6 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 1942 - 2021 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel. VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater Detroit Jewish community, refl ecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity. DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com Publisher The Detroit Jewish News Foundation | Board of Directors: Chair: Gary Torgow Vice President: David Kramer Secretary: Robin Axelrod Treasurer: Max Berlin Board members: Larry Jackier, Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer Senior Advisor to the Board: Mark Davidoff Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: Mike Smith Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: Arthur Horwitz Founding Publisher Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory | Editorial DIrector of Editorial: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com Associate Editor: David Sachs dsachs@thejewishnews.com Social Media and Digital Producer: Nathan Vicar nvicar@thejewishnews.com Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz dschwartz@thejewishnews.com Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@thejewishnews.com Contributing Writers: Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, Ashley Zlatopolsky | Advertising Sales Director of Advertising: Keith Farber kfarber@thejewishnews.com Senior Account Executive: Kathy Harvey-Mitton kmitton@thejewishnews.com | Business Office Director of Operations: Amy Gill agill@thejewishnews.com Operations Manager: Andrea Gusho agusho@thejewishnews.com Operations Assistant: Ashlee Szabo Circulation: Danielle Smith Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner | Production By Farago & Associates Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Kelly Kosek, Kaitlyn Schoen, Debra Schultz, Michelle Sheridan PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 4 synagogues empty or emptying. Tree of Life will apparently be rebuilt as a complex that will be “part synagogue, part Holocaust museum, part 10-27 memorial. ” Whether anyone will come is another story. In his High Holiday sermon a year after the attack, Jeffrey Myers, Tree of Life’s rabbi, offered “a brutally candid assessment of the state of the synagogue, a plea for help, a challenge” for twice-a-year Jews to show up for programs and services, lest the synagogue cease to exist in 30 years. That’s not just a Pittsburgh, or Jewish, thing. As Myers puts it, “low attendance at regular worship services was not a Jewish problem but an American problem. ” Oppenheimer does bring more hopeful stories, starting with the bustling Orthodox synagogues and including people and congregations offering spiritual, political and cultural alternatives for a generation of disenchanted seekers. How “sticky” these alternatives will be — to borrow a term from Silicon Valley — remains to be seen. Squirrel Hill is both inspiring and deflating. It’s a reminder of the persistence of one of the world’s oldest hatreds and of the resilience of its targets. It’s a celebration of an American Jewish community, and a lament for fading Jewish connections. And it is also a useful corrective for me, someone who is paid to cover these issues. After the one-year anniversary event, a local Jewish leader tells Oppenheimer that “she felt that the narrative of strength and unity had obscured how much people were still hurting. ” Her words and Oppenheimer’s book are a reminder that there is always more to the story. Andrew Silow-Carroll is the editor in chief of the New York Jewish Week and senior editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (@SilowCarroll). Beth El’s Buildings Through the Years Thank you for the cover story about Albert Kahn, architect of the Temple Beth El/Bonstelle building which is being renovated for a new hotel’s event/banquet room (Oct. 7, page 14). Both Temple Beth El buildings on Woodward were designed by temple member Albert Kahn. Woodward was the street of churches, and it remains so unto this day. Both temple buildings are distinctive and magnificent. The buildings reflect the Reform Jewish members in the early 20th century who wanted to fit in by being externally American; the Classic architecture celebrates American democracy with Greco- Roman roots. Although synagogue is a Greek word, the members would never have used that word to describe the Temple. It was too Orthodox. Architect Minoru Yamasaki brought Temple Beth El architecture back to its Jewish roots. On Telegraph, in Bloomfield Township, he recreated the tabernacle in the desert; The congregants face east toward Jerusalem. Times change. — Levi Smith VP, Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation Albertkahnlegacy.org Correction: Oct. 14’s “Looking Back” (page 54) should have stated that Joanee Hurwitz is owner of Steve’s Deli in Bloomfield Township. letters Whether at home or on the go, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is with you every step of the way. 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