DJN December 16, 2021 by The Detroit Jewish News

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 Dec. 16-22, 2021 / 12-18 Tevet 5782

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contents Dec. 16-22, 2021 / 12-18 Tevet 5782 | VOLUME CLX, ISSUE 19

PURELY COMMENTARY 4-12

Essays and viewpoints.

OUR COMMUNITY

Mega-Donation

Holocaust Memorial Center announces largest gift in 37-year history.

Armed with Knowledge

FACES & PLACES

JScreen Detroit offers affordable genetic screening for cancer, diseases and more.

31 JVS Trade Secrets Raises $270,000+

Hands-On Learning

32 Holiday Fun at Temple Beth El

JOIN summer internship program gets new leadership.

New Teen Hangout

MAZEL TOV

33 Moments

BBYO Michigan opens new office in West Bloomfield with space for Jewish teens.

SPIRIT

Parental Advice

On Not Predicting the Future

Torah portion

Loving your kids, even if you don’t always like them.

Back on the Trail

Detroit Hikers reconvene in Oregon after COVID hiatus.

Lifelong Friends

Three WWII sailors reminisce at lunch before one moves to Florida.

Veterans Day Activities

Stylishly Modest Fashion

Local Jewish War Veterans participate in several events to mark the day. Elegant Expressions is the place to shop for all ages and sizes.

29 New Funds Available

Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act launches a pilot project of grants.

34 Synagogue Directory

ARTS & LIFE

20 BUSINESS 44

Benzinga Majority Acquired by Beringer Capital Founder Jason Raznick to retain significant stake and play a key leadership role.

FOOD 45

From the Home Kitchen of Chef Aaron Egan Goat Cheese and Ricotta Fritters

ETC.

The Exchange 45 Obituaries 47 Looking Back 54

Michigan writer tells his father’s story in new novel.

A Stitch in Time

Shabbat Lights

Celebrity News

* Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

EVENTS

Shabbat starts: Friday, Dec. 17: 4:43 p.m. Shabbat ends: Saturday, Dec. 18: 5:49 p.m.

SPORTS

ON THE COVER: Cover photo/credit: Photo from JScreen Detroit Cover design: Kelly Kosek

Spinal fusion surgery revives former MSU long-snapper Nick Chudler’s football career.

Quick Hits

Community Calendar

42 He’s Back!

thejewishnews.com Facebook @DetroitJewishNews Twitter @JewishNewsDet Instagram @detroitjewishnews DECEMBER 16 • 2021

PURELY COMMENTARY for openers

his column was supposed to appear last week. But I only got one sentence into my usual monthly “attempt” at humor and abruptly stopped. Actually, I had begun with a question: “Have you heard about former Alan Detroit Tiger Muskovitz Max Scherzer’s Contributing Writer newest contract?” That question still existed a week later, by itself, with a blank page below it. I saved the document file on Nov. 30 titled: “Muskovitz Column for Dec. 9.” Scherzer had just signed a three-year contract worth an astounding $130 million. I was prepared to have some fun with that mind-boggling baseball bounty. I began writing the column having just heard about the horror that was that day’s Oxford High School shooting. I stared at my computer screen, 11 words in, unable to continue. I reached out to the JN and asked for a one-week delay in writing my column. I couldn’t think funny. I couldn’t write funny. My brain was as blank as the computer screen before me. I’ve been through this before. As I’ve previously shared with you, after 9-11, when, as a member of the Dick Purtan radio show, we veered from our usual comedic bantering to finding ourselves as a shoulder to lean on for our listeners as we all meandered our way through the emotional

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

maze that was the aftermath of the terrorist attack. It took a while before we added some measure of humor back into our programming. There’s no set timetable; you just get a feeling when the time is right. When the pandemic hit in full force, I again struggled with trying to create lighthearted fare about our everyday existence amongst the climbing COVID-19 death rates and the lockdown of our lives. It was again the challenge of writing funny in what sadly seems to be an increasingly unfunny world. Eventually, pandemic parodies were aplenty and I joined in the fray. I particularly recall funny memes and videos about how to clean our groceries began popping up. Abraham Lincoln said: “I laugh because I must not cry.” Somehow humor always finds its own level. But after this unthinkable, devastating school shooting that happened in our own backyard? That’s a mighty tall order. The current unsettling condition of our country and the world at large recently left me in a temporary melancholy state. I had become the victim of the numbing down of America. My son noticed this temporary shift in my mood and suggested I take some of my own advice and seek out some comic relief. I retreated to another room and settled in and watched some of my favorite comedians, courtesy of YouTube. Within a halfhour, I resurfaced the better

FOX SPORTS

Laughing Through Tears

Max Scherzer

for having undertaken that exercise. Mark Twain was quoted to have said “comedy is tragedy plus time.” Easier said by those who write comedy than actually experience tragedy. For the students of blessed memory from Oxford High School, the injured, all the families affected, there is no amount of time that will ever adequately lift the burden of living with those children’s fate. Laughter, though, can and must still be, as the old adage goes, the best medicine. With permission from Pfizer and Moderna, a dose of humor is in fact a form of vaccine. A little injection in our funny bone goes a long way in protecting us from wallowing for too long in a state of hopelessness. Humor can keep us grounded so that we can remain strong for the challenges that life presents. That being said, allow me to leave you with a little levity

and dip my toe ever so slightly back into the humor pool, briefly picking up on where I left off on my original article from Nov. 30. Take 2 ... if you will. Have you heard about former Detroit Tiger Max Scherzer’s newest contract? At 37-years old Max — the former Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers pitching ace — has agreed to a three-year, $130 million contract with the New York Mets. The $43.3 million per year deal sets a Major League Baseball record for highest annual salary. Remember when Al Kaline turned down a $100,000 contract from the Tigers in 1971 because he felt he didn’t deserve it? He declined a $10,000 raise and remained at $90,000. Scherzer’s total signings over the course of his 15-year baseball career now stand at $370 million. You can’t look me in the eye and say that isn’t crazy! However, if you look Max Scherzer in the eye, things get even crazier. It’s well known that Max has a condition called Heterochromia Iridis; his left eye is brown and his right eye is blue, which apparently means he can only see green. I know what you’re thinking ... if laughter is the best medicine, I need to get another prescription. Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/ acting talent, speaker, and emcee. Visit his website at laughwithbigal.com,”Like” Al on Facebook and reach him at amuskovitz@thejewishnews.com.

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PURELY COMMENTARY essay

Improving Online Discourse Starts with All of Us

ell me, what on earth is going on with us? How did our discourse become so inflammatory, extreme and unrestrained? How have social-media platforms become an arena where seemingly everything goes, where anyone and anything can be dragged through Isaac Herzog the mud, humiliated, scorned — where any adversary, or just someone with a differing opinion, can be treated as an enemy? It’s hard to argue that social media hasn’t done a lot of good for the world. These networks give voice to a wide range of opinions and create well-intentioned communities seeking to do good, help and support others, and even save lives. Today, how-

ever, there’s no doubt that the boundaries aren’t clear enough, and that these praiseworthy platforms are also a vehicle for bullying, intimidation and violence. We are all exposed to insults and obscenities that we must not accept. We must put an end to the undue suffering. We need to change this extreme and incendiary discourse. The ability to facilitate this change starts with each and every one of us, on our cellphones and keyboards. Before we post another derogatory comment just because we can, before we slander or berate anyone who disagrees with us, let us pause, take a deep breath and remember: Flagrant and hurtful language doesn’t get us anywhere. It only causes damage. And beyond hurting the person we are targeting, it first and foremost hurts us all: our society, | Editorial DIrector of Editorial:

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Contributing Writers: Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Keri Guten Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky

our ability to live here together, to build a common future together. This is the most fundamental and necessary level — the level where we personally put an end to keyboard violence. There’s another level, of bringing light and good into the world. After all, words have tremendous power. They can create reality and change it, they can be destructive, but they also have the power to rebuild and rehabilitate. Therefore, in the belief that we are capable of coming together to alter our discourse on social media, I call on all of us to “Think Hard” and invite you to join a campaign that we are currently launching to encourage different conduct on social media. If we change the atmosphere, if we lift others a little more, every one of us, if we see the good, are generous with praise, if we can be a light unto others, I’m certain

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DECEMBER 16 • 2021

that together we can forge a more pleasant public space conducive to improving our shared lives here in this beautiful country. In the words of Jerusalemite poet Yehuda Amichai: “In this burning land, words must provide shade.” I will repeat here what I said in my inauguration speech as president: Let us choose, every day anew, ourselves. Let us win together, as opposed to just beating each other. Let’s choose happiness and joy, and extinguish the flame of hate with the Israeli spirit and love for our country. Let us choose to be united not just in values and principles, but also in our hopes and dreams. I believe in us. I believe that if we think positively, and type positively, good will come. Isaac Herzog is the president of the State of Israel. This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

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PURELY COMMENTARY opinion

I’m Stepping Back from Hugs and Embracing the Mitzvah of Consent

ust as we’re exiting COVID lockdown into a touch-starved world, I’ve had the uncomfortable realization that my family’s tradition of hugging needs to be re-examined. Hugs have always been Neshama Carlebach complicated for me. I grew up in a family where hugging was very important. And not just hugs, but long, intimate embraces. These hugs became famous and infamous, meaningful and memorable. On the surface, my family’s hugs were meant to heal, to comfort. Only later in my life did I begin to understand that my father’s embraces sometimes caused the receivers pain. My father became a hugger in the ’60s at nearly 40 years old. When he was young, he shared with me that, because he had been so observant in childhood, he wouldn’t even embrace his own sister. He laughed as he told me that he would have been more likely to “jump out the window than speak to a woman.” Subsequently, my father went from the black-andwhite world of his maledominated yeshivah life to the technicolor, uninhibited embrace of the hippie Free Love movement in Berkeley, California. This is where and how he learned to relate to women, where and how he learned to hug. From one

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

extreme to the other, from life without hugs to communal ecstatic embraces. But free love came at a cost. As a child, I was expected and instructed to hug all who approached me. Women and men, children and adults, those who felt safe to me, and those whose touch was invasive and frightening. Hugging became my automatic reaction, and hugs were often longer than they should have been. Some of my most unnerving moments as a performer were when fans would line up, each waiting for “their hug.” I masked my own feelings well, and I truly hope that when I hugged them, they received what they needed. But while my giving was sincere, hugging felt to me like a mitzvah, an obligation, something one does for the sake of others. And so often I dreaded it. This practice rendered my body unguarded. I would often leave concerts full of both anxiety and

fulfillment. I had done my job, yet I felt invaded and exhausted. When the #MeToo movement began, I worked to build the courage to look at my own life and choices more critically. My shows were canceled as a byproduct of the allegations of sexual violations by my father, and I became a casualty in the “cancel culture” surrounding my last name. I stopped traveling, mostly stopped socializing and began to look inward. I realized then that I no longer wanted to hug in the way I once had. I realized that my hugs sometimes came from a place of awkwardness and self-compromise. I was afraid to offend, frightened to admit that a hug was not welcome. I also came to see that the patterns around my family’s tradition of hugging needed to be re-examined more closely than I ever would have chosen to look. No child wishes to think of their parents in this

way, but it became essential for me to do so. Never would I want my hugs to be seen as inappropriate and lacking boundaries. Looking back at my own life, I was horrified, wondering if my hugs had ever miscommunicated or wounded others. They had certainly taken a toll on me. Then the pandemic hit and my world became so much smaller. Time with my immediate family was everything, hugging my husband and children — and no one else — became my healing. Though complicated to say, I enjoyed this aspect of COVID. For over a year, nobody outside my family touched me. We all have so much to learn about the ways in which we have been traumatized by the pandemic. Too many people were alone and “touch starved,” alone and aching for the embrace of another human. In study after study, it became clear that many people missed hugs most of all, reflected in messages I received during this time from fans, expressing how they couldn’t wait for “their hug” once it would be safe again. I agreed. Touch can be a mitzvah — if it is safe. If it is welcome. If consent is present. COMFORT WITHOUT VIOLATION I recently attended a gathering of people, my first indoor event in a very long time. Some people I knew from before the pandemic, but

mostly the room was filled with people who simply knew who I was. Assumptions were made about my comfort embracing others, which was understandable, given my hugging history. There were people present whom I would have wished to hug, but I felt compromised and watched, unable to make decisions freely. When I informed people that I was uncomfortable with hugs, some ignored me and hugged me anyway. Some became angry, some argued. “I’ve been waiting for this hug!” One person told me, “I need it!” It was a shock to feel this kind of demand and, in that moment, I realized how compromised I have always been by this behavior. It wasn’t a mitzvah; it was a violation. Though the gathering was a sweet one, I left shaken. It was hard to hold many different feelings simultaneously that night, to observe them as I navigated a complicated space for myself. I witnessed myself feeling resentful, guilty and angry, aware of the healing power of hugs, wishing with all of me that the broken people of the world receive the love they need, especially in the aftermath of such devastating physical loneliness. But is it my job to give that to them? Is it my responsibility to heal others with my embrace? Should it ever have been? These questions and ensuing conversations are their own healing as well. There must be ways to comfort each other without violating one another. As we step slowly, carefully,

back into “regular” life, people will reenter physical spaces with all kinds of needs, expectations and new dynamics after being apart for so long. Some will choose to remain 6 feet apart, some will wear masks, some will wear more than four masks. Some will act as if there never was a pandemic to begin with. Some will ache to dive back into life, maskless and exuberant, declaring they are no longer afraid. Some will exclusively elbow bump. Some will find comfort in the “masked side hug.” Some will be frightened to touch at all. Some will be calm and subdued, some will cry. Some will simply watch it all unfold, unsure of themselves. We will not be the same as we return. But, in all cases and in every interaction, there must be consent. We mustn’t make assumptions about each other. My needs are not yours; your needs are not mine. Neither of us has the right to impose them upon each other. Mutual respect must be the first step as we walk back into life. As we return to the world, may we be brave and explore a place we’ve never been. I pray that we allow ourselves the gift of a reset. That would be a mitzvah. Neshama Carlebach is an awardwinning singer, songwriter and educator who has performed and taught in cities around the world. A six-time entrant in the Grammy Awards and winner and four-time Independent Music Awards Nominee for her most current release, Believe, Neshama has sold over 1 million records, making her one of today’s best-selling Jewish artists in the world. First published at Times of Israel.

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DECEMBER 16 • 2021

PURELY COMMENTARY opinion

urb Your Enthusiasm has always been a Jewy show, but this season it is downright Jewish. On the HBO sitcom, now in its 11th season, Larry David has never been shy about surfacing, and lampooning, Judaism and Jewishness. Andrew He has Silow-Carroll contemplated JTA.org the dilemmas of Holocaust survival, waded into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (via a local chicken restaurant) and gotten stranded on a ski lift with an Orthodox Jew on Shabbat. This season, it’s not just the occasional matzah ball joke or the Yiddish lesson he gave Jon Hamm in the season premiere. David is plunging into questions of Jewish pride and belief, and if he isn’t exactly Abraham Joshua Heschel, he could provide a Jewish educator with a semester of lively classroom debate. In the latest episode, for example, a Jew for Jesus joins the cast of the show that Larry’s character is developing for Hulu. Although neither Larry nor his Jewish friends are remotely religious, they seem genuinely upset by the actor’s apostasy, and Larry gives him a rather sober warning that he shouldn’t proselytize on set. A week earlier, a member of his golf club (played by

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

Rob Morrow) asks Larry to pray for his ailing father. Larry declines, saying prayer is useless. He also wonders why God would need, or heed, the prayer of a random atheist like himself instead of the distressed son who wants his father to live. For anyone who has gone to Hebrew school, it’s a familiar challenge, usually aired by the wiseacre in the back row who the teacher suspects is perhaps the most engaged student in the classroom. And it is not just atheists posing the question, “Why pray?” The Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, a devout Orthodox Jew, believed that “worship of God must be totally devoid of instrumental considerations.” In addition to a Jewish funeral, the episode has a bonus theological theme: “Middah k’neged Middah,” or as Morrow’s character puts it, “what goes around comes around.” Morrow warns Larry that his actions will have consequences, which actually gives Larry pause. If anything, the entire Curb enterprise is an exercise in Jewish karma. Larry is constantly being punished in ways large and small for his actions, inactions, meddling and slights. As the old theater expression has it, if Larry opens a donut shop to drive a rival out of business in act one, his own shop will burn to the ground in act three. A prior episode was even

JOHN P. JOHNSON/HBO

Larry David has Never Been More Jewish than in this Season’s ‘Curb’

In a recent episode of the 11th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David feels obligated to clean a Klansman’s robe.

more self-consciously Jewish: Larry attends High Holiday services only because he lost a golf bet to the rabbi, and he literally bumps into a Klansman coming out of a coffee shop. The latter sets off a string of plot twists, as he and the KKK guy trade a series of favors and obligations that will have disastrous consequences for both. Larry’s salvation comes at the end, when he blares a shofar from his balcony, literally raising the alarm on antisemitism and waking his neighbors to the threat of white supremacy. The episode suggests the failure of good intentions. Larry spills coffee on the Klansman’s robe and offers to have it dry-cleaned. Good liberal Jew that he is, Larry appears genuine in his belief that empathy is a better response to hate than confrontation, and that if he turns the other cheek, it might lower the temperature in a post-

Trump America. Of course, it doesn’t work out that way, and the last word goes to his friend Susie Green, who performs a pointed act of Jewish sabotage that gets the Klansman pummeled by his fellow racists. Give David credit for embedding within a preposterous half-hour of television a debate about vengeance and resistance that engaged the followers of Jews as different as Jesus and Jabotinsky. Make no mistake: The Larry David character is sacrilegious and heretical, and Curb is no friend of the religious mindset. But to dismiss him as “selfhating” is to miss out on the unmistakably Jewish conversation at the heart of the show. David’s character is a deeply principled person: Most of the nonsense he gets himself into is the result of his enforcing unspoken social rules that others appear to be flouting, whether it is taking too many

house and then drowns in your swimming pool, which wasn’t protected by the required fence, who is owed damages and how much? (See: Ibn Ezra on Exodus 22:1-2) In last week’s episode, Larry even touched on — consciously or not — a classic debate in the Talmud: If you and a friend are stranded in the desert, and your canteen has only enough water for one of you to survive, must you share it or save your own life? Yes, Larry was talking about sharing a phone charger, but if the Sages had cell phones, what do you think they’d be talking about? Andrew Silow-Carroll is the editor in chief of The New York Jewish Week and senior editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (@SilowCarroll).

Temple Israel Member Receives Legion of Honor Award Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association and a member of Temple Israel, received the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honor) award, the highest French order of merit, on Oct. 20. Conferred by President of France Emmanuel Macron, the award recognizes Gary’s service in spearheading France’s transition to a technology-forward society and organizing CES, the world’s foremost technology event. In remarks at the ceremony, Macron lauded Gary as a “tech pioneer who became a tech giant,” citing his “deep understanding

Gary Shapiro receives the Legion of Honor award from French President Emmanuel Macron.

of what tech requires” for business and commitment to “people, values and principles.”

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DECEMBER 16 • 2021

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samples at the ice cream counter or dominating the conversation (poorly) at the dinner table. Larry is rude and inconsiderate, but he is seldom wrong. He is what Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik might have called a “Halachic Man” — an actualizer of “the ideals of justice and righteousness,” even when the rest of the world resents it. If you think I am overdoing it, remember that there is an actual discussion in Talmud about the right and wrong way of putting on a pair of shoes. And just as in the Talmud, there are no easy answers in David’s moral universe: If a friend lends you his favorite, one-of-a-kind shirt, and you ruin it, what are your obligations to him? (See: Bava Metzia 96b) If a thief breaks into your

PURELY COMMENTARY opinion

Abraham Accords Represent a Groundbreaking Model for Mideast Peace FLEUR HASSAN-NAHOUM AND JONATHAN HAROUNOFF JNS.ORG

ast year’s normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco featured all the pomp and circumstance you might expect — handshakes, verbal affirmations of mutual support and photo ops reminiscent of past “groundbreaking signings” between Israel and its neighbors. Naysayers will dismiss the Abraham Accords as nothing more than flowery declarations of peace and cooperation. But make no mistake: Momentum isn’t fading; it’s soaring. Even under a Biden administration that has at times shown reluctance to perpetuate a Trumpian agenda, unprecedented agreements continue to be forged in this new era of economic prosperity, security cooperation and cultural exchange that we cannot ignore. Last year consisted of many firsts, including, to name a few, the first Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi, the first embassy of the UAE in Tel Aviv, Israel’s first ambassador to Bahrain and Bahrain’s first ambassador to Israel. The Abraham Accords were not a relic of the Trump presidency; they have paved the way for a Middle East not seen for generations. And now we’re seeing recent signatories of the accords become brokers themselves. Earlier this month, Israel and Jordan signed a UAE-brokered water and energy deal, the most expansive of its kind since the two countries made peace in 1994. Even U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, who said in 2016 that there could be “no advance and separate peace with the Arab world” before first addressing Palestinian peace, played a role in

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

getting the Amman-Jerusalem deal over the finish line. And in Rabat recently, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz formalized security ties and intelligence-sharing with his Moroccan counterpart, Abdellatif Loudiyi, while signing a memorandum of understanding that is expected to initiate significant arms sales worth hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years. Bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE alone has exceeded $700 million since the signing of the Abraham Accords, according to Israeli ConsulGeneral in Dubai Ilan Sztulman Starosta. Tourism between Israel and the UAE is at record highs. And Israel’s Reichman University (formerly IDC Herzliya) even enrolled the country’s first-ever male Emirati student this summer, followed by another female Emirati studying midwifery in Hebrew at Haifa University. 150,000 new jobs are expected to be created for Israel’s new regional partners, according to the American NGO RAND Corporation, with an additional four million new jobs and a further “$1 trillion in new economic activity over a decade, if the accords grow to include 11 nations (including Israel) as some have speculated may be possible.” If anything, the accords have given Israel permission to call its Arab neighbors cousins again. What has for decades been discreet is now out in the open. Everything about how peace was forged this time around — from four landmark agreements being reached in the space of five months, to the business framework through which

negotiations were held — was different, and the hope is that this model can one day be extended to Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations that have eluded history’s best statespersons and diplomats. Indeed, the best brokers for lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace may very well be not in Washington, D.C., but in Manama, Rabat, Abu Dhabi or Khartoum. The accords helped create a model of peace that is rarely seen in the Middle East — one based not just on closed-door diplomacy, but on culture, business and deep person-to-person friendships. The accords should not — and do not — purport to replace the Israeli-Palestinian issue, but they demonstrate the viability of alternative methods of peace-building. Palestinians and Arab Israelis will benefit from these regional normalization agreements, and the city of Jerusalem can serve as a key bridge to the Gulf states since 40 percent of its population is Arab. The hope is that the accords herald a new era of Muslim tourism to Jerusalem, eventually becoming the research-anddevelopment heart of the Middle East. Peace agreements are inked by leaders, but they are forged by everyday people. Israel and its neighbors are now building a model for peace in the Middle East, one spearheaded by entrepreneurs and environmentalists who envision a better region for their children. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum serves as deputy mayor of Jerusalem in charge of foreign relations, international economic development, and tourism. She is also the co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council and the Gulf Israel Women’s Forum. Jonathan Harounoff is a British analyst and journalist based in New York.

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OUR COMMUNITY

Armed with

Knowledge JScreen Detroit offers affordable genetic screening for cancer, diseases and more. STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

Family, a program of the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield, is lowering the financial barrier to those who want to learn if they are genetically predisposed to certain hereditary cancers or diseases through its new JScreen Detroit program that launched Nov. 6. Without health insurance, costs of reproductive genetic and cancer screening can run as high as $600. But thanks to generous grants and other funding, the JScreen Detroit program will heavily subsidize the processing costs of the test kits, which are sent to JScreen’s headquarters at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta. For those who have any health insurance, a $149 reproductive genetic screening will cost $18; $199 cancer screening will cost $36. The two tests, which normally cost $299, will cost $54 with the JScreen Detroit program. JFamily will work with those without health insurance to apply for financial aid. A JScreen Detroit screening is as easy as depositing saliva into a cup provided by a mailed kit. Samples are mailed to Emory University and screened for more than 200 genetic diseases, including those commonly found in the Jewish population (Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi), as well as other populations. Testing may reveal that you may be at risk for developing symptoms of a genetic condition. Stephanie Erez, director of young children and family engagement Stephanie at the JCC, said Erez JScreen Detroit is

backed by a committee whose members are well-versed in reproductive, genetic or cancer screening due to their professional background or personal experience. In the first 18 months of the program, Erez hopes to complete screening for 500 people, and the program is spreading the word to local Jewish agencies and congregations. “JFamily is there for the community during life’s most beautiful and most challenging times,” said Mikki Frank, JFamily senior director. “We provide support, education and Mikki Frank connection. Providing this resource for health screening, and then putting those who did the screening in touch with additional resources after they receive those results, fits within that lane.” Erez added that the screening is only the beginning. JFamily can be a guide to seeking additional educational and support resources for those who received positive test results, such as designating genetic counselors, she said. HEIGHTENED BREAST CANCER RISK Dana Zakalik, the corporate director of the Nancy and James Grosfeld Cancer Genetics Center at Beaumont Health and an oncologist with a Dr. Dana specialty in breast Zakalik cancer and cancer genetics, said among Ashkenazi Jews, there is a one in 40 chance that a person carries either the BRCA1 or

BRCA2 mutation. When such mutations are detected, the next steps are to meet with a team of genetic counselors to learn the next steps of preventative intervention. That can mean more frequent and earlier-in-life cancer screenings, preventative surgeries and even emerging medical treatments, such as a new class of drugs called PARP inhibitors, that have dramatically progressed over the last 15 years, she said. “(Genetic mutation testing) information not only allows us to do early detection for cancer, but also we now have better treatments that target the BRCA mutations,” Zakalik said. “So, if a woman with a BRCA mutation happens to get breast, ovarian and even pancreatic cancer, we can actually take advantage of the molecular vulnerability of that cancer due to the BRCA mutation and treat patients with this new class of drugs. “So, genetic screening has come full circle. At first, detecting the BRCA mutations was all about detection and prevention. But we have taken it to the next

level of treatment, which is very targeted, so I am very hopeful about this.” The impetus for JScreen Detroit came from Bloomfield Hills resident Lacey Foon. After she, her mother and aunt were diagnosed with breast cancer, Foon, 34, said she does not want a single person in the Detroit Jewish community to be without the powerful, life-saving knowledge that comes with hereditary cancer screenings. In 2014, Foon’s mother, Carol Ziecik of Bloomfield Hills, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was in her late 50s. Ziecik decided to have a double mastectomy and the day before her surgery, discovered through genetic screening she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation although her sister, who had a different type of breast cancer years prior, did not carry the mutation.

According to the Susan Komen Foundation, among Ashkenazi Jewish men and women, about 1 in 40 have a BRCA mutation and 8-10 % of Ashkenazi Jewish women diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. have the gene mutation. In 2015, undergoing her own genetic screening, Foon discovered she also carried the BRCA1 mutation. The screening results were accompanied by consultations with breast care specialists who helped her design a long-term health plan. At the time, she was in her late 20s. Her doctors advised that she should be vigilant with cancer screenings but the chances of being diagnosed with cancer sooner than her late 40s were low. Foon planned to have a preventative double mastectomy and her ovaries removed by the age of 40, as the

BRCA1 mutation increases one’s risk for ovarian cancer as well. In 2019, she had twin girls Eloise and Phoebe. When the twins were 19 months old, and a month after a physical exam, Foon found a cancerous lump in her breast. While this frightening diagnosis shattered the timeline Foon’s doctors provided her with, it was her understanding of her BRCA gene mutation that allowed her to quickly create an educated strategy to battle the cancer. “Within six days of finding the lump, I was in the oncologist’s office, making a plan,” Foon said. “Yes, it was unfortunate that I knew I carried the gene mutation, was diligently completing cancer screenings, and still got cancer earlier than I expected. However, the fact that I knew I had the mutation and knew this was something to look out for was instrumental in my early detection. The education I received from the time I learned I carried the mutation was instrumental in knowing which medical professionals I

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JFAMILY

continued on page 16

Mikki Frank, senior director Jfamily; Lacey Foon, chair, JScreen Detroit Committee; Rachael Gerstein, JScreen Detroit Coordinator; and Stephanie Erez, Jfamily director. DECEMBER 16 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY continued from page 15

would go to and what to do in the worst-case scenario. It was powerful to have a plan within less than a week of my diagnosis, whereas for others it may take weeks to even be seen by a specialist to receive a diagnosis.” Foon had a double mastectomy in December 2020 and began chemotherapy later that month. Now, like her mother, she is cancer-free. She emphasized that the public should not think that genetic testing should be limited to those concerned about breast cancer. “JScreen tests for 60 hereditary cancer gene mutations and 200 genetic diseases that are common to Ashkenazi Jews,” said Foon. “So, this is not just about the (BRCA1/2) gene. From screening for cancers and other diseases to reproductive gene mutations for those who are planning a family, there are now hundreds of life-saving opportunities that are now available to our Detroit Jewish community with JScreen Detroit.” Ellyn Davidson is a mother

of three and a 14-year cancer survivor. She learned she had inherited the BRCA mutation Ellyn only at the time Davidson she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36. She is a former board member and president of the national organization Facing Our Risk of Cancer (FORCE), a support organization for people facing hereditary cancers. She said she is pleased that JScreen Detroit will not only raise the awareness about genetic screening but will also lower the financial barriers, as genetic screening is often not covered by health insurance. “This powerful program is going to save lives, said Davidson, CEO of Brogan & Partners, which is financially contributing to offset JScreen costs. “I did not have an awareness of my (BRCA) genetic mutation before I was diagnosed with cancer, but if I did, there would have been things I could have done to prevent that

Lacey and Elliot Foon and daughters Eloise and Phoebe

diagnosis. Knowledge is power. That’s the message to drive home about cancer screening. It is best to understand what your options.”

JOHN HARDWICK

Katie Rosen and Matt Kurzmann and son Brock

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

FAMILY PLANNING JScreen can also be essential for couples wishing to begin a family. Thanks to two successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancies, Katie Rosen, 34, and her husband, Matt Kurzmann, 31, have two healthy sons, 2 years and 6 months. The Bloomfield Hills couple come from large families with no known hereditary diseases. Through JScreen’s growing testing panel of over 226 mutations, they learned that they both carried a mutation for two genetic defects and were at risk of passing them along to a child, including a rare but potentially fatal genetic disorder called RAPSYN. Their chances of having a child with one or both genetic diseases is 50%. Empowered with that information, Rosen and Kurzmann decided to have their children through IVF with preimplantation genetic test-

ing — a complex, multi-stage procedure to identify viable embryos safe and suitable for implanting (or freezing for future use). Through this process, they learned that many of their embryos tested positive for genetic mutations that could have led to severe birth defects. “Without such a comprehensive genetic screening panel such as the one JScreen provides, it would have been a long, painful process to get pregnant,” said Rosen, a urologist. “For couples wishing to plan a family, JScreen testing spares a lot of heartache and time. And because RAPSYN is very rare, we wouldn’t have even known we had this mutation if we did not get testing through JScreen. The program’s testing panel is far more comprehensive compared to what you would get at your doctor’s office.” JScreen Detroit is funded by a $40,000 grant from the Detroit Medical Center Foundation and additional generous funding from the Lacey Foon Family Fund. To apply for screening, go to https://jfamily. jccdet.org/jscreen.

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COURTESY OF JVS

OUR COMMUNITY

Hands-On Learning

JOIN summer internship program gets new leadership. ALISON SCHWARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

JOIN at Yad Ezra 2021 JOIN interns working on a project

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

hen Elana Weinstein moved back to Metro Detroit early in 2021 for a job at JVS Human Services, after previous career moves to Chicago and Denver, she felt her life had gone full circle. Not only was she working at the agency where, in 2009, she had her first experience of working in the Jewish nonprofit world, but she was also heading the same program that had given her that first start. Weinstein, 33, is now program coordinator for JOIN, an acronym for the Jeannette and Oscar Cook Jewish Occupational Intern Program. The paid summer internship for Jewish college students considering a career working in the Jewish community has been instrumental in guiding a generation of young people into careers. Local rabbis, educators, communal leaders and board members have all graduated from the program and work to benefit the Metro Detroit Jewish community. Recruitment for the 2022 program has just started with applications being accepted until late January. “My time at JOIN was life-changing,” says Weinstein, a social worker and graduate of Eastern Michigan University and University of Michigan. “I was placed with Kadima, the mental health organization, and I got my first hands-on experience of working for the Jewish community as a budding social worker.” Weinstein’s time at JOIN involved case-management, taking clients to appointments, managing care and accompanying clients on field trips. “It was an incredible experience and confirmed for me that working in the nonprofit world, for the Jewish community, was where I wanted to be.” Weinstein was working as a high school student counselor and social worker in Denver when she heard about the opportunity to become JOIN’s program coordinator. She recognized she had big shoes to fill: Debra Silver, who jump-started the

JOIN program in 1987, retired from JVS Human Services in August 2021 after a long and successful career. Weinstein is, however, happy to be building on Silver’s legacy, helping to expand the JOIN Network for alumni of the program, providing mentoring and career advice, and increasing social media for the program with a new Instagram channel. Weinsten also introduced “Fireside Chats” for student participants this summer, where speakers from the community presented to the interns. Discussion themes included Cultivate and Grow the Jewish Community, Overcoming Barriers and Embracing Others, Advocacy Locally and Worldwide, and the Future of Jewish Culture and Arts PrePost Pandemic. “The topics were chosen to spark engaging conversation, and the feedback we got was the interns felt empowered and more confident,” Weinstein says. “It’s an exciting time to be in this space. There are so many directions that young people can go working in the Jewish

communal world, and it is our job to show the many options.” Weinstein is not the only JOIN alumnus to be working at JVS Human Services. Reisa Shanaman, 35, joined the agency in early 2021 as development coordinator. As a psychology student at Michigan State University, with a Jewish studies specialization, Shanaman was accepted to the JOIN program in the summer before her junior year. “It introduced me to the world of Jewish nonprofits and helped to connect me with individual aid agencies in the community,” says Shanaman, who did her internship at JARC. “It also helped me understand how the various agencies work together, which is such an important aspect of our work.” She feels that the structure of the program is particularly helpful. “From Monday to Thursday, you are with your host agency, learning practical, hands-on skills, then on Fridays you connect with your cohort and explore other places,” Shanaman explains. “It really helps you see the bigger picture and the roles

SAM SARKIS PHOTOGRAPHY

Elana Weinstein’s “Fireside Chats.”

Lena Starostenko, Wendy Kowalski and Reisa Shanaman

other people and other agencies are having in the wider community.” Shanaman worked with a number of Jewish organizations before returning to JVS Human Services, including Israel Outdoors, a Birthright trip provider, and the American Jewish Committee in Los Angeles. She also had a stint working in the service industry. Now back at JVS, she, too, feels her career has come full circle. “I definite-

Reisa Shanaman at her desk during her JOIN internship.

ly have a sense of fulfillment working here. JOIN helped map out my career,” she says. To apply for the JOIN internship, go to jvshumanservices.org and click the students’ page or email Elana Weinstein at eweinstein@jvshumanservices. org for more information. DECEMBER 16 • 2021

COURTESY OF BBYO

OUR COMMUNITY

Rachel Grey Ellis shows off BBYO’s new sign on Orchard Lake Road.

New Teen Hangout BBYO Michigan opens new office in West Bloomfield with space for Jewish teens. ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

or more than 97 years, BBYO (formerly B’nai B’rith Youth Organization) has given teenagers a place to build friendships, leadership skills and their Jewish identity. Now, the Michigan Region, which serves 13 local chapters and more than 1,000 Metro Detroit teens annually, has a brandnew space to call home. They recently opened a new office and teen hangout at 7115

Orchard Lake Road, Suite 220, in West Bloomfield. Since the 1980s, BBYO Michigan has been headquartered inside the West Bloomfield JCC. “We’ve been there since the JCC opened. They were a great partner for many decades,” said Rachel Grey Ellis, senior regional director of BBYO Michigan. “Times changed, and we knew it was time for us to move. We found a perfect spot that’s centrally

located for all of the surrounding communities we serve.” Ellis says the team is still unpacking and getting settled into their new digs, which include a conference room, kitchenette and a teen space that members will decorate themselves. There are also places to do homework, supply cabinets filled with art and school supplies, and plenty of snacks. A full-time social worker is on staff to talk to students about whatever’s on their minds. The space is funded by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, which also funded the previous location at the JCC. “This is a space of our own,” said Skylar Elbinger, regional teen president along with Benji Stern, a senior at Bloomfield Hills High School. “With this new space, we’re able to make BBYO something new and something we want it to be.” Elbinger, a senior at Frankel Jewish Academy, joined BBYO in eighth grade. She says participating has given her a social outlet, a place to meet new people and made her a stronger leader. For the last year and a half, COVID-19 has put a damper on in-person activities and events. That’s one more reason the organization is so excited to open up the new space where teens can feel free to stop by anytime during normal business hours. “We were all stuck at home and isolated and didn’t have the personal, human inter-

LEFT: Social worker Sari Kripke shows off the snack drawer. BELOW: Skylar Elbinger, regional teen president.

action everyone needs,” Ellis says. “What we’re seeing now is that teens are showing up, they’re really excited, they miss each other, and they want to be in person. So, this is a perfect time to be in BBYO and be a part of this new space.” NEW SPACE, NEW STAFF The office isn’t the only thing that’s new, three new staff members joined BBYO Michigan in August and September. They are Regional Director Audrey Bloomberg, Associate Regional Director Blair Bean and social worker Sari Kripke. BBYO’s mission is to create meaningful experiences for Jewish teens from social events to philanthropy, community service, social justice initiatives, athletics, health and social awareness and more. The programming is teen-driven, and participants learn leadership and life skills along the way. “We learn how to collaborate and work within a budget,” Elbinger says. “I’m able to connect with students through all grades. Everyone’s just so welcoming. It’s truly amazing.”

Audrey Bloomberg and Jennifer Frank at the welcome desk.

To celebrate the start of this new era for BBYO and the tens of thousands of alumni the organization has served in the past, a special donor wall is also planned for the new space. A conference room wall — visible through a large glass wall when you enter the office — will be transformed in an artistic way to showcase supporters through the decades.

A fundraising campaign is underway, and donors who contribute $500 and up will be included on the wall. Donated funds also support programming and scholarships. “This feels like a restart of BBYO coming out of COVID,” Ellis says. “We are so excited to recognize our supporters in a really cool way and welcome local Jewish teens into

our new space. Now is a great time to be part of BBYO and to invest in our young people who will make our Jewish community stronger and the world a richer place.” To make a donation or learn more, visit bbyo.org/donate/Michigan or contact Operations/Office Administrator Jennifer Frank at 248-849-0569 or jfrank@bbyo.org.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY

Parental Advice

Loving your kids, even if you don’t always like them. BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

lmost all parents have been there: Your child acts up and you realize that, although you love her at that moment, you can’t stand her! West Bloomfield educational consultant Franki Bagdade provides constructive ways to face this in her new book, I Love My Kids But I Don’t Always Like Them, published earlier this year by MSI Press LLC. Bagdade, a West Bloomfield mother of three — girls 14 and 12 (turning 13 on Jan. 1) and a son, 9 — said she noticed she could bring some of her professional know-how into her own home so she could work with her children to create solutions. “Once I realized I was on to something and saw the success, I wanted to share it with others,” she said. Bagdade grew up in West Bloomfield, graduating from Hillel Day School and West Bloomfield High School before earning a bachelor’s in elementary education and a master’s in special education, both from Wayne State University. In May, she expects to receive a master’s in clinical social work from the University of Kentucky. She is working as a social work intern at the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

As an elementary school teacher, Bagdade worked with children with special needs. She was also an administrator at Tamarack Camps. Since 2019, she has run FAAB Consulting, specializing in children’s behavior. Some of her interest in the field comes from her own experiences growing up with attention deficit disorder and anxiety. “Why do kids and teens misbehave, and how can we proactively prevent some this behavior? What is the ‘why’ behind it? How can we collaborate with our kids to improve these behaviors?” she asks. Often, behavior problems have an underlying cause related to attention-deficit disorders, anxiety, depression or difficulty regulating emotions. Once they understand some of these triggers — like being in dark places or in crowds — parents can help their children avoid situations that can give rise to behavior problems. Bagdade knew she’d have some challenges soon after her second child was born. Her oldest was a placid baby, sleeping easily and able to entertain herself when awake. When her younger daughter was born 23 months later, she wasn’t prepared for the

Franki Bagdade and family.

constant crying. On the other hand, the younger one was much easier to deal with as a toddler than her older sister had been. Each chapter focuses on a different topic, and Bagdade describes the steps she uses and the questions she asks when she encounters difficult behavior, either in her own family or among her clients. “Remember you’re not a monster if you think your supposedly adorable baby is not so adorable. This applies to toddlers, too, and the beat goes on,” she said. One of Bagdade’s first suggestions is one word: Listen … to teachers,

pediatricians, camp directors and others who work with lots of children. They might help put your particular problem in context. Tantrums are a nightmare for most parents, and “time out” is a frequent response. Instead of a punitive approach, Bagdade suggests telling the child you will work out a solution to what is bugging them — but only after they stop yelling, whining or refusing to cooperate. She realized children in the middle of a tantrum weren’t so much giving her a hard time, they were having a hard time.

Franki Bagdade

That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be consequences, she says. But consequences should be decided logically and be directly related to the behavior — for example, taking away a toy that is used as a weapon or having a child use his own money to replace something broken in anger or ruined by carelessness. Heather Bershas of West Bloomfield, a mother of three who teaches early childhood and fifth grade at Temple Israel, says she loves Bagdade’s honest and straightforward writing style. She says she had a “lightbulb moment” when Bagdade discussed right-sizing her expectations of her 2-year-old son. “I just thought, ‘Huh,

that makes so much sense!’” Many of the anecdotes in the book are about Bagdade’s own children, Ruby, Gabi and Avi. She shared everything in the book with them and with her husband, Jeff, a traffic and safety planning engineer, before publishing. “Every single story and anecdote in the book was ‘approved’ by each child,” she said. “That is super-important to me. They love being my cover models!” The book is available at Book Beat in Oak Park, Toyology in West Bloomfield, directly from the publisher at https://msipress.com or online from Barnes and Noble or Amazon, which also has a Kindle edition.

SHE REALIZED CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE OF A TANTRUM WEREN’T SO MUCH GIVING HER A HARD TIME, THEY WERE HAVING A HARD TIME.

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DECEMBER 16 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY

Back on the Trail

Detroiter Hikers reconvene in Oregon after COVID hiatus. Nearly 40 Detroit hikers headed to Oregon this year. Here, they’re taking a break on the trail.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Detroit, Oregon, mayor met with the Detroit Hikers to talk about the town’s plans to rebuild after a recent fire.

Hikers learned about each area’s geography and wildlife.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

PHOTOS BY ROSS HOTZ

The hike passed clear mountain lakes.

fter a year’s hiatus due to COVID, a group of 39 Detroiters were happy to reconvene for their annual hiking trip in September. The 2021 hiking adventure in the Bend, Oregon, area was the Detroit Hikers 19th hiking trip. The trips are organized by Richard Stoler, D.O., Bloomfield Hills, who says that there are now more than 140 alumni of the group. They enjoy the camaraderie, outdoor beauty and physical exertion of hiking for four to five days in national parks around the U.S. Participants choose among three levels of difficulty. Hikes vary from about 6 to 15 miles daily, depending on the terrain. Local naturalists hired for the group provide detailed information about each area’s geographic characteristics,

wildlife and vegetation. This year’s trip to the area around Bend, Oregon, on the edge of the Cascade Mountains featured spectacular panoramas of mountains, forests and lakes. A special feature was a trip to Detroit, Oregon, a tiny town established in 1891, which was named for Detroit because of the large number of settlers from Michigan. The town suffered a massive fire last year and local officials, who met with the hikers, are trying to raise funds to replace some of its buildings. Stoler says that 90 percent of the Detroit area hikers are Jewish. Due to the large Jewish component, most days the group gathers a minyan so that participants can say Kaddish for their relatives. He anticipates a return to a larger group — 90 participants — for the 2022 trip.

ART FISHMAN

Lifelong Friends Three WWII sailors reminisce at lunch before one moves to Florida. ALAN MUSKOVITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

eterans Day is always an extremely busy time for WWII Jewish War Veteran (JWV) Arthur “Art” Fishman. The 94-year old Oak Park resident’s calendar is filled with nonstop events. His week in and around Veterans Day this year included participating in Detroit’s annual Veterans Day parade, attending the annual Veterans Shabbat service at Shaarey Zedek and representing the JWV at a ceremony at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly. But it’s safe to say one additional gathering the week following Veterans Day turned out to be a more personal experience. On Nov. 17, Art broke bread at a special lunch with two of his lifelong Michigan naval veteran buddies — Jack Stone and Marty Myers. The gath-

ering was inspired by a phone conversation between Art and Jack during which Stone announced he was moving permanently to Florida. Over the years, Art had not seen Jack as frequently as Marty, so he knew the time was right for a reunion among these three sailors before Jack relocated to his new home. The three men, all approaching their 95th birthdays, have a history dating back to when they were classmates at both Durfee Intermediate School and Central High School. This “Band of Sailors” stayed connected upon graduation when the three entered the Navy and began training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Great Lakes, Illinois. By some accounts, more than a million “Bluejackets,”

Michigan WWII Jewish War Veterans Jack Stone, Marty Myers and Art Fishman enjoy a “sailors” reunion.

or approximately one-third of the men trained in the Navy during WWII, went through Great Lakes. At one time or another, all three sailors served in the Pacific. Stone and Myers would both ship off to Okinawa — Stone aboard the troop ship USS Riverside and Myers aboard the supply ship USS Ajax. Fishman was assigned to the USS Robinson as a Fireman 3rd Class and engineer apprentice, later joining the Yangtze River Patrol for mine sweeping duty at the port of Shanghai, China, among his several other assignments. This trio of lifelong friends, whose lives in so many ways mirrored each other, would complete their service to their country and all would eventually be discharged within a five-week period during the summer of 1946. Upon returning stateside, Art, Jack and Marty’s lives, for a time, would lead them in different directions and different cities. Eventually though, they all would return to Detroit where they would work, raise their families and renew the friendships they had forged since their childhood. Many of those shared experiences would be recalled during Fishman, Stone and Myer’s Nov. 17 lunch date. It was an afternoon of reminiscing at a local restaurant, sharing their lifes’ journeys and recounting decades of experiences, from schoolyards to shipyards. It was a postVeterans Day reunion the trio won’t soon forget. DECEMBER 16 • 2021

ART FISHMAN

OUR COMMUNITY LEFT: Michigan Jewish War Veterans and Women’s Auxiliary members march through Corktown during Detroit’s Nov. 6 Veterans Day Parade. BELOW: Michigan Jewish War Veterans Steve Feldman, Art Fishman, Mark Weiss, Bill Glogower, Donald Davis and Dr. George Blum were honorary guests at the Holocaust Memorial Center’s 37th Annual Anniversary Benefit on Nov. 14 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

BRETT MOUNTAIN

Veterans Day Activities

Local Jewish War Veterans participate in several events to mark the day. ALAN MUSKOVITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ichigan Jewish War Veterans (JWV) were once again well represented at Veterans Day events this year, both as participants and as honorees. Congregation Shaarey Zedek held its annual Veterans Shabbat on Saturday, Nov. 6. The program featured the Southfield Police Department Color Guard, which led a large processional of veterans down the center aisle of the sanctuary, with proud family members by their sides. Rabbi Aaron Starr offered heartfelt remarks of thanks to our veterans, and Hazzan David Propis regaled the congregation with stirring renditions of the official songs of each branch of our military. JWV members of Shaarey Zedek help lead the special program, which included remarks from Dept. of Michigan Sr. Vice Commander Bill Glogower and Don

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

Wagner, Michigan JWV Judge Advocate and chairman of the Shaarey Zedek Veterans Shabbat Committee. Veterans from different eras also were given aliyot throughout the service. JWV-Michigan Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Don Schenk stepped in to share remarks from Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-8th District). Slotkin, who serves as a member of the U.S. House committees on Armed Services, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, was scheduled to appear but official business ended up requiring her to travel to Albania to meet with Afghan refugees. “Our veterans — you all here today and your brothers and sisters across the country — have given us freedom, security and the greatest nation on Earth,” Slotkin said from her prepared remarks read by Schenk. “It is impos-

sible to put a price on that. Thank you for your service to our country. Thank you for your service to our faith. Thank you for your service to our community. And thank you for the example you have set for our kids and grandkids.” The Veterans Shabbat also introduced the winner of Shaarey Zedek’s inaugural Veterans Shabbat Essay Contest, open to teen congregants. Hugh Aaron, an eighth-grader at Detroit Country Day School, was this year’s winner. “Throughout history, Jews have been fierce warriors, from the Maccabeans to the modern IDF,” Aaron said. “Jewish American veterans are no exception,” he added, citing that an estimated 4,000 Jewish Americans currently serve in our armed forces. Under sun-drenched skies on Sunday, Nov. 7, local

JWV and Women’s Auxiliary members turned out in force and were among the caravan of cars and banner-carrying marchers to participate in Detroit’s 16th annual Veterans Day Parade. The festivities included the simultaneous running of the charity “4 Star 4 Mile Race” that followed the same route, winding its way through Corktown on Michigan Avenue and Vernor Highway. Proceeds benefited the parade’s sponsor — the Metropolitan Detroit Veterans Coalition. On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, the JWV was officially recognized during the 17th annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly. Sr. Vice Commander Emeritus Arthur Fishman represented the JWV Dept. of Michigan and U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, back from her trip to Albania,

ART FISHMAN

ABOVE: Art Fishman, center, Michigan Jewish War Veteran Sr. Vice Commander Emeritus, joins Great Lakes National Cemetery (GLNC) president Garth Wootten and Brig. Gen. Doug Slocum, U.S. Air Force (Ret) at GLNC Veterans Day Ceremony in Holly, Michigan, on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. RIGHT: Michigan Jewish War Veteran Nick Israel and girlfriend Jaime Bartholomai march during Detroit’s Veterans Day Parade.

was among the dignitaries in attendance. HONORED AT HMC A busy month for the JWV also included several post members being honored guests at the Holocaust Memorial Center’s (HMC) 37th annual anniversary benefit held Nov. 14 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. The JWV were given a warm round of applause after being asked to stand and be recognized. The event marked the return of the annual in-person dinner after last year’s program was limited to a virtual presentation. The size of the venue allowed social distancing protocols to be implemented for the nearly 800 in

attendance. Nancy Grosfeld was honored for her philanthropy and community activism and support of the HMC. Renowned singer, songwriter, and pianist Michael Feinstein was the evening’s entertainment. The JWV are bound by their motto of being “a Jewish voice for veterans, a veteran’s voice for Jews.” That commitment also includes charitable giving. Recent recipients of JWV donations included Koshertroops.com, which sends kosher food and holiday gift baskets to soldiers and service members around the globe. Operation Benjamin (OB) will also be on the receiving end of a donation from the JWV. The mission of the

Chestnut Ridge, New Yorkbased organization is “to identify Jewish soldiers at American military cemeteries all over the world who were mistakenly buried under Latin crosses and replace headstones with a Star of David.” Shalom Lamm, CEO of Operation Benjamin, addressed the local JWV during a Zoom meeting on Nov. 21 in which he gave an overview on OB and their latest success stories. The JWV’s support of all men and women who have served our nation proudly extends beyond the Jewish community. A donation by the JWV is being made to the Michigan Veterans Homes, a branch of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The con-

tribution will support the organization’s newest facility in Chesterfield Township that “provides long-term skilled nursing care and services that enhances the well-being of veterans in the place they call home.” Finally, COVID-19 restrictions will unfortunately prevent the JWV and Women’s Auxiliary from embarking on their annual Dec. 25 Mitzvah Day bus trip to bring holiday greetings and gifts to the patients at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center. In lieu of an in-person visit, a donation will instead be made to help continue the JWV’s tradition of offering support for their fellow comrades that they so richly deserve, especially at this time of year. DECEMBER 16 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY

Stylishly Modest Fashion Elegant Expressions is the place to shop for all ages and sizes. LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

hen Miri Halpern was growing up in Oak Park, she could not find modest clothing for herself locally. She usually shopped for clothing on visits to New York City or Lakewood, New Jersey. Halpern had held a variety of jobs, including bookkeeping, but she always dreamed of opening a business of her own, although she wasn’t sure what kind. She thought of selling maternity supplies or baby’s needs. And then, six years ago, she found out that a neighbor who owned a clothing store in Berkley wanted to sell the whole business: merchandise, vendor contracts to buy more merchandise, store fixtures, customer database, programs for inventory and bookkeeping — everything. If Halpern was to realize her dream, she would not have to start from scratch; this was the time. Halpern even had a location in mind for the store, in the mall on the northwest corner of 10 Mile and Greenfield roads in Southfield. She had the place painted, moved merchandise and fixtures herself and, a couple of months of frantic activity later, Halpern opened Elegant Expressions in March 2015. Halpern had no experience running a store; she had never even done retail work or studied business. She had a couple of years of higher education in England — in Jewish studies. “I learned everything on the job,” she says. One of the most exciting parts of the job for Halpern happens four times a year when she goes to New York for the seasonal clothing shows that deal entirely with modest women’s wear. The wholesale vendors predominantly come from the United States and Israel, with a few from Canada and England. Whichever vendor sells the clothing, most of the clothing is produced in China, with only a few items produced in the United States.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

A few examples of the styles you’ll find at Elegant Expressions.

Halpern meets with wholesale vendors for about an hour each, one right after the other. At each meeting, she must decide what to buy, which clothing fits the image of Elegant Expressions. She must make these decisions quickly, but Halpern says, “I am very selective about style, fit and fabric.” CLASSIC STYLE For Elegant Expressions, Halpern wants clothing that is not too trendy, but rather classical. Still, she needs a wide variety of clothing because Elegant Expressions sells to every age group — everything from baby clothes to teens, to ladies’ extra small and ladies’ plus sizes. Halpern says no other store in this area sells modest clothing for all ages. Halpern emphasizes customer service. “Some women hate to shop. They come into a store and just feel overwhelmed.

They don’t know where to start. I can help them find a single item or a whole wardrobe. I can help them focus on just what they want: for Shabbos or for weekdays, casual or dressy, a top or skirt or dress.” In short, Halpern aims to give those who come into her store a personal shopping experience. They can try it on right away in the dressing room. When they come out, “I give them an honest opinion. If it doesn’t fit right, I tell them honestly. I want them to be completely satisfied. “I keep the atmosphere calm, not pressured,” she adds. What gives Halpern the most satisfaction about her work? “Seeing people wearing my clothing around town.” Another source of satisfaction comes when Elegant Expressions has customers who come from the big cities, from the places where Halpern used to shop back in the day, who say they cannot find a store like hers at home. All the clothes that Halpern sells are appropriate according to the standards of the observant Jewish community. She has a wide range of customers who don’t necessarily come from an observant background, but they are all looking for something classy or dressy that’s modest that they can wear to a grandson’s bar mitzvah or their child or grandchild’s wedding. Visit https://elegantexpressions85.wixsite.com, follow it on Facebook at facebook.com/elegantexpressionsusa or call (248) 281-3030.

New Funds Available

Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act launches a pilot project of grants. LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

he Infrastructure Act, signed by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, includes a section offering direct grants to nonprofit institutions that upgrade their energy efficiency. Section 40542 appropriates $50 million to pay for grants of up to $200,000 to Steven nonprofits that Ingber increase their energy efficiency. Secular and religious organizations, including the Jewish Federations of North America, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Association of Art Museums and the Union of Orthodox Jewish

Congregations, actively supported getting this provision enacted into law. Commentators noted the advocacy of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, the nonpartisan public policy arm of the Orthodox Union. Nathan Diament, exec-utive director for public policy, welcomed the legislation: “The creation of the Nonprofit

Energy Efficiency Act will help our foundational institutions become more environmentally sound and enable them to expand their offerings through energy cost savings.” Steven Ingber, CEO of the Detroit Federation, said, “With keen interest, we’ve been keeping tabs on the Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act since it makes millions of dollars

“THE CREATION ... WILL HELP OUR FOUNDATIONAL INSTITUTIONS BECOME MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND” — NATHAN DIAMENT

available to nonprofit organizations to install energy efficient items that reduce energy or fuel. Preserving our planet by reducing our energy consumption is critical for the future. “We have specific team members whose job it is to stay updated on relevant legislation that would strengthen our community, and then provide guidance and grant-writing assistance to agencies that are seeking funding. We’ll continue to do that important work in this instance, too.” Grants could help pay for improving heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, and upgrading the lighting, roof, windows and doors.

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OUR COMMUNITY

Mega-Donation

Holocaust Memorial Center announces largest gift in its 37-year history. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

he Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus announced a donation in the amount of $15 million from the Zekelman family and Zekelman Industries. The gift is the single largest charitable donation received in the Holocaust Memorial Center’s 37-year history. The donation represents the lead gift toward the Holocaust Memorial Center’s $100 million Comprehensive Campaign. The financial commitment is part of the ongoing support from the Zekelman family and Zekelman Industries, bringing their total funding of the Holocaust Memorial Center to $25 million.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

The Comprehensive Campaign was launched to establish a permanent endowment fund to keep the Holocaust Memorial Center vital and sustainable far into the future. The donation will enable the institution to maintain its facilities at the highest standard, boost operational funding and expand special events, traveling exhibits and educational offerings. “We’ve always been impressed by the positive and lasting impact the Holocaust Memorial Center has had on millions of lives. It’s truly inspiring. With antisemi-

tism and hate crimes on the rise, we feel a sense of urgency to help organizations, like the Holocaust Memorial Center, that are passionately working to combat it,” said Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, via press release. “We’re hopeful that this generosity is going to inspire others to support the Holocaust Memorial Center and the important work we do in fighting against antisemitism and hatred by teaching about the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO, Holocaust Memorial Center. “This gift really sets us on a path for the future because it means we can plan in a way knowing there will be funding available far into the future for all the activities the center would like to present,” he added. Rabbi Mayerfeld says the gift is

especially meaningful in the face of the rise in antisemitism. “We’ve seen a rise in antisemitic violent acts, hate and bigotry, locally, nationally and globally as well, so the work the Zekelman gift allows us to do is more important now than ever.” HMC is in the planning stages of an update to its core exhibit, focused on the history of the Holocaust. “Twenty years ago, when the museum was built, there were many survivors here in the community who could tell their stories,” Rabbi Mayerfeld said. “Today, there are fewer and fewer, and so the exhibit needs to be able to lift up those voices and tell those stories when people aren’t necessarily going to be able to hear them firsthand anymore.” Part of that renovation will be using the almost 1,000 video and audio recordings of local survivors to educate and inform.

faces&places

The 13th annual JVS Human Services Trade Secrets Event was held Nov. 11 at the Detroit Marriott Troy. The event raised $273,803, through sponsorship and ticket sales, for Women to Work, a program that offers intensive assessment, testing and job search training for women needing immediate employment. This year’s honorary chair and keynote speaker at Trade Secrets was Shari Finsilver, who has dedicated her life to advocating for patients, like herself, who suffer from Essential Tremor, the most common movement disorder. Finsilver started the first International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF) support group for Michigan patients 20 years ago and is currently vice president of the organization. Trade Secrets was held in hybrid form, with a limited in-person dinner and a streamed online version. Fox 2’s Amy Lange emceed the event. Trade Secrets’ Presenting Sponsors were Connie Holzer at Tom Holzer Ford and Shari and Stanley Finsilver; Platinum Sponsors were Artichoke Garlic Foundation and DeRoy Testamentary Foundation; Diamond Sponsors were Moscow Family Fund and skinnytees; and the Emerald Sponsor was Huntington Bank.

SAM SARKIS PHOTOGRAPHY

JVS Trade Secrets Raises $270,000+

Shari Finsilver of Orchard Lake, honorary chair and keynote speaker, receives a Daniel Cascardo painting from co-chair Linda Schlesinger-Wagner of West Bloomfield.

JVS Human Services CEO Paul Blatt, with Shari and Stanley Finsilver of Orchard Lake

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JVS

Brett Finsilver and Jane Fenkell of Bloomfield Hills, Stanley and Shari Finsilver of Orchard Lake, Steven and Amy Ben-Ezra of Franklin Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, co-chair of Trade Secrets, with honorary chair and keynote Speaker Shari Finsilver, and co-chair Carolyn Krieger

Norton Stern of Farmington Hills, Rabbi Josh Bennett of Bloomfield Hills and Stanley Finsilver of Orchard Lake

Kim Lifton of Farmington Hills, Carolyn Krieger of West Bloomfield, Alanna Cohen of Troy, Marin Goldberg of Birmingham, Mark Weisberg of Commerce and Fox 2’s Amy Lange DECEMBER 16 • 2021

faces&places

Holiday Fun at Temple Beth El The community came out on Friday, Dec. 3, to celebrate Temple Beth El’s Hanukkah Extravaganza Shabbat! The Kid-ish Club started the night with a special meet-up before joining the Templewide party for dreidel competitions for all ages, a beautiful sand art project created by local artist Gail Kaplan, latkes and donuts from the Donut Bar food truck, and so much more.

The celebration continued with Temple’s annual menorah lighting in the Helen L. DeRoy Sanctuary and a beautiful Shabbat service with TBE’s very own Music Shabbat Band. Everyone enjoyed being together. TBE expresses deep gratitude to sponsors Kristen and Carl Gross, Jennifer and Jeff Hollander, Carol and Steve Tarnowsky, and the Beth Elders.

Sam and Dima Smetanin and Anya light their menorah at the Kid-ish Club meet up.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEMPLE BETH EL

Dreidel competition with Temple Beth El’s Masa teens

Rachel Taubman-Glickfield and Gabriel Glickfield enjoy Chanukah dinner under the tent.

Kid-ish Club meet-up with Rabbi Miller and Rabbi Brudney

Enjoying dinner and latke bar in the tent before the annual menorah lighting and brief Music Shabbat service

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

TBE’s ECC Director Forest Levy Wolfe helps with the sand art project created by local artist Gail Kaplan.

MAZEL TOV!

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JAN. 1, 2021 Meryl (Meisner) and Hector Chen of Beaufort, S.C., announce the birth of their son, Irving Yiping Chen. Maternal grandparents are David, former Detroiter, and Pamela Meisner of Wyoming, Ohio. Paternal grandparents are Lin Chen and Sui Chen of Cincinnati, and Medea Meng of New York, N.Y. Great-grandparents are the late Lillian and the late Irving Meisner; Irving Yiping is named for this maternal grandfather. His middle name in Chinese is made of two characters: The first means strong-willed perseverance and independence, and the second means balance, peace and fairness.

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DECEMBER 16 • 2021

SPIRIT

Synagogue Directory CONSERVATIVE Adat Shalom Synagogue Farmington Hills (248) 851-5100 adatshalom.org

Temple B’nai Shalom Benton Harbor (269) 925-8021 tbnaishalom.org

Ahavas Israel Grand Rapids (616) 949-2840 ahavasisraelgr.org

INDEPENDENT Grosse Pointe Jewish Council Grosse Pointe Woods (313) 882-6700 thegpjc.com

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 Synagogue West Bloomfield (248) 432-2729 bnaiisraelwb.org Congregation B’nai Moshe West Bloomfield (248) 788-0600 bnaimoshe.org Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue Detroit (313) 962-4047 downtownsynagogue.org Congregation of Moses Kalamazoo congregationofmoses.org Congregation Shaarey Zedek Southfield (248) 357-5544 shaareyzedek.org

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

Kehillat Hatzhav Hagadol Mackinac Island (906) 202-9959 mackinacsynagogue.org

Beth Tefilo Emanuel Tikvah Southfield (248) 559-5022 Birmingham-Bloomfield Shul Birmingham (248) 996-5818 bbchai.org B’nai Israel-Beth Yehudah Oak Park (248) 967-3969 bi-by.org B’nai Zion Oak Park (248) 968-2414

ORTHODOX Agudas Israel Mogen Abraham Southfield (248) 552-5711 aymadetroit.org

Chabad House-Lubavitch of Eastern Michigan Flint (810) 230-0770 chabad.org

Ahavas Olam Southfield (248) 569-1821 Ahavasolam.com

Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce-Walled Lake Commerce Township (248) 363-3644 jewishcommerce.org

Ahavas Yisroel Oak Park (248) 298-2896 Learntorah.info Aish Hatorah in the Woods Oak Park (248) 327-3579 Aishdetroit.com Bais Chabad of Farmington Hills (248) 855-2910 chabad.org Bais Chabad of North Oak Park (248) 872-8878 chabad.org Bais Haknesses Hagrah Oak Park (248) 542-8737 Balfour Shul – K’Hal Rina U’Tefila Oak Park (732) 693-8457

Chabad Jewish Center of Novi-Northville (248) 790-6075 novijewishcenter.com Chabad Jewish Center of Troy Troy/Rochester Hills (248) 873-5851 jewishtroy.com Chabad-Lubavitch of Bingham Farms Bloomfield Hills (248) 688-6796 chabadbinghamfarms.com

Etz Chayim of Toledo Toledo, OH (419) 473-2401 Etzchayimtoledo.org First Hebrew Congregation South Haven (269) 637-1603 firsthebrewcongregation.org Kehillat Etz Chayim Huntington Woods etzchayim-detroit.org Kollel Institute of Greater Detroit Oak Park (248) 968-1891 kollel@kolleldetroit.org Mishkan Israel, Nusach H’ari, Lubavitch Center Oak Park (248) 542-4844 theyeshiva.org Ohel Moed Shomrey Emunah West Bloomfield (248) 737-2626 ohelmoed.org Or Chadash Oak Park (248) 819-1721 or-chadash.org Sara & Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center of West Bloomfield (248) 855-6170 baischabad.com Shaar Hashomayim Windsor (519) 256-3123

Chabad of Western Michigan Grand Rapids (616) 957-0770 chabadwestmichigan.com

Shaarey Zedek Windsor (519) 252-1594 shaareyzedekwindsor.com

Dovid Ben Nuchim-Aish Kodesh Oak Park (313) 320-9400 dbndetroit.org

Shomer Israel Oak Park (248) 542-4014 godaven.com

Shomrey Emunah Southfield (248) 559-1533 congregation-shomreyemunah-105705.square.site The Shul-Chabad Lubavitch West Bloomfield (248) 788-4000 theshul.net Woodward Avenue Shul Royal Oak (248) 414-7485 thewas.net

Congregation Beth El Windsor (519) 969-2422 bethelwindsor.ca

Temple Emanu-El Oak Park (248) 967-4020 emanuel-mich.org

Temple Beth El Battle Creek (269) 963-4921

Temple Israel West Bloomfield (248) 661-5700 temple-israel.org

Temple Beth El Bloomfield Township (248) 851-1100 tbeonline.org

Temple Jacob Hancock templejacobhancock.org

Temple Beth El Flint (810) 720-9494 tbeflint@gmail.com

Temple Kol Ami West Bloomfield (248) 661-0040 tkolami.org

Temple Beth El Midland (989) 496-3720 tbe_midland@yahoo.com

Congregation Shaarey Zedek East Lansing (517) 351-3570 shaareyzedek.com

Young Israel of Southfield (248) 358-0154 yisouthfield.org

Temple Beth Israel Bay City (989) 893-7811 tbi-mich.org

Temple Shir Shalom West Bloomfield (248) 737-8700 shirshalom.org

RECONSTRUCTIONIST Congregation Kehillat Israel Lansing (517) 882-0049 kehillatisrael.net

Temple Beth Israel Jackson (517) 784-3862 tbijackson.org

Yagdil Torah Southfield (248) 559-5905 Young Israel of Oak Park (248) 967-3655 yiop.org

Congregation T’chiyah Ferndale (248) 823-7115 tchiyah.org Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit (313) 567-0306 reconstructingjudiasm.org REFORM Bet Chaverim Canton (734) 480-8880 betchaverim@yahoo.com Temple Benjamin Mt. Pleasant (989) 773-5086 templebenjamin.com

Congregation Beth Shalom Traverse City 231-946-1913 beth-shalom-tc.org Temple Beth Sholom Marquette tbsmqt.org Temple B’nai Israel Kalamazoo (269) 342-9170 Templebnaiisrael.com Temple B’nai Israel Petoskey (231) 489-8269 templebnaiisraelofpetoskey.org Temple Emanuel Grand Rapids (616) 459-5976 grtemple.org

REFORM/RENEWAL Congregation Shir Tikvah Troy (248) 649-4418 shirtikvah.org SECULAR/HUMANISTIC Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit Farmington Hills (248) 477-1410 chj-detroit.org Sholem Aleichem Institute Lathrup Village (240 865-0117 secularsaimichigan.org SEPHARDIC Keter Torah Synagogue West Bloomfield (248) 681-3665 rabbisasson.wixsite.com/keter

Ohr Hatorah Oak Park (248) 294-0613 Ohrhatorah.us MINYANS Fleischman Residence West Bloomfield (248) 661-2999 Yeshivat Akivah Southfield (248) 386-1625 farberhds.org

ANN ARBOR

CONSERVATIVE Beth Israel Congregation (734) 665-9897 @BethIsraelCongregation ORTHODOX Ann Arbor Chabad House (734) 995-3276 jewmich.com Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan annarborminyan.org RECONSTRUCTIONIST Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (734) 445-1910 aarecon.org REFORM Temple Beth Emeth (734) 665-4744 templebethemeth.org RENEWAL Pardes Hanah pardeshanah.org SECULAR HUMANISTIC Jewish Cultural Society (734) 975-9872 jewishculturalsociety.org Please email factual corrections or additional synagogues to list to: smanello@thejewishnews.com.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

SPIRIT

A WORD OF TORAH

On Not Predicting the Future

acob was on his deathbed. He summoned his children. He wanted to bless them before he died. But the text begins with a strange semi-repetition: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.” (Gen. 49:1-2) Rabbi Lord This seems to be saying Jonathan the same thing twice, with Sacks one difference. In the first sentence, there is a reference to “what will happen to you in the days to come” (literally, “at the end of days”). This is missing from the second sentence. Rashi, following the Talmud, says that “Jacob wished to reveal what would happen in the future, but the Divine presence was removed from him.” He tried to foresee the future but found he could not. This is no minor detail. It is a fundamental feature of Jewish spirituality. We believe that we cannot predict the future when it comes to human beings. We make the future by

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

our choices. The script has not yet been written. The future is radically open. This was a major difference between ancient Israel and ancient Greece. The Greeks believed in fate, moira, even blind fate, ananke. When the Delphic oracle told Laius that he would have a son who would kill him, he took every precaution to make sure it did not happen. When the child was born, Laius nailed him by his feet to a rock and left him to die. A passing shepherd found and saved him, and he was eventually raised by the king and queen of Corinth. Because his feet were permanently misshapen, he came to be known as Oedipus (the “swollenfooted”). The rest of the story is well known. Everything the oracle foresaw happened, and every act designed to avoid it actually helped bring it about. Once the oracle has been spoken and fate has been sealed, all attempts to avoid it are in vain. This cluster of ideas lies at the heart of one of the great Greek contributions to civilization: tragedy. Astonishingly, given the many centuries of Jewish suffering, biblical

Hebrew has no word for tragedy. The word ason means “a mishap, a disaster, a calamity” but not tragedy in the classic sense. A tragedy is a drama with a sad outcome involving a hero destined to experience downfall or destruction through a character flaw or a conflict with an overpowering force, such as fate. Judaism has no word for this, because we do not believe in fate as something blind, inevitable and inexorable. We are free. We can choose. As Isaac Bashevis Singer wittily said: “We must be free: We have no choice!” Rarely is this more powerfully asserted than in the Unetaneh tokef prayer we say on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Even after we have said that “On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed … who will live and who will die,” we still go on to say, “But teshuvah, prayer and charity avert the evil of the decree.” There is no sentence against which we cannot appeal, no verdict we cannot mitigate by showing that we have repented and changed. There is a classic example of this in Tanakh. “In those days Hezekiah became

ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: ‘Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people: This is what the Lord, God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.’” (2 Kings 20:1-5; Isaiah 38:1-5) The prophet Isaiah had told King Hezekiah he would not recover, but he did. He lived for another 15 years. God heard his prayer and granted him stay of execution. From this the Talmud infers, “Even if a sharp sword rests upon your neck, you should not desist from prayer.” We pray for a good fate but we do not reconcile ourselves to fatalism. Hence there is a fundamental difference between a prophecy and a prediction. If a prediction comes true, it has succeeded. If a prophecy comes true, it has failed. A prophet delivers not a prediction but a warning. He or she does not simply say, “This will happen,” but rather, “This will happen unless you change.” The prophet speaks to human freedom, not to the inevitability of fate. PREDICTIONS ARE FUTILE I was once present at a gathering where Bernard Lewis, the great scholar of Islam, was asked to predict the outcome of a certain American foreign policy intervention. He gave a magnificent reply. “I am a historian, so I only make predictions about the past. What is more, I am a retired historian, so even my past is passé.” This was a profoundly Jewish answer. In the 21st century, we know much at

a macro- and micro-level. We look up and see a universe of a hundred billion galaxies each of a hundred billion stars. We look down and see a human body containing a hundred trillion cells, each with a double copy of the human genome, 3.1 billion letters long, enough if transcribed to fill a library of 5,000 books. But there remains one thing we do not know and will never know: What tomorrow will bring. The past, said L. P. Hartley, is a foreign country. But the future is an undiscovered one. That is why predictions so often fail. That is the essential difference between nature and human nature. The ancient Mesopotamians could make accurate predictions about the movement of planets, yet even today, despite brain-scans and neuroscience, we are still not able to predict what people will do. Often, they take us by surprise. The reason is that we are free. We choose, we make mistakes, we learn, we change, we grow. The failure at school becomes the winner of a Nobel Prize. The leader who disappointed suddenly shows courage and wisdom in a crisis. The driven businessman has an intimation of mortality and decides to devote the rest of his life to helping the poor. Some of the most successful people I ever met were written off by their teachers at school and told they would never amount to anything. We constantly defy predictions. This is something science has not yet explained and perhaps never will. Some believe freedom is an illusion. But it isn’t. It’s what makes us human. We are free because we are not merely objects. We are subjects. We respond not just to physical events but to the way we perceive those events. We have minds, not just brains. We have thoughts, not just sensations. We react but we can also choose not to react. There is something about us that is irreducible to material, physical causes and effects.

The way our ancestors spoke about this remains true and profound. We are free because God is free, and He made us in His image. That is what is meant by the three words God told Moses at the burning bush when he asked God for His name. God replied, Ehyeh asher Ehyeh. This is often translated as “I am what I am,” but what it really means is, “I will be who and how I choose to be.” I am the God of freedom. I cannot be predicted. Note that God says this at the start of Moses’ mission to lead a people from slavery to freedom. He wanted the Israelites to become living testimony to the power of freedom. Do not believe that the future is written. It isn’t. There is no fate we cannot change, no prediction we cannot defy. We are not predestined to fail; neither are we pre-ordained to succeed. We do not predict the future because we make the future: by our choices, our willpower, our persistence and our determination to survive. The proof is the Jewish people itself. The first reference to Israel outside the Bible is engraved on the Merneptah stele, inscribed around 1225 BCE by Pharaoh Merneptah IV, Ramses II’s successor. It reads: “Israel is laid waste, her seed is no more.” It was, in short, an obituary. The Jewish people have been written off many times by their enemies, but they remain, after almost four millennia, still young and strong. That is why, when Jacob wanted to tell his children what would happen to them in the future, the Divine spirit was taken away from him. Our children continue to surprise us, as we continue to surprise others. Made in the image of God, we are free. Sustained by the blessings of God, we can become greater than anyone, even ourselves, could foresee. The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, 1991-2013. His teachings have been made available to all at rabbisacks.org. This essay was written in 2015.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

SPIRIT

TORAH PORTION

The Blessing Of Saying Goodbye

indicates that something unusual his Shabbat Genesis conis going on. But we have to imagcludes with the death of ine that Joseph’s elderly patriarch Jacob. father, terminally ill at Until now, we hear only age 147, should not have brief details regarding the caught Joseph off guard. deaths of personalities and What could it mean? there is no mention of any Bereshit Rabbah, Toldot illnesses preceding a death. Rabbi 65 teaches that it was Jacob becomes the first of Joseph Jacob who demanded that our ancestors to be identiKrakoff sickness be put into the fied as sick. Parshat world. In this Midrash, As Jacob nears the end, Vayehi: Jacob is pictured as saying his son Joseph is informed Genesis of his father’s illness, 47:28-50:26; to the Holy One: “Master of the Universe, if a person prompting Joseph to see I Kings 2:1-12. should die without first Jacob. Joseph is told: Hineh being ill, he will not be able Avicha Choleh — Behold, your father is sick. At first glance, to resolve his affairs among his children and the members of his the Hebrew word Hineh (behold) family. But if he is sick for a periconnotes surprise, urgency and

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

od of days, it would give the time needed to make arrangements.” The Holy One responded: “By your life, you have demanded a good thing and it will begin with you.” The Midrash helps us understand then the deathbed scene in Chapter 49 when Jacob is surrounded by his children and grandchildren, he uses those moments to speak honestly and to bless his family, conveying his values and an ethical will he hopes will guide all of them. As a result of Jacob’s end-of-life plea that the Almighty not take his soul until his family assembles around him, we learn the gift of saying goodbye. This opportunity is not possible when a person dies suddenly and unexpectedly. When someone is terminally ill and their health is rapidly declining, usually there is a special opportunity to gather with loved ones and share memories as well as words of gratitude and

love. It is particularly important for the dying person to hear that their life was meaningful and that their legacy will be perpetuated. Thankfully, Jewish ritual contains a special prayer called the “Vidui,” recited at end of life, often at the bedside, ideally by the person themselves or by a family member, friend or clergyperson on their behalf. This prayer expresses faith in God and creates a place for forgiveness and reconciliation, allowing for the healing of rifts and misunderstandings so one can leave this world in purity. The “Vidui” provides a powerful prayer experience of finality that will never be forgotten, and we have our patriarch Jacob to thank for giving us such a beautiful, meaningful and blessed way to say goodbye. Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff is the senior director of the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network.

ARTS&LIFE BOOK REVIEW

A Stitch in Time

Michigan writer tells his father’s story in new novel. LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

t is 1924. The Soviet Army had drafted two of the sons of widow Gellis, and then sent notice that the boys were dead. She was not going to let the army get another of her sons. By the time David Gellis reached draft age at his 16th birthday, she had arranged a plan for him to escape. He would hide in the concealed closet in the basement. On that birthday, when the soldiers searched, they would find no Michael trace of David Gellis. Gellis That night, they would post a guard at the only door to the house, but she would distract the guard with fresh meat knishes (the Russian guard would call them piroshki), and with sympathetic questions about the guard’s family back home. Meanwhile, another brother would give the secret signal and David would jump out the back window. Thus, begins A Stitch in Time (available on Amazon), written by Dr. Michael Gellis in loving tribute to his father. David Gellis escaped on foot, then by train and then by wagon across southern Poland from Dynov to the home of his Uncle Sol near Cracow. Uncle Sol greeted him warmly, and David spent a sweet Shabbos with his family, but he had to keep running. Uncle Sol gave him money and train tickets to the port of Gdansk, at the north edge of Poland. From there, David had a chance to try to find work on any ship sailing toward America. His goal, after getting away from Poland and the Soviet Army, was to find his older brother, Joseph, who lived in Flint, Michigan. But how could David get work on a ship? What could he do? Well, he already knew how to sew. His late father, his mother and his brothers all worked as tailors and, even at 16, he was an expert

tailor. Fortunately, the purser on the first ship desperately needed a tailor. David proved himself an invaluable addition to the crew, repairing worn uniforms and torn tablecloths. When a passenger burned her husband’s new suit, David did a particularly difficult feat, invisible reweaving, perhaps saving her marriage and certainly establishing David’s reputation with the purser. The ship went from Gdansk to England, from England to France, from France to Portugal and Spain, and then across the ocean to Cuba. At each stop, David met helpful strangers and resourcefully learned new skills. On a two-week layover in France, David worked at a factory making bridal gowns and learned new tailoring skills. The owner, fortunately, spoke Yiddish. In Cuba, David found a Yiddish-speaking factory owner who made leather goods. David learned new skills and invented new uses for the scrap leather. He even learned the skills of managing the factory. During his years in Cuba, David never abandoned his plan to get to his brother in Flint, though the United States had new immigration laws designed to keep undocumented immigrants out. In 1927, David had saved enough money to risk paying a smuggler to sneak him into the U.S. Good to his word, the smuggler did bring him to the surf near the island of Key West, but then, at gunpoint, sent him overboard. David did not know how to swim, but somehow survived to wash up on the beach. And the story continues with adventure after adventure as David went north to Brooklyn, met the woman who would become his wife (making him, finally, a legal immigrant), served in the U.S. Army during World War II (where he did not get shipped overseas because his commanding

officer’s daughter needed a wedding gown). Eventually, with help from his brother, David moved his wife and two children to Flint, where David set up a dry cleaning and alterations shop. Michael Gellis tells his father’s story in chronological order, in the style of a young adult novel. He shows us the thoughts of some of the characters and reconstructs dialogue as it might have occurred. Each of the 75 chapters takes only a few pages. In four or five pages, the author takes the life of David Gellis forward, often from a difficult situation toward its safe resolution. At crucial moments, David Gellis meets helpful strangers. The hero of this story shows impressive resourcefulness, learning new skills at a moment’s notice, and remarkable determination, never losing sight of the goal, even when he learns that his family in Poland has been murdered. Michael Gellis did extensive research to prepare to tell his father’s story. Interviewing his father’s friends and relatives, the author establishes the exact dates of all sorts of events. Researching the realities behind the story, the author has his characters explain aspects of the politics of interwar Europe, as well as how to sew with satin and how to set up a steam-press. This is the life story of one man, but it parallels the stories of millions of Jewish people who tried to escape from increasingly hostile Europe to someplace safer. DECEMBER 16 • 2021

ARTS&LIFE CELEBRITY NEWS

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

Bette Midler

honorees got their awards in a virtual event that took place in March 2021. I mention all this because the 2021 Honors are something special, and it’s worth watching. The Gala audience, which included many Republican attendees, were reportedly “giddy” as they got to enjoy “real” live entertainment from the Kennedy Center stage (saluting the honorees). The Post says that the 2,000 people at the Gala showered President Biden with standing ovations mostly because he was there — and except for face masks, things were “pretty normal” again. CBS will broadcast the Honors Gala concert on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 9 p.m. The concert is a fourhour event that CBS edits down to two hours. This year, for the first time, the CBS Gala footage will also stream on Paramount+ (formerly CBS All-Access). I know that CBS never re-runs their Gala coverage or makes it available on-demand. I don’t believe it will be on-demand on Paramount+. Best bet: Watch live on CBS and, if you can, DVR record it.

Bette Midler was feted by Beanie Feldstein, 28, Kate Baldwin and Taylor Trensch. They co-starred with Midler in her hit 2017 Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! They took the Gala concert stage and sang a Midler favorite, “You Gotta Have Friends.” Goldie Hawn, 76, singer Melissa Manchester, 70, and Barbara Hershey, 73, told warm anecdotes about Midler (Manchester’s parents were Jewish; Hawn’s mother was Jewish and Hershey’s father was Jewish. Hershey co-starred with Midler in the hit movie Beaches). Lorne Michaels, born Lorne Lipowitz, co-created Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1975 and he remains its very much “hands-on” producer. Yes, some of his choices (guest hosts, cast members, etc.) have been reasonably criticized. However, to keep a hit show a hit show for 45 years is an objectively remarkable record. At the Gala, a series of SNL Weekend Update hosts took the stage. (Kevin Nealon, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Colin Jost and Michael Che). They appeared in a mock-up of a television set and, in

Lorne Michaels

ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS

A “NORMAL” KENNEDY CENTER HONORS AND A LAST, MOVING NOTE The Kennedy Centers Honors are annually given to five people in the performing arts for their lifetime contributions to American culture. The honorees this year are Lorne Michaels, 77, Bette Midler, 76, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Justino Diaz, a Puerto Rican opera singer, and famous singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell. The Honors are a weekend-long event that this year took place Dec. 5-6. The Honors normally include a dinner at the State Department, a private reception at the White House and a Sunday evening gala public concert at the Kennedy Center. This year, the State Department dinner took place at the “more airy” Library of Congress. In welcoming remarks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 59, noted the vital role culture can play in advancing international understanding. As the Washington Post put it: The most recent Honors events were a return to “normalcy.” The Honors awards began in 1978 and, before 2017, a sitting president almost never missed an Honors event. However, President Trump chose not to attend any Honors event during his term. This wasn’t “normal,” and “not normal” got much worse in 2020-21. The 2020 Honors events did not take place last December, as they usually do, because of the pandemic. The 2020

ALAN LIGHT

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

the classic SNL way, they honored Michaels through barbed comedic comments about his shortcomings and quirks. Opening in theaters on Dec. 17 is Nightmare Alley. Alley is a remake of a harrowing 1947 film about the rise and gruesome fall of a con man. Bradley Cooper stars as the con man. The supporting cast includes Ron Perlman, 71, and Tim Blake Nelson, 57. Shortly after Stephen Sondheim’s death, the website CinemaBlend published a moving piece about Sondheim’s last communication with Steven Spielberg, who directed the new film version of West Side Story (Sondheim wrote the lyrics for the West Side songs.). After seeing a special preview screening of the new West Side Story, Sondheim sent Spielberg a simple note. Spielberg explained that he sometimes called Sondheim ‘SS1’ and Sondheim sometimes called Spielberg ‘SS2’ (Think about their initials for a second). The note read: “SS2, you done good buddy boy. — SS1.” Spielberg went on to say that he was heartbroken and that during the pandemic SS1 and SS2 became great friends. They bonded over the making of the new West Side Story and through their mutual love of older movies. During the pandemic and quarantine, Spielberg said, they spent a year-anda-half exchanging films with each other and wrote many long emails to each other about the films.

ON THE GO

PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS

blackthorn1.com. facebook. com/TheArkAnnArbor.

Stuart Chafetz

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS DEC. 17-19 Two shows on Friday and Saturday at Orchestra Hall in Detroit. share Detroit’s favorite holiday musical tradition with family and friends and thrill to the spectacle of the season. Stuart Chafetz returns to lead a sparkling celebration with carols and classics that sells out year after year. To protect the health and well-being of its patrons, musicians and staff due to the ongoing pandemic, the DSO has implemented new safety policies including mask and COVID-19 vaccine or test requirements for all guests and contactless e-ticketing. Visit dso.org/safety plan for information. Tickets: dso. org/events-and-tickets. SOULFUL YOGA 10 AM, DEC. 18 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites you to join Rabbi Blair Nosanwisch, director of spiritual care, and yoga instructor Mindy Eisenberg. Connect body and soul as we apply the

wisdom of Torah to the gentle practice of yoga. No yoga experience is necessary. There is no fee to participate. Info: contact 248-851-5100. BIM BOM BABY 10-11 AM, DEC. 17 A free interactive Shabbat experience with Temple Shir Shalom’s cantor and rabbis at the synagogue. This program is for families with children and babies through 4 years. CELTIC MUSIC 8 PM, DEC. 18 Blackthorn will appear on stage at The Ark in Arbor with a musical ramble across Ireland. Traditional songs of emigration, sea shanties, lively jigs and reels, and ancient airs will combine with some of Ireland’s best contemporary songs. Tickets: $20. Info:

Blackthorn

ZOO LIGHTS 8:30-9:30 PM, DEC. 18 Catering to teens from grades 5-12, MCUSY offers a wide range of Jewish programming, volunteer opportunities and leadership growth for all. This trip to the Zoo Lights will be a chance to get to know our chapter while enjoying the incredible display. Tickets from $18: jlive.app/events/1325. WINTER BREAK CAMP 9 AM-3 PM, DEC. 20-30 Camp is in session at Aish Detroit, 25725 Coolidge, Oak Park. Super, free and fun Jewish-themed curriculum. For kids ages 3-7 (must be potty trained); all food and drinks provided; baking, crafts, singing. Choose which days, Mon.-Thurs., you want to curate to your schedule. Info: jlive.app/events/1270. ABOUT JUDAISM 7 PM, DEC. 20 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites you to join Rabbi Aaron Bergman via Zoom for a monthly discussion of things he finds interesting about Judaism. There is no fee to attend. To RSVP and receive the Zoom link, contact Kellie Yost, kyost@ adatshalom.org, 248-8515100, ext. 246. Future dates are Jan. 10 and Feb. 7.

Adas Shalom 1965 Confirmation Class Plans Reunion Taking advantage of the Mumford Class of 1967’s planned 55th anniversary class reunion for early August 2022, members of the Adas Shalom 1965 Confirmation Class are planning a class reunion luncheon to precede the Mumford event. The exact date and time are yet to be finalized. Organizers are asking readers to assist them in locating “lost” classmates: Shelly Dunsky, Susan Gregory, Judy Hack, Maureen Lax, Nancy Salter, Barbara Bogorad, Donna Jeremias, Arlene Tack and Pennye Goldman. Those already committed to the reunion are Sharon Moss Lebovic, Ava Goldberg, Doris Rubenstein, Ellen Erman Whitefield, Ronna Katzman, Rona Isaacson Bowles, Donna Howard Weingarden, Sarita Lash Bagdade, Barbara Levine Wool, Marilyn Shapiro Kohen, “Cookie” Farber Markowitz and Andi Kahn Wolfe. Those wishing to RSVP may do so to Doris Rubenstein at theonlydoris@hotmail. com.

Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in advance to calendar@ thejewishnews.com.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

sports HIGHlights brought to you in partnership with

NMLS#2289

He’s back!

Nick Chudler hopes to play football again, but it won’t be at Michigan State.

Spinal fusion surgery revives former MSU longsnapper Nick Chudler’s football career MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ick Chudler thought his football career was over. He was recovering well after undergoing specialized spinal fusion back surgery May 3 at a hospital in New Jersey, one of only a few hospitals in the country where the surgery is done, “but I didn’t think I’d be cleared to play football,” he said. Not after doctors in New Jersey went in through his right side and installed tethers and eight screws in his spine. Then Chudler went to Beaumont Hospital in Farmington Hills during Thanksgiving week for a six-month post-surgery checkup. “I was curious, so I asked if I could play football again,” he said. The answer from the Beaumont medical professionals surprised him. Yes, he could play football again. After some soul-searching and talks with his family, the 21-year-old Michigan State University senior from Novi entered the

NCAA’s transfer portal to see if he could find a landing spot as a graduate transfer student with one year of eligibility. Filing the paperwork added his name to the list of MSU football players entering the portal that was reported in newspapers statewide in early December, even though Chudler wasn’t on the Spartans’ roster in 2020 or 2021. “That was a surprise to see my name in those stories,” he said. Chudler came to MSU as a preferred walk-on in 2018, fulfilling a lifelong dream. The long-snapper was on the Spartans’ roster in 2018 and 2019, but he didn’t get into any games. He left the team after the 2019 season

quick hits

BY STEVE STEIN

SUSAN HAMON

Jackie Kallen Is Never Speechless

Jackie Kallen spoke Dec. 7 at the Polo Club residential community in Boca Raton, Florida.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

Jackie Kallen is the First Lady of Boxing, the most successful female manager in boxing history. She’s also a sought-after and prolific public speaker. So much so that Bruce Merrin’s Celebrity Speakers Bureau and Kallen reached an agreement this month to have the speakers bureau represent the 75-year-old West Bloomfield resident. “They’re top of the line, first-class, and they hand-pick their speakers,” Kallen said about the Las Vegasbased speakers bureau. “I’m thrilled

because of his bad back and the departure of the coaches who knew him, and he didn’t play in 2020 or 2021. Chudler has one semester of classes remaining at MSU, with plans to graduate in May with a degree in health communications. If he transfers, he said, he’d pursue a master’s degree at his new school, and most likely be strictly a long-snapper for his new football team. “If a good opportunity comes along, with a chance to play football while getting some scholarship money, I will 100% consider it,” he said. “I’m not picky.” Chudler said while he’s still sore from his surgery, he’s been working out pain-free for about a month and half and feeling his strength returning. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has practiced long-snapping since his surgery and he recently participated in a wrestling team practice at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, his former high school. He was a football and wrestling standout at OLSM. “If I can wrestle, I can play football,” he said. Please send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo. com.

to work with them.” Founded in 1973, the speakers bureau provides corporate meeting and event planners worldwide with an elite lineup of speakers that through the years has included Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali and every U.S. president starting with Ronald Reagan. Kallen said her hour-long speeches are always off the cuff. She never uses notes. “Many people are afraid of public speaking. I love it,” she said. “I’m like a racehorse at the gate at the start of my speeches, whether I’m speaking in front of 100 or 3,000 people.” Kallen tailors her speeches to the crowd. She can tell stories about the celebrities she interviewed during a 25-year career as a journalist

with the Oakland Press, folks like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Neil Diamond, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, KISS, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, or meeting Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Or she can give a motivational speech that focuses on self-confidence, fearlessness, taking the path less traveled and making the most of every day. Four heart stents, glaucoma and melanoma haven’t slowed her down. The last speech Kallen set up on her own before joining the speakers bureau was for an all-Jewish crowd of about 450 (many from Michigan) on Dec. 7 at the Polo Club residential community in Boca Raton, Florida.

The Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowling league is rolling toward the end of the first half of the 2021-22 season after being shut down in the 202021 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here were the standings in the weekly league — which requires bowlers to be vaccinated against COVID19 — following competition Dec. 6 at Country Lanes in Farmington Hills: PISTONS DIVISION 1. The Rolling Stoned; 2. The Newbies; 3. Team Lebowski; 4. Wrecking Balls; 5. Mark IT Zero; 6. Bowl Me. TIGERS DIVISION 1. Yogi’s Rollers; 2. MIA; 3. No Names; 4. House Ballz; 5. Gramps R Us. RED WINGS DIVISION 1. Mix-N-Match; 2. The Gorillas; 3. Irritable Bowl Syndrome; 4. NHL Property Management; 5. Manute Bolers.

GARY KLINGER

B’nai B’rith Bowlers on a Roll

Pre-Approvals . Purchase . Refinance . Renovation

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Meet Mix-N-Match, the Red Wings Division leader as of Dec. 6 in the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowling league. From left are Kenny Weiss, Brian Cohen, Noah Cohen and Aaron Radner. Noah Cohen had the league’s high game (279) and Radner had the league’s high series (755) as of Dec. 6.

LIONS DIVISION 1. 600 Club; 2. Jerry & His Kidz; 3. Fulfilling Holes; 4. The Holy Rollers; 5. Frozen No More; 6. Mertz & The Sprinkles.

Promising North Farmington Football Player Sits Out Season NOAH RIOUX

marched the furthest After a strange 2020in the state playoffs 21 football season, since 1978. Noah Rioux was The Raiders’ hoping for some playoffs included normalcy this fall. a forfeit win over What became South Lyon in the normal for the North Division 2 district Farmington High finals, then a 64-day School junior was not wait before they lost being able to play Noah Rioux 50-22 at Traverse football. City Central on Jan. 9 After suffering a torn in the regional finals. ACL and slight meniscus tear The forfeit and layoff were in his first varsity lacrosse because of COVID-19, the game for North Farmington in latter so the Michigan High the spring, Rioux underwent School Athletic Association surgery April 30 and missed and Michigan Department of the football season. Health and Human Services “I may have been cleared could put together a pilot for the playoffs, but we didn’t program of rapid antigen make the playoffs,” he said. coronavirus tests for football So why was the previous players, coaches and other North Farmington football team personnel. season weird? The COVID-19 Rioux was brought up to the pandemic, of course. varsity team midway through Rioux, a 5-foot-11, 175the regular season. He played pound fullback/middle on the Raiders’ kickoff, kickoff linebacker, played in each return, punt, punt return and of North Farmington’s three placekick block special teams. playoff games as the Raiders

Why Winter Is Actually the Best Time to Buy a Home We know the weather outside can be frightful, but buying a home this holiday season can actually be delightful! Less competition Fewer buyers mean it's less likely that you will have to compete in the same way you would in summer months.

Sellers are more motivated Sellers choosing to list their homes in the midst of winter most likely want to seriously sell.

Easy to find contractors Many buyers plan on doing some form of home remodeling when purchasing a new home.

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BUSINESS

Benzinga Majority Acquired by Beringer Capital Founder Jason Raznick to retain significant stake and play a key leadership role. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

n late October, it was announced that Detroitbased financial media platform and analytics business Benzinga was majority acquired at a nine-digit valuation by private equity firm Beringer Capital. Benzinga founder/CEO Jason Raznick refers to this phase of Benzinga as entering its “second inning” of what they will build. “Created by the people for the people,” the tech-enabled Benzinga delivers dynamic news, investment analytics and market information. Benzinga’s editorial coverage spans traditional financial markets, politics, biotech, cannabis, cryptocurrencies and more. The partnership with Beringer is meant to accelerate Benzinga’s “mission to level the playing field” for individual investors. Benzinga was born out of the Great Recession in 2010, and Raznick has since built Benzinga to be a resource widely used by individual investors. Its staff of more than 100 delivers insights to nearly 25 million readers each month, spanning more than 125 countries worldwide. Raznick will retain a significant stake in the company and continue to play a key leadership role in charting Benzinga’s future growth and vision.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

The Benzinga office

Jason Raznick

Raznick makes a concerted effort to put his name as co-founder of Benzinga, even though he founded the company himself. “I think the company is co-founded every day by the team members who are there and come up with new ideas and new ways to do things,” he says. “When I say the ‘second inning,’ I just think we’re at the very beginning stages of our company. There’s a lot of things to improve in the world to make people’s way of getting investing information easier.” Raznick says this move and Benzinga’s work with Beringer will reflect that “second inning” in many ways for investors, including working toward more thorough personalization efforts and understanding that better, using AI-type features, thinking

about other content-vertical coverage that people in the investment world participate in such as alternative investments and sports betting, and other verticals that will play a role as well. For Raznick, starting and growing Benzinga in Detroit is a huge badge of honor. “I started this business in my basement with basically no money and, to sell at this price, it’s amazing,” he says. “A lot of investors wanted us to move to New York, and I had offers, but I chose to stay here because I said, ‘Instead of just building a company, why not build a company and impact a city at the same time?’ It’s awesome to build here. I think it’s an underdog-type story.” JEWISH ROOTS Benzinga’s beginnings have Jewish ties besides Raznick being Jewish himself. After starting the company in the basement of a rental in Birmingham, Scott Kaufman, former CEO of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, gave Raznick subsidized office space in Bingham Farms in the Farbman Group building. For about the first year Benzinga existed, the company was there.

“Without that, we never would have had office space and I may have moved, so I think Scott Kaufman and the Jewish Federation helped in that,” Raznick said. In relation, Raznick recently set up a generous nonprofit hosted at Federation — the Jason & Stacey Raznick Foundation. “They helped me when I started the business, so I wanted to pay it back and host this there,” Raznick said. “I really want to help give access to people who don’t have access to things, I think a lot of life is access and learning, so I want to give that to people who don’t have it, and then to help where I can. My grandfather taught me that life is more about giving than receiving.” Along with significant growth and finding great talent, Raznick’s biggest goal for Benzinga is to make millions of people’s investment lives easier on a daily basis. “What we do today might not be what we’re doing tomorrow; we’re always looking for new ideas,” Raznick said. “Don’t think of what we do today as who we are; we’re a place that looks to find a better way and creates stuff from scratch.”

FOOD

FROM THE HOME KITCHEN OF CHEF AARON

Goat Cheese and Ricotta Fritters

Egan

Ingredients 8 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese 8 oz. (1 large log) goat cheese, softened at room temperature ¼ cup heavy cream 1½ oz. (by weight) honey ¼ tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla paste 9¾ oz. (by weight) all-purpose flour 3 oz. (by weight) granulated white sugar 2½ tsp. baking powder Honey Fig jam Lemon zest Directions 1. Using an electric mixer, cream together the ricotta, goat cheese and heavy cream to create a homogenous cheese blend. 2. Add the honey, salt and vanilla extract and mix well. By hand, fold in the flour, sugar and baking powder by thirds, resulting in paste, much like peanut butter. If the mix is too stiff and doughy, it won’t mix well; you can add a little more cream. Ensure all ingredients are mixed, but avoid overworking the batter. 3. Scrape down the sides and cover the bowl, refrigerating for 30-45 minutes min-

imum, and up to two days overnight. 4. Prepare a fryer at 350 F, with relatively deep oil. This is a deep-frying operation more than a shallow-fry, so use a heavy pot on the stove if you’re confident, or a countertop deep fryer. If using an electric skillet like bubbie’s, fill it with about an inch of oil and be prepared to turn your fritters frequently to get even cooking. 5. Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of the batter into the fryer and cook until they float and are evenly golden brown on the outside; they’ll take on a fairly dark color before the inside fully cooks, so cook a few testers to get used to your frying procedures. This may take 5-7 minutes, or may go quicker, depending. Don’t overcrowd the fryer (maybe only cover half the area of the oil or less with frying items) and it’ll go faster. 6. As the fritters come out of the fryer, place them on a clean brown paper bag or on a pile of paper towels to drain, then into a bowl to await finishing as you cook more. 7. Arrange the fritters neatly on a serving dish and drizzle with honey. Serve with a big schmear of fig jam along the side, and top with a little fresh lemon zest.

CHEF AARON EGAN

oat cheese has a very strong, savory flavor, but cut with ricotta, it takes well to sweetness, especially with a bit of honey or fig jam as a condiment. Or get funky and use red onion Chef Aaron marmalade.

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OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

A Life Of Helping Others

ruce H. Rosen, 86, of Bloomfield Hills and Boca Raton, Fla., died Dec. 7, 2021. He was born in Detroit in 1935. As a young child, he worked weekends for his father, who owned a small business in the Eastern Bruce Market. Many Rosen years later, he expanded that business and became the chairman of the board of Supreme Distributors Company, founded in 1946, one of the largest national distributors of brand-name health and beauty care products. He earned a bachelor of business degree from Wayne State University in 1957. In 1987, he established Sovereign Sales Inc., a national distributor of fine fragrances and cosmetics. Bruce’s belief in delegating authority allowed him to be involved in his two favorite passions: comedy and raising money for charitable causes. As a positive person with a keen sense of humor, he became an owner in 1980 of Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle. Arts, travel, music and dance were passions of his; however, by far, his greatest joy was sports. He was a season ticket holder for the Lions, Pistons and Red Wings games and had subscriptions to numerous sporting publications. Bruce and his wife,

Rosalie, made a lifelong commitment to better their community. Bruce received the Spirit of Detroit Award and was recognized by the Detroit Free Press as a Volunteer of the Week. He was a compassionate champion for Varietythe Children’s Charity of Detroit. His impact was immeasurable. He can be credited with ensuring that the local chapter survived during tenuous times. His personal contributions and fundraising efforts spanned four decades. He was recognized by Variety International and was elected and served as one of their International Vice Presidents and Ambassadors. He also received the Variety Golden Barker Award and a Presidential Citation. In 2017, Variety honored him with the prestigious Heart Award. The Rosens established the Bruce H. and Rosalie N. Rosen Community Connect Program at Alzheimer’s AssociationGreater Michigan Chapter, as well as the Bruce and Rosalie Rosen Triple R Program for Seniors Fund at JARC. Bruce and Rosalie were honored in 2011 by Detroit Public Television with the Stewardship Award. The Rosens offered support to many other organizations, including Adat Shalom Synagogue, Bar-Ilan University, Weizmann Institute of

Science, Hebrew Free Loan, Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit, Wayne State University, Detroit Institute of Arts; and they served on the Children’s Hospital Foundation Board. Mr. Rosen is survived by Rosalie, his devoted wife of 63 years. He was the cherished father of Julie (Marty) Wiener and Pamela Roberts; proud grandfather of Daniel Wiener, Samantha (Jonathan) Rubin, Megan Roberts and Jeffrey Roberts; adoring great-grandfather of Hudson Rubin and Noa Rubin; loving brother of Joyce (Jerry) Tauber; dear brother-in-law of the late Sybil and the late Hy Ankerman, Annette and the late Morris Neuvirth, Idelle and the late Ernest Neuvirth, and the late Irene Ginn; devoted son of the late Tillie and the late Aaron Rosen; dear son-inlaw of the late Helen and the late Emil Neuvirth. He is also survived by numerous other loving relatives and friends. It is suggested that those who wish to further honor the memory of Bruce Rosen may do so by making a contribution to Varietythe Children’s Charity of Detroit, Tillie and Aaron Rosen Fund, 600 S. Adams, Suite 230, Birmingham, MI 48009, (248) 2585511, variety-detroit.com. Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

BETTY BARON, 88, of Oak Park, died Dec. 6, 2021. She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Barbara Kendall and Peter Staples, and Jan and Ted Robertson; son and daughterin-law, Steve and Joann Baron; grandchildren, Melissa Kendall Kimber and Chris Kimber, Jessica and Dan Dlugosielski, Emily Robertson, Michelle Robertson, Samantha Baron and Aaron Dorondo, and Sean Baron; great-grandson, Felix Dlugosielski; many loving nieces and a nephew. Mrs. Baron was the beloved wife of the late Irving Baron; the loving sister of the late Adele Faitler. A private family service was held. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Contributions may be made to Jewish Senior Life-Coville Assisted Living, 15100 W. 10 Mile Road, Oak Park, MI 48237, jslmi.org/ residences/coville-apartments; or Kindred Hospice, 25925 Telegraph Road, Suite102, Southfield, MI 48033, kindredhealthcare.com/locations/ hospice/southfield-mi-6552. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. MURRAY COHEN , 92, of Bloomfield Hills, died Dec. 7, 2021. He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Barbara Safran Cohen; daughters and sons-in-law, Roberta and Alan Cohen, and Jennifer and Ami Shneiderman; stepchildren, Jared and Lauren Safran; grandchildren, Claire Cohen, Andrew Cohen, Jacob Shneiderman, Maya Mahoney and Alexandra Safran; sister, Irma Schechter. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Doctors Without Borders-USA, P.O. Box 5030, continued on page 49 DECEMBER 16 • 2021

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

Committed To His Fellow Man

former Detroit businessman, Zoltan “Zoli” Rubin of Farmington Hills died Dec. 4, 2021, at the age of 103½. Just a few years ago, on the occasion of his 101st birthday party, Zoli called himself “a stubborn old man.” His stubbornness was born of a life devoted to survival and devotion to Judaism. Zoli said the one thing that contributed to his long life was this stubbornness. “Whatever I went through, it was always in my mind that I was going to beat it,” he said. Zoli was born in Czechoslovakia, the youngest in a family of 11 children. (Only he and two brothers survived the Holocaust). He had a lovely childhood that came to an end in 1942, when his parents were taken away by the Nazis. Zoli obtained fake papers that allowed him to pass as Christian and fight in the Slovak Army. In 1944, he was captured with a group of partisans and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp near Jena, where he was part of a forced labor detail digging tunnels for the Germans. Toward the end of the war, he escaped with three others and lived off the land for about six weeks until the American army arrived in the area. He was later reunited with an older brother who was a doctor with the Czechoslovakian army. He eventually immigrated to Canada before moving to Detroit. (His story of survival is immortalized at holocaust. umd.umich.edu/rubinz.)

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

His arrival in North Zoli once said that America was due to a he didn’t always see his kindness that was repaid, advanced age as a blessan act he was to emulate ing. “Sometimes I feel in his business dealings like I’m being punished and philanthropy. Zoli to bear all the horrors of Zoltan came across a letter to what I’ve been through,” Rubin his grandfather from he said at 101. “These a neighbor in Europe. things are always on The man wanted to go my back. I have lost too to Canada and Zoli’s many.” He added that grandfather bought his it was a blessing that land with the underhe could have a family standing it would go again. “I have children back to the owner if things did and grandchildren. I think the not work out. Life in Canada reason I survived is to build a was not what was hoped; the family so that my family’s hisman returned to Europe and tory didn’t disappear,” he said. Zoli’s grandfather returned When asked the secret to the land. In the letter, the his long life, Zoli gave a very man expressed gratitude for touching response. “You have Grandfather’s help and fairto believe in a life,” he said. ness and offered to repay the “You have to believe that kindness. Zoli contacted him everything is not bad, just the and thus was able to arrange to opposite. Everything is great. travel to Canada before comEveryone has the strength to ing to the United States. get through the bad things Around 1968, Zoli and a because after the bad things partner bought a building in end, there is a life ahead of Downtown Detroit, on Grand you. If someone starts a life for River between Washington you, you have to continue it.” and Griswold. He established Though not Orthodox in his Zemco Textiles, a fabric store. practice, he was a devout Jew. The clientele in the building He and his wife were staunch and the customers were of members of Congregation diverse nationalities, and all B’nai Moshe. When the synarespected the fair business gogue finally relocated in West dealings of Mr. Rubin. Bloomfield, the Rubins bought The fabric was of known a house not quite a mile away quality and was bought for and Zoli continued praying countless wedding gowns. He there regularly. also outfitted a 300-member His love for Israel went local church choir. The locals unquestioned. He was importhad so much respect for this ant during 1973 meetings fair-dealing mentsh that word about financing during the was put out that despite trouYom Kippur War. He and Agi bles (read riots) in that neighbegan the American Israel borhood, no one was to touch Cancer Association, which was the fabric store. prominent among the many

charities that benefitted from their help, like Mogan David Adom, the ambulance service. They also supported the Meals-on-Wheels program. Their caring was boundless. His daughter Vicki Waxenberg said that his integrity was, in large part, due to “his great respect for others.” His humor and simple approach to life were fondly recalled by daughter Amy Weber, who remembers that Dad often said, “It isn’t a meal without soup … hot soup!” He was loved and cherished by many, including his wife of 62 years, Agi Rubin; his children, Vicki Waxenberg (Ben), Amy Weber and Randy Rubin; his grandchildren, Rivky Rothenberg (Boruch), Shmuel Waxenberg, Jacob Moshe Waxenberg, Devora Krupnik (Raphael), Miriam Singer (Brian), Justin Weber and Jeremy Weber; and his great-grandchildren, Avigdor, Yehudah-Simcha, Ezra, BasyaChana Rothenberg, Aryeh Zev Krupnik and Ahuva Raizel Krupnik. Contributions may be made to Yeshivah Beth Yehuda, P.O. Box 2044, Southfield, MI 48037; Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322; or Congregation B’nai Moshe, 6800 Drake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322. A funeral service was held at Hebrew Memorial Chapel in Oak Park. Interment took place at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

continued from page 47

Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030, donate.doctorswithoutborders. org/onetime.cfm. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. ALAN EIDELMAN, 77, of Commerce Township, died Dec. 5, 2021. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Eidelman; daughters and sons-in-law, Lisa and Joshua Cutler, and Lori and Mark Langenderfer; grandchildren, Emma, Zoe, Alexa, Riley and Payton; brother and sister-inlaw, David and Judy Eidelman; sister-in-law and brother-inlaw, Shirley Moscow and Cyril Moscow; nieces, nephews, cousins, as well as friends, colleagues and everyone he ever met. Mr. Eidelman was the dear brother-in-law of the late David Moscow and the late Rona Moscow. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 48072, yadezra.org/donate; Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, holocaustcenter.org; or Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, 6735 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, jewishdetroit.org/donate-online. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. HAROLD FELLOWS, 83, of West Bloomfield, died Dec. 4, 2021. He is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Bonnie and Mark Burk, and Lisa and Lardell Sims; son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan and Suzanne Fellows; grandchildren, Samantha Burk and her fiance, Dylan, Megan Burk, Jessica Burk, Allison, Sydney, Zachary, Meredith, Lindsey, Nathan and

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15 Teves Dec. 19 Moshe Budnick Abraham Fuchs Max Goldstein Fannie Harris Bertha Katz Joseph Levine Adolph Mehler Sarah Lea Sacher Bernard Shapiro Morton Steinhart Aaron Tilchin Irwin Treitel Max Wasserman Hyman Weisberg Boruch Yagoda 16 Teves Dec. 20 Simon Axelrod Casper Brown Rose Kadans Shirley Kaplan Rebecca Levitt Arthur Mandell Reuben Miller Dora W. Milling Samuel Schugar 17 Teves Dec. 21 Morris Bello Betty Violet Benenson Esther Berlin Zivya Alte Boyarsky

Goldie Brudner Joseph Martin Furman Molly Jacobs Lillian Kaner Irving Lyons Evelyn Woolman 18 Teves Dec. 22 Eva Adelson Norman Allan Rosslyn L Berman Michael Blum Mary Coscarelly Isadore Danto Morris Diem Jacob Goldis Irving Kozuch M Manuel Merzon Sylvia Moorawnick George Must Kopel Rosen Morris Sax Ida Wassermann Harry Wolin 19 Teves Dec. 23 Joseph Cossman Sarah Dubin Sol Feinberg Abraham Goldin Ida Gutterman Joseph Langer Leo Isadore Langer

Barbara Mittelman Esther D. Pearlman Allen J. Peralman Elizabeth Salzer Rose Schulman Nathan Silow Paul Yolles 20 Teves Dec. 24 Esther Cern Max Delin Edis Dorfman Harry Goldman Solomon Grevnin Percy A. Maslowe Norma Jean Meer Pearl Pelavin Abraham David Sachs Ethel Scherr Carl Singer 21 Teves Dec. 25 Jack Bookstein Leo Finkelstein Anne Harris Simon Lefkowitz Meriam Mayer Mildred Palter Bessie Rappaport Herman Shorr Harry C. Wolfe

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OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 49

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OBITUARIES

Joshua Sims, and Emma and Benjamin Fellows; brother and sister-in-law, Steven and Sheryl Fellows; sister, Rosalind Gumenick; sister-in-law, Loretta Littky. He is also survived by his loving companion, Frances Wolok; her children, Jeffrey and Linda Wolok, and Ronald and Lori Semel; and her grandchildren, Adam, Adelina, Caleb and Elianna Wolok, and Lilli and Jacob Semel. Mr. Fellows was the beloved husband of the late Phyllis Fellows; the loving brother of the late Miriam Goldberg; the dear brother-in-law of the late Robert Littky and the late Ruth Hertz. Interment was at Hebrew Memorial Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Hebrew Free Loan, 6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, jfldetroit.org; or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. JOHN H. GARRISON, 78, of Okemos, Mich., passed away on Nov. 30, 2021. John was a master Mason and a member of B’nai B’rith, Mensa and MHSAA (in many sports). One of his greatest pleasures in life (besides his nine dogs) was playing Santa Claus at the Meridian Mall and in the community, always trying to bring smiles to children’s faces. He is survived by Ellie, his loving wife of 55 years; son, Timothy (Eve) Garrison; daughter, Jennifer Shaw; another son; and his treasured grandchildren, Ben, Jarod, Adreanna, Clohe, Gregory, Kayleigh and Ashley. He will also be missed by his many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunt and all who knew him. Mr. Garrison was the loving son of Ben and Eva Garrison; brother and brother-in-law of the late Maureen Zack, Faith (Sanford) Freeman, Cookie

Bakke, and Gerald (Elaine) Radloff. Private family services were conducted by Rabbi Amy Bigman at Gorsline-Runciman Funeral Home in Lansing. MARGO R. HANNUM, 62, of West Bloomfield, died Dec. 7, 2021. She is survived by her husband, Karl E. Hannum; brother and sister-in-law, Bruce and Cathy Rosenthal; sisterin-law and brother-in-law, Lori and James Fay; nieces and nephews, Shelby and Michael Ambs, James Rosenthal, Craig and Brooke Rosenthal, and Kyle and Crystal Fay; nieces and nephew, Natalee, Liam and Isabelle Fay, and Brie Rosenthal; many loving friends and colleagues. Mrs. Hannum was the devoted daughter of the late Sanford and the late Sallie Rosenthal. It was Margo’s wish that any memorial tributes be made in the form of charitable donations to Alternatives for Girls. In lieu of flowers or trays, Margo hoped to contribute to the charity she has long supported and make a lasting impact for generations of women. The family requests that you please contribute to the Margo Hannum Memorial Scholarship. Contact Karl Hannum, karl@hannumlawfirm.com. Interment was at Oakview Cemetery. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. EILEEN KLEIN, 81, of Boyne City and Bloomfield Hills, died peacefully surrounded by family on Dec. c. 2009 7, 2021. She was born on July 12, 1940, in Flint, Mich., to Florence and Jack Eserow. Eileen was happily married to

Don; they were married on June 26, 1960. Eileen loved to spend time with her family. Also, she loved working out, and she skied for most of her adult life in northern Michigan and Snowbird, Utah. She also spent summers boating in Boyne City, rotating with her children and grandchildren. Eileen continued to enjoy the outdoors and remained active when she could by hiking with Don and her family. In her early days, Eileen was an elementary school teacher; and she owned a candy store called Sweet Temptations. She met Don when she was 15 years old in South Haven. They married almost five years later and lived in Metro Detroit for most of their lives. Eileen and Don enjoyed extensive travel, most recently in trips to Thailand. Before that, they traveled to Nepal, Vietnam, spent more than 40 years traveling to Snowbird,

Utah, and many other destinations. Eileen was a wonderful cook and would try out different recipes on her family. Everyone loved her traditional holiday dishes and balked when she wanted to try something new. Her children try to recreate her recipes now to still enjoy her cooking. Eileen was a quiet, kind, gentle soul that everyone enjoyed being around. She will be greatly missed. Mrs. Klein was the beloved wife for 61 years to Donald; cherished mother of Cindy Cohen and Bruce Kramer, Steven and Shelly Klein, and Alissa and Bruce Klein-Krause. loving grandma of Alec and Emily Cohen, Cassidy Klein, Haley Klein, Ashley Krause and Ryan Krause; adored great-grandma of Eleanor “Nori” Cohen; sister-inlaw of Barbara Cantor. She was the daughter of the late Florence and the late Jack

Eserow; daughter-in-law of the late Ruth and the late Jules Klein; sister of the late Kenny Eserow; and mother-in-law of the late Joe Cohen. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jewishhospice.org; Kids Kicking Cancer, 27600 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 220, Southfield, MI 48034, kidskickingcancer.org; or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. DR. HAROLD M. KOMINARS, 97, of Canton, Mich., died Dec. 4, 2021. Harold was a proud WWII c. 1944 veteran. He was a waist gunner on a B17 and flew 25 missions over Europe. When the war ended,

he went to the University of Michigan on the GI Bill and graduated with a bachelor of science in 1947. He then graduated from dental school in 1951 and opened his practice in Wayne, Mich., which he had for more than 35 years. Dr. Kominars was an avid hunter, fisherman, traveler of the world and cigar connoisseur. He was the beloved husband of the late Marcelle Kominars; cherished father of Madeline Kominars, Frederick (Monica) Kominars and Jeri Alley; loving grandfather of Nicholas (Karen), Hali, Natasha, Samantha, Hannah, Luke, Jacob and Sierra; adoring great-grandfather of Laila and Adeline; dear brother of Allan (Charlotte) Kominars and the late Stuart (the late Belle) Kominars; dear brother-in-law of the late Lillian Kominars, the late Billie (Frankie) Green, Katie (the late Marvin) Becker, Clarence continued on page 52

Serving each family. Consoling each heart. For 105 years.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 51

(Arlene) Green, the late Betty (the late Chuck) Crisp, the late Ted (Eloise) Green, and the late Loyce (the late Kathryn) Green. He is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, dear friends; neighbors, Jim and Mary Schirmer; and his loving caregiver, Barbra Waegner. A memorial service will be held at Ira Kaufman Chapel on Sunday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m. Contributions may be made to Grace Hospice, 2755 Carpenter Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, ghospice.com; or Michigan Humane Society, Development Dept., 30300 Telegraph Road, Suite 220, Bingham Farms, MI 48025-4507, michiganhumane. org/tributes. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

BERNARD “BERNIE” RAPPAPORT, 93, of Farmington Hills, died Dec. 6, 2021. He is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Sandi and Stan Duschinsky, Vicki Palmer, Fay and Jay Stilwell, Lori Posner, David and Delia Gealer, Gary (Ann) Rappaport; grandchildren, Scott (Sara) Duschinsky, Cara (Thomas Jr.) Sikora, Chad Duschinsky, Michael (Lindsay) Palmer, Jaclyn Palmer (Brett), Rachel Gealer, Matthew Gealer, Elizabeth Gealer, Lily Gealer, Jason Posner, Christina Cogswell, Leanna Rappaport, Aaron Rappaport; great-grandchildren, Jayden, Eli and Cameron Duschinsky, Drew and Mila Sikora, Jack and Charles Palmer, Calvin Hudy; many other loving family members

and friends. Mr. Rappaport was the beloved husband of the late Joan Rappaport; son of the late Harry and Lillian Rappaport; brother the late Mort (the late Lenore) Rappaport; father-in-law of the late Hugo Torres. Interment took place at Beth El Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. STRUL USER, 84, of West Bloomfield, died Dec. 8, 2021. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Manuela User; daughters and son-in-law, Andrea User of West Bloomfield, Sandra and Jonathan

Green of Bloomfield Hills; brothers and sisters-in-law, Carol and Nety User of West Bloomfield, Isac and Miriam User of West Bloomfield; grandchild, Alexander Green; nieces and nephews, Laura and Michael Van Dijkin, Annette and James McNeely, Herb and Marisa User, Shirley and Leonard Cetner; great-nieces and great-nephews, Max Van Dijkin, Jack McNeely, Jonah Cetner, Aden Cetner, Lila Cetner. Contributions may be made to Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 48072; or to a charity of one’s choice. A graveside service was held at Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

Theater Legend Steven Sondheim Dies RON KAMPEAS JTA

tephen Sondheim, the Jewish lyricist and composer who redefined the American musical through a monumental canon of influential and innovative theatrical works, died Nov. 26, 2021, at 91. Sondheim’s stunning debut came writing the lyrics to Leonard Bernstein’s score for West Side Story in 1957, at age 27. Sondheim was born to Jewish parents in New York City but raised without any formal Jewish background, to the extent that he once said Bernstein had to explain to him how to pronounce the words “Yom Kippur.” Sondheim’s other wellknown musicals include Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Follies, A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George. Many of them were

not smash hits immediately, as he avoided traditional Broadway formulas that would immediately draw audiences. Instead, he crafted musicals that dealt with subjects that had not received treatments on mainstream stages: loneliness, despair and the artistic temperament. There was the young man who is terrified of emotional commitment in Company (1970); the family torn apart by emotional dishonesty in A Little Night Music (1973); the vicious serial killer in Sweeney Todd (1979); and the artist in the midst of conceiving a masterpiece in Sunday in the Park with George (1984). Into the Woods, a mashup of characters from multiple fairy tales, won several Tony Awards in 1987. Revivals staged years after often did better than original

PHOTO BY OLIVER MORRIS/GETTY IMAGES

Stephen Sondheim, songwriter/lyricist, listening to music in the recording control room during the original cast recording of the Broadway musical Into the Woods, New York, 1987.

runs, but he is often cited as one of the 20th century’s most influential theater writers. Sondheim — who did not entertain a romantic partnership until he was 60 — also often wrote about loneliness and whether the capacity to create a long-term relationship was possible. “Send In the Clowns,” a signature song from A Little Night Music that Frank Sinatra recorded a popular version of, remains a famous lamentation about bad timing when it comes to love. “Isn’t it rich?” sings the character Desiree. “Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground, You in mid-air?” Sondheim hated when his fans and biographers attempted to examine his life to understand his music, but it was an irresistible enterprise. Born into a wealthy family in New York that ran a dressmaking company, his father left him and his mother when Sondheim was 10 years old, and his mother heaped on him hateful scorn, once telling him that her greatest regret was that he was born at all. He found mentorship and a father figure in his teen years in a family friend, Oscar Hammerstein II, the lyricist of Jewish descent who had heralded an earlier revolution in the

American musical, leading its transition in the 1920s from lighthearted reviews to novelistic treatments of major issues. Hammerstein plotted out a four-step training for Sondheim while he was still in high school: Adapt a good play into a musical, adapt a flawed play into a musical, adapt a musical from another literary form, write your own musical. Sondheim stuck assiduously to the course and at 22 began auditioning songs around New York. A producer, Lemuel Ayers, commissioned Sondheim to write songs for a musical he was producing, but Ayers died before it could be staged. Sondheim’s skills nonetheless became known in Broadway circles and at age 25, he was asked to come on board and write the lyrics for a musical Bernstein was planning based on Romeo and Juliet. That became West Side Story. Sondheim earned multiple honors besides his many Tony’s, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. He settled into a comfortable elder statesman status late in life, traveling into New York this year to see revivals of his musicals, and living with his husband, Jeffrey Romley, whom he married in 2017 and who survives him.

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

People of the Book

am a dinosaur. While I spend several hours every day reading online news and stories, when I want to seriously read, I still turn to books. You know, those old-fashioned, paper-based things that you hold in your hands. No scrolling down the screen: When reading a book, you must physically exert yourself and manually turn the page. Books do take up space in one’s home. Especially, if certain people — not me, of course (wink, wink) — possess a few hundred of these antiquities. As an archivist who has spent a career preserving Mike Smith the written word, I have Alene and Graham Landau been disturbed by recent Archivist Chair reports pertaining to books. In November, the American Library Association reported an “unprecedented rise in attempts to ban books in libraries” for 2021. In Virginia, one school board member vigorously promoted the notion of burning books that did not meet his politics. It is one thing for a school board to deliberate about a particular book and whether that volume is appropriate for an age-specific audience. It is another to advocate wholesale banning, or worse, burning. Such attitudes remind me of book burning in Nazi Germany when, regardless of content, books were tossed into the flames, just for the crime of having Jewish authors. However, if book lovers seek encouragement about the staying power of books and libraries, just cruise through the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History. There are hundreds of entries related to Jewish libraries, to say nothing of reviews of individual books on Jewish subjects and/or by Jewish authors, or stories about events like the annual Detroit Jewish Book Fair. A few stories caught my eye. In the 1920s, the Detroit Jewish Chronicle published many items about libraries

DECEMBER 16 • 2021

around the world. In its March 18, 1921 issue, the Chronicle noted the opening of the first Jewish library in Glasgow, Scotland. The Aug. 3, 1923 issue has a prominent story about the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York securing the “Greatest Jewish Library in the World.” There are also many reports of new Jewish libraries in Palestine during that decade. The post-World War II era is very interesting. There are numerous stories in the Chronicle and JN about Jewish libraries being reopened as Nazi-looted books and documents were returned to their owners. See the reports about this phenomenon occurring in Amsterdam (April 5, 1946, JN) and Lublin, Poland (March 15, 1946, Chronicle) or the editorial in the June 1, 1945, Chronicle, “Books for Europe.” Libraries still matter today. This past March, retired Judge Avern and Lois Cohn donated more than 500 selected books to the Historical Society of Michigan for its Lois and Avern Cohn Library and Archives (March 24, 2021, JN), and the Detroit Jewish Library opened at Congregation Dovid ben Nuchim in Oak Park (March 3, 2021, JN). Five years ago, the Machom Devorah library also opened in Oak Park (Dec. 8, 2016, JN). And it’s not all about paper. Modern libraries are increasingly offering digital books and other resources. The first reported electronically accessible Jewish Library in Detroit was at Congregation B’nai Moshe (Nov. 29, 2007, JN). “The People of the Book” can boast of a long history of supporting libraries, whether paper or digital. I could not find any story of a Jewish library burning books.

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www. djnfoundation.org.

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 Feb. 11-17, 2021 / 29 Shevat-5 Adar 5781

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Meet the cohort of 2021 — young Jews making a difference in our community. See page 8

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS

200 Feb. 18-24, 2021 / 6-12 Adar 5781

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Sense of

Duty Young Detroiters serve in the IDF to “give back” to Israel. See page 12

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 Feb. 25-March 3, 2021 / 13-19 Adar 5781

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JEWISH NEWS

200 March 4-10, 2021 / 20-26 Adar 5781

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Floating Cloud ON A

With Detroit’s help, Israeli firm creates app to give your car a smoother, more efficient ride. See page 12

Todah Morim! Thank you, teachers! An appreciation of our day school educators during this pandemic. See page 13

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DJN December 16, 2021

Articles inside

Obituaries

Community Calendar

On Not Predicting the Future

Benzinga Majority Acquired by Beringer Capital

A Stitch in Time

Celebrity News

Moments

Torah portion

Holiday Fun at Temple Beth El

Mega-Donation

Veterans Day Activities

JVS Trade Secrets Raises $270,000+

Back on the Trail

New Funds Available

New Teen Hangout

Armed with Knowledge

Lifelong Friends