…Fall Clock Auction Saturday Oct. 30th at 11:00 a.m. View the catalog and bid online now at www.Liveauctioneers.com Schmidt’s Antiques Inc. 5138 West Michigan Ave. | Ypsilanti, Michigan. (734) 434-2660 Since 1911 www.SchmidtsAntiques.com Featuring Howard wall clocks, American fl oor clocks, Early Banjo clocks, Vienna Regulators, Rare American Shelf clocks, French clocks, American wall clocks, Patek Philippe and Rolex wristwatches, Good Sw...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-11 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 12 A Jewish Superhero Saves Gotham City!! Celebrating the Jewish heritage of comic books. 18 Memorial of Tears Monument honors Kay family and Wloszczowa Holocaust victims. 21 ‘70 Stories for 70 Years’ Detroit Jewish Book Fair’s yearlong festival gears up with November Festival Week. 22 Helping Afghan Refugees $500,000 allocated ...…
…4 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY essay What the Tree of Life Shooting Revealed about American Jewry A few years ago, a col- league called to inter- view me for a book he was writing about journalists who worked for Jewish publi- cations. I told him that it would be the first book in history whose readership would overlap 100% with the people being interviewed. That’s a little bit how I feel about books that look deeply ...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 5 Since 1996, we have been guiding individuals and families through life’s most difficult moments. Whether you’re faced with a challenging injury, illness, or complex health crisis, our multidisciplinary team is here to provide the care solutions and peace of mind you deserve. through life’s most difficult moments. Whether you’re faced through life’s most difficult moments. Whether you’re faced with a challeng...…
…6 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 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: De...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 7 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com 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 ...…
…8 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 I t may turn out that a lot of Americans are devoting more thought to the ques- tion of who will ultimately succeed the late Alex Trebek as the host of Jeopardy! than they do about far weightier issues. When Trebek, who had been the face of the venerable quiz show for 36 years, died last year at the age of 80, it set off a much-bally- hooed search for a successor. The competition was intense and ultimat...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 9 don’t think she’s controversial are those without access to the internet. A search of her YouTube videos would show that she has expressed an opinion about just about every aspect of her life as a parent (about which she has also writ- ten two books), her divorce, open relationships, sexual harassment, holistic medicine, food (she is vegan) and her experiences as a sitcom actress. So, there’s plenty of ammuni...…
…10 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY essay To My Youngest Daughter Upon Her Joining the IDF D ear D., Last month, [undercover count- er-terrorism] Duvdevan commandos — a commander and his signal operator — were shot multiple times while chasing Hamas terror- ists. One bullet pierced one of the command- er’s grenades. Thanks to an Israeli techno- logical inno- vation, the grenade didn’t explode. A medic ran to them, defy- i...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 11 my timeline, contrasting my perennial studenthood’s free- dom, comforts and indul- gences with your challenging, if hopefully fulfilling, road ahead. My head lists all the ways soldiering builds char- acter, but my heart hurts that we still need soldiers at all — let alone how desperately we need smart, effective, ide- alistic soldiers like you. And I, probably more than you, keenly feel your sacrifice in temp...…
…OUR COMMUNITY Jewish Jewish Jewish Jewish Superhero Superhero Saves Saves Saves Saves Gotham City!! Celebrating the Jewish heritage of comic books. 12 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 PIXIBAY Superman and Harley Quinn PIXIBAY Gotham City!! Superhero Superhero “T he comic book is a Jewish invention. The superhero genre is a Jewish invention. The comic con [convention] is a Jewish invention, ” writer Roy Schwartz explained during Mo...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 13 signifiers, ” says the Israeli-born Schwartz. Schwartz has written for newspapers, magazines, toy companies, production studios and writes about pop culture for CNN.com. He has taught English and writing at the City University of New York. His new book, Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero, is the product of six and a half years of work and started as his graduate...…
…14 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 names were Segalovich and Shusterowich, respectively. Prolific comic artist Gil Kane was Eli Katz. Batman co-creator Bob Kane was Robert Kahn. “It goes on and on and on, ” Schwartz says. JEWISH CHARACTERS In the earlier days, comic book characters did not state their religious or ethnic identities. That started to change in the 1970s, Lockhart says. “The very first ever explicitly Jewish comic was in 1948...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 15 Supported through the generosity of The Jewish Fund and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Family Foundation. Need Housing Support? ☐ Call jhelp at 1-833-445-4357 ☐ Visit jhelp.org ☐ Chat online with a staff member or schedule a call at jhelp.org ☐ Do all of the above X Q We Have Answers. 248.289.0660 www.tusharvakhariya.com 6755 Telegraph Road | Bloomfield Hills MI 48301 210 S Old Woodward | Ste. 200 | Bir...…
…16 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 continued from page 14 OUR COMMUNITY torically Jewish neighborhood that retains a strong sense of its Jewish heritage today. Lockhart spent a lot of time there growing up. “I felt this connection partly because I had studied and read about the history of the LES for another project and because I grew up going there, ” Lockhart said. “I felt this connection of my own family to the city, and our her- itage w...…
…Child's Name:______________________________________ Age:____________ Parents' Names: ____________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________ City: _____________________________State:_________Zip:_______________ _ Day Phone: ________________________ Evening Phone:___________________ _ Email:____________________________________________________________ School: ________________...…
…18 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 OUR COMMUNITY Memorial of SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER GLENN TRIEST PHOTOGRAPHER Tears Stuart Kay of Franklin visits his family’s memorial. …
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 19 Cemetery monument memorializes the Kay family and the graveless Holocaust victims of Wloszczowa, Poland. T he myriad of tombstones of Chesed Shel Emes Cemetery in Clinton Township are uniform in height and shape, lined up in even rows that mark the graves of hundreds of Jewish Detroiters. But Section 18 has one tombstone unlike any other with several com- ponents — a tall centerpiece with two carved dark stone...…
…20 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 was a frequent Kay family trip. Chesed Shel Emes has several memorial benches dedicated to the Jewish residents of commu- nities that were decimated by the Nazis. Kay wanted to install a bench, but cemetery rules permitted memorial benches only for entire Jewish commu- nities, not individual families. Undaunted, Kay designed an addition to the existing mon- ument — one that highlighted the 800 Jewish familie...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 21 T he 70th anniversary of the JCC of Metro Detroit’s Jewish Book Fair kicks off in November with its biggest and most ambitious installment yet. The fair will be celebrating with programming the entire year: “70 stories for 70 years,” with the goal of holding 70 events in that time frame. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, a little crazy for us, but I think it’s going to be great,” said Jaemi Loeb, senior director...…
…OUR COMMUNITY T he state of Michigan has allocated $500,000 to help house about 1,300 Afghan refugees expected to arrive in the state, officials announced this month. As the Taliban continues to exert power over Afghanistan, resettlement agencies across the U.S. are preparing to support an influx of Afghan refugees fleeing the country. Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Washtenaw County is one of five resettlement groups the state...…
…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 experiences each day INDEP...…
…24 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 S ince the 1960s, Fiddler on the Roof has been a staple of Jewish community and culture. The classic film and Broadway production captures Jewish life in a shtetl in pre-revolutionary Russia, navigating the ups and downs of everyday matters. Now, Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield will bring the story to life once more with a musical revue of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, a Broadway Yiddish-language ad...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 25 room for social distancing and will require all attendees to wear masks, regardless of vac- cination status. “Within the constraints of COVID-19, we’re opening the synagogue back up to the public, ” Propis says, “in a con- trolled environment. ” The synagogue is looking forward to what Hazzan Propis calls “a buzz in the air” and to bring live Jewish performance back to the com- munity. “It’s an intimate look ...…
…26 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 W hen Shari Finsilver was 19 years old, she was eating a holiday dinner with her family when her spoon flew out of her hand, landing across the room. Her mom was horrified. “She really thought I had Parkinson’s disease and rushed me to a neurologist,” explains Finsilver. As a young girl, Finsilver had become adept at hiding her Essential Tremor (ET), a condition which is believed to affect 5% of the populat...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 27 Details This year’s Trade Secrets event will be in hybrid form, emceed by Fox 2’s Amy Lange, and offering options of a limited in-person evening dinner Nov. 11 at Detroit Marriott Troy starting at 6.30 p.m. with only six people per table, or an online streamed version of the event, starting at 7.30 p.m. Online attendees will receive a personalized box of snacks plus a small bot- tle of champagne and party ...…
…28 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 she danced 13 styles of ballroom dance, including bolero, fox trot, rumba and salsa, in her first National Fred Astaire Competition in Orlando in 2019. After her life-changing surgery, Finsilver became determined to offer other sufferers the same support that she received from the Iowa farmer and started the first International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF) support group for Michigan patients. “The...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 29 A special group of seven volunteer judges will be reviewing submissions and choosing the 36 winners. Honorees will receive free three-year subscriptions to the JN and be featured in a February 2022 issue. GO ONLINE TO THEJEWISHNEWS.COM AND NOMINATE THEM BY NOVEMBER 18, 2021 JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT Do you know someone who gives of themselves to the community in robust — and often thankless — ways? Someone you admi...…
…Intergenerational Fun Natalie Scheyer of West Bloomfield had a lovely Fall gathering at her home this month consisting of mostly West Bloomfield Jewish octogenarians. Multi- generations were on hand. Her daughter, Marlowe Bechmann, and granddaughter Delia Bechmann entertained everyone with a group sing- along. Delia’s friend Charlotte DeGuire, an 8th-grader at Walnut Creek Middle School, catered the party with finger food ap...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 31 MAZEL TOV! SEPT. 30, 2021 Jordan and Ryan Fishman of Orchard Lake are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Golda Sarina. Loving brothers are Ariel and Moishe. Proud grandparents are Ann and Marc Fishman of Bloomfield Hills, Stewart Shifman of Waterford. She is also the grandchild of the late Cindy Shifman. Golda is named for her great-grandmother, the late Jeanne Fishman (Golda Yenta); her uncle, t...…
…32 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 SPORTS T he Jewish Men’s Basketball League is back after a one- season hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s great news for guys like 27-year-old Oak Park resident Jared Kohlenberg, who played in the Partners Detroit league’s inaugural season in 2019-20 shortly after returning to Detroit after working in Indianapolis and will play in the league again this season. “I enjoyed playing in the leagu...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 33 Denver, again leaving Detroit with four healthy players. MACCABI ‘FAB FOUR’ Detroit beat Denver by three points. Kohlenberg again was one of Detroit’s “fab four” in that game. “To play six games in 3½ days under those circumstances and earn medals was unbelievable,” Detroit U16 coach Barry Bershad said in a Jewish News story. “I’ve been coaching basketball for 40 years. I’ve never coached a team with le...…
…34 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 S haina, 42, and Nathaniel, 58, Warshay made aliyah in 2019 from Oak Park. They came with four small children in tow, and one who was already here. While it was difficult for them to leave their many family members and careers behind, they both can’t imag- ine living anywhere else. Q: Tell me about your first trip to Israel. Shaina: My first trip was on Bnei Akiva Machach after 10th grade. There was a run...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 35 A bout 2,000 years ago, our sages recorded that God subjected Abraham to 10 tests over the course of his lifetime (Pirkei Avot 5:3). However, they don’t record what these tests were. To say that Abraham’s life was eventful is an understatement; and so, as one might expect, there are nearly as many different lists of what these 10 tests are as there are commentators compiling these lists. One thing is unani...…
…36 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 I n 1966 an 11-year-old Black boy moved with his parents and family to a white neighborhood in Washington. Sitting with his two brothers and two sisters on the front step of the house, he waited to see how they would be greeted. They were not. Passers-by turned to look at them, but no one gave them a smile or even a glance of recognition. All the fearful stories he had heard about how whites treated blac...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 37 to look for any specific traits of character. He had simply told him to find someone from his own extended family. Eliezer, however, formulated a test: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please ...…
…38 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 I ntegrity is a word we hear about often. We know it’s one of the highest compli- ments you can pay a person. And we all want to be regarded as people of integrity. When we picture someone with integrity, we think of a person who is upright, honest and honorable. But, what does it actually mean? It’s an important question to answer because, according to the Talmud, one of the first questions a person is aske...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 39 is something separate to the sacredness of speech because it includes keeping promises we make to ourselves, promises we make “in our hearts. ” The Talmud (Bava Basra 88a) describes the great Talmudic sage, Rav Safra, as the epitome of “one who speaks truth in his heart. ” (Psalms 15:2) On this, Rav Avraham Yitzchak Bloch says faithfully fulfilling what we undertake to do in our hearts is also an important ...…
…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...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 41 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 I...…
…42 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 J ust six months ago, Becca Suskauer was doing hybrid learning as a senior about to graduate from Penn State with a BFA in musical theatre. She was submitting self-taped video auditions online, as is the new pandemic norm for actors, and making challah over Facetime with her mom back in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where Suskauer grew up. For Suskauer, the self-proclaimed “Jewess” will tell you that it’s beshe...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 43 and aspirations for musical theater. They continue to support us, which is very validating and not a given for every set of parents.” STRONG WOMEN Suskauer adds that she comes from a long line of strong Jewish women and Holocaust survivors. “I think that the character Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman is all about being independent and a survivor, which is what I think is exactly at the core and heart of the Jew...…
…44 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 JUDGE JUDY AND INA GARTEN RETURN + MORE On Nov. 1, Judy Sheindlin, 78, better known as “Judge Judy,” will return to the “media bench” in a new series called Judy Justice. I say “media bench” and not “TV bench” because Judy Justice will be streamed-only. It will not be on broadcast TV. Long story short: Even though Judge Judy was one of the highest-paid people on TV (well over $1 million per episode), she...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 45 SELF ENRICHMENT 8:30 AM, OCT. 28 On Thursday mornings, The Well starts the day by nourishing bodies and souls. Join for mindful morning learning and music that will leave you energized, connected and ready to start the day. Info: meetyouatthewell.org. JEWISH MIGRATION PATTERNS 7-8:30 PM, NOV. 2 & 9 Offered on Zoom by JLearn of the JCC; co-sponsored by Cohn- Haddow Center for Judaic Studies. Instructor: Pro...…
…46 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 continued from page 45 prayers. Tuition: $65. To register: 248-205-2557 or JLearn.online. ORT WINGO 5:30-9:30 PM, NOV. 4 Virtual event. Register at ortamerica.org/regions/ Michigan-region; 248-723- 8860. SEGREGATION ISSUES 7 PM, NOV.4 “Detroit Jews, Segregation and the Birwood Wall” will be a Zoom presentation with Erin Einhorn, NBC news reporter. Hosted by the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. Einho...…
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…48 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY A Loving Family Man and Builder R yan Dembs, 49, of Franklin, passed away unexpectedly on Oct. 17, 2021. He was born in Detroit three weeks late to Linda and Dennis Dembs and was cherished by his family from the day he was brought home from the hospital. His mother remarked how he was “born considerate, ” sleeping through his very first night. He grew up in a nurturing home ...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 49 JOSEPH BIELAWSKI, 83, of Southfield, died Oct. 19, 2021. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Nili Bielawski; sons and daugh- ters-in-law, Uri and Julie Bielawski of Commerce Township, Benny and Amanda Mazur Bielawski of Highland Park, Ill.; daughter and son-in-law, Edna and David Herman of Modien, Israel; grandchildren, Joshua Bielawski, Marcos Bielawski, Brooke Bielawski, Claire Bielawski, Alden Bi...…
…50 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY R ichard Maskin, 74, of Royal Oak, died Oct. 16, 2021. He was a legend of the motorsports world, beginning his career as a lot man and mechan- ic at his family’s Pontiac dealership before becoming a professional drag racer. In 1972, Richard made the leap to NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Pro Stock, where he won multi- ple championships and set national records as a dr...…
…OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 51 continued from page 49 EDITH ROSEN ERDBERG, 88, of Lauderhill, Fla., died Oct. 16, 2021. Born in Vienna, Austria, Edith was a survivor of two Soviet forced-la- bor camps in Novosibirsk and Karaganda. She left Vienna when she was 5 years old and did not return until she was 14; seven years were spent imprisoned in the camps. She was immensely proud of her children’s and grand- children’s values and accom-...…
