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…JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 55 STRONG JEWISH IDENTITY Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Axelrod grew up with a strong Jewish identity. He attended Ann Arbor Hebrew Day School and went to Israel on a Birthright trip when in college and later staffed a Birthright trip. His family belongs to Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor, where he became a bar mitzvah, and has close ties to the Jewish community. Ari’s mother, Robin Axelrod, directed Univ...…

…56 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 ARTS&LIFE THEATER B eetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Say his name three times and he’ll appear at the Detroit Opera House Jan. 31-Feb. 12. It’s showtime, folks. After a wildly successful run on Broadway, Beetlejuice the musical closed at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City on Jan. 8. The first national tour kicked off in San Francisco just a few weeks before. Like the title character that he ...…

…JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 57 ceremony in Israel, as did my younger brother and sister, and read the Torah in front of the Western Wall, which was very special. “My grandpa is a Holocaust survivor so, in life, I want to honor my Jewish heritage as much as possible. For me, it’s important to keep the legacy of being Jewish. I have never once not been proud of my religion, faith and culture. It’s a testament to my family and how I was raised...…

…58 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 ARTS&LIFE THEATER A t East Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills on the night of Jan. 9, peo- ple from all ages gathered to rehearse their hopeful masterpiece just a few weeks from opening night. The Bloomfield Players Community Theatre will be performing Feb. 3-5, 10 and 12, at Bloomfield Hills High School. This year’s play is Seussical — a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based o...…

…JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 59 “It leaves the audience GROUPS (10+) BROADWAYINDETROITGROUPS@THEAMBASSADORS.COM (SUBJECT: JAGGED LITTLE PILL) OC SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19 7:30PM FEBRUARY 14-26 FISHER THEATRE • BROADWAYINDETROIT.COM Stay in the know with all things Jewish... Get The Detroit Jewish News print edition delivered to your door every week for less than $2 per issue. thejewishnews.com/subscription Get The Detroit Jewish News print edition de...…

…6 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 1942 - 2023 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: De...…

…60 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 7-HEBREW ACTOR SERIES, SPOOKY STUFF, FORD SHRINKS SEGAL, MORE Poker Face premieres on the streaming Peacock channel on Jan. 26. It is a “case-of-the-week” mystery comedy-drama. Natasha Lyonne, 43, produces the series and she stars in it (I gather that she is the only actor who will appear in all 10 episodes). An astonishing number of Jewish thespians will star in an episode: Lyonne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt...…

…JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 61 EXHIBIT OPENS NOW-MARCH 1 An exhibition featuring new contemporary abstract art by 18 artists across the nation at Janice Charach Gallery, inside the Jewish Community Center, 6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield. Gallery hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11-4 or by appointment. TRIO PLAYS 8 PM, JAN. 27 The Gryphon Trio with Patricia O’Callaghan, vocal- ist, will perform at the War Memorial-Lakeside Ballroom, Grosse Poin...…

…62 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 passion for food and its abil- ity to help us navigate the healing process. Julie will be joined by her mother and daughter, highlighting the importance of sharing mem- ories and recipes across generations. Info: holocaust- center.org or 248-553-2400. GOLF OUTING 11:30 AM, FEB 5 B’nai B’rith Great Lakes Region and Temple Israel Brotherhood invite you to Top Golf, 500 Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills. Da...…

…the exchange community bulletin board | professional services For information regarding advertising please call 248-351-5116 or 248-234-9057 or email salessupport@thejewishnews.com Deadline for ad insertion is 9 a.m. on Friday prior to publication. Aaron Mendelson Heating and Cooling, LLC. 248-855-0437 Cell: 248-912-2292 License # 7118488 Maintenance, Installation, Repair & Hot Water Heaters Ajmendelson1@gmail.com FAMILY OWNED SIN...…

…64 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 F or the last 80 years, the only way to see images of Jews rising up against their captors in the Warsaw Ghetto has been from the perspective of Germans, who took the only known photographs of the seminal event of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. But last month, a roll of film taken by a Warsaw firefighter during the uprising was discovered by his son. The developed pictures offer a previously uns...…

…JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 65 OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY continued on page 66 DONALD BARON, 82, of East Lansing, died Jan. 14, 2023. He is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Anita Baron; son and daugh- ter-in-law, Neil and Elsy Baron; daughter, Hannah Hall; grandchildren, Nicole Baron and her fiance, David Sable, Abigail Baron, Adam Baron, and Harrison Hall; brothers-in- law and sisters-in-law, Elliott and Marlene Harvith, and ...…

…66 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 ried to her beloved husband, Marvin Bookstein, for more than 61 years. She worked alongside him at Nationwide Income Tax Service as well as other ventures. She was a fabulous wife, a wonderful mother, fantas- tic Bubbie and amazing BG (great-grandmother). Her passions in life were music and singing in several choirs, including Bel Canto Choir, Music +1, Congregation Shaarey Zedek Choir, Zamir Chorale and C...…

…JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 67 continued on page 68 son of the late Louis H. Golden and the late Sylvia N. Golden. He is survived by his brother, Stephen; two sis- ters, Katherine, Micky (Bud) Golden Moore; children, Sabra (David), Sydney, Adam; former wife and mother of his children, Rebecca Forslund; loving grandchildren, Liam and Ella. A private memorial service will be held. Contributions may be directed to the Friendship House, a di...…

…68 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 JAMES PHILLIP MALAMUD, 83, of Las Vegas, Nev., formerly of Detroit, died peacefully in Las Vegas on Jan. 15, 2023. He was born in Detroit on Nov. 22, 1940, to Reba and Samuel Malamud. James lived for the last 30 years in Las Vegas and enjoyed visits from his daughter, eating a good burger and making a bad joke. Mr. Malamud is survived by his daughter and son-in- law, Hollie “Beth” Malamud and Christoph...…

…J UDITH CAROL (CALFIN) SCHNEIDER passed away peacefully on Jan. 14, 2023. Born Nov. 5, 1938, Judy attended Pasteur Elementary School as a child, a school her chil- dren, Stephanie and Craig, attended, and where, later in life, she became a member of the board of trustees and often volun- teered to read to the students. Judy attended Mumford High School in Detroit and went on to undergradu- ate studies at Wayne State Univers...…

…DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com JANUARY 26• 2023 | 7 to pivot with the times, while never losing focus of the mission: providing educational excellence appropriate and responding to current needs. In doing so, ORT has emerged as one of the world’s biggest, most prestigious Jewish education networks, serving thousands of students in 40 countries and ta...…

…Looking Back From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org 70 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 International Holocaust Remembrance Day J an. 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. As declared by the United Nations on Nov. 1, 2005, this is a memorial day for the six million Jews, as well as thousands of other minorities, who were murdered by the German Nazis between 1933 and 194...…

…seanshields.realestateone.com seanshields@maxbroock.com 248 . 379 . 4466 SEAN SHIELDS 6960 Orchard Lake Rd Suite 150 W Bloomfield Township, MI 48322 6960 Orchard Lake Rd Suite 150 W Bloomfield Township, MI 48322 Real Estate Doesn’t Hibernate. Contact us today for any of your real eastate needs or questions. …

…8 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 I recently read an interesting article by Alan Zeitlin, “Should Rabbis Fear Robots?” Zeitlin interviewed several rabbis, asking them whether the brand new ChatGPT program could deliver sermons and answer halachic questions as well as human rabbis. For those who don’t know, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence program that has recently been made available to the public, and the early reviews have been a...…

…JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 9 needs and emotions, and that answering halachic questions wouldn’t be any different. In many cases, artificial intelligence programs might even understand you better than you understand yourself. However, most of the other people who participated in this discussion felt otherwise. Rabbi Reuven Spolter (formerly of Young Israel of Oak Park) summed it up well: “Real psak is the application of halachah to a ...…

…JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT Jewish students share their culture with non-Jewish students in first-of-its-kind program in Michigan. See page 12 S t u d e n t Student to $200 Jan. 19-25, 2023 / 26 Tevet-3 Shevat 5783 thejewishnews.com …

…10 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 PURELY COMMENTARY opinion How American Jews Should Navigate Israel’s New Political Reality I n the wake of the recent elections, many progressives have expressed angst at the new leadership in Israel. Matti Friedman wrote a piece in Tablet (tabletmag.com) about the election aftermath in Israel. It is “not threatening ‘democracy,’ or the ‘peace process,’ which hasn’t existed for more than 20 years,” he wro...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 11 — is a communal strategy forged in the civil rights era meant to push scary antisemitic voices to the margins. It has its time and place. But we don’t always have to be on condemnation footing. It is not even always the best way to counter domestic antisemitism, and it does nothing to de-platform duly elected Israeli officials, no matter how you feel about them. Restraining our moral impulses will not “...…

…12 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 W hat if we could prevent antisem- itism before it even begins? That’s the goal of Student to Student, a program empowering high school students to present their experience of Judaism to non-Jewish high school students. Late last year, Fawn Chapel and Rabbi Andrew Terkel of Be the Narrative, a national non- profit organization that devel- ops interactive educational pro- grams that connect Jewish and non-Jew...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 13 A Typical Presentation At a typical Student to Student pre- sentation, the Jewish students speak about “What Judaism means to me,” which, national director Fawn Chapel notes, also “really presents ‘who I am.’” The students come prepared to speak about the Jewish life cycle, Shabbat, kashrut, antisemitism and the Holocaust, Israel and, if time, holidays. Typically, the presentation about Shabbat begins with bi...…

…14 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 schools with few or no Jews. ” Abramson-Goldstein began the program with 10 student presenters. Her successor at Student to Student, Fawn Chapel, reports that now, in St. Louis alone, each year, 120 Jewish students give presentations to 3,000- 4,000 non-Jewish high schools students. Beginning in 2015, with the help of a grant from the Natan Fund, the program spread to four other communities. As it did, it outgr...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 15 O ffering a prayer for the administration, Rabbi Alicia Harris joined Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on the dais during the inauguration ceremony on Jan. 1, 2023. Since her arrival at Shir Tikvah, Rabbi Harris has been part of the governor’s Ecumenical Council. This group of faith leaders from around the state performs a variety of services, including prayers for the electors, statements on voting rights and act...…

…16 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY COURTESY OF BBYO T he BBYO Regional Con- vention 2022 (RC), Dec. 25-28 at the JCC in West Bloomfield, was truly a week to remember. The convention theme Byachad Hamishpacha or Together as Family, was demonstrated more perfectly than anything I have ever seen. While Michigan Region consists of 12 different chapters and nearly 600 members in grades 8-12, Regional Convention was the perfect ...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 17 and craziness that is RC, and spend my last RC with people I am beyond lucky to call my siblings. Among all of the games and competitions, mental health did not go unnoticed. From a “zen zone” to food trucks and even therapy dogs, there was always something nearby if members needed a break. I can say without a doubt that knowing my mental health was acknowledged helped to enhance my overall experience. ...…

…18 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 N ine days after he was hired for the position of middle school dean of students for Richmond Community Schools in Macomb County, educator Michael Woodberg resigned after receiving anonymous written antisemitic threats to him and his family if he kept his post. According to his LinkedIn profile, Woodberg for 12 years was a special education teacher in West Bloomfield Schools, where he also coached spo...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 19 cooperated with the officers at the Richmond Police Department and Chief of Police Tom Costello, providing investigators the antisemitic death threat note, access to security camera footage from multiple cameras in the building, log entry records of individuals utilizing the security swipe card readers for entrance to the building and restricted areas, names of individuals who work in Richmond Middle Scho...…

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…20 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 W est Bloomfield’s Lori Ellis will be joining her Holocaust survivor mother, Sophie Tajch Klisman, and her mother’s liberator, Doug Harvey, when they speak together about the Holocaust at the First United Methodist Church of Troy on Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event is open to the public and starts at 7 p.m. “They speak in order to continue the mission of educating others about ...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 21 TOP TO BOTTOM: Doug Harvey and Sophie Klisman at an FIDF event in 2019. Lori’s husband Jeff, Lori, Sophie, her son, Mark, and his wife, Anne, celebrate Sophie’s 90th birthday. it, and one of her best friends died and never spoke about it, she felt an obligation to finally open up and share her story.” After the 2016 Poland trip, Klisman returned in 2019 to be a survivor speaker for FIDF’s mission to Poland a...…

…22 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY D eb Ford of Livonia, a member of Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield, is this week’s Volunteer of the Week. A former kindergarten teacher, Ford became an activities director at an assisted living center after retirement and remained working with the senior population until she retired in 2020. Ford’s passion for the elderly began with visiting local assisted living centers with her three...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 23 She periodically adds them or a family member to the TKA Mi Sheberach list, saying there are never too many prayers when in need of healing. She makes sure each Jewish client has some of the essentials for Jewish holidays. This year she purchased 80 bags of potatoes for latkes and passed out Chanukah candles that were donated from various local stores and Yad Ezra. Ford says of all her volunteer efforts, the p...…

…24 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY L ike any boy who wants to look like his father, E.M. Cohen, 7, of Oak Park was desperate to own his own suit. His mother, Mindy, balked; he would likely outgrow a suit pretty quickly and suits could be expensive. A few months ago, Mindy was on Mrs. Schwab’s patio, flicking through some boy’s clothes when she came across two brand new boy’s suits — in exactly E.M’s size. One came with a matchi...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 25 of West Bloomfield has been collecting toys, books and games and bringing them to Mrs. Schwab’s patio; baby paraphernalia is always a huge hit. When Rhonda Ginsburg of Southfield heard about the gemach, she started posting online, asking for donations of hangers, then she drives around town to pick them up, and brings them all to Mrs. Schwab’s porch. “It’s a huge help, we used to scrounge around for hangers, ”...…

…26 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY B orn in Detroit, a descendent of Eastern European immigrants, Dr. Max Robins was raised to appre- ciate his Jewish background and value his secular education. His hero was his Zaydie. Robins’ maternal grandfather left Ukraine in the 1890s for the United States, crossing the ocean with little information and a dream of opportunity. Robins, a pediatrician in East Lansing, remembered his family...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 27 R obert and Beverly Rosenfeld of West Bloomfield recently ded- icated their second Life Support Ambulance for Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national paramedic and Red Cross ser- vice. The ambulance was built on a GM chassis, sent to a con- version plant in Indiana, and then transported to Michigan for the dedication ceremony before being shipped to Israel. The event took place at Temple Israel, the couple...…

…28 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 OUR COMMUNITY F riends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) hosted its seventh Annual Israel Bike Mission — an intensive six-day bicycle ride through Israel — from Nov. 11-17, 2022. Southfield residents Howard and Michal Korman and Alon Tolwin joined FIDF supporters for this cross-country ride. A group of wounded Israeli combat veterans who have benefited from rehabilitative programs and prosthetic devices...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 29 T emple Shir Shalom’s Tea, Talk & Torah is returning in 2023 with its first class on Jan. 25. The monthly sessions at the West Bloomfield temple invite all to gather for an afternoon tea, light treats, schmooze and a brief study of the day’s text. Shir Shalom’s Rabbi Daniel Schwartz and Rabbi Michael Moskowitz take turns teaching the classes. The class started off meeting over the summer of 2021 at ...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-11 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 12 Student to Student Jewish students share their culture with non-Jewish students in first-of-its-kind program in Michigan. 15 Inaugural Prayer Rabbi Alicia Harris offered the prayer at Gov. Whitmer’s inauguration. 16 Together As Family 600 teens joined the BBYO Regional Conference last month at the JCC. 18 Antise...…

…faces&places Celebrity chef, popular food influencer and cookbook author Naomi Nachman came in to run a Chopped- style cooking competition at the Young Israel of Southfield on Dec. 10, 2022. Competitors had to use four ingredients, unknown to them until their arrival, on their plate to present to the judges. There were five teams of five and four judges. Lots of fun was had by competitors as well as spectators! PHOTOS COURTESY OF...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 31 On Dec. 4, 2022, the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan held a Jewish Detroit heirloom roadshow and invited community members to bring historic belongings — especially items from before 1930. Held at The Hawk in Farmington Hills, the event was packed with people who simply wanted to see what was brought in and others who had items they wanted evaluated by JHSM’s six antiques experts. Items included book...…

…32 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 NEXT DOR W ell Inc. is a program series that examines the overlap between our professional identity and Jewish identity, and features community leaders and entrepreneurs to learn together around dif- ferent subjects on this issue. On this particular program that fell on the fourth night of Chanukah, we invited Ron Elkus to join us at the Office Coffee Shop to learn with us around the themes of light and dark a...…

…JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 33 tifies (Masechet Shabbat 77b), which we used to frame our conversation about what we confront as we pursue our professional dreams and goals. Ron Elkus then told us about his Jewish journey, the founding story of his business, The Shirt Box, and led an inspiring con- versation about the values and community involvement that made The Shirt Box such a special place. Throughout the conversation, Ron shared snipp...…

…34 | JANUARY 19 • 2023 O ne was fun — and successful — so how about another? Riding a wave of momen- tum from a Jewish Heritage Night game held Dec. 4 by the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, a Jewish Heritage Night has been scheduled for the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ G League affiliate. It will be Feb. 13 against the Greensboro (N.C.) Swarm, the G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, at the Wayne State Uni...…