploded in the last several months.
“People want their children and grandchildren
to see the memories,” he said. “They want them to
learn what Jewish Detroit was like and what value it
still has — that there are things in Detroit for people
to be interested in.”
Marty Babayov of Southfield is a moderator on
Facebook for Jewish Detroit, which has some 1,600
members, with a few hundred waiting for approval.
The group, with members from across the Jewish
spectrum, helps people stay tied to the Jewish com-
munity, even if they aren’
t otherwise affiliated. “The
idea is to give them a connection into the communi-
ty — maybe they’
ll see a Chanukah event and pop
by,” Babayov said.
Jewish Facebookers of Metro Detroit describes
itself as “a place for Jews of all backgrounds to
meet and Shmuz.” It currently has 252 members.
Groups like Jewish Moms Of Metro Detroit
sometimes have so much going on that specific
discussions lead to spinoff where conversations
can continue unencumbered. These include Free
Exchange-Jewish Moms & Ladies of Metro Detroit,
Jewish Moms of Metro Detroit Swap and JMoms Do
Weight Watchers.
ERIN KIRKLAND
continued from page 16
This motto is perfect for the Jewish Moms Of Metro Detroit Facebook group.
Jews in the D