16 | APRIL 2 • 2020 

W

ith the coronavi-
rus keeping people 
housebound, the JCC 
of Metro Detroit has geared up to 
offer online programs across its 
many departments, from toddlers 
to senior citizens. 
“We have a responsibility to 
continue to engage our commu-

nity — mind, body and soul,
” 
Brian D. Siegel, CEO of the JCC, 
said, citing Jewish teachings 
about feeling responsible for one 
another. 
Mikki Frank, the JCC’
s JFamily 
director, said connection is “more 
critical than ever.
”
She said families are express-

ing feelings of isolation, sadness 
about separation from relatives, 
guilt around juggling work and 
family and fears about loved ones 
getting sick. 
On the JFamily Facebook page 
(JfamilyDet), find daily story 
times, craft-alongs, virtual field 
trips and other activities. 
PJ Library Parent Connector 
Lindsay Mall goes live every 
Wednesday for weekly Rock 
’
N‘
 Read sessions, presented by 
PJ Library Detroit and JBaby 
(Jbaby Detroit on Facebook). A 
New Moms Support Group has 
been added, and JFamily will 
provide Passover resources and 
activities.
Jaemi Loeb, senior director of 
cultural arts, had been finalizing 
schedules for the annual Lenore 
Marwil Detroit Jewish Film 
Festival slated for May 3-13, but 
the event has been postponed, as 
have many other live events her 
department presents. 

Look for live-streamed 
concerts with talkbacks, live 
discussions with authors (car-
toonist Ben Katchor, April 2) 
and virtual Netflix film par-
ties and discussions hosted by 
Loeb are part of the upcoming 
lineup. (Check JCC Cultural Arts 
on Facebook.)
Within a day, JCC’
s JLearn 
transitioned to Zoom class-
es with a participation rate of 
about 80 percent, says director 
Shelley Chaness. Visit JLearn on 
Facebook or jccdet.org/jlearn for 
class details.
Lori Semel of West Bloomfield 
is part of a yearlong JLearn class, 
“Halachic Debate,
” taught by 
Rabbi Michele Faudem. 
“The whole class loves being 
able to connect with new people 
in the community,
” Semel said. 
“
And there are bonuses to taking 
the class online — we have better 
coffee at home, and we can wear 
our pajamas.
” 

W

hen Otto Dube, man-
aging funeral director 
of Hebrew Memorial 
Chapel in Oak Park, wanted to 
buy protective masks for his staff 
and the families they serve, he 
found it would take weeks to get 
them. Dube meets with families 
at stressful moments, now made 
even more stressful by the coro-
navirus. 
Waiting weeks wouldn’
t do, so 
it got him thinking. 
“I’
ve always thought of 
Judaism as a study of human 
nature that provides practical 
answers to life’
s problems,
” Dube 
said. “I asked myself: ‘
What can 
Judaism do to help out here?’
”
Dube wears a kippah and 

found himself reaching up to 
adjust it, which gave him an idea. 
He had seen videos of how to 
turn a paper towel into a mask, 
which didn’
t impress him, but 
now he was thinking about how 
to turn a kippah into a mask. 
Around the country, people 

are sewing homemade cloth 
masks for friends and healthcare 
workers. There’
s even a proj-
ect online to make 3D-printed 
masks. 
Hebrew Memorial buys the 
ubiquitous simple black kippot 
by the case. So Dube began to 
fiddle with one folded in half in 
an oval shape and, by simply sta-
pling rubber bands at each end 
of the kippah, he came up with 
a mask that neatly covered the 
mouth and nose. Because these 
kippot are made of synthetic 
nylon, if worn correctly, saliva or 
droplets shouldn’
t be able to get 
through to possibly infect anoth-
er person, Dube says. 
After Dube made a few, he was 
meeting with a family about a 
funeral; one of them was a doc-
tor. Dube showed him the kip-
pah mask and the doctor said he 
was impressed. “He put [a photo 
of it] on Facebook to share with 

friends,
” Dube said.
After checking with rabbis to 
be sure the mask was “kosher” 
to use this way, he made a 
video with the help of his son, 
Ami, 22. They uploaded it to 
YouTube (“Homemade Kippah 
Masks” had 10,350 views as 
of March 30) and posted it on 
Facebook. Similarly, a man in the 
Netherlands posted a YouTube 
video March 9 showing multiple 
uses for a kippah, including as a 
mask against the coronavirus. 
After posting, Dube sent 
a message and a link to local 
Jewish clergy who might also 
want to repurpose some of their 
classic black yarmulkes.
If you have this type of 
yarmulke on hand, you can 
make your own mask. If you 
need a kippah mask, call Hebrew 
Memorial at (248) 543-1623 
for pick-up or to make other 
arrangements. 

DON COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

DUBE FAMILY

Otto Dube created this kippah mask.

Pray It, Don’t Spray It

“Kippah mask” can be easily made at home. 

Keeping In Touch

JCC goes online with offerings for every age. 

STAFF AND LOCAL REPORTS 

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