…MAY 13 • 2021 | 23 Orthodox, 17% to 3% respective- ly. One-in-10 U.S. Jewish adults under 30 are ultra-Orthodox (11%), compared with 1% of Jews 65 and older. At the same time, 40% of Jewish adults under 30 identify as Jewish culturally, but describe themselves religiously as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particu- lar” rather than as Jewish. This is compared to 27% of all Jewish adults who do not identify with the Jewish religion....…
…24 | MAY 13 • 2021 OUR COMMUNITY T wo exceptional Jewish law students will receive $1,500 scholarships from the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan (JBAM) at a free Zoom event on May 25. Jessica Davidova of Wayne State University Law School and Chase O. Yarber of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law will each receive JBAM’s Charles J. Cohen Scholarship, which recognizes law students who have demonstrated a commit- ment to maki...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 25 my commitment to the field of law, ” Yarber says, “and my growth as a future attorney. ” He says his experiences in Judaism have taught him passion, leadership and the importance of community. His mother, Judy Yarber, bravely fought leukemia for three years, and Chase was a bone marrow donor for her. Sadly, she died on May 4, and Chase is dedicating his award to his mother to honor the love and support she prov...…
…26 | MAY 13 • 2021 OUR COMMUNITY T he Jewish Federation/ United Jewish Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit (JFMD/UJF) announced that it has named Steven Ingber as its new chief executive officer, effec- tive immediately. Ingber has served as the orga- nization’s chief operating officer since 2016. He succeeds former JFMD/UJF CEO Scott Kaufman, who stepped down from the role at the end of 2019 after nine years. The announcement come...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 27 MAZEL TOV! MARCH 25, 2021 Kelly and Brett Kifferstein of Chicago, Ill., are thrilled to announce the birth of daughter Shiloh Harley Kifferstein. Big sister, Saylor, welcomed her with open arms. Loving grand- parents are Marsha and Warren Kifferstein of Bloomfield Hills, and Judy and Jeff Silver of Moreland Hills, Ohio. Shiloh’s middle name, Harley, is in loving memory of her great-grandfathers, Harold, Harry and L...…
…SPIRIT TORAH PORTION 28 | MAY 13 • 2021 Everyone Counts W e’ve now arrived at the fourth book of the Torah, Bamidbar, “in the wilderness.” We refer to this book as Numbers. Both names are accurate since the narrative takes place in the desert, and there are many censuses taken through the story. The Torah por- tion opens with the scene of the Israelites organizing themselves for the long journey to the Promised Land. Since...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 29 S top counting and pass the cheesecake; it’s Shavuot! Shavuot — Z’man matan Torateinu — is “The time of the giving of our Torah,” when Moses ascended Mount Sinai to meet the Almighty “face to face” and bring back the divine teachings to the Children of Israel. That’s the historical side of the holiday. But what’s all this about counting and cheesecake? Counting refers to the fact that we determine the date o...…
…30 | MAY 13 • 2021 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 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 I...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 31 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 Israel Lansing (517) 882-0049 kehillatisrael.net Congregation T’chiyah Oak Park (248) 823-711...…
…32 | MAY 13 • 2021 M ichigan-born reporter and editor Rebecca Blumenstein is stepping into a new role. After a long and storied career in journal- ism that has taken her from Newsday to the Wall Street Journal, Blumenstein, who grew up in Essexville outside of Bay City, is transitioning into a top leadership position as deputy editor in the pub- lisher’s office at the New York Times. Blumenstein, 54, of Maplewood, N.J., is a U...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 33 and economics of my home- town, Bay City, which flipped from a Democratic strong- hold to support Trump in 2016 and again in 2020. Can you tell us about your new role with the Publisher’s Office? I recently stepped away from the newsroom to take on a role as deputy editor in the Publisher’s Office. A.G. Sulzberger, who took over as the paper’s publisher in 2018, needed someone to work as his day-to-day partner, ...…
…34 | MAY 13 • 2021 BUSINESS T ech entrepreneur and innovation speaker Josh Linkner believes any- one can achieve personal or career milestones by taking small creative steps. This mindset is the focus of his new book, Big Little Breakthroughs, which launched April 20 via independent publishing house Post Hill Press. For Linkner, 50, of Franklin, who grew up in Detroit and is affiliated with Temple Shir Shalom, his fourth book speak...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 35 HERE’S TO! Jim Newman, owner and managing partner of Newman Consulting Group LLC (NCG) in Farmington Hills, was honored as a Fellow of the international ASHRAE organization, which recognizes members who have attained distinction and made substantial contributions in HVAC&R and the built environment such as education, research, engineering design and consultation, publications, presentations and mentorin...…
…36 | MAY 13 • 2021 A singer-songwriter, a playwright-author and a producer — all raised in Metro Detroit — will be part of an international digital program celebrating the holiday of Shavuot. They will be helping to navi- gate an all-night event remem- bering what occurred before the sunrise presentation of the Ten Commandments. DAWN: A Cosmic Reunion spotlights singer-songwriter Ethan Davidson perform- ing two songs with his wife...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 37 to rise after this pandemic, and we hope that will be soon.” Davidson is performing the second song because Prine was a hero of his, one of his favorite singer-songwriters. Prine died of COVID-19 fairly early on in the pandemic, but lyrics he left behind relate to the purpose of Shavuot: “Just give me one thing that I can hold on to” is repeat- ed throughout the song. SOUL OF SHAVUOT “Shavuot is [thought to be] when...…
…38 | MAY 13 • 2021 ARTS&LIFE BOOKS A beat-up, 75-year-old black-and-white pho- tograph hangs over my desk at home. It shows a thin young man in a misshapen suit and a pretty young woman in a Bavarian dirndl outfit holding hands and gazing at each other. It was taken in 1946 in the Landsberg Displaced Persons camp in Germany. The couple are my parents, Berek Fiszlinski and Hanka Monczyk, newly freed from Hell. Berek survived sev...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 39 N ext week is quite a week. On Sunday, May 16, we begin the two-day festival of Shavuot, a harvest holiday. Like Sukkot, homes are festooned with fruits, flowers, branches and greenery. And for many reasons, it’s long established that dairy foods are served during this holiday along with seven-species of foods, including wheat, barley, grape, fig, pomegranates, olives (and olive oil), and dates (or honey). It ...…
…40 | MAY 13 • 2021 W hat would happen to the estimat- ed 450,000 Jews living across North Africa, from Morocco to Jerusalem, if Germans won the battle for North Africa during World War II? This theater of war is usually depicted as a contest between Germany’s General Irwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox,” and British Commonwealth forces: Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, Scots, Welsh and English. What is often not discussed a...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 41 SHABBAT WITH FRIENDS 6:30 pm, May 14 Join Rabbi Jeff and Steph of The Well and special guests to celebrate Shabbat. A short Kabbalat Shabbat service will be followed by Shabbat ritu- als led by guests. Participate on The Well’s Facebook page. WHY WE DRUM 7 pm, May 14 The Great Lakes Taiko Center will share the art and spirit of Japanese taiko drum- ming through Raion Taiko & Godaiko Drummers. This free performanc...…
…42 | MAY 13 • 2021 ON THE GO PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS Compiled by Sy Manello/ Editorial Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in advance to calendar@thejewishnews.com. Saeed Khan Howard Lupovitch MUSLIM-JEWISH RELATIONS 7 pm, May 20 (May 27, June 3) The Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies will pres- ent this free lecture series on Zoom, with Wayne State University Professors Howard Lupovitch and Saeed Khan. This year’s to...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 43 T hey weren’t born in 1999, when the Detroit Tigers played their final game at Tiger Stadium after calling the iconic ballpark home since 1912. But the 14 players on the Frankel Jewish Academy baseball team experienced the aura of the magical place at Michigan and Trumbull on a warm spring afternoon and evening April 27 when they faced Detroit Cristo Rey at The Corner Ballpark, where Tiger Stadium once stood. The ...…
…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 248-855-0437 Cell: 248-912-2292 License # 7118488 Maintenance, Installation, Repair & Hot Water Heaters Ajmendelson1@gmail.com FAMILY OWNED SINCE 19...…
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…OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY 46 | MAY 13 • 2021 c. 2000 HOWARD GARVIN, 83, of Boca Raton, Fla., formerly of West Bloomfield, died May 2, 2021. He is survived by his son and daughter-in- law, Larry and Robin Garvin; daughters and sons-in-law, Jillian and Paul Frankel, Margo and John Lansat; grandchil- dren, Hannah, Phillip and Sammy Garvin, Judah and Ava Frankel; sister, Beverly Peterson; many other loving family members and f...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 47 J oseph Z. Nederlander, raised in a family of theater entrepreneurs and a key force in the Detroit theater scene, died May 1, 2021, after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. It was exactly one month before he could celebrate his 94th birthday and one month after the family-owned Fisher Theatre was sold to International Entertainment Holdings Limited, parent company of Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), a live t...…
…48 | MAY 13 • 2021 OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 46 E li Broad, former Detroit businessman and philanthropist whose generosity was as vast as his fortune, died April 30, 2021, in Los Angeles, where he resided for the past six decades with his wife of 67 years, Edythe. He was 87. Eli Broad was born in the Bronx in 1933, the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. When he was 6 years old, his family moved to ...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 49 son, Marc; grandchildren, Matthew, Elizabeth, Rachel, Garrett, Abigail and Rose; great grandchildren, Lilee, Jasmine, Gavriel and Aria; nieces, cousins, other loving family and friends. She was preceded in death by her mother, Miriam Nyman; her father, Max Nyman; and brother, Erwin. DOLORES ROBERTA MANDELL, 92, of West Bloomfield, died May 3, 2021. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Leonard ...…
…50 | MAY 13 • 2021 CAROLYN MAE MARTIN, 75, of Farmington Hills, died April 30, 2021. She is sur- vived by her son and daugh- ter-in-law, Joel and Shana Kruger of Miami Beach, Fla.; daughters and sons-in-law, Anne Goldman and Mark Flemming of Commerce Township, Miriam Kruger of Berkley; grandchildren, Molly Goldman, Ozzie Kruger, Uri Kruger, Dani Kruger; nieces and nephews, Charlie and Jodi Fried, Heshy and Chaya Miriam Fried; ...…
…MAY 13 • 2021 | 51 For the peace you need . . . ... and the respect of the life you treasured. Judaism embraces all facets of life . . . including death. Trust us to assist you with dignity and grace. HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL (248) 543-1622 ~ hebrewmemorial.org …
…OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY 52 | MAY 13 • 2021 F aye Schulman, a Holocaust survivor who lost most of her family to the Nazis but joined a group of partisan fighters and document- ed their work in photographs, died April 24, the Washington Post reported Saturday. She was 101 years old. Schulman’s photographs often depicted the smiling faces of young partisan fighters, with Schulman at times at the center in a stylish leopard prin...…
…RASKIN THE BEST OF EVERYTHING MAY 13 • 2021 | 53 W ho was that fel- low sitting with owner Pat Archer at his now-closed Excalibur Restaurant on Franklin and Northwestern Highway? He was the spitting image of Frank Sinatra … and Ol’ Blue Eyes himself enjoyed a stack of bar-b-q ribs after his show at the Fox Theatre … compliments of then-Executive Chef Marty Wilk who also sent some ribs to Sinatra at his hotel suite. Marty did...…
…Looking Back From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org 54 | MAY 13 • 2021 O n April 30, President Joe Biden proclaimed May to be Jewish American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate all the Jewish contribu- tions to American culture and history over the past 370 years. Americans have been doing so every May for the past 15 years. The idea for an official Jewish American H...…
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…$200 May 6-12, 2021 / 24 Iyar – 1 Sivan 5781 JEWISH NEWS JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT thejewishnews.com Life: Done Jewishly Jewishly Jlife platform will transform Jewish community connections. Page 10 …
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…MAY 6 • 2021 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-8 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 10 Life: Done Jewishly Jlife platform will transform Jewish community connections. 14 A Great Ability to Do Good Justice Bernstein advances Abraham Accords while advocating for the disabled. 16 Detroit Mourns Mount Meron Tragedy Federation and local clergy hold memorial. 18 The Great 8 Over 80 JSL honors seniors who strive to “rep...…
…4 | MAY 6 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY guest column Mother’s Day Viewed Through a Jewish Lens M y earliest memory of Mother’s Day goes back to when I was about 6 years old. I conspired with my sister, who is two years my senior, to surprise my mother by making dinner for the family. While she was still in bed, early on that Sunday morning, we attempted one of our favorites: spaghetti and meatballs. It was an absolute disa...…
…MAY 6 • 2021 | 5 For 82 years, our commitment has been the same. To serve everyone in Michigan with better health. In every ZIP code, we provide access to high-quality care. Throughout communities large and small, we support local efforts to improve health for all. Wherever you call home, we will be by your side. Because we’re here for it all and always will be. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit cor...…
…6 | MAY 6 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY 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 ch...…
…MAY 6 • 2021 | 7 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com A Family Tradition Since 1964 Antipasto Salad Our Famous Baked Bread Lamb Chops Spaghetti Carbonara “Alla Bocelli” Steak and Cheese Calzoni Linguini with White Clam Sauce Veal Ossobuco Alle Verdure Dad’s Pizza Pie Recipe Farmington Hills (Corner of Halsted) 37646 W . 12 Mile Rd. 248.994.4000 Canton (Corn...…
…8 | MAY 6 • 2021 Dear Danny, I wholeheartedly appreciate your comments on the Derek Chauvin guilty verdicts. My heart rejoiced when Judge Cahill read those guilty verdicts … unlike in 1992 when four white police officers were acquitted in the videotaped beating of Rodney King. I lived in Los Angeles at the time and watched the city go up in flames in the worst civil unrest in the history of Los Angeles. So, the Derek Chauv...…
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…10 | MAY 6 • 2021 E very week, dozens of local Jewish congregations and organizations present a wide array of classes, lectures, religious and holiday observances, children’s activities, fundraisers and social events. Most are online due to the pandemic, but opportunities for Jewish connection and enrichment abound. However, it’s not always easy to discover what is available and find out how to participate. Jlife — a new initiative fro...…
…MAY 6 • 2021 | 11 The Montreal Connection The Jlife partnership between the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and Montreal’s Federation CJA evolved from a visit that Scott Kaufman made to the Montreal federa- tion several years ago. He was there for a presentation about organizational and leadership transitions and mentioned Jlife in his remarks. A Montreal federation staff member was impressed with the Jlife concept and asked h...…
…12 | MAY 6 • 2021 about the events, clearly display the co-sponsors’ logos and create and manage event registration,” says Jodi Gross, director of adult learning and youth engagement at Adat Shalom Synagogue. She credits Julie Yaker, their liaison with Jlife, for help with the launch page and event registration. The synagogues’ joint Purim programming illustrates key benefits of Jlife — the ability to collaborate — making more effect...…
…MAY 6 • 2021 | 13 participating organization will have its own page and maintain individual relationships with its customers. For those concerned about data security, Weisman provides the reassurance, “We take data and privacy very seriously. We can be sure that it’s not sold or shared.” Kaufman points out that Jlife’s development team includes Israeli partners with cyber security expertise. Participating organizations will be ab...…
…14 | MAY 6 • 2021 M ichigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein is now in Israel after a nearly three- month stay in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, doing disability advocacy work in relation to the Abraham Accords. Bernstein has also been at the center of slight controversy after backlash to him spending the last three months out of the country, with some Lansing Republicans questioning whether he has abandoned his Michigan ...…
…MAY 6 • 2021 | 15 ing, so everyone’s working from home. I felt that since the building was closed and, since I had ample time to get all of my work done and I’m working by telephone anyway, I looked at it and said, ‘what’s the difference?’ “If I’m doing it from my apartment in Birmingham or if I’m in the UAE, it’s the same phone, and all I’m doing is talking on the phone. If you’re asked to stay because what you’re doing has meani...…
…16 | MAY 6 • 2021 T he Detroit Jewish community gath- ered over Zoom Sunday night to mourn the loss of 45 lives at Mount Meron on Lag b’Omer, April 29. At least 150 were injured in the tragedy. Representatives of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and clergy from many streams of Judaism remembered the victims and shared their collective grief with the peo- ple of Israel through prayer and community. Steven Ingber, COO of Fe...…
