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

