…$200 Sept. 23-29, 2021 / 17-23 Tishri 5782 JEWISH NEWS JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT thejewishnews.com Ten distinct young adult groups unite to show Jews share more in common than that which separates them. See page 10 Big Tent Event …
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…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-9 Essays and Viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 10 Big Tent Event Ten distinct young adult groups unite to show Jews share more in common than that which separates them. 18 A Community Mitzvah Bais Chabad communal project helping Sderot, Israel family with bar mitzvah expenses. 20 From Israel with Love They’re here! Meet Detroit’s 2021-22 shinshinim. 21 New Exhibi...…
…4 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 guest column Refl ections on 9-11: A Letter to Remember I t was an incredible series of moments that were filled with sadness and with prayer. Two Dominican Sisters of the Roman Catholic Church, Sister Mary Magdalen and Sister Anna Marie, of the Order of Preachers (O.P.) and I had arranged to meet at Adat Shalom Synagogue at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001. The nuns had learned of the recently published...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 5 Whether at home or on the go, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is with you every step of the way. With the largest network of the highest-quality doctors and hospitals in Michigan, Blue Cross gives you access to the care you need however, wherever and whenever you need it. Including our 24-Hour Nurse Line, online visits, mental health support, urgent care and more. So, you’re covered anytime, anywhere. We’re ...…
…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: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 322...…
…DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 7 …
…8 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 essay Protecting Reproductive Rights T hough I was born before Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, I grew up only knowing abortion to be legal. But from its inception, abor- tion has been a right in name only for so many people — mostly indi- viduals with low incomes, LGBTQ folks and people of color. Because the reality is that access to abortion has been under attack since the Supreme Court’s 1973 deci- si...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 9 continued from page 6 our participants grow into future leaders — and now, with campers and staff “home from home,” they are “changed for good” and driven to further solidify the foundation of our camp. This is why we have launched the CAMPaign for Change. Within the spirit of interactive camp programming, campers and staff learned about tzedakah and the value of giving back. They built their own tzedak...…
…10 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 OUR COMMUNITY I n a first-of-its-kind event, 10 diverse Jewish groups joined forces last month to throw the ultimate young adult end-of-summer send-off. The “commUNITY” get-together — an evening of live music, kosher food and drinks at a beautiful back yard in West Bloomfield — attracted close to 300 young people. It took place on Aug. 25 — but the concept, in reality, was years in the making. The invited ...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 11 lived in Ann Arbor, hoping to see some friends from Birthright Israel. A LONG-HELD DREAM Joshua Goldberg, involved throughout the community, was the president of NEXTGen Detroit until his term ended on Sept. 2. It was his idea to create a council that would unite diverse organizations that focused on engaging Jewish young adults. The dream had been simmering in his mind for years. Goldberg serves profession...…
…12 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 Between April and July, Goldberg and Gross strategized about the best way to get all the groups to buy into the idea. “In general, there was openness toward doing it, even between groups that hadn’t previously partnered together. But actually bringing it to reality involved the various group’s internal politics and scheduling needs,” Goldberg said. “And, ultimately, we needed each group to commit to be...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 13 YESHIV A BETH YEHUDAH D E T R O I T M A R R I O T T R E N A I S S A N C E C E N T E R O C T O B E R 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • 4 : 3 0 P M M A R Y B A R R A c h a i r & c e o , g e n e r a l m o t o r s o u t s t a n d i n g l e a d e r s h i p a w a r d e e e v e n t c h a i r j e r r y n o r c i a h o n o r a r y c h a i r a m b a s s a d o r d a v i d t. f i s c h e r g e n e r a l c h a i r m a r k d a v i d o f f c...…
…14 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 which groups, even multiple groups, they were affiliated with since many young adults are involved with more than one. Most people remained unaware at this point of the existence of the Achdut Detroit Council, as the groups were listed as holding the event without any mention of the council. “But as community members inquired, I started to explain the bigger picture,” Goldberg said. “This led to other ...…
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…16 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 TOP TO BOTTOM: Michael and Fallon Levin. • Sarah Timlin, Lily Barash, Joely Reznik. • Each organization had a signature cocktail. • Rachel Fine, Olivia Berlin, Alyah Al-Azem, Arielle Inwald, Tomer Moked, Abby Rubin, Becca Fishman. OUR COMMUNITY continued from page 14 …
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 17 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Zachary and Emily Slabotsky, Erica Dovitz, Zachary Wettenstein. • Kayla Mandel, Mallory Genauer, Joelle Abramowitz, all from Jewish Young Professionals of Ann Arbor. • Hart Watnick, Hannah Goodman, David Sable, Nikki Baron. • Nearly 300 people attended the community event. Reunions were common as this was the first big event most people had attended since the start of the pande...…
…OUR COMMUNITY T he Bais Chabad community has taken part in a unique communal mitzvah around the High Holidays — helping a family, and a community, across the globe. Of all Jewish communities in the world, few have been as challenged in recent history as the city of Sderot, Israel. Sitting one kilometer from the Gaza Strip, Sderot has been the target of thousands of rocket attacks over the last 15 years, including hundreds durin...…
…Adult Volunteers: Our volunteers can assist with program- ming during the school day in our state of the art village, teaching life skills or in after-school programming. Addi- tionally, there is an opportunity to assist our professional artist staff by supporting artists at Soul Studio. High School and College Students: Volunteers are paired with a child who has special needs for a 1-2 hour program after-school or on Sundays. Toget...…
…OUR COMMUNITY S hinshin (ש”ש). It’s the Hebrew acronym for Shenat Sherut which means “year of service. ” Kind of like our gap year, Shenat Sherut is a program some Israeli high school graduates take part in before starting their military service. Recently, four such young Israelis (collectively known as shinshinim) touched down in Metro Detroit. For the next year, Noa Levi, Itay Schwartz, Ron Harel and Amit Bellin will make Mic...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 21 OUR COMMUNITY T he Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation has created its initial exhibit celebrating the work of Albert Kahn, the world’s foremost industrial architect of the first half of the 20th century. Titled “Albert Kahn: Creating the Modern World,” it is on public display at the Fisher Building in Detroit through Sept. 30. While the Fisher Building is probably his most admired local struc- ture, Kahn’s f...…
…22 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 OUR COMMUNITY T he senior class at Farber Hebrew Day School is taking part in a suk- kah-building fundraiser with all proceeds funding their senior trip at the end of the year. The fundraiser advertisement went up at the end of August letting the community know that they were ready to hire, and in less than 48 hours, the seniors had a full schedule of sukkah building. The senior class was blown away by t...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 23 OUR COMMUNITY O n Sept. 2, 275 Holocaust survivors welcomed the Jewish New Year a few days early with a delicious kosher lunch catered by Fleischman Residence and a virtual concert with Cantor Zachary Mondrow that more than 40 participants joined via Uber Conference, Uniper and Zoom. This joint program of Jewish Family Service and the Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families of Jewish Senior Life w...…
…24 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 C ongregations and Jewish education are critical to the vibrancy of the Detroit Jewish community. They provide the community with religious, spiritual and moral building blocks that keep us connected to one another. In 1999, the Hermelin and Davidson families estab- lished and endowed the Hermelin Davidson Center for Congregation Excellence. Housed at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the He...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 25 with the Jewish Community Center’s Jteen initiative (jfamily. jccdet.org/teens), the Hermelin Davidson Center established a three-year salary match pro- gram to support teen director staff positions in congregations. These directors, working in Conservative, Orthodox and Reform spaces, will work to build relationships with teens through enriching programs. The Hermelin Davidson Center designated a grant of ...…
…OUR COMMUNITY E xplorer Scott Krasnick has taken more than 38,000 photos of towns across Michigan. While living in Downtown Detroit, Krasnick, 50, decided to see where Van Dyke Road ended. “I didn’t look at a map,” the Hillel Day School employee says. “I just drove it.” Throughout the drive, Krasnick saw what he calls “tons of wonderful towns.” Since he lived in a Detroit home at the time that was built in 1877, he was fasci- nated ...…
…towns across Michigan,” Krasnick explains. “ A lot of them were taken in the 1870s to the 1930s. I thought it would be cool to do the same.” By next year, Krasnick hopes to complete his travels of the Upper Peninsula. Then, he plans to swim in all five Great Lakes in one summer. He also wants to visit all Michigan islands that are publicly owned. In his collection of 38,000 photos that document a vast array of people, places and t...…
…28 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 A new project created in partner- ship with Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids aims to preserve the stories of Holocaust survivors who settled in the Grand Rapids area. Launching before the end of the year, a special website dedicated to the survivors will feature personal interviews, photos, archives and more, capturing their jour- neys both during and after World War II. “Right now, we have about 10 stories ...…
…of Grand Rapids. Various programs that she has helped put on led her to connect with local Holocaust survivors, in particular a man named David Mandel. “He lived in Grand Rapids for many years and never talked about the Holocaust,” Finkelstein explains. His story will be showcased on the web- site. Mandel, encouraged by Grand Valley State University, began to slowly share his story and eventually ended up speaking at Jewish day s...…
…30 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 OUR COMMUNITY W hen Howard Bragman was growing up in Flint, the city had a small but vibrant Jewish com- munity, and he had a lot of family nearby. His family belonged to the old Beth Israel, a Conservative congregation. Still, growing up in the Midwest in the 1960s, without a lot of peers or role models to look to, Bragman said he never quite fit in. “ As a fat, Jewish, gay kid in Flint, I always felt lik...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 31 ORT Michigan Participants Represent Region in National Program ORT America welcomed 14 participants to its new National Leadership CohORT Program, an exclusive 18-month leader- ship development, learning and mentoring opportunity for the organization’s future leaders. The ORT Michigan Region is well represented by Emily Korotkin, Matt Ran, Lisa Rothberger and Dan Serlin. Upon completion, partici- pants wil...…
…A t Daria Gutmann’s house, the whole family helps get ready for the holidays. “I usually help my dad build the sukkah, and that’s really special to me,” says the 10-year-old. “My favorite part is decorating it.” Along with her dad, Rabbi Brent Gutmann, mom, Jill, and sisters, Tzipora, 7, Lyla, 4, and Vered, 2, the family fills their 16x12 sukkah with ribbons, paper chains, bead necklaces and homemade pictures. They put tables ...…
…feels nice.” Meanwhile, one way 4-year-old twins Riley and Easton Foon of Bloomfield Hills will be sharing in the holiday is by putting together JFamily Detroit’s edible sukkah craft project, which gives kids the chance to use tea biscuits, cereal and pretzels to make their own sukkah. They’ll also be attending services with parents Samantha and Michael for the holidays. “Simchat Torah, as a kid, I remember going to the service...…
…34 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 ERETZ J ared Kushner had plenty of folks to praise at an event in Washington Sept. 14 marking the first anniversary of the Abraham Accords, the deals he bro- kered normalizing relations between Israel and four Arab countries. There were the ambassadors from Israel and two of the Arab lands, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. There were his Trump administration colleagues who worked through the agreement....…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 35 MAZEL TOV! JULY 7, 2021 Rebecca Blinder Mets and Erik Mets of Seattle, Wash., are thrilled to announce the birth of their son, Asher Isaac Mets. Asher was welcomed home by big sister Theodora Sage and grandparents Laurie and Mark Blinder of West Bloomfield. Grandparents Peter Mets of Ann Arbor and Sandy Mets of Dexter cannot wait to meet him. Asher is named in loving memory of his great-great-grandfather Isa...…
…36 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 SPIRIT Finding Simple Joys I n the times of the Temple, one of the highlights of the holiday of Sukkot was the dancing and rejoicing. Each night there would be celebrations that would last throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning. The joy was so great that the Talmud goes so far as to say that one that never saw a Simchat Beit HaSho’evah at the Temple, never saw true joy. What...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 37 Simchat Torah begins Tuesday evening, Sept. 28. S imchat Torah, celebrated the day after Shemini Atzeret in the diaspora (and combined into one day in Israel), is unique among festivals. It is not mentioned in the Torah, nor in the Talmud. Unlike Purim and Chanukah, it was not formalized by any decision on the part of the religious authorities, nor does it commemorate any historical deliverance. I...…
…38 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 SIMCHAT TORAH WAS BORN WHEN JEWS HAD LOST EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT THEY NEVER LOST THEIR CAPACITY TO REJOICE. Jewish people preserved the Torah, the Torah preserved the Jewish people. It was, as we say in our prayers, “our life and the length of our days. ” It was the legacy of their past and the promise of their future. It was their marriage contract with God, the record of the covenant that bound them unb...…
…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 B’nai Israel Sy...…
…40 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 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...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 41 T here couldn’t have been a more exciting finish to the first season of an improbable league. Young Israel of Oak Park and a team headed by Dylan Bressler locked up in a close battle in the playoff championship game of the new Detroit Shul Basketball League last month at Farber Hebrew Day School in Southfield. Down by eight points with about two minutes left, Young Israel of Oak Park called a timeout. ...…
…C arol Bendix Allen, as a University of Michigan graduating senior in the 1970s, found her first dream job writing marketing materi- als for Vogue magazine. Before marrying and raising two sons, she focused on fashion. Allen, now a grandmother of four and a real estate marketing consultant in New York state and Massachusetts, wants to help young women find their dream jobs but with a different and more timely focus — opportunitie...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 43 ARTS&LIFE BOOK REVIEW P eople who like food (and we all do eat!), people who like folktales (don’t we all like a good story?) and people who like scholarship (a smaller group) will enjoy The Angel and the Cholent, the latest collection of folktales from the Israel Folktale Archives published by Wayne State University Press. The Angel and the Cholent: Food Representations in the Israel Folktale Archives pres...…
…44 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 JEOPARDY JEW? JEWS OF SEX-ED (THE SERIES), SCI-FI SCRIBES As I write this, a week of already-filmed Jeopardy episodes, hosted by now- ousted host Mike Richards, are being aired. Already- filmed episodes, hosted by Mayim Bialik, will start being aired on Sept. 20. Also, as I write this, contestant Matt Amodio is still winning Jeopardy games. He has the third- longest winning-streak in Jeopardy hist...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 45 GLOBAL CONNECTIONS 4-5 PM, SEPT. 23 The American Friends of Rabin Medical Center will present “Who Is an American Jew in 2021: Insights from the Pew Study.” Robert Siegel (former senior host of NPR’s All Things Considered) interviews Prof. Shuli Rubin Schwartz, Rabbi Elka Abrahamson and Prof. Jonathan Sarna. Free. Register at: gcsept. splashthat.com. Learn more at afrmc.org. MSU CONCERT SEPT. 23-27 80...…
…46 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 T his classic oven-baked hot dip is a perennial favorite at restaurants and household parties alike. It will disappear before you even realize it, so make sure to reserve a little dish for yourself off to the side when you’re preparing to serve. This dip is perfect with pita chips, crusty sourdough bread slices or a selection of your favorite crack- ers. It is even better if made in advance, as it be...…
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…48 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY Ida Nudel, the diminutive Prisoner of Zion who made aliyah after win- ning her battle against the Soviet Union, died on Sept. 14, 2021, at age 90. Known as the “Guardian Angel” for the campaign she led to provide humanitarian items for Prisoners of Zion in Soviet jails, Nudel — who was just 4’11” tall — was the best-known female refusenik. She famously won the support of actre...…
…SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 | 49 PHILLIP BENESON, 86, of West Bloomfield, died Sept. 14, 2021. He is survived by his children, Ilene (Steven) Bez, Warren (Karen) Beneson and Steven (Karen) Beneson; grandchildren, Benjamin, Alexandria, Adam, Ryan and Zachary Beneson, Shayna (Andrew) Vanuden; great- grandchild, Austin; brother and sister-in-law, Stewart (Barbara) Beneson; sister-in- law, Esther Beneson; many loving nieces, nephews, othe...…
…law, Marvin (Doreen) Billet of Michigan and Dr. Herbert Greenberg of Florida; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. David was preceded in death by his parents, Louis Berman and Zena Achtman Berman; his brother, Jerry Berman; his sister-in-law, Lola Billet Greenberg; brother-in-law, David Bergman. The private burial was attended by Janet, Jeff, Stacey and Bill as well as their five grandchildren, their granddaug...…
