One Day at a Time
Local families’
simchahs, Pesach plans are in fl
ux during the pandemic.
MAYA GOLDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
N
ormally, as spring approaches
in Metro Detroit, Jewish fami-
lies in the area find themselves
venturing outside, preparing for Passover
and maybe even planning a wedding or
b’
nai mitzvah celebration.
This year, things are different.
As COVID-19, the novel coronavirus,
spreads through the United States, Metro
Detroit families are feeling its impact.
Most local synagogues have closed their
in-person operations through Passover.
Schools are closed, and restaurants have
now moved to offering only take-out
and delivery. With each day comes new
information about the virus’
spread —
and new guidelines on how to prevent it
from reaching disastrous levels.
For many families in the area, this
means long-anticipated events must be
altered or postponed.
PLANS CHANGING FAST
Brooke Radner had been looking
forward to her bat mitzvah, planned
for Friday, March 13, for years. As
of Wednesday, March 11, her family
knew there were cases of COVID-19 in
Michigan. But everything seemed con-
tained — they figured Brooke’
s service
and party would be able to go on as
normal.
Things started to change March 12
as sports leagues, amusement parks and
restaurants began to close operations.
Knollwood Country Club, where the
Radners planned to host Brooke’
s party,
was still willing to host, but Melanee
Radner, Brooke’
s mom, said she started
to have second thoughts.
“How could I have a party knowing
all this was happening, even though
Knollwood was going to accommodate
me?” she said.
The Radners of West Bloomfield
decided to postpone the party later that
day. That night, Temple Israel called and
asked if the family could narrow the
number of guests invited to the service.
Then, at 3 p.m. March 13 — only five
hours before the service — the West
Bloomfield synagogue decided to limit
the service to only immediate family, and
to livestream it so the rest of the guests
could watch.
The family consid-
ered postponing the
service as well, but
Brooke didn’
t want to
wait. She’
d been look-
ing forward to this
moment, and she was
ready.
“I was really, really
excited,
” Brooke said.
“[During the service],
I felt weird, looking
up and seeing only my close family. But
after … it made feel relieved because my
service was over and all I had to look
forward to was my party.
”
Melanee Radner said she also felt
strange, looking up at Brooke on the
bimah in an almost-empty sanctuary.
But when the service was over and the
continued on page 14
12 | MARCH 26 • 2020
ABOVE: Brooke Radner
learned five hours before her
bat mitzvah last Friday night
that her service at Temple
Israel would be limited to
immediate family because of
the coronavirus. The empty
seats didn’
t bother her; she
was ready. Family and friends
watched the service live online.
COURTESY RADNER FAMILY
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