20 | JANUARY 21 • 2021

T

he Jewish Community
Center of Metro Detroit
is in the beginning
stages of developing a concept
called “Off-Center” — a satellite
JCC operation to serve as an
“east side hub” located in the
Oak Park-Berkley area and a
possible additional location in
Downtown Detroit.
JCC Assistant Executive
Director Judy Loebl, who
helped conceive of the idea,
says this is the latest step in the

JCC’s shift from
being a “building”
to a “concept” —
the ability to pro-
vide programming
to the entire Metro
Detroit Jewish
community.
The Off-Center idea is part of
the JCC’s current strategic plan,
though the center has no time-
line yet for bringing it to fru-
ition. It was discussed by JCC
CEO Brian Siegel in an inter-

view with MyJewishDetroit.
Siegel said the JCC would
explore leasing “hyper-efficient
touchpoints of moderate scope
and size — approximately 3,000
to 8,000 square feet of floor-
space — where the community
can easily gather for activities
and events.
”
Loebl confirmed the JCC
would lease, not own, its Off-
Center locations, and that it
is looking for multi-purpose
space: “Something that could be
used from morning to evening.
”
Possible uses would include
“multi-generational programs,
”
including exercise classes,
Judaic studies, senior and chil-
dren’s programming, and book
fairs.
In 2015, the JCC closed its
satellite Oak Park location,
which upset many community
members.
Since then, the JCC has used
synagogues and temples, Aish
HaTorah and Jewish Senior Life
facilities in the Oak Park area

for events.
But as it expanded its pro-
gramming, Loebl said, it began
to look for a non-affiliated site
of its own.
“We saw the need for a place
that the whole community
could gather that was neutral,
”
Loebl said.
The JCC had been close to
identifying an Off-Center loca-
tion in the Oak Park-Berkley
area when the pandemic hit
and put the search on hold,
Loebl said.
The JCC is also looking at
doing more programming in
Downtown Detroit, includ-
ing possible programming at
the Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue.
These new plans don’t mean
the JCC will stop working
with congregations or facilities
they’ve partnered with in the
past, Loebl said.
“The logistics make it much
easier when you have your own
place.
”

JCC to lease space in Oak Park-
Berkley, and possibly Downtown.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

JCC ‘Off -Centers’

Judy Loebl

IN
THED
JEWS

H

illel International has
launched its first-ever
“Winterfest” through-
out the month — virtually
connecting students through
small group experiences at 85
campuses.
University of Michigan Hillel
is participating in Winterfest,
and Rabbi Lisa Stella, U-M
Hillel’s director
of religious life &
education, knows
how valuable these
opportunities are
in a time where
it’s difficult for students to learn
and bond in ways they’re used
to.
“These learning experiences

have been a way for students to
connect with each other, build
community and also develop
their Jewish identity further,
”
Stella said.
U-M Hillel is doing a couple
programs through Winterfest,
including “New Year’s Boot
Camp for the Soul,
” a program
where students received daily
messages in the
first week of
January including
songs, podcasts
and exercises to
practice mind-
fulness and work on character
traits, including gratitude and
generosity.
Another program is a cook-

ing class called “Knead to
Know,
” which started with a lat-
ke-making class for Chanukah.
Every class is themed either for
a holiday or a Shabbat experi-
ence.
Rabbi Benjamin Berger, Hillel
International’s vice president
for Jewish education, believes
Winterfest can help with the
dramatic increase in mental
health concerns for college stu-
dents.
“The reality is this situation
has been hard on college
students. There’s a profound
sense of loneliness they’re
feeling. One of the ways Hillel
has been really effective over
the course of the pandemic has
been through the development
of small group learning,
” Berger
said.

EVENTS AT CAPITOL
Hillel International is also using
Winterfest as an opportunity to

be responsive to the dramatic
and traumatic events of the
moment, and quickly developed
a teaching session about the
defilement of the U.S. Capitol.
Berger said the teaching
tied in Jewish history, Jewish
text and what prayer looks like
in times of crisis, having the
students develop their own
prayer for the nation in this
moment.
“We put that out there to all
these campuses saying, ‘use this
as you wish,
’” Berger said. “Our
teaching is a way of processing
and providing a Jewish sense on
what’s going on in this moment
in our country.
”
Hillel International will go
back to regular programming
in February. Representatives
for Michigan State University
Hillel and Hillel of Metropolitan
Detroit told the Jewish News
they are not participating in
Winterfest.

U-M Hillel slates extra Jewish
learning events during January.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Student ‘Winterfest’