…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 39 T he JCC Maccabi Games are back. Or, perhaps more appropriately, starting again 40 years after they began. After an unprecedented two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Olympic-style sports, cultural and social event for Jewish teens ages 13-16 will return this summer in San Diego. It appears 22 Detroit athletes will attend, perhaps a few more, a steep drop in attendance from previous ...…
…40 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 Antonio. In 2011, 31 Detroit teens went to Israel, 42 went to Philadelphia and 26 went to Springfield, Massachusetts. In the two years prior to Detroit being a Maccabi Games host in 2019, 59 Detroit teens went to Miami in 2017 and 58 went to Orange County (California) in 2018. About 70 to 75 Detroit athletes and artists were expected to participate in the 2020 Maccabi Games before they were canceled by the ...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 41 E very year I am amazed at the lessons in sensitivity that the Torah teaches us in this Torah portion. One would think that the Torah would begin its laws (mishpatim), given at Sinai, regarding the High Holidays or the service in the Tabernacle or the requirement to tithe, etc.; but it first chooses to discuss the unsavory person who is a thief and needs to be sold into servitude. The Torah is worried a...…
…42 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 W illiam Ury, found- er of the Harvard Program of Negotiation, tells a marvelous story in one of his books. A young American, living in Japan to study aikido, was sitting one afternoon in a train in the sub- urbs of Tokyo. The carriage was half empty. There were some moth- ers with children and elderly people going shopping. Then, at one of the stations, the doors opened, and a man staggered into the ca...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 43 there to offer help when others are suffering. And so it has proved to be. There were Jews helping Gandhi in his struggle for Indian independence; Martin Luther King in his efforts for civil rights for African Americans; Nelson Mandela in his campaign to end apartheid in South Africa. An Israeli medical team is usually one of the first to arrive whenever and wherever there is a natural disaster today. The ...…
…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...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 45 Shomrey Emunah Southfield (248) 559-1533 congregation-shomrey- emunah-105705.square.site The Shul-Chabad Lubavitch West Bloomfield (248) 788-4000 theshul.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 Congrega...…
…46 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 46 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 ARTS&LIFE THEATER O n March 11, 2020, casting for the workshop reading of the musical An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical was a go. And then Broadway shut down the next day. In April 2020, the first script reading of An Officer and a Gentleman was moved from in-person to Zoom. “ And then the world went silent,” said Dan Lipton, An Officer and a Gentleman music supervisor, arrang...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 47 Details: Performance times for An Officer and a Gentleman appearing Feb. 1-13, 2022, at the Fisher Theatre, located at 3011 W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit are Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., Sunday evening performance at 7:30 p.m. and an open captioned performance on Sunday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $39 and include facility and park...…
…48 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 T he three members of the Corn Potato String Band began playing fun country music together in 2012, but it’s been almost three years since they’ve been able to appear in person as a trio. With entertainment venues opening again, they’re glad to resume taking their song styl- ings around Michigan with an appearance Thursday, Feb. 10, at The Ark in Ann Arbor. Sensing their energy geared up, the three dubbed...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 49 by the late famed fiddler Kenny Baker. McCaw does “Washington and Lee Swing,” a jazz version early on per- formed by Louis Armstrong. “We love to revel in the history and connection to the past, but we’re also very much about entertainment and humor,” explained Lewis, whose group has appeared in and out of the U.S. “It’s funny how we’ll find a song that’s been played by some kind of hillbilly string ...…
…50 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 ARTS&LIFE BOOK REVIEW Y udi Levine, a native Detroiter who now lives in Texas, has written a lively, funny, read- able, informative book about what could be a forbidding topic — legal thinking in the Talmud. This book is not for everyone, though. However, if you fit into the target audi- ence, you will certainly want to read his book, Are You Sure? (Volume 1) How Chazakahs Guide Us Through the Unknown (...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 51 thinking do not often con- sider what Kanye West did when presenting an award to Taylor Swift at the 2009 Video Music Awards — interrupting her presenta- tion to imply that Beyonce deserved the award. Levine judges Kanye West’s opinion correct — Beyonce deserved the award — but the action inappropriate. Levine uses this incident to illuminate the complex Talmudic discussion of a Kohen who seizes the agri- c...…
…52 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 MYSTERY IN 8 ACTS; BETTY CELEBRATED; GAME-CHANGING VACCINE? AT&T STAR UPDATE The Afterparty is an Apple+ series that premieres on Friday, Jan. 28. It centers on a murder mystery at a high school reunion. Each one of the series’ eight episodes features a retelling of the same night from a different character’s perspective. Each episode has its own unique visual style and film genre to match the teller’s ...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 53 SOULFUL YOGA 10 AM, JAN. 29 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites you to join Rabbi Aaron Bergman and yoga instructor Mindy Eisenberg. Connect body and soul as they apply the wisdom of Torah to the gentle practice of yoga. No yoga experience is necessary. There is no fee to participate. For questions, contact 248- 851-5100. SHALOM SHABBAT 10:30 AM, JAN. 29 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites you to join Hazzan Dan Gross...…
…54 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 A s we have found ourselves at home more and more, many of us have turned to cooking things for ourselves that we’ d usually buy without a second thought. For me, such an item has been yogurt; after making a batch, you suddenly realize that the process is so easy and so straightforward that you won’t need to shop for yogurt again. (You still will, but … you know.) The most important note is to keep...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 55 N early two full years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Detroit-area Jewish families requiring food assistance is still near the highest it’s ever been — and, for the second year in a row, there’s a way you can help. Now through Jan. 31, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s Women’s Philanthropy Tikkun Olam Volunteers (TOV) are holding their “Winter Soup Drive” to benefit Yad Ezra. The volun...…
…the exchange community bulletin board | professional services For information regarding advertising please call 248-351-5116 Deadline for ad insertion is 10am on Friday prior to publication. Call today for your free in-home consultation 248.855.8747 Caren Bass Custom Closets,Inc. WHERE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE as featured on HGTV Leading the industry with over 30 years experience in the Metro Detroit Area. Now also or...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 57 LENORE. N. BERON, 82, of West Bloomfield, died Jan. 13, 2022. She is sur- vived by her daughter, Rochelle Wetstein; son, Eric Wetstein; grandchildren, Angelo Colella, Hannah Colella, Isabelle Colella and Amanda Wetstein. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. LOUIS BROWN, 79, of Royal Oak, died Jan. 12, 20...…
…OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY 58 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 continued on page 60 c. 1985 SUSAN QUINLAN FELDSTEIN, 77, of Bloomfield Hills, died Jan. 15, 2022. Susan was born in Chicago, Ill. She graduated from Shrine High School in 1962, Wayne State University in 1966 and Wayne State Law School (cum laude) in 1973. She was a brilliant attor- ney, a lifelong Detroiter, a feminist pioneer, a passion- ate lover of dogs and, most impo...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 59 Judaism embraces all facets of life . . . including death. Trust us to assist you with dignity and grace. Yeshiva Beth Yehudah eshiva Beth Yehudah expresses its heartfelt and deepest condolences to the family of expresses its heartfelt and deepest condolences to the family of Lois Shiffman Lois Shiffman a”h a”h The Yeshiva has dedicated the learning for this month by our students The Yeshiva has dedicated the lear...…
…60 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 OBITUARIES OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 58 Dr. Michael Samson; sons and daughters-in-law, Rob and Julie Samson, and Danny and Tami Samson; grandchildren, Jordan, Charlie, Olivia, Abby, Josie, Leo and Henry Samson; sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Lawrence Daniels; brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Mark Selitsky and Dr. Orit Szwarcman; sis- ter-in-law and brother-in-law, Barbara and Dr. Michael Sitr...…
…JANUARY 27 • 2022 | 61 D avid Kahan, 93, of Bloomfield Township and Highland Beach, Fla., beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grand- father, passed away on Jan. 8, 2022. He was born in Gheorgheni, Transylvania, one of six chil- dren born to Moshe Chaim and Raizel Toba. In the spring of 1944, he was deported to Auschwitz with his parents, younger brother, Hersch Leib, and sister, Chaya Sara. Only he survived the ...…
…Looking Back From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org 62 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 An Odious UN Resolution L ast month, Dec. 16, 2021, marked the 30th anniversary of the revoking of the odious United Nations resolution 3379. Adopted by the UN’s general assem- bly on Nov. 10, 1975, the resolution “deter- mined” that “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.” Think...…
…Continue Your Life Story With Us AnthologyMichigan.com ANTHOLOGY OF FARMINGTON HILLS ANTHOLOGY OF NORTHVILLE ASSISTED LIVING / MEMORY CARE ASSISTED LIVING / MEMORY CARE 248-534-4702 ANTHOLOGY OF ROCHESTER HILLS ASSISTED LIVING / MEMORY CARE 248-266-2959 734-335-8439 248-697-2975 ANTHOLOGY OF TROY ASSISTED LIVING / MEMORY CARE 248-282-6009 ANTHOLOGY OF NOVI INDEPENDENT LIVING ASSISTED LIVING / MEMORY CARE LEAN ON US FOR Uncompromi...…
…$200 Jan. 20-26, 2022 / 18-24 Shevat 5782 JEWISH NEWS JEWISH NEWS THE DETROIT thejewishnews.com JEWISH NEWS Sculpture Hockey star Elle Hartje explores family roots, grows personally during a pandemic- plagued season in Slovakia. See page 28 Sculpture …
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 3 contents PURELY COMMENTARY 4-9 Essays and viewpoints. OUR COMMUNITY 10 The Lines Are Drawn New congressional districts impact Metro Detroit’s Jewish community. 12 A Place to Mourn Clover Hill Park Cemetery plans on-site shivah center expansion. 14 80 Years Ago In 1942, Joe Biden and the Jewish News were both born. 16 Would You Risk Your Life to Save a Book? The Zekelman Holoca...…
…4 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 PURELY COMMENTARY essay I Called Her Aunt Anna T he stories behind how Jewish families bond with those of other religions have always fascinated me. I grew up in an Orthodox, then later Conservative Jewish family. My parents were very close with a woman from a Greek Orthodox family. Her name was Anna, but I loved her so much and felt so close to her, I always called her Aunt Anna. She came into my fa...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 5 P A R T IS A N S, P OE TS, AND T HE R AC E T O S AVE JEW I S H T REAS URES FROM TH E N A Z I S . be in her life. She closed the door on Susan’s face. Susan and Barry were devastated. After an hour of conversation, I invited Susan and her husband for a weekend visit. We both had so many questions that needed answers. She was hoping I could close the information gap; I ...…
…6 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 1942 - 2022 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...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 7 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-354-6060 thejewishnews.com TWO GENERATIONS OF SOLD 2 4 8 . 8 6 7 . 7 8 0 0 M E L A N I E S O L D . C O M melaniesold@aol.com & ns.cohen26@gmail.com 4130 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills MI 48302 MELANIE BISHOP NOAH BISHOP-COHEN “SOLD” is my middle name The Next Generation Of “SOLD” MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB...…
…8 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 column New Year Resolutions that Go Beyond Ourselves B enjamin Disraeli wrote: “I am prepared for the worst but hope for the best.” Mel Brooks sang: “Hope for the best, expect the worst.” In slightly different ways and from very different platforms, both the statesman and the comedian identified the same precarious mix of optimism and pessimism inherent in their shared Jewish faith. Since one of the ...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 9 letters A Touching Column Dr. Jeff London’s article, “40 Years of Psychiatry: What Have I Learned?” (Jan. 6, 2022) touched me deeply with his honesty, humility and hope. I have practiced psychology for many years and can identify with his perceptive insights and lessons about the human condition. I especially resonated with the following paragraph: “The thought that one never knows the effect you might have ...…
…10 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 OUR COMMUNITY LANSING F or the past four years, Michigan has had two Jewish members of Congress, both Democrats: Andy Levin, who succeeded his legendary father Sandy Levin, and Elissa Slotkin, who has twice won a seat that had been designed to elect Republicans. But this year, both will be running in districts that are substantially different. One, Andy Levin, is facing an unexpect- ed primary challenge that...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 11 SLOTKIN’S CHALLENGE Elissa Slotkin, who was also first elected in 2018, has never had an easy elec- tion; she twice has had to raise huge sums — $7.5 mil- lion in 2020 — to narrowly hold on to her seat. That’s the case even though her foreign poli- cy knowledge and experience are highly regarded; though only 45, she already has had a career as a CIA analyst and an Assistant Secretary of State for National S...…
…12 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 T raditionally, families who have lost a loved one conduct daily services and receive visitors at the family home for a week after the funeral. They gather with friends for comfort and often share memories of the deceased individual. Family members often eat together during the shivah period. But times have changed. According to Kim Raznik, executive director of Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham, t...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 13 spread out, and it’s not safe to be in a home,” says Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek. The congre- gation has hosted outdoor shivahs and other events at its Southfield facility and grounds. In addition, some shivah services are held in its main sanctuary with partici- pants distanced and masked in this very large space. “We need to honor the deceased and comfort mourners, and achieve those mit...…
…E ighty years ago, there was much to talk and read about. America was still reeling from the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Japan declared war on the United States and Britain after the attack on Hawaii and Honolulu. The following day, the United States declared war on Japan, and three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S, after which the U.S. declared war against them. Detroit’s newspapers o...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 15 Small in stature, Slomovitz towered over others as a ferocious fighter for and defender of justice and Jewish causes. Slomovitz con- tacted Danny Raskin, then a young reporter with the Detroit News, to join the new pub- lication. Raskin didn’t think there was room for two local Jewish weeklies, But Slomovitz’s determination soon melted Raskin’s reluc- tance. Raskin’s first column in the first Jewish News on March ...…
…16 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 OUR COMMUNITY W ould you risk your life to save a book? That is the under- lying question of “The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets, and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis” on view at the newly renamed Zekelman Holocaust Center (HC) now through May 31, 2022. The exhibi- tion was curated by Holocaust Museum Houston and based on the book of the same name by Dr. David E. Fishman. “The Book S...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 17 0.99% APR ON CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED ACCORD, CIVIC, CR-V, HR-V, & PILOT VEHICLES! *Available on approved credit through Honda Financial Services, 0.9% APR for up to 48 months on select new and unregistered 2022 Honda Pilot & HR-V and 2021 Passport models through 02/28/2022, for well-qualified buyers. Not all buyers will qualify. Higher financing rates apply for buyers with lower credit ratings. Actual down payment may ...…
…18 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 F light cancellations, changing travel rules and getting stuck abroad: These are just a few of the many issues trav- elers are facing in recent weeks as the rapid- ly spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to impact the travel industry. Having recently returned from a trip to Aruba, I faced all these issues and then some as Omicron quickly went from what felt like a small possibility in the back- ground...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 19 A mong many programs the Woodward Avenue Shul is offering this winter is the “Soup and Study” program, an opportunity to participate in a weekly discussion analyzing a larger Jewish topic that connects with the weekly Torah por- tion, accompanied with a warm, hearty soup. There have been three ses- sions so far, the first on the topic of trust and faith in God and the next two on freedom of choice and de...…
…20 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 W ant to do a mitz- vah and have some tasty, fresh challah delivered to someone’s doorstep? Challah Train, an initiative of JFamily, is just the program for you. Challah Train entails challah being delivered each Friday to two members of the community, mostly families with children that would be served by JFamily. Jamie Kaniarz, Challah Train’s parent connector and “train conductor, ” says the initiative ...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 21 F ederation’s NEXTGen Detroit is hosting a spe- cial edition of its happy hour/bar night series, L ’Chaim Detroit, on Jan. 26 from 6-8 p.m. L ’Chaim Detroit: Newish and Jewish Edition is aimed at those who moved to town (or back to town) between March 2020 and present day and haven’t gotten out much or experienced all the awesome people and excit- ing things Detroit and Jewish Detroit have to offer. The eve...…
…22 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 A holiday vacation taken by a West Bloomfield family in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, turned into a vehicle to help those in need. Ten-year-old Hillel student Emeri Charlip, along with her two friends, Oliver and Alice Hybl, raised more than $400 for the Vallarta Food Bank by collecting, decorating and selling rocks. It began when the kids decid- ed to do an art project when they were on the beach one day, and...…
…JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 23 University of Michigan’s Judaic Studies Center gets $1M grant T he University of Michigan’s Frankel Center for Judaic Studies announced that it had received a new gift in excess of $1 million from local benefactors. The money will primarily be used to create a new full- time endowed professor- ship on the faculty. The gift comes from the estate of Stuart and Barbara Padnos, and will endow a Stuart B. and ...…
…24 | JANUARY 20 • 2022 T he Rabbi and The Shrink is a pod- cast that’s aptly named. With a mission of advancing a global discussion on everything eth- ics, from ethics in business to ethics in relationships, the podcast — which is, of course, hosted by a rabbi and a shrink — aims to teach people moral principles while improving understanding of differ- ent perspectives. “It’s nice to have people who you can disagree with to show how t...…
