JUNE 2 • 2022 | 29
R
espectful treatment of
the recently deceased
and a prompt burial
is one of the greatest, most
selfless acts of the Jewish faith.
On occasion, a member of the
Jewish community will pass
with no means or family to
assist in covering these costs.
The Windsor Jewish
Federation & Community
Centre, Chabad of Windsor,
Congregation Beth El,
Congregation Shaar
Hashomayim and the Jewish
National Fund of Windsor are
partnering to launch a Windsor
Indigent Jewish Burial Fund
to ensure every member of
its community has access to a
dignified Jewish burial as costs
have continued to rise.
In the past, Windsor had
three Jewish religious insti-
tutions able to split the bill if
a situation occurred — the
Shaar, Temple Beth El and the
now-defunct Shaaraey Zedek.
A situation has not occurred
in years, but with a little fore-
thought, it was decided to rein-
stitute the program.
Arnold Blaine, secretary of
Shaar Hashomayim, chair of
the Jewish Endowment Fund of
Windsor and Jewish Federation
of Windsor board member, esti-
mates the last time this occurred
was anywhere between 20-30
years ago, and a Jewish funeral
cost $2,000-$3,000. For each
religious institution to collec-
tively cover the cost of a funeral
wouldn’t be prohibitive.
Now, Blaine estimates the
expenses of a funeral are maybe
$10,000 or in that ballpark, a
significant increase.
Blaine says there was a sum-
mit meeting arranged between
the organizations, where it was
decided to go out to the com-
munity and ask for donations
for the fund, so it was available
in case the issue ever arose.
“It’s not anything we antici-
pate there being a huge demand
for, and hopefully it never has
to be used, but if it does, the
money is there to take care of
a funeral and a proper Jewish
funeral.
”
Blaine believes it’s important
the community as a whole is
working together on a matter
such as this.
“It’s a real mitzvah as far as
this being taken care of because
obviously the person can never
repay the mitzvah and kindness
that’s extended to them, so as a
functioning Jewish community,
we felt it was necessary to make
sure it’s handled properly when
it comes time for an individual
to pass on.
”
To contribute to this appeal, make your
donation out to the Windsor Jewish
Community Centre and designate your
donation to “Windsor Jewish Burial Fund
Appeal.” Make a donation online at
www.jewishwindsor.org/online-payments
or by contacting Michelle Turnbull at
michelle@jewishwindsor.org to drop a
check off at the WJCC.
their board and
past presidents.
Lopatin says
he feels grateful
to the sponsors
of the Civility
Project, who
made the program
available without
charge to participants.
Lopatin sees the work of the
Civility Project as congruent
to the mission of JCRC/AJC
because advocacy for the con-
cerns of the Jewish communi-
ty depends on relationships. If
we can develop some shared
affection, some joy, then we
can also talk frankly with
members of other communi-
ties, he says.
“This works even when we
disagree, and even when we
do not have shared values.”
The Civility Project has
invited Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld,
CEO of the Zekelman
Holocaust Center in West
Bloomfield, to conduct a panel
on the process of dehumaniza-
tion. Mayerfeld sees this dis-
cussion for the Civility Project
as directly relevant to his work
with the HC.
“
A piece of the history of
the Holocaust really applies
very directly toward how indi-
viduals treat each other and
how when that devolves into
a process of dehumanization,
it allows atrocities to occur,
including the Holocaust.”
He does not expect us to
find exact parallels in modern
America to the lead-up to the
Holocaust; rather, he cites the
saying that “history does not
repeat itself, but it rhymes.”
Mayerfeld maintains that
“knowing the details of how
these kinds of events occurred
in the past can inform how
we ought to behave in the
present.”
Alisa Peskin-Shepherd
serves as principal attor-
ney at Transitions Legal in
Bloomfield Hills, a practice
in collaborative
divorce. She
calls the Civility
Project “such a
unique opportu-
nity to learn.”
In negotiating
with a former
spouse, as in
negotiating with a political
opponent, it is unrealistic to
expect to win by convincing
the other party. “I’m an attor-
ney, so certainly I can argue a
point. And not arguing a point
is really what Civility Project
is all about,” she says. “We can
sit down; we can have a con-
versation; we can respect each
other’s perspectives; we can
ask questions.
“We’re not trying to convince
the other person to come to
our side of the table.”
continued from page 28
Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld,
CEO of the Zekelman
Holocaust Center
Alisa
Peskin-
Shepherd
Rabbi
Asher
Lopatin
Windsor’s Jewish organizations and
synagogues partner to launch indigent
Jewish Burial Fund.
The Final Kindness
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER