C
onstruction is pro-
gressing on two
much-anticipated
mikvahs — one in West
Bloomfield and one in
Southfield. The new Mallor
Walder Community Mikvah
at the Tugman Bais Chabad
of West Bloomfield is expect-
ed to be completed within
a few months. According to
Rabbi Schneur Silberberg,
outreach director of Bais
Chabad, most major con-
struction, including instal-
lation of the ritual immer-
sion pools, is complete.
Installation of extensive tile
and appliances are the main
components yet to be done.
The 2,500-square-foot
mikvah will include desig-
nated separate spaces for
women, men and dishes that
need to be purified. This new
mikvah will be triple the size
of the previous ritual bath.
Major funding came from
the Walder Foundation and
Mikvah USA, a nonprofit
organization that supports
construction of mikvahs.
The Lahser Road Mikvah
board and building com-
mittee conducted a suc-
cessful Friends and Family
Fundraising Campaign
during the summer and
also received a grant from
Mikvah USA.
Previous donations have
been used to purchase the
mikvah site, prepare the
grounds and cover architec-
tural design for the project.
The new mikvah, at 1,400
square feet, will include an
immersion pool for dishes
and cookware to purify them
before use.
Additional philanthropic
funds are being sought in
part to cover possible cost
increases above the original
projections. (Construction
costs throughout the U.S.
have risen considerably in
recent months.) In addition,
Mikvah USA has requested
some design changes. These
revisions, along with con-
struction bidding and the
city permit process, are likely
to take a few months.
Observant women in this
community previously used
a mikvah located at the
Farber Hebrew Day School,
which was administered by
Young Israel of Southfield.
However, that building was
demolished for the construc-
tion of a new Farber School
facility.
Cherie Levi, president of
the all-women mikvah board
and chair of its building com-
mittee, hopes that construc-
tion will begin this fall at the
site located at 11 Mile and
Bell roads in Southfield.
22 | SEPTEMBER 15 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
T
he David Labkovski
Project (DLP) uses the
narrative work of artist
David Labkovski (1906-1991)
as a tool to engage, enrich,
educate and empower students
about life before, during and
after the Holocaust, while
transferring ownership and
responsibility onto the stu-
dents.
“The David Labkovski
Project creates a bridge from
the lessons of the Holocaust to
the realities of today’s world.
The rise in antisemitism,
bigotry and hatred makes
Holocaust education even
more crucial,” shares Leora
Raikin, founder and exec-
utive director of the David
Labkovski Project.
Labkovski painted more
than 1,000 pieces of art during
his life. His art is a visual
diary of his life trials and trib-
ulations, sharing lessons of
survival, resilience and hope
while documenting the evils
of hatred.
The project-based curricu-
lum enables middle and high
school students to engage in
a multidisciplinary program
that merges art, history and
technology and involves cre-
ativity, critical
thinking, histor-
ical knowledge,
mediation, prob-
lem solving, pub-
lic speaking and
the generation of
QR codes.
STUDENT DOCENTS
The DLP Student Docent
Training Program offers
insight into Labkovski’s
narrative artwork and the
historical context for each
piece. Through the program,
students become docents and
form deep and meaningful
connections with the artist,
the artwork and the history.
Many of the students who
complete the student docent
training program go onto
become ambassadors for
the DLP, mentors to future
cohorts, and play a crucial
role in bringing the interactive
Students engage with art to understand
the Holocaust, discrimination and hatred.
Student Docents Use Art
to Educate their Peers
Oak Park High School student Aviva Medved
installs the David Labkovski Project traveling
exhibit “Documenting History through Art.”
Progress on the Lahser Road Mikvah and Bais Chabad’s
Mallor Walder Community Mikvah continues.
Two New Mikvahs
Move Closer to Completion
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER