40 | MAY 4 • 2023
N
adav Pais-
Greenapple fills
part of his present
days speaking about artistic
Jewish topics of the past
and referencing language
prevalent in days gone by.
The history of Jewish theater
in Detroit and translations
of Yiddish literature hold
important segments of his
time.
Although there is lots to do
as he teaches Tanach at Hillel
Day School in Farmington
Hills and makes plans for
his wedding in October at
Congregation Beth Ahm
in West Bloomfield, Pais-
Greenapple studies Yiddish
and researches theater
activities as experienced in
the early 20th century.
He is happy that his studies
are preparing him to take
on a board seat this spring
with the Jewish Historical
Society of Michigan and
helping prepare him for a
2024 exhibit that showcases
Detroit Jewish history as
presented by the Detroit
Historical Museum.
“I’m excited to bring my
passion for Detroit’s Jewish
history to an organization
and to the people,” said Pais-
Greenapple, 24, named as
one of this year’s 36 Under 36
by the Detroit Jewish News.
“It’s the first exhibit of
its kind in the state to
focus on Jewish history in
Michigan. It’s about Jewish
life around the Hastings
Street neighborhood of
Detroit from 1880-1930. The
goal is to spin that out into
a permanent museum in a
dedicated space. There’s a
model in Montreal.”
AN INTEREST IN YIDDISH
Pais-Greenapple said that
his interest in Jewish history
has been important as long
as he can remember, and his
interest in Yiddish began
in college. In shul, reading
stories, he wondered about
his own family history. In
college, a Jewish studies
instructor made him aware
of the Steiner Summer
Yiddish Program, and he
attended in 2019 to learn the
language linked to Jewish
history.
“There was definitely a
knowledge of history in my
home,” said the researcher,
who has learned and
imparted knowledge about
the Littman’s People’s Theater
of the 1920s. “My mom was a
teacher, not a history teacher,
and she did have a love for
Jewishness. I grew up with
a lot of Jewish knowledge in
the house. There was a lot of
support for the history I was
interested in.
“Having to translate out
of Yiddish, which is what I
do, you need to have a little
facility in other languages.
I’ve had to learn the Cyrillic
alphabet. It’s useful in
surprising places.
“I had a coworker give me
Passionate
for Detroit
Jewish History
Hillel teacher and Yiddish
expert researches early
20th-century theater.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
NEXT DOR
VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION
Nadav Pais-
Greenapple
teaching
Tanach at
Hillel.