40 | MARCH 9 • 2023 

business SPOTlight

here’s to

Williams, Williams, Rattner 
& Plunkett, P.C. is pleased 
to announce that Jeremy 
Manson has been elected 
shareholder. Jeremy 
focuses his litigation 
practice on business, 
real estate, employment, 
and probate matters on 
behalf of individuals, small 
businesses and large 
corporations. Jeremy is 
an active member of the legal community, serves 
on the board of directors of the Michigan State 
University College of Law Alumni Association, 
and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the 
Oakland County Bar Association and the Jewish 
Bar Association of Michigan.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee has 
named a global organization as one of 
its 2023 nominees, with one of its ac-
tive members and leaders based here 
in Metro Detroit. Alisa Peskin- 
Shepherd, principal of Transitions Legal 
and a family law attorney who special-
izes in Collaborative Practice, serves 
on the equity and inclusion (IDEA) com-
mittee and the Grow Membership com-
mittee for the International Academy of 
Collaborative Professionals (IACP).
The Nobel committee nominated IACP for its global efforts in conflict res-
olution. The Transitions Legal team brings these practices and perspectives 
to southeast Michigan family law cases. Collaborative Practice is a unique 
dispute resolution model that provides families the opportunity to reduce 
the negative impacts of separation by working cooperatively with teams of 
specially trained legal, financial and mental health professionals who educate, 
support and guide couples toward respectful resolutions, without resorting to 
litigation or acrimony.

grateful to Hillel Day School 
for the financial help establish-
ing affordable tuition payment 
plans that allowed the children 
to continue their Jewish day 
school education there.
Reentering the workforce 
after the accident, Coby 
accepted a position as a janitor 
responsible for working nights 
cleaning Macomb Community 
College. His second day on the 
job, Coby was promoted to 
supervisor assistant. Within a 
few months, Coby was super-
vising the cleaning of three 
commercial buildings in Troy, 
including Top of Troy, the big-
gest building at that time.
Around 2000, Coby and 
his friend David Mendelson 
bought into Argency 
Computer Systems Inc., a com-
pany specializing in refurbish-
ing and reselling printers. Coby 
became the general manager.

SELLING JUDAICA
Then, finally, the stars aligned 
and, in 2002, Coby and David 
Mendelson bought Esther’s 
Judaica & Gift World on the 
corner of Orchard Lake and 
Maple. Everybody in the 

Metro Detroit Jewish com-
munity knew Esther’s. Under 
Esther, most vendors for the 
shop were out of Brooklyn, 
New York. And most of the 
products were made in China. 
Coby immediately shifted the 
business to sourcing products 
from Israel.
About two years after the 
purchase, Coby and David 
decided to end their business 
ties. David continued with 
Argency, and Coby became 
the sole owner of Esther’s. At 
this point, Coby changed the 
name of the business to Coby’s 
Judaica and embraced trans-
forming the shop into Metro 
Detroit’s little Israeli market-
place. 
The shop moved to the JCC 
around 2013. Coby shifted 
to importing products from 
Israeli artists and creators with 
products made in Israel.
Coby’s Judaica’s main means 
of sales is in person, with lim-
ited online presence. When 
the COVID pandemic shut 
down the world, many busi-
nesses suffered because much 
non-essential brick-and-mor-
tar commerce screeched to a 

halt. Coby expressed his deep 
gratitude to the JCC admin-
istrators for allowing him to 
schedule appointments and 
admit one person at a time to 
shop at Coby’s Judaica. “I felt 
really cared for and welcomed,
” 
he said.
Zemirah Weber, a gifted 
musician and member of 
the Isaac Agree Downtown 
Synagogue, expressed her grat-
itude to Coby for finding the 
perfect tallit for her. “He is a 
great guy that truly cares about 
the lives and events of the 
Jewish community,
” Zemirah 
said.
“People gravitate to Coby,
” 
added Rabbi Silberberg.
It is undeniable that Coby is 
exactly where he is meant to 
be. 

Visit Coby’s Judaica in the JCC 6600 W. 

Maple Road, West Bloomfield, Coby’s 

Judaica is open Sunday to Friday. 

To visit and shop, just sign in at the 

welcome desk at the JCC and write you 

are visiting Coby’s. He will welcome you 

with open arms, and you will not only 

find everything you need for a joyful and 

beautiful Jewish life, but you will also 

meet a friend. Visit him online at www.

jerusalemartistmarket.com.

continued from page 39

continued 
from page 38

What Can you 
Find at Coby’s?

Tallit 
selection

Havdalah 
set

Pesach plate

Jerusalem 
stone 
menorah

Shabbat 
candles

