F

unerals are for the living, 
as observed by many 
commentators, and the 
pandemic has upended tradi-
tional mourning rituals. The 
three local Jewish funeral homes 
have followed strict guidelines 

from the state of Michigan and 
Michigan Board of Rabbis to 
limit potential infection from 
the coronavirus. 
As a result, friends have not 
been able to greet family mem-
bers of the deceased in per-

son — a common practice for 
funerals prior to the pandemic. 
 The comforting touch of 
a clasped hand and words of 
shared sorrow have all been 
missing. “COVID has been 
such a strain on the family,
” 
says Joshua Tobias of the Ira 
Kaufman Chapel in Southfield. 
The Ira Kaufman Chapel 
is adding an outdoor drive-
through greeting line adjacent 
to the chapel’s family room for 
small indoor funerals. Family 
members of the deceased will be 
able to greet friends who drive 
up in their cars from this out-
door sheltered area. 
Tobias says each driver will 
be able to sign a registry book 
held by an Ira Kaufman staff 
member and then drive up, one 
car at a time, to greet mourning 
family members. “It won’t be a 
long visit but it’s a really good 
way to bring people together,
” 
he adds.
Ira Kaufman funeral director 

David Techner adds, “We want 
comfort for the family and that 
is available now.
” 
Those attending funerals 
inside the chapel will notice 
“some significant changes with 
no more than 25 people attend-
ing except clergy and staff,
” 
Techner explains. “There will be 
social distancing, masks, tem-
perature checks and hand san-
itizer. We have removed some 
rows of pews at the front to 
provide more distance between 
those conducting the service 
and others. We will be removing 
more pews to provide a 10-foot 
distance between each pew.
” 
Attendance maximums and 
other safeguards will comply 
with changing state regula-
tions and guidelines from the 
Michigan Board of Rabbis. 
He adds that live-streamed 
funerals will continue to be 
available and will start after the 
drive-up greeting line is com-
pleted. 

 DECEMBER 10 • 2020 | 25

IN 
THED
JEWS

C

aroline Dorf credits her 
paternal grandparents 
for instilling in her a 
love for Judaism. “My grandpar-
ents on my dad’s side were very 
instrumental in my Jewish iden-
tity,
” she said. “I’ve 
always had very 
fond associations of 
the High Holidays 
with my family 
or sitting around 
the Passover seder 
together, laughing 
and singing.
”

Dorf, the Springboard 
Innovation Fellow at University 
of Michigan Hillel, is one of 
just 31 professionals from the 
U.S., Mexico and Israel selected 

through a rigorous process for a 
prestigious opportunity: Cohort 
Three of the Graduate Degree 
in Israel Education Partnership. 
The goal of Springboard is to 
reimagine and redesign Jewish 
life on campus. She is the only 
Detroit participant this year.
Participants complete a one-
year program in Experiential 
Jewish Education and Israel 
Studies, earning a graduate cer-
tificate. They may opt to contin-
ue for a second year and earn a 
master’s degree. 
“What’s really special about 
this program is it’s in partner-
ship with George Washington 
University, which is an amaz-
ing university, and its iCenter 

[which focuses on education 
about Israel],
” Dorf said. “I did 
a program with the iCenter in 
January, their Birthright Fellows 
program in San Diego, right 
before the whole world shut 
down, and it was such an amaz-
ing experience in the way that 
they were teaching about Israel 
and creating experiences for 
participants of that program.
” 
Dorf grew up in Delaware 
County near Philadelphia in 
an interfaith home. “We were 
members of a Reform syna-
gogue, and I had a bat mitzvah, 
but we were also exposed to 
Christmas, which I think gave 
us a really rich background. It 
wasn’t until I got to college and 
became involved with Penn 
State Hillel that I found this 
passion for Israel and Jewish life 
and realized that it was some-
thing I wanted to do profession-
ally.
” 
While at Penn State, Dorf 

also went to Israel on Birthright, 
staffed Birthright and spent a 
summer doing research in Israel 
for an honor’s thesis. 
Dorf believes her back-
ground helps her work with 
students at Hillel. “I’m able to 
reach students who are from 
backgrounds like me, who had 
an interfaith home growing 
up. This is what the future of 
the Jewish world looks like, at 
least from my perspective, and 
I think that it’s important to 
have representation of that in 
the professional Jewish world 
as well.
”
Through her cohort, diverse 
with people from different facets 
of Jewish life, and the program, 
Dort sees it as “a really great 
way to grow as a professional 
and supplement what I’m doing 
through Springboard. It aligns 
with my hopes for my future 
career in working in the Israel 
educational world.
” 

U-M Hillel fellow selected for 
prestigious Jewish program.

CHERYL WEISS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Campus Innovation 

ICENTER

Caroline 
Dorf 

Ira Kaufman Chapel introduces 
drive-up greeting lines for funerals.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Pandemic 
Mourning

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

Drive-up 

greeting line. 

The chapel interior

