24 | MARCH 7 • 2024 
J
N

W

hen Ira Goldberg’s retirement 
from teaching was nearing, 
he started developing a pho-
tography business to pivot his energies 
once he finished working at Berkley 
High School. And then, right around the 
time of retirement, his mother-in-law, 
Janet Pont, was honored as part of Jewish 
Senior Life’s 8 Over 80 program.
“My mother-in-law’s mission was all 
about volunteering,” says Goldberg, a 

Farmington Hills resident and member of 
Congregation Beth Ahm. “She articulated 
that so well in the video at the 8 Over 80 
luncheon. And I asked myself, ‘How can 
I use my skills to make somebody’s life a 
little better?’”
Because he was at JSL as these thoughts 
took shape, Goldberg wondered how he 
might create pieces of art to represent the 
beauty and uniqueness of Jewish seniors.
He connected with Tracey Proghovnick, 

a fellow Beth Ahm member and JSL’s 
director of residential marketing and 
community relations, and became 
involved in a book project photographing 
JSL residents. That has morphed into an 
ongoing personal crusade to connect with 
seniors and create portraits that portray 
their personalities and values.
Goldberg photographed 40 seniors for 
the book and has met with more than 
a dozen more. He’s photographed 10 
Meer residents thus far and has bookings 
through April, all of which he does at no 
cost.
Before photographing seniors, 
Goldberg meets with them in their home 
to get to know them. They share stories 
about their lives, and he gains a sense of 
their values and interests, which inspire 
the photo session.
“It’s important to build a relationship,” 
he says. “I want them to feel comfortable 
in front of my camera. I want to hear 
their stories. I want to hear about their 
kids, where they grew up, all the special 
things in their past.”
He’s met with veterans from the Korean 
War and World War II. He’s met with 
seniors who are pillars of the Detroit 
Jewish community — like Ilene Rubin, 
a Meer resident and fellow Beth Ahm 
member who wanted her portrait taken 
in the synagogue, with the Torah.
“I am a bat cohain (daughter of a 
Cohain),” Rubin says. “I often have the 
first aliyah, and I said it would mean so 

A local photographer spotlights 
a generation of Jews.

Dor L
’Dor

LYNNE GOLODNER 
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

OUR COMMUNITY

Ilene 
Rubin 

Ilene Rubin and Rabbi Steven Rubenstein

