6 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 J
N

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 Watkins 
 Circulation: Danielle Smith
 Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner

| Production By 
 Farago & Associates
 Manager: Scott Drzewiecki 
 Designers: Kaitlyn Iezzi, Kelly Kosek, 
 
 Michelle Sheridan 

PURELY COMMENTARY

From Federation

A Call to Awaken
A

s we welcome the new year, we extend 
our warmest wishes to you and 
your loved ones for a Shanah Tovah 
U’Metukah — a good and sweet year filled with 
peace, health and joy.
The blast of the shofar, which echoes 
throughout our synagogues and temples during 
this sacred season, is a call to awaken, reflect and 
renew. The indelible blasts — Tekiah, Shevarim, 
Teruah — remind us of the many facets of our 
journey as individuals and as a community. 
They call us to examine our past, recognize the 
realities of the present, and envision a future 
filled with hope and promise.
This year, the plaintive cry of the shofar will 
surely remind us of the pain and tragedy we 
have recently endured as a people, beginning 
with the searing memory of Oct. 7. We will hear 
the sorrow of a nation struggling to defend its 
people against abject evil, and the outrage of 
Jews everywhere who are too often assailed with 
open displays of hatred and antisemitism.
But the shofar’s cry is also a reminder of our 
shared commitment to right the wrongs of our 
world. It urges us to stand together in unity 
despite our differences, to support those in 
need, and to rededicate ourselves to the values 

of justice, compassion and kindness that have 
always been the cornerstone of Jewish life. In its 
powerful and stirring notes, we hear the strength 
of our ancestors and the call to action for the 
year ahead. 
It is a call that we can be confident will be 
heard and answered by this great community. 
Jewish Detroiters have always responded to 
difficulties and needs — here at home, in 
Israel or anywhere across the world — with 
extraordinary urgency and generosity. Indeed, 
over the past year, the Jewish community of 
Detroit has helped support and sustain the 
people of Israel in their time of need through 
your generous donations and innumerable acts 
of solidarity and compassion. 
Your acts of tzedakah have also helped 
transform the lives of thousands of members of 
our own community, providing much-needed 
support to our most vulnerable individuals and 
families, as well as opportunity and inspiration 
for those seeking the joys of Jewish life and 
fellowship. 
We have also been blessed to remain a 
remarkably cohesive community — deeply 

committed and connected to one another 
despite the growing forces of division and 
discord in the world. As we greet the new year, 
let us remember that the foundation of Jewish 
strength has always been our ability to stand 
shoulder-to-shoulder in both good and difficult 
times.
On behalf of the Jewish Federation and United 
Jewish Foundation of Detroit, we are deeply 
grateful for all you have done. As we enter 5785, 
may the sound of the shofar inspire us all to rise 
to our highest potential, to embrace each other 
with kindness and open hearts, and to build a 
future that reflects the best of who we are. 
This sacred time of year reminds us that we 
stand before the Almighty, who is the center 
of all things and the source of our strength 
and purpose. L
’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu — may 
He inscribe and seal us as individuals and as a 
community for a year of goodness, health and 
peace. 

Gary Torgow is president of the Jewish Federation of 

Detroit; Michael Berger is president of the United Jewish 

Foundation of Detroit; and Steve Ingber is CEO of the 

Jewish Federation of Detroit.

Gary Torgow

Michael 
Berger

Steve Ingber

o

 

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