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Hub for Jewish Heritage
OUR COMMUNITY
Robbie Terman and Laura Gottlieb
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Hub for Jewish Heritage
Two of Detroit’s best archives combine to create the new Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage.
One can read a lot of Detroit Jewish history today. There are online newsletters and journals, a wide range of books to read on your Kindle, and many other digital sources of information. There are also tried and true historical sources such as the journal, Michigan Jewish History, or the online Archive of the Detroit Jewish News and Detroit Jewish Chronicle.
All these resources have one thing in common: They are written by a third-party. Often, their research is from published books and articles. The best evidence is, however, contained in original or primary resources — documents, photographs or data — whether in paper or digital form. And, an archive is where one finds these authentic sources. In this regard, there is exciting news: the creation of the Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage.
The Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage (CMJH) is a collaboration between two of the best archives of Jewish History in Metro Detroit: the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archive at Temple Beth El and the Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives at the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit. Each archive retains ownership of its records; but for the first time, they are collaborating on preservation, collection management, reference services and the creation of digital resources.
The CMJH’s mission is to preserve and provide access to the primary sources of local Detroit and Michigan Jewish history.
“To understand our community today, you need to look in the past,” says Federation CEO Steven Ingber. “By protecting our archival records, we are ensuring a lasting legacy for the people and institutions that have shaped us.”
To which Rabbi Mark Miller, senior rabbi of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, adds: “Our Metro Detroit Jewish community has a storied past and engaging with that past is one of the keys to future success. Weaving together the fascinating chronicles and the professional expertise of both the Franklin and Simons Archives will allow the Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage to not only to preserve our shared legacy, but also ensure that more and more people benefit from the vibrant stories that brought us here.”
Mike Smith
Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair
DEDICATED ARCHIVISTS
The CMJH is also a partnership between two dedicated and creative archivists: Laura Gottlieb, director of cultural resources at Temple Beth El, and Robbie Terman, director of the Simons Archive. They are the idea-people behind the CMJH. “It was incredible to have an idea and then find a precedent for it in our own collections,” Terman says. “In 1899, Rabbi Franklin developed an idea of a consolidated United Jewish Charities for the community.
We found inspiration from his words to do the same thing for the archives.”
Gottlieb adds, “With a community as intertwined as ours, we all have ownership over the stories and legacies of those who came before us. The center is one step toward making a home for future generations to feel a part of a long line of incredible Jewish leaders — and hopefully inspire them, too.”
The archivists not only work together, they’re friends, too, and a great team, each with particular talents.
“Robbie brings a wealth of ideas and experience to her role. She’s an incredible resource as well as mentor. The energy we have when working together takes us so much further than if we were working alone,” Gottlieb says.
Likewise, Terman relates that Laura “is full of imagination and out-of-the-box thinking. She is bringing a new perspective into the work we do and is most creative in her efforts to reach new demographics of patrons.”
A CENTER IN THE MAKING
The CMJH began with babysteps. When Gottlieb was hired in 2017, she and Terman saw the potential in collaborating and developed a pipe dream that became the Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage. They began partnering on programs and exhibits, and launched combined social media on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
The idea for a combined physical space was conceived in 2018. They put their concept in a proposal that was enthusiastically supported by their respective leaderships. Both groups are now working together to make a collaborative space at Temple Beth El a reality in the near future.
To make the new archives’ storage state-of-the-art, their plan included environmental controls and a dry fire suppression system (fire is an archivist’s worst nightmare). To this end, the CMJH just received a major $52,000 grant from the from the Donald R. and Esther Simon Foundation for a fire suppression system for the new space. In addition to expanded storage and professional workspace, the project envisions using space at Temple Beth El as a reading room for patrons. The new collaborative archive is projected to open in 2022.
Gottlieb and Terman continuously work toward their vision of a one-stop hub where community members, students, scholars and other researchers will engage with the primary sources of Michigan Jewish history, collections such as the organizational records of nearly every Jewish Federation agency; the congregational records of Temple Beth El; the records of the Jewish War Veterans of Michigan and the Jewish War Veterans Ladies’ Auxiliary; and personal papers of community leaders such as Leonard N. Simons, Paul Zuckerman, David Hermelin, the Butzel/Heineman Family and Rabbi Leo M. Franklin.
In the words of both Terman and Gottlieb: “We hope that the Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage will continue to grow and preserve the archives of Detroit Jewish history. We want to excite the next generation about our community’s history and help them learn by studying those who came before them.”
A worthy quest, indeed.
Visit the Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage at https://mijewishheritage.catalogaccess.com.
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