1942 - 2022 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel. 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Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com Publisher The Detroit Jewish News Foundation | Board of Directors: Chair: Gary Torgow Vice President: David Kramer Secretary: Robin Axelrod Treasurer: Max Berlin Board members: Larry Jackier, Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer Senior Advisor to the Board: Mark Davidoff Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: Mike Smith Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: Arthur Horwitz Founding Publisher Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory Editorial Director of Editorial: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com Contributing Editors: David Sachs, Keri Guten Cohen Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz dschwartz@thejewishnews.com Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@thejewishnews.com Digital Manager: Elizabeth King eking@thejewishnews.com Contributing Writers: Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky Advertising Sales Director of Advertising: Keith Farber kfarber@thejewishnews.com Senior Account Executive: Kathy Harvey-Mitton kmitton@thejewishnews.com | Business Office Director of Operations: Amy Gill agill@thejewishnews.com Operations Manager: Andrea Gusho agusho@thejewishnews.com Operations Assistant: Ashlee Szabo Circulation: Danielle Smith Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner | Production By Farago & Associates Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Kaitlyn Iezzi, Kelly Kosek, Deborah Schultz, Michelle Sheridan 6 | JANUARY 5 • 2023 PURELY COMMENTARY I have lived my entire life attached to one Ethan Weitzman. As a twin, I spent much of my upbringing being compared and contrast- ed to him. How we developed, how we behaved and how we achieved. Ethan may have taken his first steps before me, but I was first to actu- ally walk. He may have spoken before me, but I was first to construct a sentence. Throughout our childhood one thing eventually became clear; I was the responsi- ble one. My homework was always done on time, my reading finished, my to-do list checked. Within our small school community, my responsibilities would often include some of Ethan’s. I often found myself attempting to put order into his situation, helping him to organize and reminding him to do home- work and study. I wanted to support him anyway I could. Unfortunately, I occasionally resented how much I did for him, and how rarely I felt like I had made an impact. I cared for him so much, yet I was never recognized for my dedi- cation, nor did I ever receive a thank you. One day, I discovered the story of Cain and Abel. While I had learned the story, I had never read it directly from Genesis. When I did, I stum- bled upon the line “ Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) I was immediately taken aback. How could I have the same feelings about responsi- bility for my brother as Cain? Cain who succumbed to his jealousy and shamelessly mur- dered his own brother? That’s when I realized something; all of these years I had been put- ting in effort to try and sub- due Ethan’s challenges, mostly without thanks, but the same had been done for me. Ethan had looked out for me for years in other ways, without me ever recogniz- ing it. Whenever I needed a friend, Ethan was there. When I was stressed, Ethan always comforted and reassured me. While I had been the respon- sible one, Ethan had been the compassionate one. I immedi- ately scrubbed any resentment from my attitude in under- standing that what I did for him is exactly what he would have done for me had he been the responsible one. Eventually, I would have another crisis about my rela- tionship with Ethan. Was I just a part of a whole? For a period of time, I was greatly upset about what my relation- ship with my brother meant for my identity. Was I nothing without him? Was he nothing without me? That’s when Cain’s line came back to me. I asked myself, “ Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yes. I was my brother’s keep- er. But I was so many other things as well. Being Ethan’s brother was only a fragment of my identity, and I would refuse to let myself be limited to that role. Undoubtedly, I have only been enriched by our relationship. After 17 years walking alongside my brother, I know that I could have navigated the world by myself, but that I could not have gotten this far without him. Evan Weitzman is a senior and the All School President at Frankel Jewish Academy. student’s corner An ‘Abel’ to My ‘Cain’ Evan Weitzman