AUGUST 10 • 2023 | 13
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I
n a small neighborhood just down the
road from Detroit’s famous Motown
Museum, a group of young professionals
are working to restore the area’s Jewish
history.
Northwest Goldberg may not be Detroit’s
largest community — currently housing a
population of just around 2,000 people —
but a new nonprofit has a vision to change
that.
Mezuzah founders and married couple
Jeremy Rosenberg, 24, and Menuchah
Bluth, 25, who goes by Chella, sought out
a new home in a Detroit neighborhood
where other young Jewish individuals could
see themselves living.
Thanks to its walkability and proximity
to landmarks like Henry Ford Hospital and
the museum, Northwest Goldberg felt like a
natural choice to purchase a home.
“It’s important for people to visualize
themselves,
” Bluth explains, “and to have a
space that’s inviting.
”
Rosenberg and Bluth previously
organized Moishe Pod Detroit, a hub for
young Jewish Detroiters to gather, share
meals, enjoy social events and learn more
about the city.
Moishe Pod Detroit was stationed
in their previous home in Detroit’s
Woodbridge neighborhood, where
Rosenberg and Bluth opened their doors to
the community.
The goal was to teach young Jewish
Detroiters all that was beautiful about
Detroit, encouraging them to relocate to the
city and build a home there.
Now, Mezuzah, a 501c3 nonprofit
organization, is the next evolution of that
mission.
BRINGING MEZUZAH TO LIFE
Mezuzah operates on a simple principle:
to create a walkable, equitable and vibrant
Jewish community in Northwest Goldberg
and Detroit-at-large, where Rosenberg and
Bluth are residents as of July.
Although they’ve lived in Detroit for
several years, Detroit isn’t a temporary stop
before returning to the suburbs or leaving
for a different city. Instead, Rosenberg and
Bluth have firmly planted their roots — and
their commitment to growing Jewish life in
Detroit.
“Mezuzah is our vehicle to continue
doing what we’re already doing, but really
grow the Jewish population of Northwest
Goldberg and the City of Detroit,
”
Rosenberg says.
Yet, Bluth says their mission isn’t to
transform Northwest Goldberg into a
Jewish neighborhood, but to grow the
Jewish community in a way that fits
in comfortably alongside the existing
neighborhood, which is a predominantly
Black community.
Many residents, like Daniel A.
Washington, 29, founder and exxecutive
director of NW Goldberg Cares, a
community development corporation,
are lifelong members of the Northwest
Goldberg community. Some have even
lived there for generations.
Before formally starting Mezuzah,
Rosenberg and Bluth received the blessing
from NW Goldberg Cares, which has done
extensive work incubating neighborhood
businesses and creating a strong, family-
friendly neighborhood.
To date, NW Goldberg Cares has
built five new public spaces, conducted
a planning study, executed dozens of
neighborhood events and is in the process
of rehabbing three single-family homes.
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST
GOLDBERG
As Mezuzah’s main partner, NW Goldberg
Cares is supportive of a Jewish community
in the growing neighborhood.
“For me, it’s really about having another
nonprofit in the Northwest Goldberg
community that is working to acknowledge
Chella Bluth and Jeremy
Rosenberg relax in their
newly refurbished home.