NOVEMBER 9 • 2023 | 15
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Berger is a member of 
Temple Israel, but he “grew up 
at Beth Shalom. That’s where 
I went to religious school, 
where I had my bar mitzvah 
and where I married my wife, 
Debbie,” he said.
His wife was one of the 
people instrumental in get-
ting him involved with Jewish 
communal life. Both he and 
Debbie are alumni of the 
National Young Leadership 
Cabinet.
“When I moved back to 
Michigan and met Debbie, 
she was very involved in the 
Young Adult Division [now 
NEXTGen] of Federation,” he 
said. “She sparked in me the 
desire to start meeting people 
in the Jewish community and 
getting involved.”
Berger found that most of 
the committees he was inter-
ested in were on the United 
Jewish Foundation side. 
Eventually, he joined the Real 
Estate Committee and eventu-
ally rose to be its chair. “With 
my background, it was a nat-
ural fit for me,” he said. “Over 
the years, I’ve been involved 
in discussions surrounding 
Federation’s real estate and 
working to professionalize its 
management.”
Berger went on the first 
Grosfeld Leadership Mission 
with Federation. “I met so 
many people on that trip,” he 
said, “including Matt Lester 
and Scott Kaufman, former 
Federation CEO — people who 
were dedicated and involved 
with our Jewish community. “
Because of the Intifada, that 
mission was unable to go to 
Israel. Instead, the mission 
went to Kiev, Ukraine, and 
Warsaw and Krakow in Poland, 
and then Auschwitz. “It was 
a meaningful discovery of 
Eastern European Jewry. It was 
also a leaping off point for me 
to get more involved with the 
people I met on the mission. 
We ended up doing a lot of 

good work in the community 
together,” he said. 
Berger became involved in 
Federation’s Israel Overseas 
and Partnership Committee 
and did eventually make it to 
Israel. He’s been there around 
14 times. His most recent trip 
to Israel was with Gary Torgow 
where he talks about a particu-
lar moment they shared.
“Gary is an incredibly 
insightful teacher of so much 
about what it is to be Jewish,” 
Berger said. “He took me 
to the sunrise service at the 
Kotel, where there is a pro-
found moment of silence 
before the prayers for the day 
begin. We laid tefillin, which 
is not something I normally 
do. It was a very impactful 
experience.”
Like Gary, Berger’s Jewish 
values were learned from fam-
ily. “My parents, Stanley and 
Phyllis Berger, have always 
given back,” he said. “The way 
my parents described it is you 
want to be a farmer, not a 
miner. Being a farmer means 
constantly giving back to the 
earth and always replenishing 
it. As a miner, you take but 
never give back. 
“Our community has to 
be replenished by the people 
who’ve been lucky enough to 
reap the benefits of that com-
munity,” he added. “I feel like 
I’m one of those people.”
Berger and his wife, Debbie, 
live in Birmingham. Their 
three children, Sam, Jeremy 
and Victor, are grown and 
live out of state. The Bergers, 
now enjoying their empty 
nest, “find opportunities to go 
spend time with each of them 
where they are.”
The Bergers are also avid 
wine collectors. “One of the 
ways we like to give back is 
to donate incredible wine 
dinners to get auctioned off,” 
Berger said. “The winning 
bidder and seven guests join 
me and Debbie where a pri-

 “OUR COMMUNITY HAS TO BE 
REPLENISHED BY THE PEOPLE 
WHO’VE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH 
TO REAP THE BENEFITS OF 
THAT COMMUNITY … I FEEL LIKE 

I’M ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE.” 

— MICHAEL BERGER

vate chef puts together an 
amazing menu and we pair all 
the wines. These dinners have 
raised a lot of money for char-
ities around town.”

FEDERATION AND 
FOUNDATION WORKING 
TOGETHER
Torgow and Berger have known 
each other for many years. 

“We’re getting to know each 
other better now, and we’re 
spending a lot of time together 
talking about how we can make 
an impact and continue the 
good work that Matt Lester and 
Dennis Bernard have done in 
the community,
” Berger said. 
Torgow said he looks forward 
to working with Federation 

Michael Berger

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