28 | JULY 28 • 2022
T
he Zekelman Holocaust Center
(The HC) will host a virtual
storytelling of An American Rabbi
in Buchenwald on Aug. 7 at 2:30 p.m. by
author and historian Dr.
Rafael Medoff.
The story centers around
Rabbi Herschel Schacter, a
chaplain whose unit liberated
the Nazi concentration camp
of Buchenwald. Schacter
was thrust into the role of
helping survivors rebuild their shattered
lives and serving as their voice to the
world.
Dr. Rafael Medoff is founding director
of the David S. Wyman Institute for
Holocaust Studies and the author of
more than 20 books about the Holocaust,
Zionism and American Jewish history,
including The Rabbi of Buchenwald. Medoff
has taught at Ohio State University and
Purchase College of the State University
of New York. He is a Fellow of the
Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research at
Bar-Ilan University.
“We are honored to welcome Dr.
Medoff to the Zekelman Holocaust
Center to tell the story of Rabbi
Schacter,” said Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, the
center’s CEO. “He is a brilliant historian
and prolific author with great insights
into the history and circumstances of the
Holocaust and American Jewish history.
It is most appropriate that we will hold
this event on the Jewish holiday of Tisha
b’Av, which commemorates the great
losses of the Jewish people throughout
history.”
Register at holocaustcenter.org/August.
The event will be held on Zoom.
folks to help fund this vision. Whether it’s $18 or
$18,000, we’re hoping the community helps close
our campaign gap.”
With generous help of a $350,000 grant
expansion from one of its largest donors, the
William Davidson Foundation, Rudman says they
are on track to raise additional funds yet remain
about $230,000 short of their goal.
To invest in the Reimagining the Downtown
Synagogue Capital Campaign, Rudman says you can
help by leaving a permanent mark on the building.
“We are offering this chance to invest in the
Downtown Synagogue’s future with our capital
campaign. For $10,000, your family’s or your name
will forever be associated with one of the iconic
stained-glass windows, and you can really be part of
the building of our vibrant future.”
To celebrate this new chapter, the Downtown
Synagogue will be hosting a free block party
in Detroit on Griswold Street Sunday, Aug. 14.
The transformational building renovation project
is expected to finish in February 2023.
For more information and to donate, contact Rachel Rudman at
execdirector@downtownsynagogue.org or (313) 962-4047. To RSVP
to the block party, visit www.downtownsynagogue.org/blockparty.
The sanctuary
is ready for its
renovation.
Construction
has started on
the facade.
OUR COMMUNITY
continued from page 26
‘An American Rabbi in
Buchenwald’ Virtual Event
Dr. Rafael
Medoff