6 | DECEMBER 23 • 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, reflecting 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, Keri Guten 
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,
Julie Smith Yolles, 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, 
 Deborah Schultz, Michelle Sheridan 
 

PURELY COMMENTARY

J

ews are a communal 
people, with a collective 
set of rituals and tradi-
tions. Ours has been a culture 
of assembly, as symbolized by 
the centrality of the synagogue 
and the shared focus around 
celebrated holidays and festivals 
of Passover, Yom Kippur and 
Chanukah. We gather, we pray 
with a minyan, we eat, we learn, 
we celebrate simchahs and we 
mourn, all in a communal way.
As COVID-19 took hold in 
the U.S. in March 2020, our 
home life became more grooved 

and separated us more than 
ever — children in the home, 
single, partnered with no chil-
dren, young adulthood, older 
adulthood. In many ways, we 
were no longer geographically 
bound; we had lost the casual 
nature of our social interactions 
and most of our regular Jewish 
activities outside the home 
ceased. 
Pushed toward isolation, our 
response has been to reach for 
connection. Within weeks of 
this pandemic shutdown, Jews 
with access and ability to use 

the internet found themselves 
gathering in virtual spaces. 
With bountiful entry to all 
things virtual — lectures, class-
es, gatherings, prayer, children’s 
programming, etc. — we were 
able to sample and explore the 
creative array of online oppor-
tunities. 
This imaginative response 
builds on a three-decades-long 
renaissance in Jewish life. While 
COVID-19 did not launch this 

creative Jewish moment, it most 
certainly accelerated both its 
pace and substance. 
Still amidst the pandemic, 
Judaism remains a communal 
experience. As the height of the 
pandemic in the U.S. receded, 
affording more opportunities to 
once again be together in per-
son, many Jews remain increas-
ingly drawn to virtual connec-
tion. This abundant opportu-
nity to hold a fundamentally 

essay
The Rise of 
Privatized Judaism: 
What It Is and What 
It Means

ERIN TARICA
STEVEN WINDMUELLER, PH.D.

The Jewish Studio 
Project is a platform 
encouraging art 
projects.

