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class dinners and much more. 
The peak, one can argue, was visiting 
the local Detroit partners and landmark 
institutions — Isaac Agree Downtown 
Synagogue, Repair the World, Tamarack 
Camps, Jewish Family Service and 
Friendship Circle to name a few, all 
the while being in panels with local 
community leaders. 
For the duration of the retreat, we 
were joined by local and national 
leaders, including JFNA CEO Eric 
Fingerhut and JFNA Chair Julie Platt. 
But the real exception, the story 
to tell, is about the hospitality the 
Detroit Jewish community offered. This 
was extraordinary. With 31 current 
members, nine of them being first-year 
Cabinet members, and dozens of alums, 
Detroit — as is tradition — punched 
above its weight. We offered robust 
extracurricular activities and opt-in 
opportunities, both during the weekend 
leading up to the retreat and throughout 
the retreat, formally and informally. The 
activities included: 
• July 28: White Shabbat Soiree: 
Sponsored by Detroit chevre and 
co-hosted by Chabad in the D and The 
Morrie restaurants (over 200 participants 
of whom 50 were Cabinet chevre). 
 • July 29: Pool party: Hosted by Matt 
and Mallory Shiffman and co-sponsored 
by Detroit Chevre alums and families 
Matt Ran, Danny Kaufman and Andrew 
Sherman (over 100 cabinet participants). 
• July 29: Evening assortment of 

restaurants, organized by Detroit chevre. 
• July 30: Golf, organized by Detroit 
chevre.
• July 30: Pool party, hosted and 
sponsored by Shimon G. Levy (over 40 
Cabinet chevre attended).
• July 30: Opening party, hosted and 
sponsored by Shimon G. Levy (over 200 
Cabinet chevre came.)
• July 31-Aug. 2: An array of 
restaurants, pubs, get-together spaces 
(homes, boats, clubs) for evenings 
hosted (and at times sponsored) by 
Detroit chevre. 
• Aug. 1: Evening Detroit Cabinet 
alumni get-together at Downtown’s 
newly built Huntington Tower for a 
full retreat dinner and entertainment to 
celebrate campaign day. It exemplified 
Detroit hospitality at its absolute best. 
Hosted by Gary Torgow and sponsored 
by Huntington Bank, over 300 Cabinet 
chevre and professionals participated, 
and over 50 Detroit Cabinet alumni 
attended. 
• Aug. 2: Farewell barbecue to anyone 
leaving later in the day, hosted and 
sponsored by Ari and Monica Fischman 
(over 30 Cabinet chevre attended).
The events were all organized, hosted 
and primarily sponsored by Detroit 
chevre. They were exceptionally planned 
with multiple stakeholders in advance 
and were a tremendous success. This is 
not the standard “host package” you get 
from your hosting community. From 
my six years of experience and from 

consulting with several alumni, I can say 
the hosting community rarely showcases 
this degree of hospitality. 
Mostly, the retreat is held in a resort 
and that is where most of the time is 
spent. This was not the case in Detroit. 
The community embraced retreat 
participants in multiple ways to ensure 
the retreat was a success. That is the 
secret sauce to Detroit’s success. The 
community. The people. 
 
CHAPTER 4: INSPIRING ACTION 
AND COMMUNITY BUILDING 
Why was it important to bring the 

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: Julie Platt 
and JFNA’s Eric Fingerhut at the closing 
plenary. Hadas Bernard and Debbie Berger. 
Shabbat Soiree, sponsored by Detroit 
chevre and co-hosted by Chabad in the D 
and The Morrie restaurants.

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