6 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 J
N
1942 - 2024
Covering and Connecting
Jewish Detroit Every Week
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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
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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
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Contributing Editors:
David Sachs, Keri Guten Cohen
Senior Staff Reporter:
Danny Schwartz
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Editorial Assistant:
Sy Manello
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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
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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
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