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said of his bar mitzvah. 
Now, decades later, he was thrilled and 
honored to have the opportunity to follow 
in his father’s footsteps, with his right-hand 
man Zev Goldner, the Silberbergs, Bais 
Chabad Administrator Rabbi Avraham 
Wineberg and the team of mashgichim 
(religious supervisors), professionals and 
community members who lent their time, 
expertise and opinions so that this mikvah 
would be extra special. 
“I’ve done lots of complicat-
ed projects and custom homes, 
but this was something com-
pletely different,” Rogers said. 
“Construction of a mikvah 
does not come from a manual. 
I had to use my yeshivah back-
ground and Talmudic under-
standing to define the details 
of construction.”
It was a huge undertaking with many 
challenges, but there was also a clear rever-
ence of the project.
Rabbi Wineberg marveled, “The feeling 
of comradery, purpose and mission in their 
work was beautiful and remarkable to see. 
All the classic colorful descriptions and 
language that one typically associates with 
a construction site were absent despite the 
backbreaking work that was at times nec-
essary.”
Indeed, everyone involved said that they 
felt the energy of working toward a higher 
purpose.
“I felt a tremendous sense of spirituality 
through the entire process, like I was sur-
rounded by a bear hug,” Rogers said.

NAMES ON THE BUILDING
“Numerous donors came together to help 
raise over three-quarters of a million dol-
lars,” said Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg, who 
stressed that every donation, big or small, 
was appreciated. 
The Mikvah Center was sponsored by 
the Walder Foundation of Chicago, headed 
by Elizabeth (Shira Malka) Mallor-Walder, 
who used to be a member of Bais Chabad 
of West Bloomfield years ago, and her 
husband, Dr. Yosef Walder. 
The men’s mikvah was sponsored by the 
William Davidson Foundation Director 
Discretionary Philanthropic Fund in mem-
ory of Eli Saulson’s father, Saul.

“My father was always most relaxed in 
water — first in Lake Huron where he 
taught himself to swim and later in his 
lap pool and hot tub,” said Eli Saulson. 
“Since mikvahs are Judaism’s oldest pools, 
it seemed like an appropriate way to honor 
his memory.”
The Zekelman Family sponsored the 
vessel mikvah where dishes or kitchenware 
are immersed after they’re purchased and 
before their first usage.
Mikvah USA, an 
organization which helps fund 
the building of mikvahs around 
the world, sponsored the 
women’s mikvah. With its own 
rabbinic body and extremely 
meticulous guidelines and 
stringencies, Mikvah USA was 
involved during every step of the planning 
stages and construction. 

WAITING FOR RAIN
The project ran through the COVID pan-
demic, which caused the price of construc-
tion materials to skyrocket, but, according 
to Rabbi Silberberg senior, the timing also 
had silver linings. 
“The social hall where we usually enjoy 
our Shabbos kiddush wasn’t being used. 
It was just sitting there empty anyhow, so 
there were no objections to cutting into it, 
which we probably otherwise would have 
had,” he said with a laugh.
Other things didn’t go as smoothly … 
like the Michigan weather! Mikvah water 
consists of pure rainwater, which falls 
through an intricate system of pipes and 
runs directly into the mikvah without being 
collected in any way or touching a metal 
surface. 
The men’s mikvah is already functioning 
because it was completed earlier. However, 
since the Metro Detroit area hasn’t had 
a significantly heavy rain in the last few 
months, as of this writing the women’s mik-

ON THE COVER
OUR COMMUNITY

Rabbis Avraham Wineberg and Elimelech 
Silberberg stand next to an otzar, a reservoir 
for mikvah rainwater.

Eli Saulson shows the new men’s mikvah 
dedicated in memory of his father, Saul 
Shepsol Saulson.

Rabbi 
Avraham 
Wineberg

“NUMEROUS DONORS CAME TOGETHER 
TO RAISE ALMOST THREE-QUARTERS 

OF A MILLION DOLLARS.”

— RABBI ELIMELECH SILBERBERG

Eli Saulson

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18 | JUNE 15 • 2023