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…A Race Against Time $200 May 4-10, 2023 / 13-19 Iyar 5783 JEWISH NEWS JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT thejewishnews.com Against Time Against Time One million Ukraine family history records will be available on JewishGen by summer. See page 14 See page 14 Against Time Against Time Against Time One million Ukraine family history One million Ukraine family history Against Time One million Ukraine family history Against Time records will b...…

…10 | MAY 4 • 2023 PURELY COMMENTARY W hen I read about the arrest of American Jewish Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia on March 29, my mind went back to the 1980s. In July 1985, I went to visit Abe Stolar. Abe was well into his 70s. We bonded immediately, two American Jews, me listening to his stories intently, in his native Chicago accent. The strange thing is that I was not visiting Abe and his wife, Gi...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 11 From North to South — The Bishops Have You Covered! SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS! 4130 TELEGRAPH ROAD BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI 48302 NOAH BISHOP COHEN The Next Generation of “SOLD” ns.cohen26@gmail.com MELANIE BISHOP “SOLD” is my middle name melaniesold@aol.com MelanieSold.com 248.867.7800 OVER 1 BILLION IN CAREER SALES! OVER 1 BILLION IN CAREER SALES! CHAD BISHOP chadbishopgroup@gmail.com 954-999-7...…

…12 | MAY 4 • 2023 RUSSIA IS NOT HEALTHY continued from page 10 PURELY COMMENTARY I ’d like to talk a little bit about the power of words and kindness. We’ve all heard, and probably said, as children, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” How untrue! We all have seen the emotional harm that abusive speech can do to an individual. We’ve also seen the harm that hate speech can do to a group, th...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 13 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. Learn more at MIBluesPerspectives.com/ReadyToHelp We put care in health insurance. Get the care you need, when you need it, with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network. From the largest network of doctors and hospitals in Michigan to coverage f...…

…14 | MAY 4 • 2023 I n Judaism, we often hear the expression “may his or her memory be a blessing” when someone passes away. I don’t recall where I first heard it, but someone once told me that as long as we continue to remember those who have since passed on, they remain alive. It’s only when we forget, that people — and eventually memories — begin to slip away. It’s a guiding principle, along with the Jewish belief to honor ...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 15 THE FIGHT FOR PUBLIC ACCESS These records come from two primary sources: the Ukraine archives themselves and the sprawling Wikisource library that Ukraine genealogist Alex Krakovsky has put together in recent years and months. This library includes nearly 3,000 metric books, indexes, name lists, revision lists and censuses of the Jewish population in Ukraine that Krakovsky and his team have scanned and uploaded. Th...…

…16 | MAY 4 • 2023 that provides crucial information about a person or a family. This can include approximate date of birth, location and even social class. Berenson receives the records in typed Cyrllic, reviews them and then puts them through a system developed by a JewishGen volunteer named Logan Kleinwaks that will change the documents into English and load them onto the JewishGen server with just two clicks. For Berenson, who...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 17 HILLEL DAY SCHOOL AT OUR ANNUAL GALA TICKETS, RAFFLE TICKETS, AND JOURNAL ADS CAN BE PURCHASED NOW AT WWW.HILLELDAY.ORG/HDSGALA23. SILENT AUCTION WILL GO LIVE ON MAY 7, 2023. thank you to our annual gala sponsors dor l’dor sponsor IN MEMORY OF HERBERT & REVA LAZARUS AND MOISHE & BESS GLAZIER annual gala sponsor LOAD ONE TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS, JOHN ELLIOTT major donor reception event sponsor LEAH AND SHAYA BAUM ...…

…18 | MAY 4 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY E very year, the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan (JBAM) honors a high-achieving law student with a scholarship prior to his or her final year of law school. This year, the winner boasts a strong voice — not only as a legal advocate, but as an accomplished a cappella and synagogue singer. Loren Shevitz, a second-year law student at Wayne State University, has been awarded JBAM’S $1,500 Charles J. Cohen...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 19 AT HOME AT WSU For Shevitz, it was a slam dunk to return to Michigan and go to Wayne State. “I always consid- ered Michigan home, and I have roots at Wayne State and law in Michigan going back genera- tions, ” he said. “My father, Henry Shevitz, a medical doctor, did his graduate studies at Wayne, and my late mother, Susan, and her two sisters were Wayne alumnae. My mother’s father taught at the WSU School of Medic...…

…LET’S BE CLEAR There’s no such thing as a healthy tan Offices in Livonia, Shelby Township, Southfield/Franklin, Warren, Wyandotte Our family taking care of your family’s skin for 105 years. AdvancedDerm.com/BeClear Prevention and early detection saves lives. Schedule your annual Total-Body Skin Cancer Exam today! 734-282-2500 Wearing sunscreen is one of the best and easiest ways to protect your skin’s health and appearance at an...…

…20 | MAY 4 • 2023 Bright Spirit OUR COMMUNITY Catching up with Rebecca Rosen, two decades after her JN debut. JACKIE HEADAPOHL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR …

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 21 t’s been almost 22 years to the day since the Detroit Jewish News intro- duced then Rebecca Perelman, a 24-year-old medium, to the Metro Detroit Jewish community in a cover story titled “Spiritual Messenger. ” Since that time, Rebecca Rosen has gone on to build a worldwide reputation as a spiritual medium, speaker and author of four books. She’s been seen on national TV shows such as Extra, Nightline and The Rachel ...…

…continued from page 21 22 | MAY 4 • 2023 recently written a book on a similar topic. “I thought it would be of interest to our readers, ” Zimmerman said. “ And, boy, was I right. After that story came out, our phone was ringing off the hook with people who wanted to get in touch with her. ” WELCOME TO EARTH SCHOOL Rosen describes herself as “an ambassador between the spirit world and our day-to-day world — relaying wisdom and insigh...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 23 continued on page 24 before we were born, and it’s up to each of us to unravel the meaning at the heart of them. ” The third lesson is “I am sup- ported. I am surrounded. ” She said it’s hard to accept on a conscious level that there is a reason for life’s struggles and tragedies. “Know that you are not alone. We all have a spirit team made of our guides, angels and deceased loves ones, as well as a ‘ground crew, ’...…

…24 | MAY 4 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY reach out to Spirit and connect with loved ones on the other side, Rosen said. “We all have the gift to a certain degree. It’s like a mus- cle that requires development. Meditation helps. It gets you out of your mind and ego so your intuitive senses can start work- ing. It takes practice and faith and trust. ” For those still working on our own intuitive skills, a reading with someone like Rosen can ...…

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…W hen Cantor Michael Smolash was tasked with booking the 2023 Laker Concert, he knew that Dan Nadel from B’Nai Jeshurun in New York would be a natural fit for Temple Israel and the Greater Detroit Jewish community. And the show, “Like a Rolling Stone — Bob Dylan’s American Mythology, ” is free and open to the public on Sunday, May 7, at 4 p.m. The concert is sponsored in loving memory of Sarah and Harry Laker, who through t...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 27 I N V I T E S Y O U T O H O N O R I N G JANE F. SHERMAN JUNE 4, 2023 • 5:00PM 5 0 5 0 W . M A P L E R O A D W E S T B L O O M F I E L D T O W N S H I P , M I 4 8 3 2 2 KNOLLWOOD COUNTRY CLUB U S E T H E Q R C O D E T O R E G I S T E R T O D A Y F O R E V E N T I N Q U I R I E S , C A L L 9 7 3 - 5 5 9 - 3 1 4 6 …

…OUR COMMUNITY “D onating a piece of artwork each year for the ORT auction has always been a creative artistic challenge, ” says Lisa Spindler, a veteran contributing artist of ORT and the City. “The most rewarding and important part is knowing that the money raised from this auction is going to provide opportunities for students in great need of support to follow their education. Through the piece I created this year, I hope to in...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 29 Art Your Heart Out Coffee House is a community engagement program for experienced adults to share in expert led, enriching discussions. Join us for great conversation, food and connection! LEARNING COMMUNITY Host Committee: Joy and Allan Nachman • Sharon Alterman David Broner • Richard J. Burstein • Lynda Giles Barbra Giles • Wendy Handler • Betsy Kellman Susan Kozik Klein • Barbara Kratchman Sharon Lipton • Dottie an...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 3 PURELY COMMENTARY 4-12 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 14 A Race Against Time One million Ukraine family history records will be available on JewishGen by summer. 18 In Tune with the Law Honored WSU law student strikes all the right chords. 20 Bright Spirit Catching up with Rebecca Rosen two decades after her JN debut. 24 Genesee County Marks Education Day Sheriff echoes the Rebbe’s call ...…

…30 | MAY 4 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY A t a packed governor’s mansion last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hosted a “Freedom Seder” for the second consecutive year. I had the pleasure of participating, along with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and an intimate group of Black and Jewish community leaders. Throughout the evening, we retold the story of the Exodus while interweaving parallel themes of freedom through the lens of the Blac...…

…using a customized Haggadah written for the occasion. Each of the 28 participants read a section while sitting at a long dining room table. Gov. Whitmer recited “First They Came” by German Pastor Martin Niemöller, the anti- apathy poem displayed at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Others read selections from Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr., along with traditional seder standards of prayers, texts and songs, including “Go Dow...…

…32 | MAY 4 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY A ndrew Doctoroff isn’t sure if he pursued law because he was being “uncreative” or to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he imagines it’s a combination of both. The late Judge Martin Doctoroff was a prominent Metro Detroit attorney and litigator who gained his reputation in town as being one of a few divorce attorneys who also specialized in mediation. “I think either consciously or subcon- sciou...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 33 as an adjunct professor at University of Detroit Mercy from 2008-2012, and then at University of Michigan Law School from 2018 onwards, where he continues to teach today. At the latter, he created the course “21st Century Infrastructure: The Lawyer’s Role, ” which covers infrastructure history and related legal and ethical issues. MAKING A PIVOT As a topic he’s now intimately familiar with, Doctoroff put his high-pr...…

…OUR COMMUNITY I recently had the opportunity to volunteer with 826 Michigan in a kindergarten class- room at University Preparatory Academy — Mark Murray Campus in Detroit. A friend spoke highly of this organization, and when I reached out to learn more for this column, I was invited to join them to help facilitate their “Word Collectors” curriculum. Our group leader, Denise, read The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds to a classro...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 35 New Class from Bais Chabad Dreams, Ghosts, Spirits, the Afterlife … What’s the Jewish take on these topics? Join Bais Chabad for a fascinating voyage into the superstitious and supernatural. This four-part series is sure to pique your curi- osity and provide knowledge from Jewish texts that many don’t even know exist. Classes are taught twice weekly by Rabbi Shneur Silberberg, Sunday morning and Wednesday evenings, in pe...…

…OUR COMMUNITY T he heart of Hillel Day School has been permanently transformed, thanks to the mural work by Israeli artist Solomon Souza. The 16-foot mural depicts the prominent Zionist Theodor Herzl and a female pioneer, or chalutzah, monochromat- ically painted in shades of blue and high- lighted in shades of gold, gazing out over Jerusalem, often called the City of Gold. This incredible permanent mural by the talented Souza is bas...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 37 core Jewish values come to life through our strong arts program,” said Dr. Darin Katz, Head of School at Hillel Day School. When looking at the mural (from left to right), viewers will see Theodor Herzl: the Father of Modern Zionism, the visionary for the Jewish State and the organizer of the Zionist Congresses. In the middle is a landscape of the city of Jerusalem — including the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, traditional ...…

…38 | MAY 4 • 2023 I believe camp is the best gift a parent can give to a child, and I am so happy to be a part of sending kids to Tamarack. ” These inspiring words of Doreen Hermelin, this year’s Send a Kid to Tamarack (SK2T) Community Leader hon- oree, are a testament to the vital role sum- mers at Tamarack Camps have on the lives of children and the value of making camp financially acces- sible to all. She will be honored at Nigh...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 39 faces&places On April 2, high school students from Frankel Jewish Academy’s Finance Club partnered with JARC, a nonprofit organi- zation serving adults with developmental disabilities in Metro Detroit, to host a “Fun with Finance” event. The event took place at the Max M. Fisher Federation building and was attended by 15 people JARC serves and 12 students. The participants engaged with one another by splitting into...…

…4 | MAY 4 • 2023 essay Weather Notes O ne of the most talked about subjects seems to be the weather. It is usually too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry … rarely is it just right. Are you aware, however, that some people are not happy to just talk about the climatic conditions; they have put their observations to music. As a result, there are many songs with weather conditions in the title. “Stormy Weather” is one that many wi...…

…40 | MAY 4 • 2023 N adav Pais- Greenapple fills part of his present days speaking about artistic Jewish topics of the past and referencing language prevalent in days gone by. The history of Jewish theater in Detroit and translations of Yiddish literature hold important segments of his time. Although there is lots to do as he teaches Tanach at Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills and makes plans for his wedding in October at...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 41 a Yiddish text that his wife’s family found written in the inside of a tallit or tefillin bag in fabric marker, and it was a Holocaust testimony. It was a story of somebody telling how that person survived the Holocaust. I was able to translate that.” Pais-Greenapple, a Wayne State University graduate, has presented multiple lectures about his work and studies. One was for the Jewish Historical Society of Michi...…

…T here were eight bowlers on the two teams in the playoff championship match of the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowling league. Seven had previously won a playoff championship. Rick Woolman was the outlier. Not anymore. The 600 Club team, anchored by Woolman, beat the FlashDancers 15-9 for the title on April 24 after being tied 7-7 through two games. Points are awarded through match play and team scores. “Rick bowled...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 43 Zeltzer-Weinfeld I rwin and Lauri Weinfeld and Elliot and Susan Zeltzer announce the engage- ment of their children, Jaime Rebekkah Weinfeld and Paul David Zeltzer. Jaime received her bach- elor’s degree in theater and costume design at Denison University. She owns and operates her own wedding planning and photography business. Jaime is the grand- daughter of the late George and the late Janet Weinfeld, and the la...…

…44 | MAY 4 • 2023 SPIRIT Life Here & Now T he portion of Emor opens with a strange commandment to the kohanim: “ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the priests … and tell them: “Do not defile yourself by contact with the dead of the nation. ’” (Leviticus 21:1). The Bible goes on to delineate the only dead with whom the kohen may have contact: his wife, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother and his unma...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 45 T here is something unique about the way Parshat Emor speaks about Shabbat. It calls it a mo’ed and a mikra kodesh when, in the conventional sense of these words, it is neither. Mo’ ed means an appointed time with a fixed date on the cal- endar. Mikra kodesh means either a sacred assembly, a time at which the nation gathered at the central Sanctuary or a day made holy by proclamation, that is, through the human ...…

…46 | MAY 4 • 2023 observe the Sabbath day. ” (Deut. 5:11–14) Here there is no reference to creation. Instead, the Torah speaks about a historical event: the Exodus. We keep Shabbat not because God rested on the seventh day but because He took our ancestors out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom. Therefore, Shabbat is a day of freedom even for servants, and even for domestic animals. One day in seven, no one is a slave. Of course, both...…

…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 Bloomfield (248) 78...…

…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 ...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 49 H otel Cuba, a novel by former Michigan resident Aaron Hamburger, releases in May to tell the basic immigration story experienced by his grandmother, Ethel Lansky Fishman, who was born in what is now Belarus, went to Cuba until she could enter the United States and settled in the Detroit area. The book, essentially dealing with incidents in the 1920s and hurdles faced by immigrants, deviates from facts as the aut...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 5 Faceb book and Instagram @CongregationBet thAhm In-Person Daily Minyan Kaddish & Community Sunday 9:00am and 5:00pm M – F morning M – Th evening Friday evening Shavuot learning with special guest Rabbi Michele Faudem Tikkun Leil Shavuot May 25 at 8:00pm Lunch and Learn May 26 at 12:00pm Outside Kabbalat Shabbat followed by a light dinner May 5 and May 19 at 6:00pm Big enough to enrich you. Small enough to ...…

…50 | MAY 4 • 2023 E lena Luchina developed her career in teaching Yiddish as she moved from schools in Russia, France, Israel and the United States and is making friends in this country by establishing a Jewish Song Circle. She lives in an Ann Arbor home, teaches through the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan (U-M) and has people of all ages singing in sessions scheduled about once every two wee...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 51 There are no formal performances by this group. People basically get together for their personal enjoyment in shared music and friendships. “We post meeting notices on Facebook and welcome new members of all ages,” said Luchina, who lists the group on Facebook as Jewish Song Circle in Ann Arbor. “I’ve developed friendships from this program, and these people are very important to me. “It’s also a nice way to ...…

…52 | MAY 4 • 2023 GROSSBERG AND CARLSON, BELAFONTE FAMILY, AND NEW SHOWS As I write this, it’s eight hours after the news broke that Tucker Carlson was no longer a Fox News employ- ee. It’s quite clear he was fired. Right after the news broke, a CNN early morning newscaster went through the “things” that might have led-up to this — and men- tioned the lawsuit that Abby Grossberg, 42, a former Fox News producer, had brought agai...…

…MAY 4 • 2023 | 53 CHILDREN UNDER FIRE 7 PM, MAY 4 A Zoom presentation organized by NCJW|MI. Featuring John Woodrow Cox, Washington Post reporter and author of Children Under Fire: An American Crisis. He will discuss the true cost of gun violence on our nation’s chil- dren. RSVP via ncjwmi.org. SPECIAL CONCERT 7 PM, MAY 4 The Museum of Jewish Heritage is presenting a one-night only concert ver- sion of Richard Rodgers award-winning ...…

…54 | MAY 4 • 2023 schmoozing. Info: jlive.app/ events/4443. CAREGIVER SUPPORT 1:30-2:30 PM, MAY 9 Virtual caregiver support group for individuals who are care partners for those living with cognitive changes including various types of dementia. Contact Dorothy Moon, Brown Adult Day Program social worker, for Zoom link and more information: 248-233-4392, dmoon@geshermi.org. ORT & THE CITY 6:30-10 PM, MAY 10 At Eastern Market. ORT ...…