OCTOBER 31 • 2024 | 21
J
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L

ongtime Metro Detroiters Dr. 
Harry and Rachel (Ray) (z”l) 
Maisel met and married in 
South Africa more than 75 years 
ago. When Ray, Harry’s beloved 
wife, passed away in 2014, Harry 
protected her interesting collection 
of textiles from the ancient Jewish 
city of Bukhara (in present-day 
Uzbekistan), where Ray’s family, 
including prominent local rabbis, 
called home.

Ray’s family journeyed from 
Bukhara to Jerusalem to London 
(where Ray was born) and then to 
South Africa. Accompanying the 
family was a unique collection of 
colorful Bukharian silk and cotton 
robes, leather boots, kippot, shawls, 
scarves and embroidered tallit 
corners.
At the time of Dr. Maisel’s 90th 
birthday, he began to search for 
a home for this beautiful and 

cherished textile collection. It is 
now housed with JHSM (Jewish 
Historical Society of Michigan). 
JHSM Executive Director 
Catherine Cangany, Ph.D., said she 
is “thrilled JHSM can steward this 
exquisite and unusual collection. 
Most Jewish historical societies and 
museums do not have Bukharian 
dress among their holdings.”
JHSM and Dr. Maisel developed a 
plan with Adat Shalom Synagogue, 
where Harry served as president 
and Ray was the first woman to 
lead the ritual committee, to create 
a permanent installation of pieces 
from the Ray Maisel Bukharian 
Jewish textile collection. An old 
telephone booth in the synagogue 
lobby was transformed into a lighted 
display case. A nearby wall outlines 
a short history of Bukharian Jews 
and their location on the Silk Road. 
Rabbi Blair Nosanwisch said the 
congregation feels “fortunate that 

Dr. Harry Maisel, in loving memory 
of his wife, has founded an exhibit 
to celebrate the particular culture of 
the Bukharian Jewish community. 
Bukharian Jews are Mizrahi Jews, 
and the majority have emigrated to 
Israel or the United States.” 
The community is invited to 
attend the exhibit’s dedication at 
Adat Shalom on Friday night, Nov. 
22, prior to religious services. The 
dedication is part of a weekend 
of events highlighting Bukharian 
Jews, including a talk by scholar-
in-residence Ruben Shimonov, an 
educator based in Detroit by way of 
Uzbekistan. Shimonov will speak on 
“Global Jewish Diversity” and the 
role of Hebrew, Persian and Arabic 
script in Bukharian Jewish life.
“We hope that the Ray Maisel z”l 
Bukharian Jewish textile exhibit 
will facilitate learning about global 
Jewish diversity for many years to 
come,” Nosanwisch said. 

A Focus on 
Bukharian Jews

Ray Maisel z”l Bukharian Jewish Textile 
exhibit to open at Adat Shalom.

JEANNIE WEINER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ABOVE: The Maisel 
Exhibit at Adat Shalom. 
LEFT: Dr. Henry Maisel 
with the exhibit.

