JULY 28 • 2022 | 23

Zerwekh, talking about three 
different aspects of a world 
post-Roe v. Wade.
“I love being able to help 
folks make these connec-
tions and to understand the 
world better through all those 
different lenses,” Zerwekh 
said. “We also have a climate 
change group that’s starting 
to help us understand how 
the choices we make impact 
our environment and how we 
can make different choices 
depending on the impact of 
our environment.”
The temple has a gardening 
group that plants, waters and 
harvests from the vegetable 
garden on the west side of the 
temple. Vegetables are deliv-
ered to Yad Ezra for its clients.
The words Zerwekh uses 
to describe the congregation’s 
approach to prayer are inti-
mate, accessible, warm, inclu-
sive and spiritual.

“This is a congregation 
full of people in helping 
professions or who are really 
engaged in their world in a 
caring way,” Zerwekh said. 
“They’re intellectually curious 
and always looking to learn 
more. They’re active in many 
realms of the world outside 
the Jewish realm, but they’re 
committed to their Judaism 
and the Jewish community.” 
Zerwekh says when people 
step into Temple Emanu-El, 
they see one another face-to-
face, and there isn’t a sense for 
who gives the most, who has 
or who hasn’t. 
“If you’re interested in 
being a part of our communi-
ty, we’re interested in welcom-
ing you in as part of our com-
munity,” he said. “However 
people want to engage with 
Judaism, we want to welcome 
that, foster that and help folks 
feel and know they belong.” 

Kiddos at the 
temple have 
fun painting 
rocks

The Temple Emanu-El 
playground.

C
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i
c
k. 
C
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ll. 
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www.hfldetroit.org • 248.723.8184

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Community donations help Hebrew Free Loan give 
interest-free loans to local Jews for a variety of personal, 
health, educational and small business needs.

STORY
STORY
My
My

Alex Simmons, co-founder and CEO of Boon Health, 
began his career journey in investment banking and 
private investment. It was, he said, a work culture of long 
hours that commonly caused stress and employee burnout. 
“Approximately 75-80 percent of all companies rely on 
their Employee Assistance Program or EAP to take care of 
the mental well-being of their team, but it’s designed to 
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also highly stigmatized in the workplace, as employees 
don’t want to be seen needing a crisis tool.” 
Alex and his partners saw an opportunity to bring a 
more approachable support resource to the workplace 
that was focused on the real day-to-day challenges that 
modern day employees are experiencing, rather than 
waiting for crisis interaction through EAP
. Enter Boon, the 
1:1 personalized coaching platform for businesses. 
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the right frame of mind. Boon has accredited coaches with 
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which helps us create a truly personalized experience 
for employees.” 
Boon approached Hebrew Free Loan when they needed 
to invest in critical hires to meet demand. 
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the traditional path of raising venture capital money,” 
Alex said. “As we continued to rapidly grow our business 
through COVID, we saw Hebrew Free Loan as a unique 
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believed in our mission and story. The Board members 
really cared, supported our vision, and ultimately allowed 
us to be our best. If you need funding, check out HFL.”

