1942 - 2024 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.thejewishnews.com The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel. VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity. DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com Publisher The Detroit Jewish News Foundation | Board of Directors: Chair: Gary Torgow Vice President: David Kramer Secretary: Robin Axelrod Treasurer: Max Berlin Board members: Mark Davidoff, Michael J. Eizelman, Larry Jackier, Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer Executive Director: Marni Raitt Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: Mike Smith Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: Arthur Horwitz Founding Publisher Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory The Detroit Jewish News Foundation Giving Society The Rebecca and Andrew Hayman Giving Fund Nancy and James Grosfeld The Honorable Bernard Friedman Editorial Director of Editorial: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com Contributing Editors: David Sachs, Keri Guten Cohen Senior Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz dschwartz@thejewishnews.com Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@thejewishnews.com Digital Manager: Elizabeth King eking@thejewishnews.com Contributing Writers: Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Shari S. Cohen, Louis Finkelman, Samantha Foon, Yevgeniya Gazman, Stacy Gittleman, Gary Graff, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Karen Schwartz, Robin Schwartz, Steve Stein, Nathaniel Warshay, Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky Advertising Sales Director of Advertising: Keith Farber kfarber@thejewishnews.com Senior Account Executive: Kathy Harvey-Mitton kmitton@thejewishnews.com | Business Office Director of Operations: Amy Gill agill@thejewishnews.com Operations Manager: Ashlee Szabo Circulation: Danielle Smith Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner | Production By Farago & Associates Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Kaitlyn Iezzi, Kelly Kosek, Michelle Sheridan 6 | JULY 11 • 2024 J N PURELY COMMENTARY essay Something to Celebrate T he Shehechiyanu — one of Judaism’s best-known, if hardest- to-transliterate, prayers — is popular for good reason. Over the millennia, Jews have recited it to celebrate simchahs, express joy and give thanks for new things. A new job, a new home, a new diploma, and even new hope can give rise to the desire to recite the Shehechiyanu. To that end, Gesher Human Services is gratefully giving thanks for arriving at this season of new. So, what’s new? What am I celebrating? Certainly there have been countless occasions to celebrate in the two-plus years since Gesher was created when JVS and Kadima, two of our community’s premier human service agencies, merged. Every day, I give thanks as my 400+ colleagues support 2,500 members of our Jewish community and another 24,000 of our friends and neighbors at work, at home and in the community. I give thanks as we’re about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the JOIN program — Jewish college students working at our communal agencies and learning about our community each day. And I give thanks to our board of directors and generous donors who support the people we serve. Today, however, I am giving thanks to the Macomb and St. Clair County Workforce Board for awarding Gesher a $1.7 million contract annually to operate it’s WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs. WIOA, or the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, is a federal program that serves job seekers and helps employers meet their workforce needs in myriad ways. In the coming months, Gesher team members will begin staffing offices in Warren, Roseville, Clinton Township and Port Huron to provide these services to any Michigander who chooses to enter one of those offices for support. Gesher has operated a Michigan Works! office in Waterford and a Detroit-at- Work office at the Durfee Innovation Society (the old Durfee school!) for a number of years, and both offices are at the top of their respective county’s performance metrics. This track record of success certainly helped us secure this new contract. But, b’resheet, “in the beginning, ” Gesher’s predecessor JVS operated its Business & Career Services department for decades. Supported by the Jewish Federation of Detroit and operating under different names since 1941, Gesher’s current success is built on the foundation of helping Jewish Detroiters get a better job, build a better life for their families, and passing on success l’dor va’dor — from generation to generation. While Gesher’s new work in Macomb and St. Clair counties won’t be to the primary benefit of the Jewish community — Paul Blatt