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The Final Kindness
Windsor’s Jewish organizations and synagogues partner to launch indigent Jewish Burial Fund.
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
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Respectful treatment of the recently deceased and a prompt burial is one of the greatest, most selfless acts of the Jewish faith. On occasion, a member of the Jewish community will pass with no means or family to assist in covering these costs.
The Windsor Jewish Federation & Community Centre, Chabad of Windsor, Congregation Beth El, Congregation Shaar Hashomayim and the Jewish National Fund of Windsor are partnering to launch a Windsor Indigent Jewish Burial Fund to ensure every member of its community has access to a dignified Jewish burial as costs have continued to rise.
In the past, Windsor had three Jewish religious institutions able to split the bill if a situation occurred — the Shaar, Temple Beth El and the now-defunct Shaaraey Zedek. A situation has not occurred in years, but with a little forethought, it was decided to reinstitute the program.
Arnold Blaine, secretary of Shaar Hashomayim, chair of the Jewish Endowment Fund of Windsor and Jewish Federation of Windsor board member, estimates the last time this occurred was anywhere between 20-30 years ago, and a Jewish funeral cost $2,000-$3,000. For each religious institution to collectively cover the cost of a funeral wouldn’t be prohibitive.
Now, Blaine estimates the expenses of a funeral are maybe $10,000 or in that ballpark, a significant increase.
Blaine says there was a summit meeting arranged between the organizations, where it was decided to go out to the community and ask for donations for the fund, so it was available in case the issue ever arose.
“It’s not anything we anticipate there being a huge demand for, and hopefully it never has to be used, but if it does, the money is there to take care of a funeral and a proper Jewish funeral.”
Blaine believes it’s important the community as a whole is working together on a matter such as this.
“It’s a real mitzvah as far as this being taken care of because obviously the person can never repay the mitzvah and kindness that’s extended to them, so as a functioning Jewish community, we felt it was necessary to make sure it’s handled properly when it comes time for an individual to pass on.”
continued from page 28 their board and past presidents. Lopatin says he feels grateful to the sponsors of the Civility Project, who made the program available without charge to participants.
Lopatin sees the work of the Civility Project as congruent to the mission of JCRC/AJC because advocacy for the concerns of the Jewish community depends on relationships. If we can develop some shared affection, some joy, then we can also talk frankly with members of other communities, he says.
“This works even when we disagree, and even when we do not have shared values.”
The Civility Project has invited Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO of the Zekelman Holocaust Center in West Bloomfield, to conduct a panel on the process of dehumanization. Mayerfeld sees this discussion for the Civility Project as directly relevant to his work with the HC.
“A piece of the history of the Holocaust really applies very directly toward how individuals treat each other and how when that devolves into a process of dehumanization, it allows atrocities to occur, including the Holocaust.”
He does not expect us to find exact parallels in modern America to the lead-up to the Holocaust; rather, he cites the saying that “history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.”
Mayerfeld maintains that “knowing the details of how these kinds of events occurred in the past can inform how we ought to behave in the present.”
Alisa Peskin-Shepherd serves as principal attorney at Transitions Legal in Bloomfield Hills, a practice
in collaborative divorce. She calls the Civility Project “such a unique opportunity to learn.” Rabbi Asher In negotiating Lopatin with a former spouse, as in negotiating with a political opponent, it is unrealistic to expect to win by convincing the other party. “I’m an attorney, so certainly I can argue a point. And not arguing a point is really what Civility Project is all about,” she says. “We can sit down; we can have a conversation; we can respect each other’s perspectives; we can ask questions. “We’re not trying to convince the other person to come to our side of the table.”
Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO of the Zekelman Holocaust Center
To contribute to this appeal, make your donation out to the Windsor Jewish Community Centre and designate your donation to “Windsor Jewish Burial Fund Appeal.” Make a donation online at www.jewishwindsor.org/online-payments or by contacting Michelle Turnbull at michelle@jewishwindsor.org to drop a check off at the WJCC.
