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Bloomfield has been involved 
with Chabad for the past two 
decades, ever since he was 
looking for somewhere to say 
Kaddish for his mother on her 
yahrzeit. He met his wife, Sarah, 
while both were volunteering 
at Friendship Circle, and was 
even involved with helping pur-
chase the building for Chabad 
of Greater Downtown’s opera-
tions, as he’s a commercial real 
estate broker. He helped start 
and run Menorah in the D, 
Chabad’s Chanukah program, 
and he and his wife volunteer 
with Friendship House, which 
deals with addiction, as well as 
Friendship Circle. 
“I very much appreciate the 
inspiration the shluchim have 
gotten from the Rebbe. I appre-
ciate the service the Chabad 
does for our community,
” he 
says. “Even though I don’t agree 
with everything they say or do, I 
appreciate their significant con-
tribution to the Jews of the world 
today, which is unmatched out 
there.
”
The fact that 30 years after the 
Rebbe’s passing, 20-year-olds are 
willing to dedicate their lives to 
the work their parents did speaks 
volumes, he says. 
“Seeing young Chabad families 
pop up new centers in Livonia 
and Traverse City 30 years after 
the Rebbe passed away is pret-
ty remarkable,
” he says. “The 
Rebbe’s influence is just as strong, 
if not stronger, than it was 30 
years ago.
” 
And as the Jewish community 
faced a crisis with current events 
in Israel, Chabad was already 
set up to help, offering tefillin, 
learning, Shabbat and other 
opportunities to connect, he says. 
“Most of the things they’re doing 
are just amplifications of things 
they’ve been doing all along,
” he 
says. “I think that’s pretty special.
” 

THE SHARING OF 
YIDDISHKEIT
Alan Zekelman of Bloomfield 
Hills says he’s confident that 

Chabad efforts in recent years 
have helped try to stem the 
tide of assimilation and shape 
American Judaism. He credits 
the Rebbe and the emissaries 
with bringing the “Rebbe experi-
ence” to others. 
“Shluchim have embraced me 
just like any other Yid, so I’ve 
been very supportive of those 
efforts, because I realize that 
without a stream of shluchim 
coming into the world, there’ll 
be a disruption of this wonderful 
saving of yiddishkeit,
” he says. 
Connected with Chabad since 
he was a graduate student in 
Rochester, New York, in 1984, he 
says he’s grateful for the non- 
judgmental embrace and 
impressed by both the organiza-
tion’s structure and the emissar-
ies’ sincerity and commitment. 
Zekelman supports educa-
tional efforts that prepare the 
emissaries for their work, with 
more than 150 students from 
around the world learning at 
the International School for 
Chabad Leadership on the Harry 
& Wanda Zekelman Campus in 
Oak Park, named for his parents. 
“There’s crucial outreach going 
on to local people in Michigan, 
so being helpful in that regard is 
an obligation and a pleasure as 
well,
” he says. 
Alex Mison, who is from 
Commerce and getting her mas-
ter’s degree at Michigan State 
University, says she never knew 
about Chabad or the Rebbe until 
she came to MSU as a freshman, 
but wound up connecting with 
the students and Chabad family 
there. Through that connection 
and community, she says, she’s 
been able to find her own Jewish 
identity and hopes to help con-
nect others as well. 
Especially after Oct. 7, students 
at MSU and on campuses across 
the state have turned to Chabads 
on campus for support and 
encouragement. “Chabad has 
been a place where I know I can 
go to feel safe and supported, 
Parents learn about the Lamplighters Preschool.
continued on page 18

