…Looking Back From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org 62 | MAY 25 • 2023 Choosey Moms Choose … Velvet Peanut Butter F or many, many years, those three boys stared at me when I was having lunch. “Pure” and “Delicious” looked friendly enough, but I never quite trusted that “Fresh” kid. He did look mischievous. I am referring to the three kids on the label of the Velvet Pea...…
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…DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com MAY 25• 2023 | 7 With Their Centennial Gift, Sue and Alan Jay Kaufman Continue Their Legacy of Commitment to Our Jewish Future The strength and richness of our Jewish community comes from an unwavering commitment to future generations, l’dor v’dor. No one understands this better than Sue and Alan Kaufman, who have been extrao...…
…8 | MAY 25 • 2023 guest column An Alternative Pathway: Can We Be Partners with People Who Hold Anti-Israel Views? W hat do we do when people we wish to partner with to create a better Detroit or a better America harbor anti-Is- rael views? One approach to dealing with folks who are anti-Israel might be to cut off ties with them after failing to convince them of our own view- point. Yet, there is an alternative path. This i...…
…MAY 25 • 2023 | 9 TO A L L O U R H A R D - W O R K I N G CO N T R I B U TO R S O N T H E I R S PJ AWA R D S #1 Stacy Gittleman - After Oxford #3 Stacy Gittleman - Ethnic Intimidation #1 Michelle Sheridan - War Through the Rearview Mirror #2 Michelle Sheridan - Return to the Promised Land #2 Suzanne Chessler - Charging Up Their Faith #4 Robin Schwartz - Our Moment #2 Alan Muskovitz - Happy Healthy New Year, Bumper Cars, Goodbye and ...…
…JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT $200 Aug. 25-31, 2022 / 28 Av- 4 Elul 5782 thejewishnews.com An Astonishing Search for Roots Long-lost brother’s descendants discover their U.S. family eight decades after the Shoah. See page 12 …
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-10 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 12 An Astonishing Search for Roots Long-lost brother’s descendants discover their U.S. family eight decades after the Shoah. 20 A Teacher’s Journey West Bloomfield High teacher tours Poland as an Auschwitz Legacy Fellow. 22 Fashion Flair for a Cause Suitember shopping event will give 10% of proceeds to Friendship Circle. ...…
…4 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 PURELY COMMENTARY continued on page 7 opinion When Judaism Considers The Long Term, It Looks to the Past M any years ago, I was asked to speak, on short notice, at a symposium in Geneva about the future of the global climate refugee crises. It was an important opportunity but attending meant I was going to miss my 11-year- old daughter Eliana’s choir concert, the one for which she had been rehearsing ...…
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…6 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 1942 - 2022 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: Det...…
…DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 7 What makes you a futurist — someone who cares and wants to shape society toward a better tomorrow — is putting your device down when your child enters the room and thinking about how your every action will play out over generations. This is the mindset of a true futurist. This is longpath thinking. ...…
…8 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 PURELY COMMENTARY continued on page 10 essay The Day My Great-Grandparents Died T he reality is that my great-grand- parents didn’t just die, they were murdered. They were two of six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their willing accomplices throughout Europe. And it wasn’t just the two of them, but their children and grandchil- dren, and scores of cousins, nieces and nephews, and neighbors. They were l...…
… Event Chairs Matt Lester and Ian Burnstein invite you to join us for this special evening Boneh Kehilah Award (Builder of Community) Honoring Mark Rubenfire and Mitch Albom The Acclaimed Play by Mitch Albom & Jeffrey Hatcher Thursday, September 15, 2022 at The Berman Featuring a live talkback with Mitch after the performance Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss Please reserve your seats as soon as possible as tickets are very limited...…
…10 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 PURELY COMMENTARY W hen I talk to Jewish community leaders around the country, I often hear the same comment: You know, Steve, Detroit has an incredibly strong community. I happen to agree, but what, exactly, does this really mean? Much of it is simply the fact that Jewish life at our synagogues and temples, day schools and organizations across the community is rich and varied, and that, over many g...…
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…OUR COMMUNITY f the nine children born to Esther and Jacob Allweiss in Jaslany, Poland, only my dad Zyga “Zygie” and Uncle Salek “Sol” survived the Holocaust. This was a given, a fact our family knew to be true — until the miracle happened. Now 77 years since the end of World War II, we descendants of the late Zygie and the late Sol found out this spring that another Allweiss brother, Fishel, made it through! He and his wife, Klara, thei...…
…Road sign in Poland for the Allweiss shtetl of Jaslany and two nearby towns In 2006, Zygie Allweiss and daugh- ter Esther Ingber stand at the only headstone they found in an aban- doned Jewish cemetery in Baranow, Poland. They stayed for several days in Mielec as the honored guests of Zygie’s rescuers’ son, Janek Dudzik, and his wife, Janina. Esther Ingber Zygie and brother Sol Allweiss on vacation together. Zygie and Irma Allweiss...…
…“The first time we wrote the family name in English was here, in Israel, ” Ira said. A relative suggested that Ira access the online Shoah Victims’ Names Database of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem. The database includes scanned Pages of Testimony from the museum’s Hall of Names. (See sidebar.) In 2011, Zygie took the time to complete a Page of Testimony for his nine lost immediate family mem- bers. Zygie’s name an...…
…16 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 From my longtime family research, I know the Allweisses I’m more closely related to came from the shtetl (village) of Jaslany (pro- nounced “yawsh-LAH-nee”) in southeastern Poland. The area was part of Galicia in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Jaslany, in Mielec County, is located near the Wistula River, between Krakow and Rzesow. Before my first visit to Jaslany in 1985, I counted 57 relatives on my family...…
…Klara and Fishel Alvais FISHEL ’S FATE By contrast, Fishel’s whereabouts during the same period are shrouded in mystery. “Unfortunately, I have no one to ask, ” Ira said. “Probably Grandma Klara knew, but she didn’t share” details with young Ira. “The only few things we knew about Grandpa Fishel is that he was in Poland and all his family died, ” said Ira’s cousin Alexander, a musician and a salesman at Cars2u. “I tried to find info...…
…18 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 Oxana Korol of the Hall of Names replied to me: “We are always pleased to hear of cases where peo- ple who are listed in the documentation at Yad Vashem as having per- ished in the Holocaust, were actually able to survive.” She explained the process required to update Fishel’s record, something I will leave for Ira to do. The families of Fishel, Sol and Zygie are participating in month- ly Zoom chats, most re...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 19 …
…20 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 F or the last 17 years, Jennifer Sepetys taught about the Holocaust in schools throughout Metro Detroit, relying upon historical documentation, lit- erature, written accounts and, on occasion, firsthand testimonies from survivors who spoke in her classes. But as she returns to her students this year at West Bloomfield High School, Sepetys will approach the topic with the perspective of a firsthand witness to t...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 21 was like to endure a hot day. I was not prepared to have those (testimonies) coming back at me. It was very overwhelming. ” In Warsaw, the group toured the Nożyk Synagogue — the only pre-war synagogue in the city to survive the war — which was used as a stable by the Nazis. “ As we toured this synagogue and touched the very bricks where Jews lived and prayed for hun- dreds of years, I thought about the Jewish fam...…
…22 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 OUR COMMUNITY D avid Elkus, owner of Baron’s Wholesale Clothiers and Todd’s Menswear, had an idea for an event that gave back to the com- munity. However, he was miss- ing a catchy name. While driving to Chicago with his daughter Audrey, who is an expert in marketing, Elkus told her about his vision for a cele- bration of suits — almost a “suit holiday, ” he explains. He wanted to create a shopping event t...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 23 JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT For those without computer access, please mail the following to 32255 NORTHWESTERN HWY, SUITE 205 FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334: • Who is Turning 80? [first/last] • What Day is their Birthday? • Personalized Message and Signature • A picture of the birthday person (if you would like the picture returned, please include a stamped return envelope.) • A check Continue to celebrate our oc...…
…24 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 OUR COMMUNITY M ore than 50 Central High School alum- ni who graduated between 1941-1955 came in late July to Shabbat services at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, where they were called up to the bimah for a group aliyah and to receive special blessings from both Rabbi Yonaton Dahlen and Rabbi Aaron Starr. Because of the pandemic, it has been several years since CSZ has had an event for the Central High grads, ...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 25 J oy and warmth were in the air at Congregation Shaarey Zedek’s Detroit Mumford High School Reunion Shabbat service on Aug. 13. The event drew alumni from the communi- ty in addition to those members of CSZ who called Mumford their home between 1953 and 1970. Rabbi Aaron Starr and Rabbi Yoni Dahlen blessed the alumni on the bimah after the group chanted the Torah blessings together. Sons and daughters and ev...…
…26 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 Y oung Israel of Oak Park (YIOP) is a Modern Orthodox congregation located at the center of Metro Detroit’s Orthodox Jewish communi- ty, drawing its membership from three adjacent cities — Huntington Woods, Oak Park and Southfield. These neighborhoods are all a short distance to numerous ameni- ties of the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, including a mikvah, kosher restaurants, supermar- ket and bakery. YIOP pri...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 27 resurgence of culture, of bring- ing the new generation in and reimagining the different things we can do in the shul — wheth- er it’s technologically, program- matically and even spiritually.” YIOP consists of about 175 member units. Over the last three years, they’ve had roughly 60 member units join the shul. “In that time frame, we’ve had what I would define as 25 mem- ber units who are young profes- sionals, m...…
…28 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 T he Friendship Circle of Michigan nominated Nancy Schulist of Farmington Hills to be our Volunteer of the Week for her years of dedication to the organization. “The special thing about Nancy is that once she leaves Friendship Circle, she doesn’t stop being an advocate for children with special needs,” said Shayna Shemtov, Friendship Circle’s volunteer coordinator. “She brings love and acceptance to people w...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 29 and seemed to hide from her out of embarrassment. “So, I went over to him and asked him if he would like to be my assis- tant. Suddenly, everything changed, and he said, ‘Oh, yeah, I do!’ And I found something he could be proud of,” she said. Schulist saw him grow in maturity. On the very last day the boy was her assis- tant, he noticed his teacher goofing off. Schulist says the teacher is a fun guy who does...…
…30 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 OUR COMMUNITY W e have some good news from the Detroit Jewish News Foundation that we’d like to share with you. The Foundation is the owner and publisher of the Detroit Jewish News and home to the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History. First, in our efforts to continually improve the Jewish News Foundation website, it has been upgraded to be more visually appealing and for easier n...…
…simple search features that include the ability to download single pages as well as entire issues. In October 2013, the online Detroit Jewish News digital archive was launched. Two years later, the Detroit Jewish Chronicle was digitized and added to the Archive. It was then renamed the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History in honor of a major grant from the William Davidson Foundation. In 2017, the William ...…
…32 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 OUR COMMUNITY O n Sunday, Aug. 14, the Detroit Jewish community and allies gathered for the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue (IADS) Groundbreaking and Centennial Block Party. There is much to celebrate. IADS is the only free-stand- ing synagogue in Detroit. Not only that, IADS, founded in December 1921 by Charles and Nathan Agree in memory of their father Isaac Agree, never left Detroit. IADS is celebrati...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 33 rooftop. Every part of the building will be modernized and brought back to life with intention and love. Samantha Woll, IADS board president, instilled that “in coming together to build our spiritual space, we also build a stronger, more dedi- cated community.” She added, “The process of raising material funds for a physical construction has also been an incredible reminder that in the coming together to bui...…
…34 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 O n Aug. 3, the Tikkun Olam grou at Congregation Beth Ahm’ in West Bloomfield packed backpacks for young students through the Brilliant Detroit organ- ization. Volunteers of all ages came to prepare needed supplies for students starting the 2022-2023 school year. Program chairpersons Debra Darvick and Carol Kent recruited volunteers and donations to make sure that about 50 young people have the supplies the...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 35 Young Israel of Southfield (YIS) kicked off its series of Shacharis, Shmear and Sweets events in July. The event encourages par- ents to bring their kids to shul for davening and a breakfast sponsored by members of the community. YIS member Marganit Weinberg says the series of events began after Rabbi Yechiel Morris asked the congregation for new ways to encourage families to come to shul. “Shacharis, Shmear and S...…
…36 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 faces&places Everyone was feeling back- to-school vibes at Young Israel of Oak Park on July 27 and 28 when the National Council of Jewish Women and Jewish Family Service came together to distribute 475 backpacks to students served by JFS. Each backpack was filled with essential school supplies, ensuring that everyone would get the school year started off on the right foot. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JFS JFS Giv...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 37 RUTHI WARBURG SPORTS T here were a couple of surprises for the Detroit delegation at the JCC Maccabi Games earlier this month in San Diego. One bad surprise and one good surprise. Here are the details. TRAVEL BALLET Karen Gordon was at the Maccabi Games closing party at the Lawrence Family JCC on Aug. 4 when she got some unsettling news. The Delta Airlines flight that was sup- posed to take the Detroit delegat...…
…38 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 OUR COMMUNITY ring roles in the travel ballet, and Gordon also thanked the Detroit parents “who entrusted me with their kids and were supportive all week, especially (the night of the closing party. ”) IT’S RUTHI A familiar face — at least to Gordon — led the Detroit delegation into the Maccabi Games opening ceremo- ny Aug. 1 at the Del Mar Racetrack. Ruthi Warburg did the honors. “I had no idea Ruthi was ...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 39 continued on page 40 NEXT DOR A fter leaving a clinical psychology gradu- ate program at the University of Michigan in 2017, podcast studio engineer and meditation coach Brandon Klein decided to embark on his own path that stepped outside the one he originally pursued. He launched a meditation business where he taught med- itative programs to schools, universities and various temples and synagogues throughou...…
…40 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 back home to Michigan and built a podcast studio in his home in Royal Oak. As a pod- cast producer and live sound engineer, he began doing live streams for concerts and events. “I would reach out to artists on Instagram and try to film their concerts, ” Klein explains of building a business. “This is what I did literally every sec- ond of my life. ” Klein continued to teach meditation for the High Holidays, b...…
…AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 41 HEALTH R esearchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Prof. Illana Gozes from the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, have unraveled a mecha- nism shared by mutations in the genes that cause autism, schizophrenia and other con- ditions. The researchers also found that an experimental drug previously developed in Prof....…
…42 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a method that employs musical tests and a portable instrument for measur- ing brain activity to detect cognitive decline in old age. According to the researchers, the meth- od, which is based on the measurement of 15 minutes of electrical activity in the brain while performing simple musical tasks, can be easily implemented by any staff mem- ber in any clinic, wit...…
…W hen my great-grandpar- ents, steeped in the European tradition of using public spaces to their fullest, took my mother to “Kaspenten Park” as a child, she never con- nected that it had any other name, like, say, “Cass Benton Park.” Unbeknownst to her, my mother began participating in a larger continuum of sum- mer activities that, the world over, are somewhat alike. We search for places with a good breeze and a nice shady ...…
…44 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 taste.) Mix to combine. Season with salt and pep- per. Check on your pota- toes; they’re still roasting, probably. 4. Once the potatoes have cooled, add the mustard mix to the mayonnaise mix, and stir until they two are evenly mixed. Add some onion juice as needed to thin the dressing out slight- ly. Add the potatoes to the bowl and stir well to com- bine everything and coat them evenly. If you find that the...…
