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