…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 29 minority that must grapple with juggling exam schedules and religious observance, from the notion of rescheduling exams or for finding non- Jewish faculty or graduate students who can step in and proctor exams so Jewish faculty could take off. “ At Oakland University, there is now a task force made up of faculty and students and staff taking a closer look at the future academic calendar and how it will work o...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 3 J N PURELY COMMENTARY 4-11 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 12 Inspiration. Innovation. Inclusion. Yeshiva Beth Yehudah hosts Statewide Special Education Symposium to spark innovation, encourage collaboration and share how others can emulate their successful programs for children with varying abilities. 20 Campus Chaos in Ann Arbor Increasing anti-Israel protests leave students angr...…
…30 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N I n my research for this monthly column, I come across all sorts of interesting organizations and opportunities. This month, I’ve come across something I cannot wait to sign up for. The Polk Penguin Conservation Center at the Detroit Zoo is the largest and most extraordinary center for penguins in the world. The facility features a 326,000-gallon, 25-foot- deep aquatic area where visitors can watch as ...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 31 YO M H A Z I K A R O N W I T H YA D I N G E L L M A N , I D F E L I T E U N I T H E R O A COMMUNITY VIGIL FOR THE FALLEN Join us for the annual memorial for Yom HaZikaron, as we gather as a united community to remember the victims of October 7 and the soldiers lost in the ongoing war. We will hear a story of bravery and loss from our guest speaker Yadin Gellman, an IDF elite unit hero who was severely wounded o...…
…32 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N C hapter meetings, regional conventions at the JCC, Milan or Bittker Weekends, beaus and sweethearts ... If this means anything to you, then you belong at a Celebration of the Century when Michigan Region celebrates 100 years of AZA, BBG and BBYO with a once-in-a century-reunion. On May 3, 1924, a group of teens in Omaha, Nebraska, founded AZA and, shortly after that, the first chapter was founded in Gran...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 33 J N OUR COMMUNITY O n March 25, the Joan Meyers Jampel Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage welcomed the Jewish War Veterans Department of Michigan (JWV) for the opening of its newest exhibit: The People Behind the Posts. Since 1896, the JWV has been an advocate for the care and rights of veterans. It supports local programs and educates the public about the contributions of Jews to the U.S. military. It...…
…34 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N T he incomparable life of the late Dr. Günther “Guy” Stern was celebrated before a sold-out gathering at The Zekeleman Holocaust Center (The HC) in Farmington Hills, on Sunday, March 10. Stern — Holocaust survivor, WWII Ritchie Boy hero and celebrated scholar — passed away on Dec. 7, 2023, just weeks shy of his 102nd birthday. He was laid to rest the following day in a private funeral with military honors...…
…never heard of the elite Army unit, which is credited with supplying 60% of the intelligence gathered in Europe during WWII. “He was my first Ritchie Boy,” Henderson said. “He started me on a three-year journey to write Sons and Soldiers, the untold story of the Jews who escaped the Nazis and returned with the U.S. Army to fight Hitler.” Henderson yearned to know more and with that Stern invited him to come to Michigan from Californ...…
…36 | APRIL 11 • 2024 were written 80 years ago as part of Guy’s formal evaluation when he left Camp Ritchie, about to become a staff sergeant in the United States Army. His first evaluation report said among other things, ‘He’s quiet, unassuming, theatrical and, most importantly, quite intelligent.’” A CHERISHED PROFESSOR Wayne State University (WSU), like The HC, was a second home to Dr. Guy Stern. The university and its students ...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 37 in German at Columbia University in 1954. In 1980, upon the invitation of Lenya, Guy became a member of the board. In his video tribute, Dr. Kim Kowalke, president and CEO of the foundation, proudly spoke about the high honor he was able to bestow upon his lifelong friend. “In December of 2021, just four weeks before his 100th birthday, the board of trustees of the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music elected Guy St...…
…38 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N W hen we get a new phone number, we often assume the numbers are random, but other times, we’re reminded very clearly: Nothing in life is random. Meet Jaclyn Baird, for example. After moving to New York recently, Jaclyn obtained a new phone num- ber. How annoying is it to get constant messages or calls addressed to someone else? Most people just ignore them, muttering things like, “Can’t they see from m...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 39 SPOTLIGHT A diverse mix of religious and lay leaders from 10 large Conservative, Reform and Modern Orthodox American Jewish communi- ties, including Rabbi Harold Loss from Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, are visiting Israel on a five-day American Friends of MDA Rabbinic Solidarity Mission. The mission’s packed itinerary brings the par- ticipants face to face with Israel’s complexities and challenges six ...…
…4 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N essay Winning Hearts and Minds for Israel I srael’s Hasbarah outreach campaign got a big boost in Metro Detroit recently at the 19th annual Schoolcraft Community College Multicultural Fair. Some 1,500 students and area residents came to the Schoolcraft campus in Livonia to explore the cultures, traditions and histories of dozens of countries that were represented at the event. Israel’s booths...…
…40 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N A bby Wolfson of Oak Park has lots of guests for Shabbos. It’s how she grew up and a tradition she loves to continue, she says. Every Friday night her mom would host, for as long as she can remember, she explains. “It was never just us. My house was never quiet for Shabbos dinner. I think that’s really important in terms of how I feel Shabbat is meant to be spent, really with other people.” Whether s...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 41 adding that she went out recently to buy a card table to add on for more space. “This is a passion for me; it’s a labor of love,” she says, adding she grew up in a shomer Shabbos home with a vibrant Shabbat table, joined regularly by her parents’ friends. “I expect to have a lively table,” she says, adding that she tries to incorporate something religious and spiritual as well. She seeks to bring energy a...…
…42 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N faces&places O ver 100 friends of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Central Region (Michigan, Ohio and Illinois) gathered on Feb. 25 at the home of Miriam and Fred Ferber in Del Rey Beach, Florida, for an inspiring brunch featuring three elite members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who provided a first-hand look into the unique challenges currently facing Israel since Oct. 7. This ...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 43 J N faces&places O ver 500 people joined the Royal Oak Chabad Jewish Center for its annual Purim celebration, this year’s theme being “Purim in Israel. ” The event took place March 24 at the Royal Oak Farmers Market. Guests had the opportunity to “travel through” various locations with corresponding activities in Israel, including a petting farm at a kibbutz, art corner in Tzfat, fresh juice squeezing in Jaffa, ...…
…44 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N A ge is just a number for Bob Tarnow. The nearly 60-year Southfield resident is 84 years old and still going strong, competing in multiple sports. And winning, too. He won three gold medals in pickle- ball last month in the Michigan Senior Olympics Winter Games. The competition was held at Life Time — Rochester Hills. The medals were in men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles in the 85-89 age group. ...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 45 DOG OF THE WEEK L et’s play ball! That’s Rocco’s favorite sentence and not just because the Detroit Tigers’ season just opened at Comerica Park! Rocco loves to chase a baseball, tennis ball and even a soccer ball! Just add, “athlete” to Rocco’s list of good traits. Someone get this dog an agent! Rocco is a 2-year-old Shepherd mix who does well with other pets and active kids over the age of 8 or 10. He came to...…
…business SPOTlight brought to you in partnership with B I R M I N G H A M 46 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N B orn to American parents, Israeli- American David Ross of West Bloomfield lived most of his life on Kibbutz Tzora in central Israel after his parents made aliyah shortly after the Six Day War. There, his mother Shira was an occupational therapist who eventually developed painful carpal tunnel syndrome. She searched for a...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 47 J N its hot weather. “I realized at some point that to grow my business, products to keep you warm were not so desirable in Israel, so I came to the United States, where there were more opportunities,” said Ross, a graduate of Israel’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. So five years ago, Ross with his family moved to Michigan — a state that has cold weather and a sizeable Jewish community in a much larger...…
…48 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N F rom the evening of April 22 to April 30, Jews across the world partake in the annual celebration of Passover, a 3,300-year-old story of freedom and sacrifice, commemorating their liberation from slavery in Egypt. It’s one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the Jewish calendar, and PJ Library, one of the leading resources for Jewish families across North America, offers up dozens of ways to ...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 49 Repair the World, along- side AEPi and Moishe House and other Jewish Service Alliance partners, announced the “Passover Earth Day Challenge, ” aiming to contrib- ute 5,000 Passover Earth Day Challenge service actions leading up to Passover and Earth Day — both occur April 22, and as a part of Global Volunteer Month throughout April. The Passover Earth Day Challenge will launch on Saturday, April 13, with daily...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 5 J N Passover Happy Myway Member exclusive PricIng Valid 4/8/24-4/30/24 Holy SpeS Busch’s Fresh FoOd Market is not a Kosher establishment MA COHEN’S - Kos sod /sid NOVA LOX 4 oz. save $10.99 bo Ten Asag 1. l. FRESH fa c be rit 7. l. FRESH em kor cik 8 piecE cut-up limIt 3 3. l. …
…50 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N Natalie Grace Adelman, daughter of Karen and Eric Adelman, will lead the con- gregation in prayer as a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Saturday, April 13, 2024. She will be joined in celebration by her sister, Jocelyn. Natalie is the loving grandchild of Ellen and Cary Adelman, and Sofia and Reuven Urman. She is a student at Warner Middle School in Farmington Hills. Natalie’s most meani...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 51 J N The Need for Compassion H ave you ever found yourself in a situation where someone close to you seems to be straying from their morals and values? It’s a dilemma; should you intervene or stay silent? This week’s Torah por- tion discusses the impuri- ty known as tzara’at, often translated as leprosy. However, while this con- dition was physical, it was a manifestation of a spir- itual malady. In biblical ti...…
…52 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N H annah Smith was a 14-year-old schoolgirl living in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Bright and outgoing, she enjoyed an active social life and seemed to have an exciting future ahead of her. On the morning of Aug. 2, 2013, Hannah was found hanged in her bedroom. She had died by suicide. Seeking to unravel what had happened, her family soon discovered that she had been the target of anonymous abusive...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 53 Partly this has deep roots in the Jewish understanding of God and the human condition. Judaism is less a religion of holy people and holy places than it is a religion of holy words. God created the universe by words: “And God said, Let there be … and there was.” God reveals himself in words. He spoke to the patriarchs and the prophets and at Mount Sinai to the whole nation. Our very humanity has to do with o...…
…Synagogue Directory METRO DETROIT CONSERVATIVE Adat Shalom Synagogue Farmington Hills (248) 851-5100 adatshalom.org Congregation Beth Ahm West Bloomfield (248) 851-6880 cbahm.org Congregation Beth Shalom Oak Park (248) 547-7970 congbethshalom.org Beth Tephilath Moses Mt. Clemens (586) 996-3138 bethtephilathmoses.com B’nai Israel Synagogue West Bloomfield (248) 432-2729 bnaiisraelwb.org Congregation B’nai Moshe West Blo...…
…Temple Emanu-El Oak Park (248) 967-4020 emanuel-mich.org Temple Israel West Bloomfield (248) 661-5700 temple-israel.org Temple Kol Ami West Bloomfield (248) 661-0040, tkolami.org Temple Shir Shalom West Bloomfield (248) 737-8700 shirshalom.org REFORM/RENEWAL Congregation Shir Tikvah Troy (248) 649-4418 shirtikvah.org SECULAR/HUMANISTIC Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit Farmington Hills (248) 477-1410 ...…
…56 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N ARTS&LIFE COMEDY Michael Rapaport: live and uncensored in the D. ‘The Inflamed Ashkenazi’ JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER Michael Rapaport on stage in Chicago. JANET M. TAKAYAMA/FACEBOOK …
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 57 I t’s just before Shabbat in Tel Aviv when Michael Rapaport calls from his hotel to talk all-things Jewish, Israel and comedy. And while the prolific actor, influencer and podcaster will tell you that there’s absolutely nothing funny about the war in Israel, he hopes that his brand of edgy humor will provide a little relief to Michigan audiences when he performs four standup comedy shows April 18-20 at the Ema...…
…58 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N I n her acting career portraying many characters, Amanda Buchalter has taken on roles that have included a mouse and a human with wolfish tenden- cies. This season, she gets to be a squirrel in a play that tells a story as animals depict human issues through a cast numbering eight. The Michigan premiere of The Squirrels presents a dark comedy by Robert Askins, who wrote the Tony Award-nominated play Hand ...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 59 PASSOVER SYL-LA-CROS-TIC Place the syllables in the box in the correct order to fill in the blanks. JUST FOR FUN 1. Have a happy holiday (Hebrew) ____ ____ ____ ____ 2. Happy Passover (Ladino) ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 3. Piece of matzah that is ____ ____ ____ ____ hidden during the seder 4. Hebrew for “four cups” ____ ____ ____ ____ 5. Hebrew for “egg” ____ ____ 6. Hebrew for “enough for us” ____ ____ ...…
…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, 322...…
…60 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N BEING A JEW; ANOTHER “NASTY” HIP CLOTHIER; SUPERMAN PREVIEW? MORE This week, I am catching- up with two HBO programs that recently began streaming: Alex Edelman: Just for Us (April 6) and “Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion (April 9). Edelman, a stand-up comedian, was born and raised in a Modern Orthodox home in the Boston area. After high school, he spent a year in a Jerusalem yeshivah and, ...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 61 J N CONCERT EVENT 7:30 PM, APRIL 11 (THURS.) At the Berman Center for Performing Arts. Tickets $25- $45. Host Benji Rosenzweig will navigate audiences through timeless tales and context as we share the Jewish narrative of the Beatles in this two-part con- cert event. Intermixed within the stories, Soulfarm will lend their music stylings and play some of your favorite Beatles tunes. Part two of the evening is c...…
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…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 63 HENRY BECHEK, 85, of Orchard Lake, died March 31, 2024. Mr. Bechek is survived by his wife of 62 years, Linda Bechek; daugh- ters and sons-in-law, Lorrie Bechek, Abby Bechek and Dave Tomaszewski, and Cathy and John Gifford; grand- children, Jasmine and Adam Kennedy, Shiloh Bechek, Jackson Gifford, James Bechek, and Cassidy Gifford; great-grandchildren, Henley Kennedy and Brier Kennedy; brother-in-law, Carl...…
…64 | APRIL 11 • 2024 D r. Michael Sherwin Parr, 82, of Sacramento, Calif., formerly of Detroit, died on March 25, 2024. Born in Detroit, Michael grew up surrounded by a lot of family as well as close friends who remain so to this day. He was quite an accomplished athlete, playing various sports. As a teenager, Michael went to work in his father’s dry-cleaning business, Parr French Cleaners, in Detroit. In 1958, Michael graduat...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 65 J N Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 48072, yadezra.org/donate; American Cancer Society, 20450 Civic Center Drive, Southfield, MI 48076, cancer.org; or American Heart Association, 26555 Evergreen Road, Suite 570, Southfield, MI 48076, heart.org/en/affiliates/michi- gan/detroit. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. DEE DEE HO...…
…66 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N MEGHAN KORCHAK, 46, of Oak Park, died April 1, 2024. Ms. Korchak is survived by her parents, Martin and Bonnie Korchak; brothers and sis- ter-in-law, Paul and Tamara Korchak, and Jeremy Korchak; aunts and uncles, Randie and Charlie Federman, and Susie and Garry Borin; many loving relatives and friends. She was the dear sister of the late Drew Korchak; the loving niece of the late Jerry Korchak. Interm...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 67 J N a great-grandmother. Frances will be missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her sis- ter, Marilyn Hoskow; broth- er-in-law, Jerold Hoskow; children, Kenneth (Janisse Nagel), Steven (Julie) and Julie (Brian Weisberg); grandchil- dren, Melissa (Kevin Patrick), Lauren (Evan Tarshish), Haley, Kevin, Matthew (Allie Page), Kenna and David; great-grandchildren, Brooklyn and Noa; many loving nieces and neph...…
…68 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N grandchildren, Samuel Myers and his fiancee, Hayley McNitt, Jacob Myers, Justin and Hien Myers, and Jonathan Myers and his fian- cee, Agustina Bonaventura; great-granddaughter, Nhien Myers; sister, Fayne Petok; sister-in-law, Marcia Tanzman; daughter-in-law, Denise (Kenneth) Brown. He is also survived by his devot- ed caregiver, David Rutledge; and many loving nieces and nephews. Mr. Meyers was the belo...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 69 J ames C. Schmidt, 83, beloved husband, cherished father, treasured grandfather, adoring great-grandfather and esteemed psychologist, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on April 1, 2024. He leaves behind a legacy of warmth, wisdom and boundless love. Raised in Detroit with his devoted brother, Bob (MyLe) Schmidt, and loving sister, Gaye Tillman, Jim offered the ultimate example of a li...…
…DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com APRIL 11 • 2024 | 7 J N thejdetroit.org/filmfestival …
…Looking Back From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at thejewishnews.com 70 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N The Legacy of Gardner-White I f you have lived in Metro Detroit for a few years, unless you have never read a newspaper or received mail at your home or have never watched TV or listened to the radio or recently attended Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, then it might be possible that you’ve ne...…
…APRIL 11 • 2024 | 31 …
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…8 | APRIL 11 • 2024 J N W ho is today’s wise child? Today’s wicked child? Some six months after Oct. 7, with Jewish children and adults still held hostage, with antisemitism on the rise around the world and with the Jewish State fighting a war of self- defense, seder nights will soon arrive to ask Jewish families once again to apply the paradigm of oppres- sion and redemption to our contemporary experience. To proceed with...…
