8 | APRIL 1 • 2021 

from the DJN Foundation Board
A New Partnership

The Jewish News joins with Jewish 
Senior Life to provide the JN free to 
JSL residents.
A

s our readers know, 
the ownership of the 
Detroit Jewish News 
transitioned to the caring 
hands of a not-
for-profit entity 
earlier this year: 
The Detroit 
Jewish News 
Foundation.
The Board 
of Directors 
and leadership 
of the Detroit Jewish News 
Foundation is focused on 
re-engaging and reconnecting 
with the entire Metro Detroit 
Jewish community. As part of 
that focus, we have met with 
many across our community 
to discuss ways in which we 
can better serve Jewish agen-
cies and their constituents.
One of our first discussions 

was with Nancy Heinrich, 
CEO of Jewish Senior Life. In 
those discussions, we explored 
how the Detroit Jewish News 
could best be of service to 
some of our community’s 
greatest assets: the residents of 
JSL facilities. As a result of our 
discussions, and in the spirit 
of the Jewish News’ mission of 
serving the community, we 
are pleased to report that the 
Jewish News will be provided 
to all JSL residents who want 
it at no cost.
The staff of the Jewish News 
will drop off the issues each 
week at the JSL residences, 
and JSL staff will distribute the 
copies. Residents will be able 
to enjoy the JN and keep up 
with the latest that’s going on 
in the Jewish community.
“We’re thrilled the JN 

wants to help us connect our 
seniors to the community at 
large, regardless of their abil-
ity to afford a subscription,” 
Heinrich said. “The JN is the 
binding resource for connect-
ing the younger and older 
generations, and this partner-
ship is another great way to 
bring everyone together.”
Mark Davidoff, Senior 
Advisor to the Board of 
the Detroit Jewish News 
Foundation, added, “I could 
not be more excited about this 

new partnership with JSL and 
the benefit it will bring to our 
community.”
We at the Detroit Jewish 
News Foundation look for-
ward to exploring additional 
community connections in 
the future as the Foundation 
works to fulfill its mission 
to better serve and unify 
Detroit’s Jewish community. 
Stay tuned. 

David Kramer is a board member of 
the Detroit Jewish News Foundation.

David 
Kramer

Meer residents Esther Liwazer and Rita Sills enjoy their free copies 
of the Jewish News. 

JSL

PURELY COMMENTARY

In therapy, we learn to hear 
our feelings, accept our pain 
and cherish our joys. But it 
is hard, if not impossible, to 
do this work alone. We need 
someone, the therapist, to 
help us see ourselves better. 
Someone who can give us 
permission to feel sadness 
and encourage us to celebrate 
success.
Community can play a 
similar role. It legitimizes and 
creates a place for deep emo-
tions. Together, we dare to say 
that life is fleeting and that 
the universe is vast, and his-
tory has awful moments and 
humanity can be inspiring. 
We can hold these disturbing 

conflicting ideas because we 
are doing it together, and 
together we feel safe and 
accepted. This need for com-
munity is so fundamental 
that our numbers have grown 
even as the temperature 
dropped.
Praying on a public New 
York City sidewalk, I felt 
exposed and vulnerable at 
first. Some stared, others took 
photos on their phone or lin-
gered while their dog sniffed 
a shrub, to watch us, or even 
joined us. 
Can we do this? I’m sure 
those who use this spot for 
yoga on Sunday morning 
have felt this discomfort, too.

A COMMITTED GROUP
The pandemic has stripped our 
service to its bare basics. We 
worship without a space, with-
out chairs, with dim light and 
no heat. I realized that this was 
all we really needed. A com-
mitted group, willing to stand 
in the snow and sing together.
The chazan sings, “He 
removes day and brings night, 
God is his name” in synchrony 
with the darkening sky. It is 
getting harder to read the small 
print in my prayer book, but I 
know the words by heart.
The lump in my throat loos-
ens, and I breathe in the cold 
air.
Marc Cousins, the architec-

tural theorist, said in one of his 
lectures that the sign of truth is 
that upon hearing it one breaks 
into tears.
That night I was touched by 
truth.
Was it the pain and loss of the 
pandemic? The fragility of life? 
The support of togetherness? 
I’m not sure, but it was real, and 
it was worth bundling up for 
and seeking out on a freezing, 
snowy Friday evening. 

 This essay originally appeared in 
New York Jewish Week. 

Esther Sperber writes and lectures 

about architecture, psychoanalysis and 

culture. Born and raised in Jerusalem, 

she lives in New York City.

THIS YEAR, I LEARNED continued from page 6