24 | DECEMBER 14 • 2023 
J
N

OUR COMMUNITY

T

he writer Sholem Aleichem adopted 
his pen name from the Hebrew 
shalom aleichem, or “peace be with 
you.
” Born Solomon Rabinovich in 1859 
in what is now Ukraine, Aleichem began 
writing as a youngster, jotting down his 
stepmother’s humorous expressions. When 
he was 15, he wrote the Jewish version of 
Robinson Crusoe. 
Later, married with children, he lost 
everything in a stock speculation and, after 
seeing the barbarity of the pogroms, left 
Eastern Europe for New York in 1905. His 
funeral in 1916 was attended by 100,000 
people. It was one of the largest funerals in 
New York at that time.
This beloved Yiddish author, teach-
er, lecturer, known for the “Tevye sto-
ries,
” was the inspiration for Michigan’s 
Sholem Aleichem Institute (SAI), found-
ed in Detroit in 1926 as the Yidishe 
Folkshule Farein (Yiddish People’s School 
Organization). The group was established 
with American-born and immigrant Jews 
who wished to provide their children with 
a secular Yiddish education focusing on 
Jewish history and Yiddish culture. By 
1929, it was known as SAI.
During its 97 years, SAI taught young 
people Yiddish and — with the founding of 
the State of Israel — Hebrew, Jewish histo-
ry, literature and music, as well as provided 
training for secular bar and bat mitzvahs. 
Students’ parents enjoyed poetry read-
ings, group singing, theater performances 
and lectures by authors, artists and educa-
tors who shaped American Jewish thought 
and culture. Young and old participated in 
SAI’s annual High Holiday “assemblies,
” 
Jewish festival celebrations, as well as 
Yiddish concerts in the park. 
The late Eugene Driker spoke often of 
his parents, Charles and Frances Driker, 
having been founding members. Driker 
related that he did not attend Jewish ser-
vices in the “grand buildings” in his neigh-

borhood, but found joy, warmth and a life-
long love of Yiddishkeit at SAI assemblies.

SAI PROGRAMS TO CONTINUE
SAI is now disbanding, but remaining 
members are delighted to announce 
that their program interests will live on 
through JHSM (Jewish Historical Society 
of Michigan) through the establishment of 
the Sholem Aleichem Institute Yiddishkeit 
Programming Fund, an endowment to 
support JHSM programs that align with 
SAI’s mission. SAI President Geoff Nathan 
appreciates that part of the organiza-
tion’s work will endure. “I am very glad 
Yiddishkeit will continue to have a pro-
gramming existence in Michigan,
” he said. 
SAI Past President Margaret Winters 
feels similarly: “Sholem Aleichem’s holiday 
celebrations and programs have been a 
source of joy for me, and I am delighted 
that, despite the fact that it cannot be main-
tained on its own, it will continue as part of 

Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
”
The partnership came about through 
JHSM’s programming director, Hilary Joy 
Duberstein, previously executive director 
of SAI. “It was my honor to be SAI’s final 
executive director,
” Duberstein explained. 
“By continuing to remember SAI’s sustain-
ers, including its much-loved first teacher 
and school principal, Moishe Haar, and 
through the establishment of this fund, we 
can keep SAI’s legacy alive for generations 
to come.
”
JHSM President Jeannie Weiner antic-
ipates sharing SAI’s history and mission 
with audiences both familiar and new. “We 
welcome this endowment,
” Weiner said, 
“which will expand our programmatic 
offerings to our Michigan communities, 
including celebrating SAI’s centennial in 
2026.
” 

To contribute to JHSM’s SAI Yiddishkeit Programming 

Fund, visit www.jhsmichigan.org/donate.

Detroit’s Sholem Aleichem Institute’s programs to continue with JHSM.

One Door Closes, 
Another Opens 

JHSM President Jeannie Weiner, SAI President Geoff Nathan, SAI Past President Margaret 
Winters and JHSM Program Director Hilary Joy Duberstein. 

COURTESY ELAYNE GROSS PHOTOGRAPHY

JN STAFF

