…$200 Nov. 18-24, 2021 / 14-20 Kislev 5782 JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT thejewishnews.com House of Spirit Frankel Jewish Academy introduces ‘FJA Houses’ to promote community- building and school spirit. Page 14 …
…442 S. Old Woodward Avenue Birmingham, MI 48009 HallandHunter.com Emily Kahn REALTOR® Elaina Ryder REALTOR® Cindy Kahn REALTOR® 2021 PENDINGS/SOLDS OF $85+ MILLION FRANKLIN VILLAGE | 26010 HERSHEYVALE DRIVE | $680,000 Exceptional family home located in the heart of Franklin affords privacy and wooded views on .78 acre lot. Light, space and functionality blend harmoniously throughout. The light-filled stylish living room flows to dini...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-12 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 14 House of Spirit Frankel Jewish Academy introduces ‘FJA Houses’ to promote community- building and school spirit. 18 Chanukah Happenings Local organizations have special events planned for the holiday. 20 For the Love of Books 2021 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival promises to be ‘eclectic.’ 21 A Life in the Law Judge...…
…4 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY for openers Commercially Speaking I n my Oct. 14 column, I bemoaned the fact that our radio and television airwaves have become saturated with nonstop, nails- on-a-chalkboard-annoying commercials promoting sportsbook betting. Thank you to the JN readers who reached out to me since then to share their own disdain. I knew I wasn’t alone. I did want to add a little addendum to my diatri...…
…At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, we’re here for you with access to care for both your physical and mental health wherever and whenever you need it. Including online visits from the privacy of your own home. Because we know that good health is whole health. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofi t corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Confi dence comes ...…
…6 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY 1942 - 2021 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org 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: s...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 7 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com …
…8 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY of the Depression, they lost everything. Still, they started over. Then came the Second World War and the reality that money they had sent to help get their endangered family out of Eastern Europe either arrived too late, or not at all. CONFRONTATIONS WITH ANTISEMITISM While growing up in Toledo, Ohio, and throughout my life, I would recall my grand- mother’s words whenever I was confront...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 9 THE JCC BOOK FAIR I grew up in Northwest Detroit and also have friends who remember the “old neighborhood” whose high school students went to Central High. Because of this, I have always enjoyed reading Mike Smith’s col- umn, as I enjoyed reading about the many good times my friends and I enjoyed growing up in the 1950s in these areas in Detroit. However, I did have an issue with his last column about the h...…
…10 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 essay Encouraging Jews to Connect to Their Judaism T he Pew Research Center study on “Jewish Americans in 2020,” which was released in May this year, shows that Reform and Conservative Judaism is plum- meting, while the number of “unaffiliated” is increasing. The same goes for the Orthodox, the vast majority of whom don’t intermarry and have many more children than their non-Orthodox counter- parts. ...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 11 The above two encounters illustrate the way in which Jews can bond. Another bonding custom among the Orthodox is the shivah, the seven-day mourn- ing period after a funeral. Prayer services are conducted in the home of the bereaved family (except on Shabbat, when even the mourners attend them at synagogue). Meals are regularly provided to the mourners all week as well. The shivah, when the bereaved stay a...…
…12 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY essay Schools Are Using Anti-Critical Race Theory Laws to Ban Children’s Literature I n the battle over the false idea that Critical Race Theory is “infiltrating” our K-12 schools — and the belief that it must be stopped — the new frontier is children’s lit- erature. Critical race theory (CRT), taught primarily in higher education and law school, is the study of how laws and policies ...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 13 note that in recent months, other works of children’s literature, particularly those written by Black authors, are increasingly being ques- tioned, challenged and banned amid the Critical Race Theory debate. Further, of the 2020 most challenged books, six out of 10 are about race and racism and by authors of color, most of whom are Black. That is in sharp contrast to 2019, where the top-challenged books w...…
…A t the start of the school year, Frankel Jewish Academy (FJA) began a new tradition — FJA houses. Houses in school settings may be familiar to many from the Harry Potter books and movies, but school houses are quite common in schools in England, says FJA ’s new Judaic Studies Principal Rabbi Abi Taylor-Abt, a British native. Students, faculty and staff were split into three houses — Galil (north), Mercaz (center) and Negev (so...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 15 continued on page 16 definitely needed to happen after the past two years with the pandemic, agreed Shana Kantor, FJA ’s director of advancement. “These houses were an opportunity to jumpstart and rebuild those networks and communities in new, fun and interesting ways for the stu- dents, ” Kantor said. Throughout the year, stu- dents can earn house points for mensch-like behavior like pick- ing up a piece of...…
…continued from page 15 16 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 lings were in the same houses because it’s easier for parents, we also didn’t want to cre- ate rivalries within families, ” Taylor-Abt laughed. “I think it’s so awesome that it’s already traveled beyond our own school and the younger kids in the community are learning about this. ” Taylor-Abt has noticed a difference in the corridors this year, with the school not nec- essarily trying...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 17 Jeopardy game, capture-the- flag, camp crafts and drawing murals representing each house are just some of the activities students participated in during the week. Each day was planned to include a dress-up, an active activity and a passive activi- ty. Passive activities included everything from guessing the amount of candies in a jar to finding hidden trophies around the school. Fundraising was also incor- po...…
…18 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 THE 8TH CRAZY NIGHT The community is invited to join an outdoor Chanukah celebration at Adat Shalom Synagogue Sunday, Dec. 5. At 4: 30 p.m., the festivities will begin, including a photo booth (in an igloo!), DJ Phreddy, a fire performance by Detroit Circus, fantastic activity stations brought to you by community co-sponsors and so much more. There will be a BIG menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m. The celebration ...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 19 Thank YOU! Moscow Family Philanthropic Fund PRESENTING SPONSORS PLATINUM SPONSORS DIAMOND SPONSORS EMERALD SPONSOR Shari Finsilver HONORARY CHAIR & KEYNOTE SPEAKER * Connie Holzer at Tom Holzer Ford Shari and Stanley Finsilver * A JVS Human Services FUNdraising Event 13th ANNUAL We extend our appreciation to the sponsors and supporters of JVS Trade Secrets. Your generosity has helped women in our comm...…
…20 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 T he 34th annual Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival runs Nov. 21-Dec. 16, and features 24 authors online via Zoom. All events are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Noemi Herzig, director of Jewish Cultural Arts and Adult Education for the Ann Arbor JCC, says it’s an eclectic festival this year. “I like to mix it up so there’s something for everybody, ” she said. “The festival’s purp...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 21 OUR COMMUNITY J udge Avern Cohn was celebrated by family, friends and colleagues on Friday, Nov. 5, at Franklin Hills Country Club for the launch of his book, Thinking About the Other Fella: Avern Cohn’s Life and the Law, writ- ten by Jack Lessenberry and Elizabeth Zerwekh. Judge Cohn served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1979-2019. When he was appointed by President...…
…22 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 F or the last four decades, if a story led our local newscasts on WDIV- TV Local 4, you can bet Marla Drutz was among those who knew about it first. She’s had what she describes as a “front row, 50-yard-line-seat” to daily news events and history in the making. Now, the vice president and general manager of Detroit’s NBC affiliate is retiring after holding the station’s top job for 13 years. Her last ...…
…an offer she couldn’t refuse — the opportunity to lead a station, something she’d always wanted to do. Drutz has received many hon- ors for her work including Emmy Awards and being named Broadcasting & Cable’s General Manager of the Year. A multiplica- tion buff, she figures she’s driven to and from work at least 20,000 times — even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — when she went to work every day to be alongside her team. To ce...…
…NATIONAL L eaders of white supremacist organizations unapologetically confirmed their racist and antise- mitic views during the second week of the Charlottesville trial. In polite, calm responses to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, sev- eral defendants expressed their beliefs that Jews and people of color threaten white civilization. Professor Deborah Lipstadt, an American historian and Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 25 refusing to provide or destroying evidence. The defendants claim they were exercising their free speech rights and that they did not coordinate and plan the violence that weekend, which they attributed mainly to counter-protesters and Antifa, as well as inaction by the Charlottesville police. Several defendants claimed that they had little or no contact among each other, but cell phone records and texts...…
…for college students by college students Nov. 18, 2021 / 14 Kislev 5782 Mic-Drop! Samantha Cohen } jewish@edu writer A s the vice president of community programming at Michigan State Hillel, event planning, promotion and production are a big part of my every- day life. Because I’m a student at the School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State, I was excited to recently become an event planning intern for a new program series at MS...…
…W A R R I O R S T R O N G THE NEW HOME OF WARRIOR HOOPS. The roar you hear is coming from Wayne State. Our brand-new, 3,000-seat fieldhouse generates excitement that draws people of all ages to the Motor City. Living on campus puts you closer to more sports, more art, more music and more energy than any other state university. When it comes to having fun, everywhere you look, Warriors are stronger than ever. PRIORITY SCHOLARSHIP DEADL...…
…28 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 E very year, Hillel of Metro Detroit hosts Israel Peace week at Wayne State University. Last year, because of COVID, it was canceled, which made this year’s events especially fun to attend. Hillel’s Students for Israel (SFI) works to educate students about Israeli culture and to show Israel’s positive influence in the world. Hillel hosts this event to encourage students to talk about Israel — no matter ...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 29 L awrence Technological University’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teamed up with Hillel of Metro Detroit’s Jewish students on campus to bring emotional support dogs to the Atrium on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The program, Pet a Puppy, was designed to cultivate LTU students’ sense of belonging and engagement on campus. As a student during COVID, it made sense to create a pro- gram that was comforting...…
…30 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 GIFT GUIDE T erry Landa was disappointed to miss her first invitation to a Discovery Toys home party in October 1985, but the scheduled date was right after her family’s move from Colorado to Detroit for her husband Ken’s new automotive industry job. Discovery Toys, a brand for more than 40 years, has a notable reputation for “spe- cializing in premium quality, kid-powered learning products for children. ” T...…
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…W ith eight crazy nights to prepare for, perhaps you need to pick up one or two more things for the people on your Chanukah list. Here we share some fun ideas for your holiday shopping. GOOD CLEAN FUN Do you want to make bath time more fun for your little ones? Consider Dabble & Dollop’s mixable bath products, which are made in the USA, safe for all ages, including babies/infants, and feature clean ingredients. “Dabble & Dollop...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 33 Elaine Serling “The Singing Bubbie” Nationally-Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter, Performing Artist, Author •Read & sing along •Share special moments •Make memories available at: www.elaineserling.com or find it at: Coby Judaica BookStore Jewish Community Center West Bloomfield • 248-661-6800 Hard Cover | 9.5”x9” | $19.95 Hard Cover | 9.5”x9” | $19.95 Hard Cover | 9.5”x9” | $19.95 Hard Cover | 9.5”x9” | $19.95 Hard...…
…34 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 GIFT GUIDE T he Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s (BBAC) annual Holiday Shop, now in its 41st year, is a local pop-up shopping experience where more than 3,000-square-feet of BBAC gallery space is transformed into a unique boutique offering one-of-a- kind, artisan-made gift items from more than 200 partici- pating artists. The Holiday Shop opens Dec. 2 and runs through Dec. 21. Hours are 10 a.m.- 6 p.m...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 35 “IT’S SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL!” –NY1 ON SALE NOW • JANUARY 4-9, 2022 • FISHER THEATRE BroadwayInDetroit.com | ticketmaster.com | Box Office Groups (10+) BroadwayInDetroitGroups@theambassadors.com (subject: Beautiful) OC open-caption performance January 7 at 8:00PM Photo: Joan Marcus Photo: Norma Jean Roy “IRRESISTIBLE!” -The New York Times January 18-30, 2022 • Fisher Theatre BROADWAY’S TONY AWARD®-WINNING B...…
…sports HIGHlights brought to you in partnership with NMLS#2289 36 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 Former Frankel Boys Basketball Coach Has a Saline Solution Michael Marek is living a dream. The 33-year-old former Frankel Jewish Academy boys basketball coach was named the boys basketball coach at Saline High School last month. “It’s always been my professional goal to coach a Division 1 high school boys basketball team,” Marek said. “I nev...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 37 Klinger has yet to bowl this season. He’s recovering from Sept. 28 back surgery and plans to return to bowling after the first of the year. He’s bowling for the MIA team, an appropriate name considering his condition. Country Lanes is the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson league’s longtime home. The league was supposed to return there in the 2020-21 season after bowling for two years at 300 Bowl in Waterford. The...…
…38 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 A s I often say, man (and woman) cannot live on turkey alone. But who knows how many turkeys are available this year? If entire birds are not available, you might be able to purchase turkey breast roasts or drum- sticks of what- ever you may find. Of course, if turkeys are unavailable, you can eat chicken, plain tur- key breast or juicy beef steaks. I’ve included here some of my favorite side dishes th...…
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…40 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 STUFFING IN A PUMPKIN Serve this stuffing in a hol- lowed pumpkin for a dra- matic presentation. Ingredients ¼ cup (½ stick) butter or marga- rine 2 cups chopped onions 1½ cups celery, chopped 2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional) 12 cups good-quality coarse crum- bled toasted bread (or bagged stuffing bread) 1 tsp. dried sage 3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth Salt and pepper Directions Cut o...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 41 ERETZ A m Yisrael recently ended the period of the Jewish High Holidays, a traditional period of reflection for the Jewish people. It begins with Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, followed by Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and repentance, and concludes with Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, the holiday com- memorating the 40 years of biblical wandering in the desert to the Promised Land. The past year has seen ...…
…42 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 MAZEL TOV! MAY 16, 2021 Stephanie and Sean Brownridge of New York City announce the birth of their son, Jack William Brownridge. Delighted grandparents are John and Paulette Baum of Novi, Larry and Lizzie Brownridge, and Filomena MacLean, all of New York. Thrilled great-grandmothers are Joan Baum of Sarasota, Fla., and Pat Brownridge of Delray, Fla. Jack is named in loving memory of great- grandfathers Jules ...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 43 Facing Our Legacy A t the outset of our weekly Torah por- tion, Jacob prepares to meet his brother Esau for the first time in many years. The last time they saw each other, Esau had promised retribution for Jacob’s stealing his blessing from their father Isaac. After splitting his large family into two camps, Jacob is left alone and encounters a mysterious figure, who wrestles with him throughout the ni...…
…44 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 I have often argued that the episode in which the Jewish people acquired its name — when Jacob wrestled with an unnamed adversary at night and received the name Israel — is essential to an understanding of what it is to be a Jew. I argue here that this episode is equally critical to understanding what it is to lead. There are several theories as to the identity of “the man” who wrestled with the p...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 45 uses the name Jacob to mean someone who practices deception: “Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan; for every one of them is a deceiver and every friend a slanderer” (Jer. 9:3). As long as Jacob sought to be Esau, there was tension, conflict, rivalry. Esau felt cheated; Jacob felt fear. That night, about to meet Esau again after an absence of 22 years, Jacob wrestles with himself; final...…
…Synagogue Directory CONSERVATIVE Adat Shalom Synagogue Farmington Hills (248) 851-5100 adatshalom.org Ahavas Israel Grand Rapids (616) 949-2840 ahavasisraelgr.org Congregation Beth Ahm West Bloomfield (248) 851-6880 cbahm.org Congregation Beth Israel Flint (810) 732-6310 cbiflint.org Congregation Beth Shalom Oak Park (248) 547-7970 congbethshalom.org Beth Tephilath Moses Mt. Clemens (586) 996-3138 bethtephilathmoses.com...…
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 47 Shomrey Emunah Southfield (248) 559-1533 congregation-shomrey- emunah-105705.square.site The Shul-Chabad Lubavitch West Bloomfield (248) 788-4000 theshul.net Woodward Avenue Shul Royal Oak (248) 414-7485 thewas.net Yagdil Torah Southfield (248) 559-5905 Young Israel of Oak Park (248) 967-3655 yiop.org Young Israel of Southfield (248) 358-0154 yisouthfield.org RECONSTRUCTIONIST Congregation Kehillat ...…
…48 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 ARTS&LIFE ART Through art, writing and teaching, Jay Saper honors his Jewish heritage. A Link to Past Generations KERI GUTEN COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jay Saper of Pashkevil Press in East Lansing …
…NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 49 A t age 30, Jay Saper of East Lansing is an old soul. Through his art, writing and teaching, he keeps alive the beliefs and history of progressive social/ political activists, including some relatives, who preceded him by gener- ations. We met at “Freedom of the Press, ” a printmakers’ exhibit at Eastern Market in early October. He sat at his table patiently, waiting for passersby to stop and ask about his wor...…
…50 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 ARTS&LIFE THEATER O n March 12, 2020, the day that Broadway shut down, Bex Odorisio was in final rehears- als for the world premiere opening of The Visitor at the Public Theater in New York City. She also had a callback for the North American tour of Hadestown. One year later, Odorisio got an email that Hadestown was going to be the first musical to resume on Broadway on Sept. 2, and begin its tour on Oc...…
