…JEWISH NEWS $200 Sept.30-Oct. 6, 2021 / 24-30 Tishri 5782 JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT thejewishnews.com How Bob Naftaly, in the face of automaker bankruptcies, helped save health benefits for 872,000 UAW retirees. See page 14 A Masterful Achievement! …
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-13 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 14 A Masterful Achievement! How Bob Naftaly, in the face of automaker bankruptcies, helped save health benefits for 872,000 UAW retirees. 18 ‘A Dynamic Leader’ For a lifetime of service, Larry Wolfe will receive Federation’s Butzel award. 20 Still No Charges Danny Fenster’s family, friends keep raising awareness of his plight. 21 ...…
…4 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY essay Abraham’s Tent is Staked in Detroit Mark Davidoff is General Chair of this year’s Yeshiva Beth Yehudah annual dinner. F or many years, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah has held an annual dinner to further the educational mission of this essential Detroit Torah institution. The dinner enables an introduction of the school to the broader community — highlighting the Yeshivah’s incredible...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 5 T O B E N E F I T T H E K A D I M A C R E A T I V E E X P R E S S I O N S P R O G R A M Supported by the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation shopcreativeexpressions.com Purchase member-designed merchandise featuring original paintings, textiles, illustrations, photographs, comic books and more! LEARN MORE ABOUT CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS AT ... PRESENTING SPONSOR Barbara and Michael Kratchman VIRTUOSO SPONSORS Gail Kat...…
…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 30 • 2021 | 7 continued on page 8 24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110 Southfield, MI 48034 1-248-945-1111 24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110 Southfield, MI 48034 1-248-945-1111 What Is Your Plan?..... Call Us. We focus on Probate Litigation and Administration. Administering estates where everyone is on the same page...…
…8 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 7 “American-Israeli relations.” Why do Ann Arbor’s anti- Israel zealots find it most meaningful to express their “public discourse in public fora” on Saturday mornings between 9:30 and 11:30 adja- cent to a synagogue? Is this truly “public dis- course” on “matters of public concern?” Are those who gather for two hours on Saturday mornings really trying to persuade th...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 9 INNOVATIVE. ENGAGING. ENLIVENING. TOTALLY CAPTIVATING. An expansive menu of freshly prepared meals and daily chef specials Fine arts performances A variety of thoughtfully planned, engaging activities Individual chauffeured transportation A host of technology- based enrichment Family engagement app All Seasons emboldens you to discover a dynamic range of enlightening perspectives and ex...…
…10 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY essay My Heartfelt Thanks to Rabbi Sasson H ow does a commu- nity say goodbye to a rabbi who single- handedly saved them from closing their synagogue’s doors? Rabbi Sasson Natan, whose Iraqi roots encouraged us to call him by his first name, came to Detroit in 1991 as an Israeli engineer- ing contractor with General Motors. Rabbi Sasson became the first chazan of our con- gregation, a...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 11 SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS! 4130 Telegraph Rd. 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 $63 MILLION SOLD IN 2020! BLOOMFIELD HILLS Newer built with 4 bed, 4.1 bath, 3648 sq. ft. plus f n. low- er level. Open f oor plan, hardwood f oors, hi...…
…2 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 YESHIVA BETH YEHUDAH 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 a m p a i g n c h a i r s a n d r a p i e r c e d i n n e r c h a i r s t e v e s t e i n o u r g e n e r a l c h a i r s j i m & n a n c y g r o s f e l d 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 P O N S O R S * D R . J I L L B I D E N i n p e r s o n g u e s t s p e a k e r f i r s t l a d y o f t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s *IN FORMATION F O R S P O N S O R S H I P S , A D V E R T I S I N G A N D R E S E R V AT I O N S V I S I T W W W .Y B Y D I N N E R . O R G O R C A L L 2 4 8 . 6 6 3 . 8 2 9 9 GUEST SPEAKER S PA C E I S L I M I T E D ! M A K E Y O U R R E S E R V AT I O N S T O D AY D E T R O I T M A R R I O T T R ...…
…OUR COMMUNITY T he future of Detroit and the U.S.-based automakers during the summer of 2007 had never looked so dreadful. General Motors, negotiating with the United Auto Workers union toward a new labor contract, had lost more than $12 billion during the previous two years. Bankruptcies for one or more of the Big Three automakers were growing more likely. Desperate to stave off col- lapse, the Big Three proposed shrinking larg...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 15 continued on page 16 him as chair of an earlier, much smaller VEBA trust that administered dental benefits to union retirees. AUTOMOBILE SLUMP IMPERILED RETIREES Health benefits — with the specter of bankruptcy loom- ing — was a whole different, larger and more complex undertaking. “The auto industry and the union had a common problem” in 2007, Naftaly recalled. “They were worried about who would pay for t...…
…direction: As a youngster, he’d never imagined such a life. At Central High, astonishing- ly, he had no inkling as to a future career. Fortuitously, a relative stepped in. “My Uncle Sam Geller encouraged me to become a certified public accountant,” he said. “He told me to take bookkeeping in high school and then come to work for his accounting firm while taking college courses at night and on the weekends.” Naftaly graduated from ...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 17 Jewish Federation’s board — who says, ‘I hear you’re a Jewish boy who knows something about nursing homes. We could use your help.’” Two nursing homes operated by Federation, Borman Hall in Detroit and Prentis Manor in Southfield, were “draining the Federation’s resources and also raising questions about the level of care” for the more than 300 elderly Jewish residents, Davidoff said. The two homes sto...…
…OUR COMMUNITY I n 1983, Jewish community leader and philanthropist Larry Wolfe experienced a major change in his outlook and attitude toward Jewish life. While on a mission to Israel with his wife, Andi, Larry, despite not wanting to go ini- tially, had a revelation as to what being Jewish truly meant. It was the mission leader, David Hermelin, and Larry’s father-in-law, D. Dan Kahn, both of blessed memory, who had encouraged him ...…
…Jewish affairs, largely inspired by his father-in-law and that Israel trip. In the late 1980s, Wolfe was introduced to the Jewish Community Center by his friend and mentor Jerry Sobel. Calling it a “natural fit, ” Wolfe became involved with the organization and worked his way up to eventually be elected president in 1997. There, he met various Jewish commu- nity leaders, including people involved with Federation. When asked to take...…
…20 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 $20 million gift to expand the Michigan-Israel Partnership for Research and Education, which includes the University of Michigan, the Technion and the Weizmann Institute of Science. “My father-in-law taught me the importance of giving back to the community,” Wolfe says. He also holds board positions with the Jewish Fund, Kids Kicking Cancer, the Detroit Zoological Society, the Michigan Medicine Advisor...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 21 WE VALUE DEEP THOUGHT AND DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS. FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2021 at 6:30pm Contact Arielle Endelman aendelman@frankelja.org | 248-671-3248 OUR COMMUNITY T hirty years after being ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom Synagogue was presented with an honor- ary doctorate from JTS. “It was something I’ve actually...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 21 WE VALUE DEEP THOUGHT AND DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS. FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2021 at 6:30pm Contact Arielle Endelman aendelman@frankelja.org | 248-671-3248 OUR COMMUNITY T hirty years after being ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom Synagogue was presented with an honor- ary doctorate from JTS. “It was something I’ve actually...…
…J ewish organizational administrators, faculty and Jewish student leaders agree that, though they are disturbed by a two antisemitic incidents that occurred on small online forums as well as an anti-Israel rhetoric sprayed on the “MSU Rock,” they are encouraged that the incidents were reported to campus law enforcement authorities by non-Jews. On Wednesday, Sept. 15, MSU’s Michael and Elaine Serling Institute for Jewish Studies an...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 23 is hosted by the institute in partnership with the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center and other MSU academic departments. It will feature insights from leading experts from around the country as well as a recorded message from MSU President Samuel Stanley. For more information and to register, go to jsp.msu.edu. “I think the symposium is going to be a great service to the university i...…
…A recent court ruling on the eve of Yom Kippur has left staff and members at Ann Arbor’s Beth Israel Congregation upset and confused. Since 2003, the Conservative Jewish syna- gogue has been the target of weekly pro-Palestinian protests. Ann Arbor residents gather nearly every Saturday morning from 9:30-11:30 a.m. with upwards of 20 signs condemning Israel. Slogans like “Jewish Power Corrupts,” “Stop Funding Israel” and “End th...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 25 Fall Fix Up is generously sponsored by: Join us November 7th! Fix Up this Fall! Invite your family, friends or community Invite your family, friends or community groups to this outdoor, family-friendly groups to this outdoor, family-friendly volunteer event. Help rake leaves and volunteer event. Help rake leaves and winterize homes (outdoor only) of older winterize homes (outdoor only) of older adults serve...…
…OUR COMMUNITY T he Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) is holding a virtual event, “Stolen Voices with Zlata Filipovic,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3. Filipovic is the author of the international bestseller Zlata’s Diary, co-editor of Stolen Voices: Young People’s War Diaries from World War I to Iraq and a documentary filmmaker. She grew up under one of the longest sieges in modern-day history in her native city of Sarajevo, Bosnia-He...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 27 Mazel Tov, Larry, on being honored with the Butzel Award! We are so grateful for our experience on the 2020 Andi & Larry Wolfe Gen X Mission as well as for everything you have done for our Jewish community. Lawrence A. Wolfe 2021 Fred M. Butzel Award Recipient 2020 Andi & Larry Wolfe Gen X Mission Participants Taal Ashmann Karen Beneson Donna Bolda-Moss Mikki Frank Brenda Harris Robyn Heicklen D...…
…SPORTS I t was postponed, canceled, then rescheduled twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally on the calendar for June 8, 2020, the 30th annual Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf and Tennis Invitational finally was held last month at Tam-O-Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield. For the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation, which organizes and hosts the invi- tational as a fundraiser for cancer research and treatment, Aug. 23...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 29 T he COVID-19 pandemic may have reshaped the way the world works, but there’s one element of Jewish life in Metro Detroit that will continue no matter what, even if it takes place in a different form: Hebrew school. In the fall of 2020, at the height of the health crisis, syn- agogues across the area pivoted to remote learning options for Jewish youth. Most used Zoom or other virtual meeting soft- ware, ho...…
…to the pandemic that midweek attendance was difficult because families live up to an hour away, ” Ser explains. “Kids get off the bus at 4:30 and can’t possibly be at Hebrew school at 4:30. ” On Sundays, Adat Shalom is offering in-person sessions, the exception to their mostly online curriculum for 2021-2022. Yet, families have the option to Zoom in, if needed. “Every grade has an outdoor space assigned to them that they can use w...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 31 S ome 70% of children with parents who smoke were found to have nicotine residue in hair samples, according to research done by the Sackler Medical School of Tel Aviv University. The study was peer-reviewed and published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. The researchers wanted to examine whether raising awareness of children’s exposure might change parents’ behavior. About 140 Israeli families, with chil...…
…T he parshah of Bereshit is loaded with content, beginning with the creation of the universe and then running through everything from Adam until the birth of Noah 1,000 years later. Of all the many fundamental Jewish concepts discussed in this Torah portion, arguably the most important one is the creation of the intelligent man. The verse states “and He blew into his (man’s) nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living b...…
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…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...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 35 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...…
…36 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 T here are words that change the world, none more so than two sen- tences that appear in the first chap- ter of the Torah: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. “So, God created mankind in His own image, in t...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 37 and the sanctity of life. This same principle, that Genesis 1 is a polemic, part of an argument with a background, is essential to understanding the idea that God created humanity “in His image, after His like- ness. ” This language would not have been unfamiliar to the first readers of the Torah. It was one they knew well. It was commonplace in the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Certain...…
…T wo folk composing and recording artists — Dan Bern and Randy Kaplan — are glad to have their live appearances resuming with one scheduled together at The Ark in Ann Arbor, where Bern has entertained about a dozen times over many years. New songs and crowd favorites will be featured Tuesday evening, Oct. 5, as Kaplan opens for Bern, and they later combine talents. “Randy and I were living in Los Angeles in the early ’90s when t...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 39 often is called ‘Jerusalem,’ which I actually wrote in Jerusalem, and it’s the one people seem to want to hear the most,” says Bern, who musicalized thoughts about the Messiah and helping oneself. “My sister, Jennifer Bern-Vogel, was studying to be a cantor at the time I visited there.” Helping oneself has been important to Bern since his last visit to Michigan. Due to a snow blower accident, he lost the...…
…ARTS&LIFE BENEFITS A s Hadassah Greater Detroit makes accommodations for the Judi Schram Annual Meeting — for those attending in person or virtually — there will be a lot of inspiration. Much of it will come from the guest speak- er, film and TV actress Marlee Matlin, known for developing an award-winning career and maintaining strong relationships as a wife and mother — all while moving beyond the deaf community and leading others t...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 41 Matlin’s Message Danny Raskin Honored with a Donation to Yad Ezra Delta by Marriott Hotel Detroit Metro Airport General Manager Fadi Achour, a good friend of the late Danny Raskin, donated $500 to Yad Ezra in Raskin’s name. The Jewish News matched the donation, bringing the check to $1,000. Longtime coworker of Raskin, Dharlene Katzman Norris, was there to honor the late great scribe during a star-stu...…
…42 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 MUCH JEWISH INPUT IN SOPRANOS PREQUEL; TWO MUSICALS; EMMYS The Many Saints of Newark, a film, is a prequel to The Sopranos, the hit HBO series. It will be released to theaters on Oct. 1. and also will begin streaming that day on HBO Max for 30 days. The film, set in the late 1960s, was co-written by Sopranos creator David Chase (who is Italian- American and not Jewish) and Lawrence Konner, 70, ...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 43 ‘FIELDING HOPE’ 5:30-11:00 PM, SEPT. 30 Samaritas, a social services nonprofit, will host Fielding Hope at Jimmy John’s Field, 7171 Auburn Road, Utica. This will be an outdoor celebration of Samaritas’ 87 years of impact throughout Michigan. In addition to an engaging and heartfelt program, dance to the sounds of live music, enjoy gourmet food, indulge in craft beer and cocktails from New Holland Brew...…
…44 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 FOOD DINING IN It’s Autumn — It’s Autumn — Bring on the Comfort Foods! …
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 45 continued on page 46 I t’s as if September arrived and “boom,” it is autumn. I’m sure there are warm and dry days ahead, but after one of the hottest summers in a while, the chill has been somewhat of a shock. Still, we know what we’re in for so there should be no surprises when the days become shorter and we wake up in the dark. So, when it comes to eating, we are yearning for more and more warm and com...…
…46 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 Directions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x12-inch baking dish with parch- ment. Set aside. Make the topping: Combine the topping ingredients and stir well (should be crumbly). Set aside. Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cin- namon together in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together in anoth...…
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…OF BLESSED MEMORY OBITUARIES M ichigan Court of Appeals Judge Jonathan Tukel died on Sept. 17, 2021, at age 60. Judge Tukel, an Orchard Lake resident, had a distin- guished career as a lawyer, federal prosecutor, judge and adjunct law professor. As Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek said at the funeral, Judge Tukel followed the Jewish precept that “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” “He used his incredible gifts fo...…
…SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 49 SANDRA D. BERNSTEIN, 88, of Novi, died Sept. 23, 2021. She is survived by her beloved husband, Dr. Fred Bernstein; son, Michael Bernstein; daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Sanford Barris; sister-in-law, Loretta Meier; grandchildren, Brooke Bernstein, Aaron (Stephanie) Barris, Gayle (Paul) Shotkin, Kelsey Holden and Neil (Jessica) Barris; eight great-grandchildren and many other loving family member...…
