THE DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS 200 Sept.30-Oct. 6, 2021 / 24-30 Tishri 5782
$
thejewishnews.com
A Masterful Achievement! How Bob Naftaly, in the face of automaker bankruptcies, helped save health benefits for 872,000 UAW retirees.
See page 14
contents Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 2021 / 24-30 Tishri 5782 | VOLUME CLX, ISSUE 8
29 Apple Tree
Fun & Le arn for Kids ing
18 PURELY COMMENTARY 4-13
Essays and viewpoints.
SPORTS 28
OUR COMMUNITY 14
18 20 21 22 24 26
A Masterful Achievement!
How Bob Naftaly, in the face of automaker bankruptcies, helped save health benefits for 872,000 UAW retirees.
‘A Dynamic Leader’
38 14-Month Wait Pays Off
Camp Mak-A-Dream shares Greenberg Invitational spotlight with Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage.
HEALTH 29
Smoking and Kids
ETC.
Still No Charges
MAZEL TOV
Special Honor
Israelis study secondhand smoke.
Moments
SPIRIT 32
Torah portion
34
Synagogue Directory
Antisemitic online interloper is rebuffed.
36
Created in the Image …
Court Ruling
ARTS&LIFE
Adat Shalom’s Rabbi Aaron Bergman receives honorary JTS doctorate.
MSU Fights Back
Pro-Palestinian protests outside Ann Arbor synagogue are protected.
Through Young Eyes
HMC event links author-filmmaker with ‘Girl in the Diary’ exhibit.
Community Calendar
FOOD
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32
43
Safe Studies
As COVID-19 continues to change, so do Hebrew schools.
For a lifetime of service, Larry Wolfe will receive Federation’s Butzel award. Danny Fenster’s family, friends keep raising awareness of his plight.
EVENTS 44
It’s Autumn — Bring on the Comfort Foods!
The Exchange 46 Obituaries 48 Looking Back 54 Shabbat Lights
Shabbat begins: Friday, Oct. 1, 6:55 p.m. Shabbat ends: Saturday, Oct. 2, 7:54 p.m.
*Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.
38
Back on the Road
40
Matlin’s Message
ON THE COVER: Cover design: Michelle Sheridan Cover photo: Bob Naftaly. Photo by Glenn Triest
42
Celebrity News
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Dan Bern brings local friend, Randy Kaplan, as opener at The Ark. Like Hadassah, she wants to heal the world one person at a time.
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SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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PURELY COMMENTARY
essay
Abraham’s Tent is Staked in Detroit Mark Davidoff is General Chair of this year’s Yeshiva Beth Yehudah annual dinner.
The Yeshiva Beth Yehudah Choir performs at the 2019 annual dinner.
F
or many years, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah has held an annual dinner to further the educational mission of this essential Detroit Torah institution. The dinner enables an Mark Davidoff introduction of the school to the broader community — highlighting the Yeshivah’s incredible work in service to its students, their families, and to the Jewish and general communities. There’s little doubt that at its inception, the dinner’s primary purpose would have been to raise funds to support scholarships that are needed by the majority of the students who attend the Yeshiva. And although the dinner still carries an important fund development goal, over these many years the annual dinner has been positioned to serve as a special moment when the Jewish and general community come together for a common purpose, as if under the protective and welcoming environment of Abraham’s tent — open on all sides to everyone. In the past number of years, the dinner has hosted
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honorees including Ford Motor Company CEO Mark Fields, Lear Corporation CEO Matt Simoncini, PVS Chemicals Founder and Chairman Jim Nicholson, and Huntington Bank CEO Stephen Steinour. In addition, the dinner has also presented guest speakers including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The theme this year’s dinner on Oct. 24 is “An Evening of Hope & Renewal.” With the announcement that the event will honor General Motors Chair & CEO Mary Barra, with Guest Speaker, the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah dinner has taken first position as the most important Jewish organization event in the country. The opportunity and
responsibility in curating such an event cannot be underestimated. Year after year, the Yeshiva team that executes this event has proven one conclusion: They got this! The momentum that has been building surrounding the dinner continues to grow, and with it a rise in understating among corporate, community and government leaders from all corners that the Detroit Jewish community is special and unique — and it provides a tent that all aspire to be under.
Guest Speaker First Lady Dr. Jill Biden
The Yeshiva Beth Yehudah annual dinner will take place at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. For additional information, call (248) 663-8299. Mark Davidoff is President and CEO of The Fisher Group and Senior Advisor to the Board of the Detroit Jewish News Foundation.
Honoree Mary Barra
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PURELY COMMENTARY commentary
Justice Denied?
An anti-Israel sign outside the synagogue
Ann Arbor ruling is a threat to us all.
T
Americans coming together to worship is less intimidating than cross-burnings were to church attendees in African American churches in the South. The Supreme Court said in 2003 (Virginia v. Black) that “cross burning carried out with the intent to intimidate is … proscribable under the First Amendment.” No sane American thinks otherwise today. A decision rendered by three federal judges on the eve of Yom Kippur should send shivers down the collective spines of the American Jewish community. Since September 2003, a group of Ann Arbor residents has been harassing Jewish attendees at
Saturday morning services in Beth Israel Synagogue, a Conservative congregation, by gathering between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., and posting 18 to 20 aggressive signs on grass near and opposite the synagogue. The signs challenge “Jewish Power” and attack Israel as “apartheid” and as responsible for a “Palestinian holocaust.” They demand a boycott of Israel and an end to U.S. aid to Israel. But their timing and location demonstrate that they
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ALEX SHERMAN
ry painting a swastika on the wall of a synagogue, and you’ll be arrested and charged with vandalism and probably serve jail time for a hate crime. But a federal appellate court has just gone out of its way to grant Nathan constitutional Lewin protection to JNS signs bellowing “Resist Jewish Power” and “Jewish Power Corrupts” at those attending synagogue services every Sabbath morning for the past 18 years in Ann Arbor. The judges didn’t bother to explain why menacing Jewish
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MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel. VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.
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address Jews coming for religious observance, whether or not they support Israel. It takes only a rudimentary knowledge of history to recall that the Third Reich began a program that murdered millions with similar harangues against the Jewish religion by hostile hordes at the doors of Jewish synagogues. Beth Israel’s members suffered these meticulously timed taunts and the city’s refusal to prevent them for years, but finally took their tormentors to federal court
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michprobate.com with a complaint alleging 13 violations of federal law and 10 violations of state law. They encountered a U.S. District Court judge who, they later alleged, should have been disqualified because she “had predetermined the outcome of the lawsuit.” The judge brusquely dismissed the congregants’ lawsuit on the ground that they experienced only “intangible injury,” such as “extreme emotional distress.” This harm, she said, was not “concrete” enough to give them “standing” to file a lawsuit in a federal court. NO STANDING? The synagogue members took their case to the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The only issue for appeal was the trial judge’s ruling aborting their claims because they had no “standing.” They also asked that the district judge be disqualified from the case if the appellate court agreed they had “standing” to pursue their claims. The American Civil Liberties Union entered as an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) to teach the judges that gathering when congregants came to worship on Saturday mornings and posting hostile signs while the worshippers were arriving and during their religious services was protected as Free Speech by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The three judges assigned to hear the appeal included the Sixth Circuit’s Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, a former law clerk to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School.
Sutton is widely respected among lawyers. He was a frequent oral advocate in the Supreme Court before assuming judicial robes. Among his most successful presentations to the High Court was his winning argument that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — enacted by an almost unanimous Congress to protect religious liberty — was unconstitutional. The first seven pages of a 13-page majority opinion written by Sutton and joined by a retired Circuit Judge conclude persuasively that the Jewish congregants have “standing” to pursue their claim. That should have ended the appeal in the congregants’ favor. But rather than sending the case back for a trial before an impartial judge, Sutton proceeds in the last five pages of his opinion to throw out all claims on the ground that “the content and form of the protests demonstrate that they concern public matters: American-Israeli relations.” The Saturday morning gatherings and the aggressive posters are, in his opinion, “squarely within First Amendment protections of public discourse in public fora” and are shielded by “the robust protections that the First Amendment affords to nonviolent protests on matters of public concern.” He then dispatches the arguments to the contrary with blinding speed. PLAIN ANTISEMITISM This is a frightening phenomenon in today’s America. The voracious wolf of rank antisemitism is cloaked in the sheep’s fleece of continued on page 8
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PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 7
“American-Israeli relations.” Why do Ann Arbor’s antiIsrael zealots find it most meaningful to express their “public discourse in public fora” on Saturday mornings between 9:30 and 11:30 adjacent to a synagogue? Is this truly “public discourse” on “matters of public concern?” Are those who gather for two hours on Saturday mornings really trying to persuade the Jewish congregants with their placards? Or are they harassing and intimidating a religious minority that has suffered centuries of intolerance and hatred? With all respect to Chief Judge Sutton’s legal acumen, there are solid reasons in federal and Michigan law to sustain the Jewish worshippers’ claim that gatherings and placards designed to harass and intimidate Jewish worshippers are not shielded by the Constitution. Even Sutton acknowledges in his cursory review of the complaint that the claims cannot be called “frivolous.” Federal law gave the congregants only until Sept. 29, when Jews around the world will be celebrating Simchat Torah, to file a request with the Sixth Circuit to have the appeal considered anew by the full court of 16 active Circuit Judges (along with the senior judge who agreed with Sutton and is entitled under federal law to sit on a rehearing). Six of the Sixth Circuit’s current judges were appointed by President Donald Trump and four by President George W. Bush. They, along with the court’s only active Jewish judge, may disagree
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with Sutton’s summary rejection of the plaintiffs’ 23 legal claims. If the appeal is reheard, the court may hear and learn from many more friends of the court than the ACLU, which was the only amicus curiae in the argument before three judges that looked like only a technical legal dispute over “standing.” William L. Shirer, author of the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, was the most authoritative eyewitness and reporter of life in Germany in the years leading to the Holocaust. He kept a daily personal journal published in 1941 titled Berlin Diary. A telling entry is April 21, 1935, which was Easter Sunday and Passover. Shirer noted that he took the weekend off, and he reported, “The hotel mainly filled with Jews, and we are a little surprised to see so many of them still prospering and apparently unafraid. I think they are unduly optimistic.” How right he was. Less than five months later, the Nazis formally codified Jewhatred with the Nuremberg Laws, which deprived Germany’s Jews of citizenship and all basic human rights. Action is needed now if we learn the lesson of history. The late Todd Beamer said it in a heroic effort on the hijacked Flight 93 to avert another 9-11 tragedy, “OK. Let’s roll.” Nathan Lewin is a criminal defense attorney with a Supreme Court practice who has taught at Georgetown, Harvard, University of Chicago, George Washington and Columbia law schools.
See a related story on page 24.
Danny Fenster’s Fight for Freedom
Danny Fenster in Yangon, Myanmar, before his incarceration.
The Detroit Jewish News urges the community to fight for the release of Huntington Woods native Danny Fenster — a journalist who has been held without cause and without specified charges for
130 days by a military junta in a gruesome prison in Myanmar (Burma).
Support Danny at: BringDannyHome.com fenster-verse.tumblr.com facebook.com/groups/1164768597279223.
(See a related story on page 20.)
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PURELY COMMENTARY essay
My Heartfelt Thanks to Rabbi Sasson
H
ow does a community say goodbye to a rabbi who singlehandedly saved them from closing their synagogue’s doors? Rabbi Sasson Natan, whose Iraqi roots encouraged us to call him by his first name, Dan came to Detroit Shamayev in 1991 as an Israeli engineering contractor with General Motors. Rabbi Sasson became the first chazan of our congregation, at the time when it was a small Sephardic minyan based in Oak Park. When Rabbi Sasson left the community for his ordination as a rabbi eight years later, the community moved on, breaking ground and moving into the current Keter Torah synagogue at Walnut Lake and Orchard Lake roads in West Bloomfield. He went on to head a Sephardic day school in Chicago, be a spiritual leader in the Moroccan community in Tiberias, Israel, and rebuild a Sephardic community in Houston, Texas. Meanwhile, the Sephardic community in West Bloomfield saw both highs and lows. During a visit to Detroit in 2013, Rabbi Sasson learned of the dire need for a spiritual leader in a community that once was his. It was straightforward. Keter Torah had been without a rabbi for five years, and if it couldn’t find one it would be forced to shut down operations. It was obvi-
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ous to him, he had to be back in Detroit. He was by the High Holidays in 2013. In 2015, I was only 14 when I first heard of Rabbi Sasson or stepped foot into Keter Torah. Did I gain a connection with the shul because of the excitement of a community finally regaining a rabbi after so long? Or was it because the new Rabanit Nora Natan was my and my three siblings’ Hebrew teacher at Akiva Hebrew Day School? Or was it because the whole environment of Sephardic Jewry in Metro Detroit improved with congregants returning to the shul? My whole family only knew of Rabbi Sasson as their rabbi. He was the teacher for each of my brothers’ bar mitzvah, stood under the chuppah at my sister’s wedding and visited me in Jerusalem where I was studying in yeshivah for two years. All we’ve seen is growth within our tightknit community. When we began to come to Keter Torah every Shabbat beginning in 2015, the congregation was much smaller, disengaged and, I felt, not “kid-friendly.” Six years later, even though the impact from COVID, there is a consensus throughout the shul that this is the strongest the congregation has ever been. Since Rabbi Sasson came back to Detroit, Keter Torah has had more programming than ever, hosting weekly classes, daily morning prayers, shesh-besh (backgammon) nights, barbeques,
Rabbi Sasson Natan
NCSY youth events and holiday parties. Our congregation’s best interests even were represented in the World Zionist Congress in Israel. Today, while we enjoy the services led by Rabbi Sasson, he has trained an arsenal of teenagers and young adults to both read the Torah and lead services in the specific Sephardic tradition, mastering the different/difficult Sephardic tropes. But the most important gift Rabbi Sasson has instilled into the community is something, in my opinion, no other shul in Metropolitan Detroit can share. Looking back at Rabbi Sasson’s final Yom Kippur serving Keter Torah as rabbi, I couldn’t believe what I witnessed. For the past three years, I have spent the High Holidays in Israel, enjoying the Sephardic melodies abroad, but I forgot the experience of having an excep-
tional rabbi like him. Explain to me — what other rabbi can organize, give sermons, lead and be the chazan for the 12-hour service on Yom Kippur? I can complain while sitting in my seat in the corner, with my bookstand and comfortable chair, but how does a human being do all of that and then cap it off with 30 blasts from a shofar? I only understood when I called him the next day — he had trouble even releasing a sentence from his voice. His pain was the perfect send-off. I knew from that short, 15-seconds long WhatsApp call that I and my community would never find a rabbi quite like him. Someone who can salvage a broken community while keeping the unique traditions at heart. A rabbi who can speak, sing, read the Torah, lead services, handle logistics and even connect with the most disconnected members of the community. All I’ve known is an environment where my family and I can feel at home. A place where anyone is welcome. Thank you, Rabbi Sasson Natan for providing that for us. It is a tough goodbye as he is moving back to Israel, but as we always say, we all hope will see you later in Jerusalem for the next High Holidays. Daniel Shamayev, 20, of Keego Harbor, is a sophomore at Yeshiva University in New York. He also is the founder of the Detroit Shul Basketball League.
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SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS!
Mazel Tov! Mazel Tov! to my son in law Scott Goodwin for recently being presented with the "Champion of Justice Award" on September 18, 2021. Dear Scott, You are a great person who has worked hard and has always been dedicated to your craft. Congratulations on receiving this fabulous award that you so richly deserve. With Much Love and Great Happiness, Your Mother-In-Law, Sharon Hope Katz SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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Bob Naftaly is the founding chair of the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust.
GLENN TRIEST
OUR COMMUNITY
A
Masterful
Achievement! How Bob Naftaly, in the face of automaker bankruptcies, helped save health benefits for 872,000 UAW retirees.
DORON LEVIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
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he future of Detroit and the U.S.-based automakers during the summer of 2007 had never looked so dreadful. General Motors, negotiating with the United Auto Workers union toward a new labor contract, had lost more than $12 billion during the previous two years. Bankruptcies for one or more of the Big Three automakers were growing more likely. Desperate to stave off collapse, the Big Three proposed shrinking large liabilities for future medical and other post-retirement benefits to which hourly workers were promised. If bankruptcy happened, little or no money would be available for health care. The UAW and the industry, however, found a solution: Entitlements would be secured
by a separate, independent trust. The automakers agreed to fund the Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA), which was empowered to pay retirees’ medical benefits. In return, the three automakers were able to remove the massive liabilities from their balance sheets. But who had the skill, experience and the credibility to organize and oversee the VEBA trust? With automakers and the union so often at odds, who could the union and automakers appoint to ensure the VEBA remained true to its mission, competent and, importantly, sufficiently funded to cover more than $50 billion of future medical bills for hundreds of thousands of retired autoworkers? The UAW and auto industry agreed that Bob Naftaly
was the right person to organize the VEBA’s creation and lead its board. A longtime financial executive who had served the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit as well as Democratic governors Jim Blanchard and Jennifer Granholm, Naftaly had retired a few years earlier as Executive Vice President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Finance was his skill, public service his passion — and problem-solving an invaluable attribute. Naftaly, 83, continues to serve as chair for what now is known as the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, which pays out roughly $3.5 billion annually in health care benefits to nearly 600,000 former auto workers and their dependents. In addition to other prominent financial roles, the UAW knew
him as chair of an earlier, much smaller VEBA trust that administered dental benefits to union retirees. AUTOMOBILE SLUMP IMPERILED RETIREES Health benefits — with the specter of bankruptcy looming — was a whole different, larger and more complex undertaking. “The auto industry and the union had a common problem” in 2007, Naftaly recalled. “They were worried about who would pay for the health care of their workers, and they were also worried about the future viability of the companies” if the automakers became insolvent. “Workers needed protection, and everyone needed to get the liabilities off the automakers’ books.” The VEBA trust option had existed in the U.S. tax code for decades — though no company or industry had ever attempted one as large. Following federal judicial approval, the UAW and the auto industry were handed an 18-month deadline to structure the organization, which today employs 127 people. It was a massive task at a moment when the automakers’ financial prospects were growing dimmer by the day. GM and Chrysler did file for bankruptcy in 2009 and were reorganized by the U.S. Treasury; Ford narrowly avoided it. “This was a huge mission, taking on the health care responsibility for hundreds of thousands of people,” Naftaly said. “Almost like setting up a new insurance company from a blank piece of paper. We needed lots of specific expertise.”
“THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT WHO WOULD PAY FOR THE HEALTH CARE OF THEIR WORKERS AND THE FUTURE VIABILITY OF THE AUTOMAKERS.” — BOB NAFTALY
Naftaly apportions great credit to Dan Sherrick, then the UAW’s General Counsel, for writing Dan the agreement Sherrick between the UAW and the auto companies, and to Fran Parker, who had recently retired Fran Parker from HAP and became the Trust’s first hire and CEO. “Dan knew the legal aspects. I knew finance and governance. Fran tackled the job of putting together the operations team,” Naftaly said. “From a staff perspective, the chaos in the economy, the recession, worked in our favor. It was a good time to
hire good people with expertise in health care. We hired actuarial experts, built a governance structure for the board. We were juggling a lot at the same time. We were being watched. We had to be ready to serve the retirees and their families. A lot of people were depending on us to do this right. We could not afford to miss the launch date of Jan. 1, 2010.” Many retired auto workers, some not yet old enough for Medicare coverage, were terrified that they and their families would be deprived of health care. Skeptics wondered if the VEBA would fly, given the automakers’ miserable financial condition and the abundance of creditors. “Once bankruptcy hit, there was a reluctance by
some to help us complete the job,” Naftaly said. “Just one example, the company we had hired to determine the eligibility of Trust members suddenly dropped us before finishing its work.” Naftaly had navigated many financial predicaments over the years; he knew indecision wasn’t an option. The Trust, inaugurated at the start of 2010, was immediately responsible for providing health care to 872,000 eligible retiree members in all 50 states. The original funding had to be adjusted due to the bankruptcy and looked far less certain than the amounts originally agreed upon. During Naftaly’s 12-year tenure, the Trust’s investments have prospered thanks in part to a flourishing stock market — as of 2019, assets were $60.3 billion — and thanks to the prudent purchasing of benefits. The Trust, which operates totally independently from the union and automakers, covers members from retirement through the end of their lives. Current membership of eligible retirees and dependents, as expected, has declined to 594,277. An additional 67,000 active workers and their eligible dependents will have access to Trust coverage when they retire. FINANCIAL SAVIOR IN THE MAKING For Naftaly, who grew up in Detroit and attended Central High School, his UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust role represents the latest highpoint during a long and distinguished career in financial management, health care and public service. He can’t say he always was aimed in this continued on page 16 SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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OUR COMMUNITY
Bob Naftaly was highly trusted by both the UAW and the automakers.
direction: As a youngster, he’d never imagined such a life. At Central High, astonishingly, he had no inkling as to a future career. Fortuitously, a relative stepped in. “My Uncle Sam Geller encouraged me to become a certified public accountant,” he said. “He told me to take bookkeeping in high school and then come to work for his accounting firm while taking college courses at night and on the weekends.” Naftaly graduated from Walsh College in 1959 with a degree in accountancy and financial management. Later he would serve as the school’s alumni association president and a trustee; he also received Walsh’s distinguished alumnus award and an honorary doctorate. Now based in Troy, Walsh in those days was located in Downtown Detroit. Attending night school meant snagging a decent parking spot and avoiding the meter maid. Night students “were all in the same boat — working at an accounting office or business during the day,” he said in a profile published by Walsh. “Going to school was tiring, especially during tax season, but I always liked it. All the teachers were professional people, so we got a practical education as well as book learning.” He worked and co-managed the Detroit-based accounting firm of Geller, Naftaly, Herbach & Shapero for more than 20 years. Following Jim Blanchard’s election as Michigan governor in 1982, Naftaly volunteered to serve on a “crisis committee” prob-
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ing the state’s financial condition, which turned out to be more precarious than was generally understood. “The state was insolvent,” he said. “The previous administration had been accounting for income on an accrual basis and expense on a cash basis.” In other words, kicking financial obligations down the road. Michigan’s financial condition appeared much better than it was because the state was booking expenses and obligations only when they were paid, instead of when they were incurred — an accounting no-no. A cash crisis was inevitable. “We had to institute proper accounting and financial processes,” Naftaly said. “Otherwise, we were going to run out of cash and not be able to make payroll.” Six months after volunteering his service to the committee, Blanchard appointed Naftaly as Director of the state’s Office of Management and Budget. He served in that post from 1983 to 1987. “By the time I left, the state was solvent again.” Corporations took note of his judgment and expertise and sought him. After a year as Vice President and Auditor of Detroit Edison, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recruited him as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Once again, Naftaly was faced with the task of straightening out a giant organization beset by money woes. Like Michigan a few years earlier, Blue Cross Blue Shield in the late 1980s was more or less broke and in need of
GLENN TRIEST
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financial overhaul. Richard Whitmer — father of current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — was the health-care insurer’s CEO. Naftaly got a green light to clean house, hiring a new finance staff, actuary and controller. He then dove into the minutia of the organization’s financial and actuarial practices, the nuts and bolts of daily operations. “The staff wondered what I was doing,” he said. Insurance rates had to be increased. The state passed a “solvency tax” to shore up finances. “We also had to improve our relations with the attorney-general’s office.” Then-Attorney General Frank Kelley had been hostile to Blue Cross Blue Shield, on one occasion filing lawsuits accusing misuse of the nonprofit organization’s taxfree status. But the two knew one another from Naftaly’s days in state government. By the time Naftaly retired 15 years later, the health-care insurer boasted a surplus of $1 billion.
SAVING NURSING HOME OPTIONS FOR THE JEWISH COMMUNITY Mark Davidoff, a longtime Detroit accounting and financial executive who considers himself a Naftaly protégé, Mark says, “Bob Davidoff brings vision and heart to the solutions that must be found for seemingly intractable financial problems.” Their relationship eventually led to Davidoff ’s tenure as an executive of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, and later as a Partner with Deloitte’s accounting and consulting practices. In the early 1990s, Davidoff had been working as the Chief Financial Officer for the long-term care subsidiary of what is now Trinity Health Care. “I get a call from Bob — at that time serving on the
Jewish Federation’s board — who says, ‘I hear you’re a Jewish boy who knows something about nursing homes. We could use your help.’” Two nursing homes operated by Federation, Borman Hall in Detroit and Prentis Manor in Southfield, were “draining the Federation’s resources and also raising questions about the level of care” for the more than 300 elderly Jewish residents, Davidoff said. The two homes stood to lose their federal certification from Medicare and Medicaid. “The business approach for solving the problem was to shut them down. The humane approach was to recognize the moral obligation for delivering care to people in need. Bob found the sweet spot between the two.” Under Naftaly’s guidance, a nationwide request for proposal was sent to nursing home operators.
The Federation selected HCR ManorCare, a Toledobased operator, which helped to transfer residents and open a state-of-theart skilled nursing facility as the Marvin and Betty Danto Family Health Care Center on the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus in West Bloomfield. The migration from a nonprofit nursing home model to a for-profit model didn’t just avert a financial disaster, it led to several new elderly services, such as specialized care for Alzheimer and dementia patients, that hadn’t previously been offered. Several years later, Naftaly “casually” introduced Davidoff to Deloitte’s thenmanaging partner, who had asked to learn more about the Detroit Jewish community. Naftaly’s role as the “great connector” led to Davidoff joining Deloitte and eventually led to his
“WE HAD TO BE THERE TO SERVE THE RETIREES AND THEIR FAMILIES. A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE DEPENDING ON US TO DO THIS RIGHT.” — BOB NAFTALY
promotion as Michigan Managing Partner. Davidoff, who retired from Deloitte in 2019, currently serves as President and CEO of The Fisher Group, the family office for the family of Max and Marjorie Fisher. He also serves as senior advisor to the board of the Detroit Jewish News Foundation, publisher of the Detroit Jewish News. STILL INVOLVED IN HELPING OTHERS These days, Naftaly refers to himself as “retired,” though the list of his activities and philanthropic endeavors — including meetings and activities associated with chairing the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust — suggest a schedule that remains fairly demanding. “I’m still active with our Federation here in Detroit, as well the Jewish Federation in Palm Beach, Florida, where we spend the winter,” he said. He has cut back on corporate
board memberships. Naftaly and his wife, Anita, have been married for 30 years, with four adult children and six grandchildren to show for it. Anita Naftaly formerly instituted Opening the Doors, which provided special education programs on behalf of Detroit’s Jewish Federation. She is also involved with inSIGHT through Education, a nonprofit in Florida that provides learning resources for Holocaust and genocide education in public schools. His career never afforded Bob Naftaly much spare time for sporting pursuits. “I finally have taken up golf,” said the 40-year member of Franklin Hills Country Club in Farmington Hills, adding with rueful wit: “That was a mistake.” He has no interest in club golf tournaments at Franklin Hills or in Palm Beach. “My friends and I play, then go to lunch,” he said. “It’s a game of low expectations” — a pleasurable respite from a long and pressure-packed career putting out fiscal and financial fires. From Walsh College night courses to corporate executive suites to the state capital to UAW headquarters, Naftaly has won the confidence of executives, assembled crisis teams to solve harrowing financial dilemmas, assisted the ill and the elderly in the name of Jewish welfare — consistently exceeding the expectations of him that were already quite high.
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‘A Most Dynamic Leader’ For a lifetime of service, Larry Wolfe will receive Federation’s Butzel award.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
I
n 1983, Jewish community leader and philanthropist Larry Wolfe experienced a major change in his outlook and attitude toward Jewish life. While on a mission to Israel with his wife, Andi, Larry, despite not wanting to go initially, had a revelation as to what being Jewish truly meant. It was the mission leader, David Hermelin, and Larry’s father-in-law, D. Dan Kahn, both of blessed memory, who had encouraged him to go. “Going to Israel changed my outlook on my Jewish identity and how important it was to understand our Jewish traditions and values,” Wolfe, 73, says. “It was a legacy that was brought to us over thousands of years,” he explains, and even more so when the State of Israel came into existence in 1948. Back home in Michigan,
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Wolfe became seriously involved in Jewish life and volunteer work. Since then, he’s been to Israel more than 100 times and continues to help lead Jewish culture in Metro Detroit. Now, nearly 40 years later, he’s made such an impact on the local community (and national and international Jewish life) that Wolfe will be receiving this year’s Fred M. Butzel Award from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit to honor his lifetime of service, impact and commitment. “Since 1951, the Fred M. Butzel Award has represented the community’s highest honor for volunteer leadership,” says Steven Ingber, Federation CEO. “I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than my friend and mentor, Larry Wolfe.”
Born in London, Ontario, and growing up in the old Dexter-Davison area, a Jewish enclave in Detroit that his family moved to when he was 5 years old, Wolfe was immersed in Judaism from a young age. He attended a Yeshiva Beth Yehudah afternoon school for Hebrew, later moving to Oak Park in the 1960s, where a strong Jewish community also existed. LAW AND BUSINESS In 1970, he married Andi, whom he dated in high school. Wolfe attended Wayne State University and then Detroit College of Law to pursue his dream of becoming an attorney. He and Andi have two children: son Jeremy and wife, Liz, who live in Huntington Woods, and daughter Ericka and husband, Matt, who live in Chicago. The Wolfes have six
grandchildren. For a little over seven years, Wolfe practiced law with a mid-sized firm in Detroit before a new opportunity presented itself. When Andi’s father, philanthropist D. Dan Kahn, invited Larry to join his business of distributing industrial supplies, tooling and machinery, he accepted the proposition. In fact, he remained with the company until 2017, when Larry ultimately sold it. Yet in those in-between years, Wolfe began his steady involvement in local
JERRY ZOLYNSKY
“EVERYTHING LARRY TOUCHES, HE PUTS HIS WHOLE BODY AND SOUL INTO.” — ANDI WOLFE
Butzel Award winner Larry Wolfe
Jewish affairs, largely inspired by his father-in-law and that Israel trip. In the late 1980s, Wolfe was introduced to the Jewish Community Center by his friend and mentor Jerry Sobel. Calling it a “natural fit,” Wolfe became involved with the organization and worked his way up to eventually be elected president in 1997. There, he met various Jewish community leaders, including people involved with Federation. When asked to take a chair
on the board of governors at Federation following his threeyear term as president of the JCC, Wolfe gladly accepted. He also became president of Adat Shalom Synagogue. FEDERATION PRESIDENT Wolfe’s interest in the Jewish community continued to blossom as did his work with Federation. After working on a number of Federation committees over the years, he eventually was elected president in 2015.
In his three years as Federation president, Wolfe is particularly proud of several achievements under his watch as president of Federation, including moving Federation’s education department to the JCC, which could give the Center better focus on how they serve people within the community through learning initiatives. Larry and Andi Wolfe often volunteer together, for instance with ORT, a global education network driven by
Jewish values. Larry serves on the board of World ORT, as have many noted Detroit ORTsupporters including previous Butzel Award winners David Hermelin and Dr. Conrad Giles, Andi, likewise, is a board member of ORT America. Yet these initiatives only begin to scrape the surface of Wolfe’s work in Jewish Detroit and beyond. As president of the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation, established by Andi’s family, Wolfe presented a continued on page 20 SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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OUR COMMUNITY $20 million gift to expand the Michigan-Israel Partnership for Research and Education, which includes the University of Michigan, the Technion and the Weizmann Institute of Science. “My father-in-law taught me the importance of giving back to the community,” Wolfe says. He also holds board positions with the Jewish Fund, Kids Kicking Cancer, the Detroit Zoological Society, the Michigan Medicine Advisory Group and Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, among many other organizations. In addition, Wolfe was also past chair of the State of Israel Bonds for Metropolitan Detroit.
‘TRUE HEROES’ “A past president of the Jewish Federation, Larry has held a wide variety of volunteer positions and roles at Federation and organizations throughout Jewish Detroit and beyond,” CEO Ingber says. “More than this, Larry and his wife, Andi, have been true community heroes, always stepping up to offer their generous support, as well as their hearts and souls, whenever the need arises.” Andi Wolfe adds that being volunteer-driven is a “piece of our fabric” when it comes to their marriage. “Everything he touches, he puts his whole body and soul into,” she says of her husband’s drive to better the community and share Jewish life with others.
Still No Charges
Danny Fenster’s family, friends keep raising awareness of his plight. STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
O
n Sept. 19, on the 120th day of his captivity in Insein Prison in Myanmar, journalist and Huntington Woods native Danny Fenster was summoned for his eighth court hearing over video conferencing. According to reports from the Associated Press, Fenster has been charged with incitement — spreading inflammatory information — an offense for which he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison. Yet again, the military junta in Myanmar did not specify what he is accused of doing and he was sent back to his
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prison cell only to await his next hearing on Oct. 4. Fenster’s brother Bryan said the news was disheartening to him and his parents, Buddy and Rose Fenster, as well as Danny’s wife, Juliana, still in Myanmar. Bryan said he last spoke to Danny on Sept. 12 on a call
Sweethearts since high school, Larry and Andi Wolfe at home.
Ingber adds, “To this day, Larry remains one of the most active and dynamic leaders in our community, and I know he will continue to make a patched through from the prison to the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon. He was relieved to hear Danny’s probable COVID symptoms, which he last complained of during an Aug. 1 phone call, seemed to resolve themselves, though there is no COVID testing in Insein. “He seems to be making the best of it,” Bryan told the JN. “What’s most frustrating for us is there is nothing new to report. We are just spinning our wheels at this point. [Waiting for the outcome of each of these hearings that have no results] is just a vicious cycle.” Fenster’s family and their community of friends continue their campaign to keep his imprisonment in the headlines and in the minds of neighbors and those in Metro Detroit. Signs bearing the logo “Bring Danny Home, Free the Press” accompanied
difference for many years to come. “I am truly thrilled to see Larry receive this muchdeserved recognition.” by a portrait of Danny are cropping up around the area. Shortly after his imprisonment, family and friends formed a #BringDannyHome social media campaign and a Facebook group that now has more than 5,500 members. Fenster is the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar. On May 24, 2021, he was detained by the military in Myanmar moments before he was to fly from Yangon to Detroit to see his family for the first time in over three years. Since then, he has been held at Insein Prison under investigation under a law criminalizing dissent that carries a maximum three-year jail sentence. Danny is being represented by an attorney from Frontier Myanmar, and the family is in touch with the counselor through a translator, though communication and information has been very limited, according to Bryan Fenster.
JERRY ZOLYNSKY
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OUR COMMUNITY
Special Honor
Adat Shalom’s Rabbi Aaron Bergman receives honorary JTS doctorate. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
T
hirty years after being said. “It meant a lot. I’ve been ordained at the Jewish very lucky to be a rabbi in the Theological Seminary same community and in the (JTS), Rabbi Aaron Bergman community I grew up in for of Adat Shalom Synagogue 30 years.” was presented with an honorAfter being ordained at ary doctorate from JTS. JTS, Bergman pursued addi“It was something tional graduate work I’ve actually been in Jewish folklore at hoping for from the Hebrew University in day I was ordained in Jerusalem. Bergman 1991,” Bergman said. is the current presi“It’s something JTS dent of the Michigan gives if you’ve served Board of Rabbis and as a rabbi for at least represents local rabbis 25 years or so. There throughout the state Rabbi Aaron were actually other in various interfaith Bergman rabbis getting their initiatives. honorary doctorate In the past, when I was being ordained.” Bergman traveled to Israel JTS is a Conservative Jewish with other North American education organization based rabbis from Conservative, in New York City. It is one Reform, Reconstructionist and of the academic and spiriModern Orthodox denomtual centers of Conservative inations to discuss IsraeliJudaism and a major center diaspora relations with Israeli for academic scholarship in politicians, including former Jewish studies. Prime Minister Benjamin JTS educates intellectuNetanyahu. al and spiritual leaders for Receiving the honor after Conservative Judaism, trainthree decades, Bergman ing rabbis, cantors, scholars, reflects on why he got into the educators, communal profesfield in the first place. sionals and lay activists. “My goal was really to help Bergman was supposed to our people, and I was figurreceive the honor last year, ing if I could help the next but his family couldn’t make generation and the generation it. The ceremony this year after that, I would feel good,” took place over Zoom, where Bergman said. “I’ve had an members of Bergman’s family interesting career and it’s still and congregation were able to going, which is nice. watch. “I think sometimes there’s “I didn’t know how I was the fear of getting an award going to feel because I’ve like this and it means, ‘OK, never had anything like this thanks for coming,’ but I’m before, but my family told me very lucky. The fact I was able they were proud of me and the to get this honor while I’m still reaction from congregants was at a good place in my career really nice as well,” Bergman was very powerful for me.”
WE VALUE DEEP THOUGHT AND DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS.
FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY
O PE N HO U SE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2021 at 6:30pm Contact Arielle Endelman aendelman@frankelja.org | 248-671-3248
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This sign welcomes people to the MSU campus.
MSU
Fights Back
Antisemitic online interloper is rebuffed. STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
J
ewish organizational administrators, faculty and Jewish student leaders agree that, though they are disturbed by a two antisemitic incidents that occurred on small online forums as well as an anti-Israel rhetoric sprayed on the “MSU Rock,” they are encouraged that the incidents were reported to campus law enforcement authorities by non-Jews. On Wednesday, Sept. 15, MSU’s Michael and Elaine Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel released a statement detailing the offenses under investigation. In one incident, an individual joined a biology class group chat using a Nazi swastika as a profile picture, claiming they study biology to prove that “Jews are scum.” Other students in the chat denounced those statements, removed the perpetrator from the chat, and reported the incident to the class professor and to a number of campus units, including the Serling Institute. An individual using the same screenname also made antisemitic comments in the chatroom of an off-campus apartment complex,
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responding to another resident’s message with, “Shut the hell up Jew boy.” When asked to leave the chat by other participants, the perpetrator answered, “This is why you don’t trust Jews.” MSU investigations are trying to determine if the individual is a member of the MSU community. A third incident happened at the MSU Rock on Farm Lane, which featured an American flag with the caption “Never Forget” to honor the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks. The word “Israel” was spray painted over the American flag and the word “never” was painted over. The Serling Institute views the use of the word Israel as an evocation of the conspiracy theory that Israel was responsible for the 9-11 attack and is a “modern iteration of the centuries-old trope that Jews control world events.” The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety was made aware of an incident that occurred on Sept.13 in an online chat group. A police report was initiated, and a police investigator was immediately assigned to the case,
which is ongoing. “Investigators are currently following up on all available leads and are in touch with people who were impacted by the incident, and the case remains an active police investigation,” reads the statement released by the department. As a local, proactive measure to curb the Yael nationwide rising tide of Aronoff antisemitism on college campuses, Serling Institute Executive Director Yael Aronoff said she has been working with the MSU Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to increase antisemitism awareness on campus and would like to see information about anti-Jewish bias to become standardized in orientations for all incoming students. This year, as an initiativetaking approach to counter the presence of antisemitism at MSU, the Serling Institute will host “The Jonathan Netanyahu Symposium on Antisemitism” from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8. The free online event
is hosted by the institute in partnership with the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center and other MSU academic departments. It will feature insights from leading experts from around the country as well as a recorded message from MSU President Samuel Stanley. For more information and to register, go to jsp.msu.edu. “I think the symposium is going to be a great service to the university in terms of awareness and education,” Aronoff said. “But we know most students and faculty and staff will not attend. The next step for us is to try to get the university to include education about antisemitism in its orientations and workshops so all students coming to
MSU can get some exposure to the issue.” Hillel Executive Director Cindy Hughey said despite what happened, the incidents were limited in scope and said she was Cindy encouraged that Hughey non-Jews acted against the hate. “It was non-Jewish students who reported these incidents and who repainted the rock, and to me that is amazing,” Hughey said. “It was really great to see that we have support of nonJewish students on campus, and it is part of Hillel’s mission to keep building these partnerships and alliances. “Hillel has also been working with administrators
in two newly created positions over the summer [concerning diversity and inclusion], and we are hoping we are going to expand antisemitism awareness into diversity training on campus.” The 3,000 Jewish MSU students in recent years have experienced several cases of antisemitism. In April 2021, Jewish student leaders were harassed and intimidated as they attempted to pass a bill to define antisemitism in MSU’s student government. There have been threatening phone messages, a defaced mezuzah and a swastika painted in front of a fraternity house. In 2019, Hillel’s sukkah was destroyed by drunken vandals. “With recent incidents here on campus, many
Jewish students have been frightened and feel as if they have to hide their Judaism,” said Ethan Price, MSU sophomore and StandWithUs Emerson Fellow. The latest incidents may be disturbing, but Price added there is excellent support for Jewish students among their peers and at places like Hillel. As an Emerson Fellow, he participates in educational and leadership training seminars with the pro-Israel group to help offset antiIsrael bias on campus. “We hope to combat this antisemitism by getting the university involved and by educating as many students as we can about what antisemitism looks like and how we can all work to stop it in its tracks.”
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OUR COMMUNITY
Court Ruling
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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Pro-Palestinian protests outside Ann Arbor synagogue are protected.
Rabbi Nadav Caine of Beth Israel Congregation
ALEX SHERMAN
recent court ruling on the eve of Yom Kippur has left staff and members at Ann Arbor’s Beth Israel Congregation upset and confused. Since 2003, the Conservative Jewish synagogue has been the target of weekly pro-Palestinian protests. Ann Arbor residents gather nearly every Saturday morning from 9:30-11:30 a.m. with upwards of 20 signs condemning Israel. Slogans like “Jewish Power Corrupts,” “Stop Funding Israel” and “End the Palestinian Holocaust” are regular appearances outside of the congregation. For members who gather at the synagogue for religious observance and worship, the protests hit on a deeply personal level. With several Holocaust survivors rounding out the synagogue’s congregation, the protests cause emotional distress while disrupting Saturday services. For Beth Israel’s older members who survived World War II, they’re reminiscent of a time they thought they left behind. Yet, despite the concerns, a federal court appeals ruled just before the holiest day of the year in Judaism that the pro-Palestinian protests are protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. After tolerating the protests for many years, and with no help from the city of Ann Arbor, Beth Israel members finally took the protestors to federal court, but they were denied help. “We are disappointed by the recent ruling, but we are not surprised given previous rulings,” said Rabbi Nadav Caine of Beth Israel Congregation. While the protests initially aimed to speak up about Israeli settlements in the West Bank, they’ve gradually turned into antisemitic
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slurs that Rabbi Caine calls “Nazi-esque” in nature. Protesters “quickly find themselves blaming Jews for the Holocaust, agreeing with Nazism, claiming Jews have secretly taken over our country and the world, and make claims that Israel is performing daily genocidal massacre,” Caine says of the uptick in hate speech. In this month’s ruling, the court declined putting a halt to the demonstrations or permitting any restrictions in Ann Arbor. While a 1,000-foot buffer and limits on signs was proposed, the court ruled that this proposed solution would likely violate the First Amendment. The complaint against the protestors alleged 13 violations of federal law and 10 violations of state law in total. Judge Jeffrey Sutton claimed that because the protests were non-violent in nature, they fell under the First Amendment’s umbrella of protection for matters of public concern. He also stated that because no congregation members came forward about being able to hear the protests inside the synagogue or were blocked from entering the synagogue, the protests were also protected.
The American Civil Liberties Union echoed the ruling, filing a brief in support of the activists. Even “offensive, upsetting and distasteful” protests were entitled to protection, they voiced. The issue was the suppression of freedom of speech, which the ACLU applied to their stance. In accordance with federal law, Beth Israel congregants would have until Sept. 29 to file a request with the Sixth Circuit to have the appeal considered again by a full court of 16 active circuit judges. Yet, with some Jews celebrating the holiday of Simchat Torah on that date, the protests and subsequent court matters have proven to be an emotional and distressing challenge for Ann Arbor’s Jewish community, particularly members and staff of Beth Israel Congregation. “What everyone should take note of here is not that the First Amendment protects hate speech — we knew that already — but that our country and its campuses are no longer places of political criticism of Israel,” Rabbi Caine says. “They are harboring antisemitism in its guise.” See a related opinion piece on page 6.
Learn About the Jews of Mexico Mexico is home to a large and diverse Jewish community whose members hail from places as diverse as Syria, Turkey, Poland or Ukraine. As in the United States, Jewish communities in Mexico have had to negotiate their own ethnic and religious identities in the larger context of the country’s national narratives. Writer Jacobo Sefami is a Syrian Jew who grew up in Mexico. He will guide his audience through the maze of cross-cultural references that
Jacobo Sefami
have contributed to consolidate Jewish Mexican identity. The event will be held from 10-11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, in Founders Ballroom A at Oakland University. The event can be attended in persono or virtually. To register, go to bit.ly/2ZeJ4xZ.
Teens Can Apply Now for a Bronfman Fellowship The Bronfman Fellowship announced that applications are now being accepted for the 36th cohort of this transformative program. The Fellowship selects 26 outstanding North American teenagers for an intellectually challenging year of programming that begins with a free summer in Israel between the Fellows’ junior and senior years of high school, followed by monthly virtual experiences and two seminars in the U.S. The program educates and inspires exceptional young Jews from diverse backgrounds to have a significant impact on the world as community builders, deep thinkers, moral voices, and cultural creators. The nonprofit Fellowship was founded by Edgar M. Bronfman, z”l, formerly CEO of the Seagram Company Ltd. and a visionary Jewish philanthropist. In addition to learning with stellar educators, Fellows also have the unique opportunity to engage with leading intellectuals, artists, and religious and cultural leaders. Past speakers have included journalist Matti
Friedman; author Nicole Krauss; musician and Yiddish scholar Anthony Russell; and Torah scholar Dr. Avivah Zornberg. Fellows also interact with a group of Israeli peers who were chosen through a parallel selection process by the Israeli branch of the Fellowship, Amitei Bronfman. Additionally, they can participate in the Fellowship’s arts tracks: workshops in areas including poetry, dance, drama, visual narrative and music, taught by leading innovators in the field of Jewish art. Upon returning home from the summer in Israel, Fellows also explore major themes in North American Jewish life. Applications for the 2022 Fellowship are due Dec. 8, 2021, and are available online at bronfman.org. High school students in the United States and Canada who self-identify as Jewish and who will be in the 11th grade in the fall of 2021 are eligible to apply. The Fellowship is a pluralistic program for Jews of all backgrounds; prior Jewish education is not required.
Join us November 7th! Fix Up this Fall! Invite your family, friends or community groups to this outdoor, family-friendly volunteer event. Help rake leaves and winterize homes (outdoor only) of older adults served by Jewish Family Service.
All ages welcome Drive-thru contactless supply pickup by prior appointment starting at 9am at Congregation Shaarey Zedek 27375 Bell Road, Southfield
To register, visit jfsdetroit.org/fallfixup or contact fallfixup@jfsdetroit.org Worksites are pre-assigned. Register by October 29th. Fall Fix Up is generously sponsored by:
*We will be following State COVID protocols for this event. Should we conclude that it would not be safe, Fall Fix Up will be canceled.* SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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DRAGANA JURISIC
OUR COMMUNITY
Through Young Eyes HMC event links author-filmmaker with ‘Girl in the Diary’ exhibit. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
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he Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) is holding a virtual event, “Stolen Voices with Zlata Filipovic,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3. Filipovic is the author of the international bestseller Zlata’s Diary, co-editor of Stolen Voices: Young People’s War Diaries from World War I to Iraq and a documentary filmmaker. She grew up under one of the longest sieges in modern-day history in her native city of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. She speaks around the world about her experiences and has worked with organizations such as the Anne Frank House, the United Nations and UNICEF. Attendees will hear the fascinating story of her wartime childhood, the publication of her diary, and how they led to her current engagement with human rights and storytelling. Sarah Saltzman, HMC director of events and public relations, says the mission of the HMC is to engage, educate and empower the community by remembering the Holocaust, including focusing on programming for Holocaust-related topics, such as recent or current genocides. “Inviting Zlata Filipovic to speak about living through wartime as a child in
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Sarajevo reminds us of the horror of all wars,” Saltzman said. “Her diary shows us the importance of having a firsthand account of the tragedy. She was an eyewitness to death, but she never lost hope. In this sense, she is just like teenager Rywka Lipszyc, who wrote the diary featured in the museum’s current special exhibit, “The
done,” Filipovic said. “Stolen Voices,” which Filipovic edited, is a compilation of young people’s diaries throughout the 20th century, starting with a diary of a young 12-year-old German girl during WWI and finishing with the diary of a teenager in Iraq in 2006. “Unfortunately, it’s a
Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto.” Filipovic will be attending the virtual event from Dublin, Ireland, where she currently lives. “I’ll talk about how life changes when suddenly a very peaceful childhood turns into a war childhood, the story of the publication of my diary, the value of writing and the help it offered me. I will also bring people up to date in terms of my other work that I’ve
kind of book that could continually be updated with more diaries as young people around the world continue experiencing conflicts,” Filipovic said. “It works with the exhibit the HMC has about a teenage girl’s diary about her life under Nazi rule in a ghetto, so the idea is seeing resilience and seeing different experiences of young people across the 20th century who decided to keep a diary at such a time.” Filipovic has done many talks in association
Zlata Filipovic
with Holocaust memorial organizations and centers and says it’s always a pleasure to return and talk about the similarities and differences of experiences. She hopes the attendees can learn more about those experiences. “I hope it will deepen their understanding of a young person’s experience of conflict,” Filipovic said. “I hope it will kind of put a bit of flesh onto history and, particularly if there are young people attending, I hope it’s something where they can see the power of a personal story.” After Filipovic shares her experiences, attendees can submit questions via the Q&A button on Zoom. Saltzman said, “We hope attendees will be encouraged to think about ways they can make a positive difference in the world, whether by donating to a cause they deem important, sharing their voice in their community or before elected officials, or standing up for their neighbors.” To register and donate the suggested $10 donation, go to holocaustcenter. org/events/upcoming-events.
World Jewish Population Is Growing The number of Jews worldwide stands at approximately 15.2 million compared to 15.1 million in 5781, according to newly released statistics by the Jewish Agency for Israel. Among the global Jewish population, the number of Jews in Israel is close to 6.9 million (compared to 6.8 million in 5781), while about 8.3 million live outside Israel (including around 6 million in the United States). The numbers include those who define themselves as Jews and who do not identify with another religion. When also including those who are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, the world total rises to 25.3 million people, of which 7.3 million are in Israel and 18 million live outside Israel. The percentage of Jews living in Israel out of all the Jews in the world stands at 45.3%, an increase of half a percent over the previous year. The estimated number of Jews in the United States increased by 300,000 following a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The U.S. estimates were corrected for previous years as well.
JVS’ Women to Work Offers Free Training JVS Human Services, is launching a free eight-week, in-person course, “Springboard to Success.” It combines job search assistance through the JVS Women to Work program, with Microsoft 2016 Word and Excel basic computer training. Classes run Oct. 5-Nov. 30. Women to Work classes are 9 a.m.-noon Tuesdays, while computer classes are 9-11:30 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. To register, contact Judy Richmond, (248) 233-4232, or jrichmond@jvshumanservices.org. For information, visit the website www.jvshumanservices.org.
Mazel Tov, Larry, on being honored with the Butzel Award!
We are so grateful for our experience on the 2020 Andi & Larry Wolfe Gen X Mission as well as for everything you have done for our Jewish community. Lawrence A. Wolfe 2021 Fred M. Butzel Award Recipient
2020 Andi & Larry Wolfe Gen X Mission Participants Taal Ashmann Karen Beneson Donna Bolda-Moss Mikki Frank Brenda Harris Robyn Heicklen David Heicklen Jill Ingber Scott Isner Justin Jacobs Robyn Kay Jayme Kirschner, Co-Chair Jeff Kirschner, Co-Chair Matt Kolb Randy LaBelle Leigh Moss Jeff Moss
Stephanie Ralph Michele Rosenblum Scott Rosenblum Josh Rubin Sarey Ruden Brian Satovsky, Co-Chair Carly Schulman Marla Shefman Marc Shefman Jonathan Sterling Cheryl Stern Ron Stern Alan Sternfeld Mike Sternfeld Ken Zendel Amy Zeskind
SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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SPORTS
14-Month Wait Pays Off Camp Mak-A-Dream shares Greenberg Invitational spotlight with Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage. STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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Hadar Granader from Camp Mak-A-Dream at the Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf and Tennis Invitational
friendly. It was an honor to represent them in receiving the award.” For those at the invitational who didn’t know about Camp Mak-A-Dream, they know about it now. “I talked with several people who said they didn’t know about the camp or didn’t know my family’s involvement,” Granader said. Founded in 1995, Camp Mak-A-Dream is an expensefree summer camp in Gold Creek, Mont., for children across the world who are battling or have survived cancer. The camp normally plays host annually to about 80 youths in each of four or five sessions, with a total of 75 to 80 youths coming from Michigan. The camp has been held virtually for two years because of the pandemic. About 100 youths participated this year. How is a summer camp held virtually? “Say the kids are doing a craft with clay,” Granader said. “They’re sent the clay and the
MICHIGAN JEWISH SPORTS FOUNDATION
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t was postponed, canceled, then rescheduled twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally on the calendar for June 8, 2020, the 30th annual Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf and Tennis Invitational finally was held last month at Tam-O-Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield. For the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation, which organizes and hosts the invitational as a fundraiser for cancer research and treatment, Aug. 23 ended a long journey filled with detours. “It felt great to finally hold the invitational, and it was very successful,” said Larry Sherman, a vice president on the foundation’s board of directors. “The weather was pictureperfect, there was a good turnout [140 golfers and eight tennis players], and the camaraderie and food were outstanding. “It was a great day,” he said. It certainly was a great day for Hadar Granader. He finally was able to accept the Barry Bremen Memorial Inspiration Award for his family and for Camp Mak-A-Dream. “It was the first time I went to the Greenberg event. I was very impressed with how well it was organized,” Granader said. “It was nice to see members of Barry Bremen’s family there, and they were so warm and
instructor teaches them what to do with it on Zoom.” Granader is president of the Michigan chapter of Camp Mak-A-Dream. His brother and sister-in-law, the late Beverly Hills residents Harry and Sylvia Granader, donated 87 acres of their Montana ranch to create Camp Mak-ADream. Harry Granader was a building contractor. He helped build the Ronald McDonald houses next to Detroit Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. Visits with children in those hospitals sparked his idea for Camp Mak-A-Dream. GIBBY AND GOOSE MISS A MEET-UP Hall of Fame relief pitcher Goose Gossage was presented the Greenberg Lifetime Achievement Award at the invitational. “Goose was very entertaining and quite cordial with our guests,” Sherman said. Gossage was supposed to
share the stage last year in the popular sports panel segment of the invitational — hosted annually by ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap — with former Detroit Tigers star Kirk Gibson, who hit a famous home run off Gossage in the 1984 World Series between the Tigers and San Diego Padres. Gossage and Gibson, however, didn’t cross paths last month at Tam-O-Shanter. “Unfortunately, Kirk’s annual benefit golf outing was held the same day as the invitational,” Sherman said. CBS News and 60 Minutes correspondent Armen Keteyian was supposed to accept the Dick Schaap Memorial Award for Media Excellence at the invitational. He couldn’t make it to TamO-Shanter because he was unable to travel from the East Coast after it was battered by Hurricane Ida. “Hopefully, Armen will be able to come to next year’s invitational,” Sherman said. Sherman said there are hopes the invitational will return to its normal June date next year. As for the foundation’s annual fall Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet, which was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, it could return in a virtual format this year, Sherman said. Please send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
HEALTH
Safe Studies
As COVID-19 continues to change, so do Hebrew schools.
Sixth-graders Katie Belski, Lev and Simon Belski, Aliyah Cohen, Danielle Reiter and Alex Gross are among those learning in person at Adat Shalom. Most students continue learning online, with new electives and one-on-one Hebrew offered.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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he COVID-19 pandemic may have reshaped the way the world works, but there’s one element of Jewish life in Metro Detroit that will continue no matter what, even if it takes place in a different form: Hebrew school. In the fall of 2020, at the height of the health crisis, synagogues across the area pivoted to remote learning options for Jewish youth. Most used Zoom or other virtual meeting software, holding classes online and continuing Hebrew education without any gaps. Now, as statewide COVID-19 restrictions look different on a nearly day-by-day basis and cases climb because of the new Delta variant, Hebrew schools continue to pivot with the changes. Here’s what three local Hebrew schools have planned for the 2021-2022 school year. SHAAREY ZEDEK In March 2020, Shaarey Zedek went 100% online as the pandemic hit Michigan. After more than a year of virtual learning, the congregation began to slowly incorporate in-person classes
and programming. Now, with the start of the new school year, they plan to fully open for onsite Hebrew school on Sunday mornings, while continuing to offer remote options, if preferred. for those who prefer them. “We have a fresh new schedule,” explains Ari Benjamin Reis, director of youth and family learning at Shaarey Zedek. “We’re taking new precautions to prevent the spread of COVID19.” With a strict indoor mask policy, Shaarey Zedek aims to keep both students and faculty safe amidst a rise in COVID-19 cases. The congregation will also be implementing a social distancing protocol to keep students, teen assistants and teachers distanced inside classrooms. In addition, Shaarey Zedek will operate around special quarantine procedures to both be aware of potential COVID19 symptoms and what to do if someone exhibits them. “Our staff is trained to look for symptoms,” Reis says. “If the kids begin to exhibit symptoms, we’ll bring them to a dedicated
Weather permitting, students at Temple Israel will learn outside under a large tent. One-on-one Hebrew is offered online or in-person.
quarantine room and notify the parents.” Any child who is quarantined (or their classmates) will be offered Zoom sessions so that no one encounters gaps in Hebrew education. If someone in a household tests positive for COVID-19, the entire family will also be asked to quarantine for 14 days and take part in online learning. In addition, Shaarey Zedek is adding sanitizing stations, more outdoor activities, and mask and snack breaks outdoors, as weather permits. Yet even inside, students and parents can feel safe. “We have an excellent ventilation system and large classroom spaces,” Reis explains. “All of our teachers and support staff are vaccinated.” ADAT SHALOM To create a more robust learning plan for youth enrolled in its
Hebrew school, Adat Shalom will be adding a handful of electives to make Jewish learning fun and accessible. “Kids can log in on a Monday afternoon and do something they normally wouldn’t have done, like photography, Minecraft or extra Hebrew reading practice,” says Dr. Melissa Ser, Adat Shalom director of education. The synagogue plans to continue operating mostly online but is making accommodations for students who learn better in in-person settings. They’re also pivoting to one-on-one Hebrew language learning, rather than small groups as traditionally done, for second- to seventh-graders. Online learning will take place on Zoom or FaceTime, whichever option is easiest for the student. “We actually discovered prior continued on page 30 SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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HEALTH and drinking fountains won’t be available. Instead, a water cooler will be provided to help prevent spread of germs as masks are lowered.
Shaarey Zedek holds some activities outside, weather permitting, and indoor Hebrew school on Sundays with enhanced precautions. continued from page 29
to the pandemic that midweek attendance was difficult because families live up to an hour away,” Ser explains. “Kids get off the bus at 4:30 and can’t possibly be at Hebrew school at 4:30.” On Sundays, Adat Shalom is offering in-person sessions, the exception to their mostly online curriculum for 2021-2022. Yet, families have the option to Zoom
in, if needed. “Every grade has an outdoor space assigned to them that they can use whenever possible,” Ser says. “We are doing snacks only outdoors as well.” Inside, a completely revamped HVAC system will provide well-circulated air. Children and staff will also be asked to wear masks at all times
FREE Y DELIVER
IMMUNIZ AND S ATIONS SHOTS AHINGLES VAILABL E
TEMPLE ISRAEL With newly redone grounds, Temple Israel is taking advantage of its wide outdoor spaces to hold as many in-person Hebrew school sessions as possible, weather permitting. “We are fully masked, but together,” explains Rabbi Arianna Gordon, Temple Israel director of education and lifelong learning. “The students are so happy to be singing, praying and learning.” Gordon says that as long as weather permits, the temple plans to continue holding outdoor sessions under a large tent for its Hebrew school. Like Adat Shalom, they’ve also adopted a one-on-one learning model for
Hebrew language courses, which can be completed online or in person. A lack of social connection during the pandemic, particularly for Jewish youth, also inspired the temple to increase its focus on community building. Students will have a chance to learn about and engage with different Jewish organizations, like JARC. However, Temple Israel isn’t planning too far ahead just yet. They’re evaluating the health crisis regularly to see where things stand each week, or sometimes even each day. “When we made our plans for education, that was pre-Delta,” Gordon says. “Things change, but we can be flexible. I think by mid-October we’re going to have a better sense of what’s happening with schools so we can make more informed decisions.”
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HEALTH
Smoking and Kids
Secondhand smoke absorbed into body. SIMCHA PASKO JERUSALEM POST
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ome 70% of children with parents who smoke were found to have nicotine residue in hair samples, according to research done by the Sackler Medical School of Tel Aviv University. The study was peer-reviewed and published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. The researchers wanted to examine whether raising awareness of children’s exposure might change parents’ behavior. About 140 Israeli families, with children up to age 8 where at least one parent smokes, participated in the study.
The smoking average per household was 15 cigarettes per day. A third of the participants reported that they smoke inside the home, and a third said that they only smoke on the porch. Researchers tested children’s exposure via a biomarker: nicotine in hair, testing whether nicotine became an integral part of the strand of hair having originated in the body and not just external precipitate. The nicotine in the inner shaft of the hair represents that which has been absorbed by the child and reached the bloodstream. The external residue
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was washed off before analysis. Nicotine residue was found in 70% of the hair tested. “To our great dismay, according to Health Ministry data, approximately 60% of small children in Israel are exposed to secondhand smoke and its harmful effects,” said Prof. Leah Rosen, who ran the study. “Based on the study’s findings, we believe that conducting nicotine testing for every young child in Israel — in the hair, urine, or using other testing methods — may change parents’ perceptions about exposing their children to tobacco smoke,” she said. “Changing this perception can also result in changing behavior, exposure levels and even social norms regarding passive exposure to
smoking — both exposure of children as well as adults.” Prof. Rosen explained to the Post that exposure to tobacco smoke is dangerous, especially for children who suffer both short-term harm (such as the increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, bronchitis, ear infections) and long-term harm (delayed lung development, long-term damage to the cardiovascular system). She also said that most Israelis don’t fully understand the damage from active smoking or from secondhand smoke. And they are often unaware that the exposure is occurring. “It is critical that they protect their children from tobacco smoke.” Rosen told the Post. “There should never be smoking inside the house, including at windows or on porches. Besides the immediate exposure, the toxins from the tobacco smoke are absorbed into the walls, carpets and upholstery and are slowly released over time. This is known as thirdhand smoke. “Non-smokers must understand that there is genuine risk in exposure to tobacco smoke, and they must insist upon their right and the right of their children and family members to breathe air that is smoke-free everywhere.
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MAZEL TOV!
JARC Event Takes to the Fast Lane
Bryce Toby of Auburn Hills will become a bar mitzvah at Temple Beth El on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Participating in the ceremony will be parents, Alan and Jennifer Toby. Proud grandparents are Melvin Toby of West Bloomfield, and Jack and Fran Gould of Commerce. He is also the grandson of the late Rosanne Toby. Bryce is a student at Avondale Middle School in Rochester Hills. His mitzvah project includes raising money for the American Cancer Society. HOW TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS Mazel Tov! announcements are welcomed for members of the Jewish community. Anniversaries, engagements and weddings with a photo (preferably color) can appear at a cost of $18 each. Births are $10. There is no charge for bar/bat mitzvahs or for special birthdays starting at the 90th. For information, contact Editorial Assistant Sy Manello at smanello@thejewishnews.com or (248) 351-5147 for information or for a mailed or emailed copy of guidelines.
JARC, a Metro Detroit-based nonprofit agency that serves individuals with developmental disabilities, will hold its fall fundraising event, “JARC at M1,” from noon-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac. The unique, fun and at times exhilarating event will feature thrill rides in cars around the M1’s Champion Motor Speedway, live music performances by the Mega ’80s and other special music guests, and 1980s arcade games. The event will also offer an open bar, dinner and the largest outdoor event tent in Michigan at M1’s newly renovated two-story event center. A special VIP event will also feature an opportunity for VIP ticket holders to drive a Dodge Hellcat on the M1 racetrack between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. JARC CEO Shaindle Braunstein said, “During the pandemic, we have persevered and grown as an organization,
finding new ways of fulfilling our vital mission and stepping up in unusual circumstances to address all of the needs of the individuals we serve.” Throughout the pandemic, she said, “we know those we serve have unique needs, and we will continue to step up to address those needs and ask for the community’s financial support to help us continue that momentum.” Proceeds from the event will go to fund JARC programs, including its 24-hour care for group homes. The event is made possible through the sponsorship of the Steinway/Howard Family. For information and tickets, go to jarc.org/2021.
SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION
One can simply take a cursory look around to see the high levels of stress, anxiety and depression that we transformed from an we suffer from nowadays. animal-like humanoid to a What is the solution? While full-fledged human. there isn’t only one answer to The unique soul gave us resolving such a potentially intelligence and capabilities far beyond any other creation. complex issue, the parshah does give us a crucial Lions and tigers have clue on how to move been living the same forward. way for thousands of Two verses earlier it years, but mankind’s says, “All the herb of wisdom has enabled us the field had not yet to achieve incredible Rabbi Noam sprouted, for Hashem things, like harnessing Gross had not sent rain upon the power of electricity, the Earth because there sending man to the Parshat was no man to work the moon and so much Bereshit: Genesis 1:1- soil.” Why does God more. 6:8; Isaiah need to wait for man And yet, remarkably, 42:5-43:10. before sending the rain? despite our advanced The Talmud explains intelligence, we still that God waited because struggle to achieve the most there was no one to recognize important and basic needs: happiness and peace of mind. the need for rain. But when
Our Unique Souls
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he parshah of Bereshit is loaded with content, beginning with the creation of the universe and then running through everything from Adam until the birth of Noah 1,000 years later. Of all the many fundamental Jewish concepts discussed in this Torah portion, arguably the most important one is the creation of the intelligent man. The verse states “and He blew into his (man’s) nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living being” (Ch. 2: 7). The commentators give us a deeper understanding of this seminal event, explaining that at the moment we became “a speaking being”
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Adam was created and recognized its importance for the world, he prayed for it; rain fell, causing the vegetation to spring forth. The simple awareness of our dependence on God was woven into the fabric of the creation of man itself because without it we are in a very precarious state. How could one possibly remain calm if we lived in a world devoid of God, one of random chaos? The recognition that God is watching over us as our loving Father in Heaven and is ready to help us whenever we reach out to Him is the most important first step toward a calm and worry-free existence. Rabbi Noam Gross works as an educator for the Young Professional Division of Partners Detroit.
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thejewishnews.com/newsletter SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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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
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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.
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SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
Created in the Image
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here are words that change the world, none more so than two sentences that appear in the first chapter of the Torah: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. “So, God created mankind Rabbi in His own image, in the Jonathan image of God He created Sacks them; male and female He created them.” The idea set forth here is perhaps the most transformative in the entire history of moral and political thought. It is the basis of the civilization of the West with its unique emphasis on the individual and on equality. It lies behind Thomas Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights …” These truths are anything but self-evident. They would have been regarded as absurd by Plato who held that society should be based on the myth that humans are divided into people of gold, silver and bronze, and it is this that determines their status in society.
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Aristotle believed that some are born to rule and others to be ruled. ENDING SLAVERY Revolutionary utterances do not work their magic overnight. As Rambam explained in The Guide for the Perplexed, it takes people a long time to change. The Torah works in the medium of time. It did not abolish slavery, but it set in motion a series of developments — most notably Shabbat when all hierarchies of power were suspended and slaves had a day a week of freedom — that were bound to lead to its abolition in the course of time. People are slow to understand the implications of ideas. Thomas Jefferson, champion of equality, was a slave owner. Slavery was not abolished in the United States until the 1860s and not without a civil war. And as Abraham Lincoln pointed out, slavery’s defenders as well as its critics cited the Bible in their cause. But eventually people change, and they do so because of the power of ideas, planted long ago in the Western mind. What exactly is being said in the first chapter of the Torah? The first thing to note is that it is not a stand-alone utterance, an account without a context. It is, in fact, a polemic, a protest, against a certain way of understanding the universe. In all ancient myth, the world was explained in terms of battles of the gods in their struggle for dominance. The Torah
dismisses this way of thinking totally and utterly. God speaks and the universe comes into being. This, according to the great 19th-century sociologist Max Weber, was the end of myth and the birth of Western rationalism. ‘IT WAS GOOD’ More significantly, it created a new way of thinking about the universe. Central to both the ancient world of myth and the modern world of science is the idea of power, force, energy. That is what is significantly absent from Genesis 1. God says, “Let there be,” and there is. There is nothing here about power, resistance, conquest or the play of forces. Instead, the key word of the narrative, appearing seven times, is utterly unexpected. It is the word tov, good. Tov is a moral word. The Torah in Genesis 1 is telling us something radical. The reality to which Torah is a guide (the word “Torah” itself means “guide, instruction, law”) is moral and ethical. The question Genesis seeks to answer is not “How did the universe come into being?” but “How then shall we live?” This is the Torah’s most significant paradigm shift. The universe God made and we inhabit is not about power or dominance but about tov and ra, good and evil. For the first time, religion was ethicized. God cares about justice, compassion, faithfulness, lovingkindness, the dignity of the individual
and the sanctity of life. This same principle, that Genesis 1 is a polemic, part of an argument with a background, is essential to understanding the idea that God created humanity “in His image, after His likeness.” This language would not have been unfamiliar to the first readers of the Torah. It was one they knew well. It was commonplace in the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Certain people were said to be in the image of God. They were the kings of the Mesopotamian city states and the pharaohs of Egypt. Nothing could have been more radical than to say that not just kings and rulers are God’s image. We all are. Even today the idea is daring: how much more so in an age of absolute rulers with absolute power. Understood thus, Genesis 1: 26-27 is not so much a metaphysical statement about the nature of the human person as it is a political protest against the very basis of hierarchical, classor caste-based societies, whether in ancient or modern times. That is what makes it the most incendiary idea in the Torah. In some fundamental sense, we are all equal in dignity and ultimate worth, for we are all in God’s image regardless of color, culture or creed. KINGDOM OF PRIESTS A similar idea appears later in the Torah, in relation to the Jewish people, when God invited them to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. All nations in the ancient world had priests, but none was “a kingdom of priests.” All religions have holy individuals, but none claimed to be a nation every one of whose members was holy. This, too, took time to materialize. During the entire biblical era, there were hierarchies. There were priests and high priests, a holy elite. But after the destruction of the Second Temple, every prayer became a sacrifice, every leader of prayer a priest,
and every synagogue a fragment of the Temple. A profound egalitarianism is at work just below the surface of the Torah, and the rabbis knew it and lived it. A second idea is contained in the phrase, “and let him have dominion over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky.” Note that there is no suggestion that anyone has the right to have dominion over any other human being. In Paradise Lost, Milton, like the Midrash, states that this was the sin of Nimrod, the first great ruler of Assyria and by implication the builder of the Tower of Babel (see Genesis 10: 8-11). Milton writes that when Adam was told that Nimrod would “arrogate dominion undeserved,” he was horrified:
itself a hierarchy of the gods? Already implicit here is the deep ambivalence the Torah would ultimately show toward the very institution of kingship, the rule of “man over men.” The third implication lies in the sheer paradox of God saying, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” We sometimes forget, when reading these words, that in Judaism God has no image or likeness. To make an image of God is to transgress the second of the Ten Commandments and to be guilty of idolatry. Moses emphasized that at the revelation at Sinai, “You saw no likeness, you only heard the sound of words.” God has no image because He is not physical. He transcends the physical universe
GOD IS FREE, AND BY MAKING US IN HIS IMAGE, HE GAVE US ALSO THE POWER TO BE FREE. O execrable son so to aspire Above his Brethren, to himself assuming Authority usurped, from God not given: He gave us only over beast, fish, fowl Dominion absolute; that right we hold By his donation; but man over men He made not lord; such title to himself Reserving, human left from human free. (Paradise Lost, Book XII: 64-71) To question the right of humans to rule over other humans, without their consent, was at that time utterly unthinkable. All advanced societies were like this. How could they be otherwise? Was this not the very structure of the universe? Did the sun not rule the day? Did the moon not rule the night? Was there not in heaven
because He created it. Therefore, He is free, unconstrained by the laws of matter. That is what God means when He tells Moses that His name is “I will be what I will be,” and later when, after the sin of the golden calf, He tells him, “I will have mercy on who I will have mercy.” God is free, and by making us in His image, He gave us also the power to be free. MISUSING FREEDOM This, as the Torah makes clear, was God’s most fateful gift. Given freedom, humans misuse it. Adam and Eve disobey God’s command. Cain murders Abel. By the end of the parshah, we find ourselves in the world before the Flood, filled with violence to the point where God regretted that He had ever created humanity. This is the central drama of Tanach and of Judaism as a whole. Will we use our freedom to respect order or misuse it to
create chaos? Will we honor or dishonor the image of God that lives within the human heart and mind? These are not ancient questions only. They are as alive today as ever they were in the past. The question raised by serious thinkers, ever since Nietzsche argued in favor of abandoning both God and the Judeo-Christian ethic, is whether justice, human rights and the unconditional dignity of the human person are capable of surviving on secular grounds alone? Nietzsche himself thought not. In 2008, Yale philosopher Nicholas Woltersdorff published a magisterial work arguing that our Western concept of justice rests on the belief that “all of us have great and equal worth: the worth of being made in the image of God and of being loved redemptively by God.” There is, he insists, no secular rationale on which a similar framework of justice can be built. That is surely what John F. Kennedy meant in his inaugural when he spoke of the “revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought,” that “the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.” Momentous ideas made the West what it is: human rights, the abolition of slavery, the equal worth of all and justice based on the principle that right is sovereign over might. All ultimately derived from the statement in the first chapter of the Torah that we are made in God’s image and likeness. No other text has had a greater influence on moral thought, nor has any other civilization ever held a higher vision of what we are called on to be. 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. This essay was first published in October 2014.
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ARTS&LIFE MUSIC
Details
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Dan Bern and Randy Kaplan will appear at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, at The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor. $20. (734) 761-1818. theark.org. Proof of full vaccination and masks are required.
Dan Bern brings local friend, Randy Kaplan, as opener at The Ark.
Composermusician Dan Bern will perform at The Ark Oct. 5.
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SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
COURTESY DAN BERN
Back on the Road
wo folk composing and recording artists — Dan Bern and Randy Kaplan — are glad to have their live appearances resuming with one scheduled together at The Ark in Ann Arbor, where Bern has entertained about a dozen times over many years. New songs and crowd favorites will be featured Tuesday evening, Oct. 5, as Kaplan opens for Bern, and they later combine talents. “Randy and I were living in Los Angeles in the early ’90s when there was a thriving music scene of singers, songwriters and musicians who were close and supportive,” says Bern, who will be playing guitar, piano and other instruments. “We got on really well right away and stayed good pals through a lot of different locations and moves.” Bern has many new songs to consider as possible program selections. They were developed over pandemic confinement, when he did streaming performances from his New Mexico home joined by 12-yearold daughter Lulu, a nextgeneration composer-performer. “I released six albums (on Bandcamp) in the last year,” Bern says. “Some of them I had sitting around, waiting for something to be done with them. I also was writing a lot of stuff all along, and Quarantine Me was the first album to come out.” If Bern chooses to present a song from that album, he’ll have many choices with themes all too familiar to his audience, such as “Social Distancing,” “Wash Your Hands” and “Hunkered in the Bunker,” also the title of his streaming series. On a sporting note, Bern developed albums about tennis and baseball and might introduce those tracks. Besides being a fan, Bern has been a tennis player as well as an artist and author. “One old song I perform
—Forbes
Randy Kaplan
He also has written about the pandemic, but his focus audience has been young people. He put fun and lessons in his song “Keep Your Mask Clean.” “I’ve watched shows at The Ark many times, but this will be my first time there as a performer,” says Kaplan, whose latest family release, The Hippopotamus and the Creature from the Swamp, is more of a one-act musical. “I’m looking forward to appearing with Dan again for an adult show.” Kaplan, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica styles learned from Bern, will include numbers from his album Perfect Gentleman, which has spiritual themes presented in country-influenced folk tones. Tracks delve into following false prophets and dealing with love and loss. “I’ve traveled with Dan through Illinois and Minnesota to open for him, and he’s been the most original thinker I’ve ever met,” Kaplan says. “We like to hash things out philosophically.” Both entertainers enjoy looking for new topics to add to their composition repertoire. “I think my musical style is changing all the time,” Bern says. “Lately, I’ve been adding beats, playing bass and doing harmonies. I think I’mbeing more daring than I ever have.”
PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY
often is called ‘Jerusalem,’ which I actually wrote in Jerusalem, and it’s the one people seem to want to hear the most,” says Bern, who musicalized thoughts about the Messiah and helping oneself. “My sister, Jennifer Bern-Vogel, was studying to be a cantor at the time I visited there.” Helping oneself has been important to Bern since his last visit to Michigan. Due to a snow blower accident, he lost the tips of two fingers. At the start of recovery, he found it more comfortable to play piano than guitar and took up that instrument before returning to strings. “It was kind of a silver lining to add piano to my arsenal,” explains Bern, whose early musical interests placed him at classical cello before he became a folk fan. “Things happen, and sometimes they work out.” One experience that worked out was connecting with viewers during his virtual shows. He liked being able to have texts come in on the spot and then respond to them. “I homeschooled my daughter throughout sixth grade, and it was one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever gotten to do,” Bern says. “Some of the songs came out of exercises we did. “When my daughter was born, I made a record of little lullabies I was writing for her and called it 2 Feet Tall. There was a sequel called 3 Feet Tall as she was growing. We just released a recording called 4 Feet Tall and Rising, and she kind of takes over.” Writing for young people is a special interest shared with Kaplan, who teaches literature classes at Farber Hebrew Day School in Southfield.
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ARTS&LIFE BENEFITS
Matlin’s Message Like Hadassah, she wants to heal the world one person at a time.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Hadassah honorees Elaine and Stephen Sturman
Details Hadassah Annual Meeting
programs offered Tuesday, Oct. 5, at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills: boutiques 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m., boxed lunches from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and the speaker at 1 p.m. $75 in person, $30 boxed lunch and $54 virtual ticket. Raffle tickets are available without attendance starting at five for $25. The Sturman dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield. $136. Proof of vaccination and masks are required for in-person activities. Reservations: hadassahmidwest.org/ GDannualmeeting. Questions: (248) 6835030, greaterdetroit@hadassah.org.
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PAUL STOLOFF PHOTOGRAPHY
Actress/activist Marlee Matlin will headline Hadassah’s Annual Meeting.
BRETT FREEDMAN
A
s Hadassah Greater Detroit makes accommodations for the Judi Schram Annual Meeting — for those attending in person or virtually — there will be a lot of inspiration. Much of it will come from the guest speaker, film and TV actress Marlee Matlin, known for developing an award-winning career and maintaining strong relationships as a wife and mother — all while moving beyond the deaf community and leading others to advance along with her. Matlin’s topic, to be expressed Tuesday, Oct. 5, at Adat Shalom Synagogue, will be “Living Generously: Healing the World One Person at a Time.” The message relates to the healing work done through Hadassah medical facilities in Israel and programs that empower women and support at-risk youth. “Our guest, Marlee Matlin, who is a life member of Hadassah, represents the women of our organization so well,” said Fran Heicklen, Hadassah Greater Detroit president. “She works to raise awareness for causes dear to her — the deaf community, LGBTQ rights, diversity, humanitarian needs, domestic violence and addiction. “As Hadassah women, we support the same issues, also striving to heal the world one person at a time.” Before and after Matlin takes the podium, there will be a series of shopping opportunities and the availability of boxed lunches. In the evening, at Congregation Beth Ahm, there will be a tribute dinner honoring Elaine and Stephen Sturman for their dynamic activities in the Michigan Jewish community. She has been a 30-year member of Hadassah and served as chapter and region president, earning the Hadassah National Leadership Award. Together they are active in many organizations, including the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies, the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Ensemble Theatre. In 2018, Matlin told Oregon Jewish Life how she grew up in a Reform family and had her bat mitzvah at Congregation Bene Shalom in
Skokie, Ill., a synagogue for both hearing and deaf members. “I had the benefit of a rabbi who could sign,” she said. “I learned how to speak Hebrew phonetically, and I signed and spoke.” She is in the midst of promoting her latest film, CODA (child of a deaf adult), which won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Matlin portrays the mother in a family of four. It was released in August and is now on Apple TV+. The plot involves parents and a son dependent on the daughter because only she is able to hear. They all must deal with her interest in leaving home to pursue a singing career. A strong advocate for the deaf community, Matlin was instrumental in pushing for ensemble cast members who represented the talents to be found in that community. She recently discussed her activities on CBS Sunday Morning, where she appeared with award-winning actor Henry Winkler and his wife, Stacey, valued mentors who even had her as a houseguest for two years. The Winklers became aware of Matlin after he noticed her talents at an arts festival. Years later, they helped her recover following her hospitalization for substance abuse. “Sobriety is the hardest thing,” she recently told CBS Sunday Morning, explaining how recovery remains one day at a time while she is so grateful for the guidance of the Winklers. She revealed life experiences in her book I’ll Scream Later. Matlin, 45, who won the Academy Award at 21 for Children of a Lesser God, also has been in many TV shows, including The West Wing, Seinfeld and Dancing With the Stars. Before and after the Matlin presentation, visitors can shop at nearly 20 boutique stations offering unique purchases that include clothing, jewelry and crystal. Matlin told the Oregon Jewish publication: “I am happy to have the opportunity to speak in front of other members of the Jewish community and talk about my story and how I basically wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my Jewish upbringing.”
WILLIAM CHAPMAN
SPOTLIGHT
EMU Center for Jewish Studies Presents A Conversation with Rep. Elissa Slotkin
Yad Ezra will receive $1,000 in Danny’s name.
Danny Raskin Honored with a Donation to Yad Ezra Delta by Marriott Hotel Detroit Metro Airport General Manager Fadi Achour, a good friend of the late Danny Raskin, donated $500 to Yad Ezra in Raskin’s name. The Jewish News matched the donation, bringing the check to $1,000. Longtime coworker of Raskin, Dharlene Katzman Norris, was there to honor
the late great scribe during a star-studded, Red Carpet Prevue Party unveiling the all-new Marilyn Lounge at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), along with City of Romulus, Mayor LeRoy D. Burcroff, jazz musician Alexander Zonjic, DBusiness Magazine’s R.j. King and directors from the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
in the 21st century (both The Eastern Michigan in the U.S. and abroad), University Center for America’s involvement in Jewish Studies will the Middle East and the host Rep. Elissa Slotkin importance of Israel to U.S. of Michigan’s 8th foreign policy. Congressional District, This presentation is the on its campus, Thursday, Rep. Elissa Slotkin first on-campus Center for Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. in the Jewish Studies event since EMU Student Center the beginning of COVID. Auditorium and on Zoom There will be social distancing, at tinyurl.com/RepSlotkin. and all audience members will be Slotkin will discuss, among required to wear masks. There is other things, growing up Jewish no cost to attend this program. on a farm in Holly, working as You can also watch the cona CIA analyst who did three versation in real-time, online, but tours in Iraq alongside the U.S. registration is required at military and serving in the U.S. tinyurl.com/RepSlotkin. House. Slotkin is a member This presentation is co-sponof the House Committee on sored by Hillel at Eastern Homeland Security — where Michigan University, The EMU she chairs the Subcommittee College Democrats and the on Counterterrorism and Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Intelligence — and the House If you have any questions, conCommittee on Armed Services. tact Marty Shichtman at jewish. She will consider such matters studies@emich.edu. as the resurgence of antisemitism
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NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
WIKIPEDIA.ORG/GAGE SKIDMORE
MUCH JEWISH INPUT IN SOPRANOS PREQUEL; TWO MUSICALS; EMMYS The Many Saints of Newark, a film, is a prequel to The Sopranos, the hit HBO series. It will be released to theaters on Oct. 1. and also will begin streaming that day on HBO Max for 30 days. The film, set in the late 1960s, was co-written by Sopranos creator David Chase (who is ItalianAmerican and not Jewish) and Lawrence Konner, 70, (who wrote many Sopranos scripts). The late James Gandolfini, of course, played the series star character, Mafia family head Tony Soprano. Michael Gandolfini, 22, James’ son, plays Tony as a young man (about 18) in Many Saints.
Jon Bernthal
Jon Bernthal, 44, plays Tony’s gangster father, Johnny “Johnny Boy” Soprano, and Corey Stoll, 45, plays “Junior” Soprano, Johnny’s gangster brother and ally. The role of Silvio Dante, Tony’s right-hand man in the HBO series, is played by John Magaro,
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38. Magaro was raised in his mother’s Jewish faith. A major character in the film is gangster Dickie Moltisanti, the father of gangster Christopher Moltisanti, a major Sopranos character. Dickie is played by Alessandro Nivola, 49, an excellent actor who I talked to years ago when he played a Jewish character in a littleseen film. Nivola told me he’s secular and confirmed that his father’s mother was an Austrian Jewish refugee. I hope Saints is his well-deserved “breakthough” role. David Chase once said that he tried to cast Italian-Americans in Italian parts on The Sopranos, but didn’t hesitate to cast Jewish actors in Italian parts because they were so like Italians. This comment helps explain why so many Jews are in Many Saints. By the way, Moltisani means “many saints” in Italian. The Addams Family 2, an animated film, opens in theaters on Oct. 1. Because of the Delta variant upsurge, it is also available via streaming rental on Oct. 1. This film is a sequel to The Addams Family, a hit in 2019. The returning (voice) cast includes Nick Kroll, 43, as Uncle Fester and Bette Midler, 75, as Grandmama. The Guilty had a limited theater opening on Sept. 24 and will begin streaming on Netflix on Oct. 1. It is a crime thriller. Jake Gyllenhaal, 40, stars as a troubled police detective demoted to 911 operator who scrambles to save a distressed caller. Diana: A Musical will
Jake Gyllenhaal
also begin streaming on Netflix on Oct. 1. It’s based on the life of Princess Diana. Diana began as a stage production that premiered in San Diego in 2019. It began previews on Broadway in March 2020 but closed because of the pandemic. It’s now set to open on Broadway this November. In the summer of 2020, a stage production of the show was filmed without an audience (that’s what Netflix will stream). The cast includes Judy Kaye, 72, as Queen Elizabeth II, and as Barbara Cartland (a romance novelist critical of Diana). Kaye, a Tony winner, has an amazing voice and range and often sings opera, too. David Bryan, 59, wrote the music for the show’s songs and co-wrote the song lyrics. Born David Bryan Rashbaum, he’s the keyboardist for the famous band Bon Jovi. He was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame with the band. Dear Evan Hansen opened yesterday in theaters. It’s based on the mega-hit Broadway play of the same name. The title character is a troubled teen. Ben Platt, 27, who created the stage role, plays Hansen in the film. Also, the music and lyrics, as on stage, are by
the Oscar-winning team of Benj Pasek, 36, and Justin Paul (La La Land). Sadly, almost all advance reviews are (surprisingly) terrible. Best to wait for it to stream and, perhaps, enjoy the songs. (Pasek and Paul met when they attended the University of Michigan.) The “Jewish showing” at the Emmys wasn’t as “bleak” as some leading Jewish media outlets have said. Here is the “real back story.” Many Emmy categories have recently increased the number of nominees. It’s this simple: more nominees equals more Jews nominated, but also more competition. Here are the “tribe” winners. Some of them were omitted from that same “bleak” coverage: Scott Frank, two Emmys: directing and producing The Queen’s Gambit, the best limited series; Peter Morgan, two Emmys: writing and producing The
Maya Rudolph
Crown, the best drama series; Brett Goldstein, best supporting actor, comedy, Ted Lasso; Maya Rudolph, two Emmys — voiceover performance (Big Mouth) and guest actress, comedy (SNL); and Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator/producer of Primal, the best animated series.
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CELEBRITY NEWS
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ARTS&LIFE
ON THE GO
PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS
‘FIELDING HOPE’ 5:30-11:00 PM, SEPT. 30 Samaritas, a social services nonprofit, will host Fielding Hope at Jimmy John’s Field, 7171 Auburn Road, Utica. This will be an outdoor celebration of Samaritas’ 87 years of impact throughout Michigan. In addition to an engaging and heartfelt program, dance to the sounds of live music, enjoy gourmet food, indulge in craft beer and cocktails from New Holland Brewing, and raise your live auction paddle and participate in a helicopter ball-drop raffle. All dollars raised will help fund statewide programs benefitting families, children, refugees and seniors. Tickets are available to the public and start at $150: samaritas.org. STOLEN VOICES 3-4 PM, OCT. 3 Zlata Filipovic discusses her book “Stolen Voices: Young People’s War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq.” Info: holocaustcenter.org/events. CAREGIVER SUPPORT 5:30-6:30 PM, OCT. 4 Virtual Caregiver Support Groups for individuals who are care partners for those living with cognitive changes, including various types of dementia. Please contact Dorothy Moon, Brown Adult Day Program social worker, for Zoom link and more information. 248-233-4392, dmoon@ jvshumanservices.org.
with a Jewish twist. Led by Pennsylvania native Karen Reb Rudel. This program is free of charge and open to the public. Registration is required at NCJWMI.org. MEADOW BROOK PLAY Oct. 13-Nov. 7 The Meadow Brook season opens with Clue, based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn, written by Sandy Rustin, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price. It is a madcap comedy that will keep you guessing until the final twist. Tickets range from $36 to $46 for individual plays. For additional information, visit mbtheatre.com.
APPLE PICKING 10-11 am, Oct. 5 Hosted by JCC’s JFamily Detroit at Spicer Orchards farm market, cider mill, fudge and bakery, 10411 Clyde Road, Fenton. Registration required; no cost to attend. Bags for apples must be purchased separately. Info: Rachael Gerstein, 248-432-5631; jfamily@jccdet.org. BINGLOW 7:30-10:30 PM, OCT. 16 Jewish Federation Affinities will host this program at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield. We’re transforming the Shaarey Zedek parking lot into a fluorescent drivein BINGlow hall with help from our friends at Star Trax. We’ll have some bright stars coming out Judy toBatalion be callers, awesome prizes, sweet swag, tons of treats and an afterglow complete with a few favorite food trucks. Make it a date night, a family night or a solo mission. Cost $36 per family plus a $36 minimum donation to Federation’s 2022 Annual Campaign. Please register in advance by Oct. 4. Info: Karen at kaplan@jfmd.org or Jodi at feld@jfmd.org.
CAMPAIGN EVENT 11:30 AM, OCT. 7 Women’s Philanthropy presents the Ruby-Lion of Judah 2022 Annual Campaign Event with special guest Judy Batalion. At Temple Israel, 5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield. Cost: $45 in person; $25 livestreaming option (program only). Info: Jessica Goodwin, (248) 2031470; goodwin@jfmd.org. All in-person attendees will be required to wear a mask for our outdoor event, regardless of vaccination status. Those live-streaming will receive a link prior to the event.
Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in advance to calendar@ thejewishnews.com.
A TOUR OF PARIS NOON, Oct. 7 Join NCJW | MI for a virtual walking tour of Paris SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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FOOD DINING IN
It’s Autumn —
Bring on the Comfort Foods!
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t’s as if September arrived and “boom,” it is autumn. I’m sure there are warm and dry days ahead, but after one of the hottest summers in a while, the chill has been somewhat of a shock. Still, we know what we’re in for so there should be no surprises when the days become shorter and we Annabel wake up in the dark. Cohen So, when it comes to Contributing writer eating, we are yearning for more and more warm and comforting foods. The following recipes are perfect fare that can literally be served for any meal. VEGETARIAN SPINACH AND RICOTTA-STUFFED SHELLS Stuffed pasta shells are great for many reasons — light, pretty, easy and each shell is an individual portion. Ingredients 12 oz. to 1 pound jumbo pasta shells Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle Filling: 2 packages (10-ounces each) frozen spinach, thawed and well drained 2 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder 1 pound (16-ounces) ricotta cheese 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese ½ cup chopped scallions (white and green parts) 3 Tbsp. prepared pesto Salt and pepper to taste 1 large egg Topping: 3-4 cups (or more to taste) good-quality marinara sauce (your favorite) Fresh grated or shaved Parmesan cheese to taste (about 1 cup to start) Directions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a large baking dish or disposable aluminum pan with nonstick cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Cook the shells according to package instructions to al dente (undercooked is better than overcooked). Carefully drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside. Drain the spinach in a colander for 15 minutes. Make the filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir well.
Divide the filling among the shells (use all the filling). Discard broken or damaged cooked shells (or chop them and put them in soup!). Assemble the dish: Spread half the sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange the shells, open side up in the baking dish (use more than one baking dish if the one you are using isn’t large enough). Spoon the remaining sauce over the tops of the shells. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with Parmesan and drizzle with olive oil. Makes 8 or more servings. OVERNIGHT PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST Although I’m not a big fan of the pumpkin spice craze, this is a recipe that is worth the praise. Make this in the morning or the night before you serve it, and bake it close to when you serve it. Ingredients 1 1-pound loaf or 1½ pound challah with crust, cut into 2-inch cubes Custard: 3 cups milk 1 cup canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree 1/3 cup brown sugar ¼ cup sugar 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. vanilla extract ½ tsp. salt 6 large eggs Directions Spray an attractive glass or ceramic baking dish (9x12-inch or equivalent). The dish should be more than 3 inches tall. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk together custard ingredients and pour over the bread cubes. Use a rubber spatula or your hands to toss the ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with plastic wrap up to 24 hours in advance. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake about 1 hour, until very puffy and golden. Serve immediately, sprinkled with powdered sugar, if desired, and real maple syrup. Or
serve warm (the French toast will deflate). Makes 12 or more servings. CURRIED CAULIFLOWER SWEET POTATO SOUP Ingredients 2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 cups chopped onions 1 red bell pepper, chopped 2 tsp. minced garlic 2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes 1½ Tbsp. ground curry 1 tsp. fennel seeds ½ tsp. ground cumin seeds 8 cups water 3 cups chopped cauliflower florets 4 cups 1-inch diced sweet potatoes 1 Tbsp. turmeric 1 can (about 14-oz) chickpeas or garbanzo beans Juice of 1 lemon Salt and pepper to taste Garnish: fresh plain yogurt Directions Combine oil, onions, bell pepper and garlic in a large pot over high heat. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are softened. Add the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT lemon, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice. Serve hot, with a dollop of yogurt. Makes 8 servings. ZUCCHINI COFFEE CAKE Simple because it’s made in a baking dish (so you just cut it into squares) and it always comes out perfect. Ingredients Topping: ¾ cup flour 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 tsp ground cinnamon ½ cup (1 stick) melted butter Cake: 3 cups flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 cup vegetable oil ¾ cup brown sugar (dark or light) ¼ cup sugar 2 large eggs at room temperature 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 cups shredded zucchini
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the exchange
FOOD DINING IN
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Directions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x12-inch baking dish with parchment. Set aside. Make the topping: Combine the topping ingredients and stir well (should be crumbly). Set aside. Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together in another bowl and stir or mix well (use an electric mixer, if you wish). Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold in the zucchini. Spread into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 20 servings. HEARTY MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP Ingredients 1½ pounds button or white mushrooms 3 Tbsp. butter or olive oil 1½ cups chopped yellow or
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white onion 1 tsp. chopped garlic, optional 1 cup ¼-inch diced celery 1½ cups ¼-inch diced carrots 1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes 1 bay leaf 8 cups beef broth or water 1 cup pearled barley Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste 1 cup frozen peas, thawed 1 oz. Sherry, if desired Directions Trim the ends of the mushroom stems and place them in a colander. Rinse them, turning them with your hands, to remove any soil. Slice the mushrooms. Melt butter or oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the celery and sauté for 3 minutes more. Add the carrots and parsley and stir well. Add the broth, mushrooms and bay leaf and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, stir in the barley and bring to a boil again. Add 1 tsp. of salt and ½ tsp. of pepper, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until the barley is tender. Stir in the Sherry, if using, and peas and cook for 10 minutes more. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Makes 8 or more servings.
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TBE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OPPORTUNITY Temple Beth El is seeking an Executive Director to engage our congregation and impact the community-at-large. Candidates should display strong interpersonal, organizational, and supervisory skills, as well as the desire to build sacred partnerships with our clergy, staff, lay leaders, and members. Come join our Temple Beth El family and be part of our rich history and robust future.
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OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
A Devotion to Justice SHARI COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
M
ichigan Court of Appeals Judge Jonathan Tukel died on Sept. 17, 2021, at age 60. Judge Tukel, an Orchard Lake resident, had a distinguished career as a lawyer, federal prosecutor, judge and adjunct law professor. As Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek said at the funeral, Judge Tukel followed the Jewish precept that “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” “He used his incredible gifts for justice, compassion, truth and faith and put his family above all else,” Rabbi Starr said. Chief Judge Christopher Murray of the Michigan Court of Appeals, said, “Judge Tukel’s devotion to the rule of law and the Constitution was surpassed only by his love and dedication to his family, friends and the University of Michigan, where he was an adjunct professor. “His laugh, sense of humor and never-ending curiosity about the law will be missed by all at the Court of Appeals.” At his funeral, family members spoke of his commitment to being with his close extended family — enjoying summers at Camp Michigania near Boyne City, U-M football weekends and seders. They appreciated his humility, deep sense of purpose and commitment to core values, but also his jokes and warmth that brought happiness to family occasions. Judge Tukel was described as a proud Jew who treasured
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his Jewish culture and supported Israel, and as a defender of the underdog. Despite a difficult battle with multiple myeloma, a deadly cancer, he focused on his professional goals and family and was grateful for the rich life that he achieved. Judge Tukel grew up in Oak Park and earned a bachelor’s degree and later a law degree magna cum laude from the University of Michigan. He began his legal career with the Detroit-based Honigman law firm, focusing on antitrust, labor and employment discrimination cases, as well as white-collar criminal defense. VAST PUBLIC SERVICE He subsequently served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Department of Justice, prosecuting cases involving narcotics, money laundering, tax evasion and public corruption. Rabbi Starr noted, “In his professional career, Judge Jon Tukel pursued justice with his entire being.” As chief of the National Security Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tukel and his colleagues investigated and prosecuted international and domestic terrorism cases. He was involved in two particularly well-known terrorism cases — the Underwear Bomber who tried to blow up an airplane over Detroit in 2009, and an immigrant who tried to fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship by concealing a terrorist past. In 2017, he achieved a lifelong dream by
Judge Jonathan Tukel
being appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to the Michigan Court of Appeals, 2nd District. In 2012, Judge Tukel was honored for his accomplishments, including the prosecution of the Underwear Bomber. He received a “Leader in the Law” award from the Michigan Lawyers Weekly as well as the Attorney General Award from the Department of Justice for “Excellence in Furthering the Interest in U.S. National Security” and the United States Attorney’s Award from the United States Attorney’s Office. Judge Tukel shared his knowledge as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School. In addition, he lectured at the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI Academy and at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada while serving at the Department of Justice. He also chaired the Michigan Attorney Discipline
Board Hearing Panel. Rabbi Starr said, “We will always remember Judge Jon Tukel as a man who used his incredible gifts to devote his life to justice, to compassion, to faith and, most of all, to his family — above all else.” Judge Jonathan Tukel is survived by his wife, Sandra Tukel; sons, Steven Tukel, Henry Tukel and Andrew Tukel; mother-in-law, Reva Kuhel; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Barry Kuhel, Dr. William and Alexandra Kuhel, and Dr. Alan and Beth Kuhel; sister and brother-inlaw, Susan Tukel and Michael Balloch; brother and sister-inlaw, Daniel Tukel and Shelly Milstein; nephews and niece, Albert Kuhel, Philip Kuhel, Ryan Kuhel and his fiancee, Alyssa Weakley, Talia Kuhel, and Adam Tukel-Finegood. He is also survived by many loving relatives, colleagues and friends. Judge Tukel was the devoted son of the late Sherwin and the late Emily Tukel, and the loving son-in-law of the late Dr. Eli H. Kuhel. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Frankel Jewish Academy, 6600 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, www.frankelja. org; or Dresner Family Clinic, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI 48201, www. karmanos.org/karmanos/ joseph-dresner-family-clinic. Arrangements by the Ira Kaufman Chapel.
SANDRA D. BERNSTEIN, 88, of Novi, died Sept. 23, 2021. She is survived by her beloved husband, Dr. Fred Bernstein; son, Michael Bernstein; daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Sanford Barris; sister-in-law, Loretta Meier; grandchildren, Brooke Bernstein, Aaron (Stephanie) Barris, Gayle (Paul) Shotkin, Kelsey Holden and Neil (Jessica) Barris; eight great-grandchildren and many other loving family members and friends. Mrs. Bernstein was the sister of the late Mark Meier. Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park in Livonia. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, to the Pancreatic Action Network or a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
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HERMAN BRODER, 97, passed away at home in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sept.
18, 2021. The youngest of four children, Herman was born Dec. 25, 1923, in Detroit, to Louis and Lottie Broder, immigrants from Russia. Herman and his wife, Frances, moved full time to Boca Raton, Fla., in 1992, living in Boca Lago and Boca Woods. They moved to Scottsdale in November 2017 to be near their son Joel, who, with his partner,
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Some days seem to last forever…
We’re offering one that actually will.
You can honor the memory of a loved one in a most meaningful way by sponsoring a day of Torah learning at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah.
During the coming week, Kaddish will be said for these departed souls during the daily minyan at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. Your support of the Torah learning of our children and our Kollel’s Torah Scholars brings immeasurable heavenly merit. Please call us at 248-557-6750 for more information.
Menachem Herz 27 Tishrei Oct. 3 Etta Josselson Chaya Sarah Dworkin Vita Levine David Milton Garmel Dorothy Stewart Zella C Goulson Dinah Superstine Carolyn Leiderman Samuel Mordecai Levin Mary Tatelbaum Brian Marcus Margolis Chayah S. Tugman 30 Tishrei Oct. 6 Leah Sherr Max B. Berent Kalman Silber Ida Bronstein Joseph Silver Richard Colby Ida Solomon Ida Freedman Eva Rebecca Waterstone Samuel Goodstein Molly Weingarden Irving Gould Simon Young Rachel Lerman 28 Tishrei Oct. 4 Beatrice Morris Israel Grossman James Allan Rose Chaim Yehuda Aryeh Freda Sachs Leib Lazar Hirsch Saperstein Clara Sherizen 1 Cheshvan Oct. 7 Edward Stark Sarah Carmen Rosann Toby Reuben Cottler Herman Weberman Tzvi Engelbaum Morris Paul Yampolsky Blanche Freedman 29 Tishrei Oct. 5 Irving Goldfarb Anna Apple Rolf Herz Louis J Been Henry Hubert Muriel Bennet Olga Keller Dora Kramer Maurice C. Fink
Max Lipson Theodore Shaffer Margaret Singer Snider Jacob Strom 2 Cheshvan Oct. 8 Yetta Benaderet Mary Berman Simon Berman Lena Gittleman Louis Goldsmith Isadore Katz Morris Lubatkin Samuel Paul Esther Pollock Louis Sheftel Earl Sobole Mel Stumacher 3 Cheshvan Oct. 9 Gertrude Brodsky Jack M. Citron Samuel Wolf Furman Sarah Isser Louis I. Kramer Celia Rott Libbie Schneider Rebecca Siegel Louis Topor Jacob Warner Hyman Wexler
School for Boys • Beth Jacob School for Girls • Bais Yehudah Preschool Weiss Family Partners Detroit • Kollel Bais Yehudah • Maalot Detroit P.O. Box 2044 • Southfield, MI 48037• 248-557-6750 • www.YBY.org
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OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 49
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Susie Okun, supervised care for Herman in his final years. Mr. Broder is survived by his wife, Frances, and four sons with Frances, Rodney (Elanna) Broder, Kenneth (partner, Elizabeth Troy) Broder, Arlan Broder and Joel (partner, Susie Okun) Broder; grandchildren, Rochelle (Scott) Broder-Singer, Ilyse (Lonny) Goldsmith, Kari Broder, Dayna Broder, Adrienne (Joshua) Katke, Pamela Broder (partner, Paul Mako) and Zoe (Jesse) Burgher; greatgrandchildren, Hannah Goldsmith, Emma Goldsmith, Broder Katke, Henry Katke, Theo Katke and Madeline Mako; many nieces and nephews. He was very close to his wife’s three sisters and their husbands, the late Hilda Ginns and her husband, his best friend, Albert Ginns; the late Jackie and Jerry Gibbs; and Beverly and Jerry Viedrah. He was preceded in death by his sister, Marge (Louis) Pleason; and brothers, Max (Bertha) Broder and Norman (Rose) Broder. Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Hospice of the Valley, hov.org/donate. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. MILDRED BRODIE, 97, of West Bloomfield, died Sept. 21, 2021. She is survived by her daughters,
Caryn Jaeger and Laurie Green; grandchild, Alan Burk; many other loving family members and friends. Mrs. Brodie was the beloved wife of the late Sidney Brodie; sister of the late Martin Moss; motherin-law of the late Richard Jaeger. Interment took place at Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale. Contributions may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Rabbis’ Discretionary Fund at Temple Israel or the Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. SIDNEY E. KLING, 88, of Brighton, died Sept. 22, 2021. He is survived by his beloved wife, Claudia Kling; children, Nathan Kling, Larry and Julie Kling, Adena Kling, Marc and Deborah Martinkowski, Laurie and Dean Jankowski; grandchildren, Danielle, Kayla, Matthew, Kaylin, Carson, Gavin, Ryan and Ava; many other loving family members and friends. Mr. Kling was the brother of the late Marcia Kahn, the late Selma Racklin and the late Murray Kling. Interment took place at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly. Contributions may be made to the National Parkinson Foundation. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
DAVID ALLAN LAVERDIERE, 69, passed away Sept. 16, 2021. He was born on June 3, 1952, and proudly served his country in the U.S. Army for more than 25 years; he retired as a major. Mr. Laverdiere is survived by his loving wife, Grace (Levett) Laverdiere. He was the proud father of Zach Laverdiere. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, the Americans with Diabetes Association or a charity of your choice. Arrangements by Sullivan Funeral Directors, sullivanfuneraldirectors.com.
WILLIAM GEORGE LAWSON, 64, of Bloomfield Hills, died Sept. 16, 2021. He was a dedicated and committed caregiver for his father and his mother, a lover of all things sports and athletics: football, basketball and baseball. He also loved to cook. Mr. Lawson is survived by his brother, John Arden Lawson. He was the beloved son of the late Harold and the late Ellin Lawson Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Temple Beth El, Ellin and Harold
Lawson Youth Institute, 7400 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, tbeonline.org/donationpage. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. JANICE A. FELDMAN MELTZER, 70, born June 9, 1951, passed away Aug. 8, 2021, in Tucson, Ariz. Born in Detroit, Janice received her nursing degree and practiced for several years in Los Angeles; she then switched to event planning for major concerts and sporting events. She was always traveling around the world and taking
wonderful pictures of her adventures. Being a talented, gifted artist since childhood, she created glass art full time and was invited to start teaching. Her unique glass artwork was displayed and sold at several venues. Always upbeat and positive, she was beloved by all. Janice will forever be remembered and missed for her bubbly, fun, loving personality and her kind, thoughtful, supportive and generous spirit. Mrs. Meltzer is survived by her loving sisters and brother, Carolyn Feldman, Ellen (Robert) Fenkell and Mark (Marianne) Feldman; her many loved nephews, niece, great-nephew, greatcontinued on page 52
Serving each family. Consoling each heart. For 105 years.
SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 51
niece, cousins, stepfamily and wonderful friends. She was the beloved wife of the late David B. Meltzer, who affectionately referred to her as “JA;” the loving daughter of the late Cyril “Cy” and late Elaine Leslie Feldman. Local arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. ZACHARY SCOTT RAIDER, 23, of Birmingham, died Sept. 19, 2021. He is survived by his parents, Julie Fish Raider and Stuart Raider; brother, Joshua Raider; grandmother, Rhoda Raider; uncles and aunts, Martin and
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SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
Alison Hochbaum, Jonathan Raider, and Richard and Ellen Simmons; many other loving aunts, uncles, cousins and a world of friends. Mr. Raider was the cherished grandson of the late Jordan Sheldon Raider, and the late Steven and the late Elaine Fish. Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Kadima, 15999 W. 12 Mile, Southfield, MI 48076, kadimacenter.org; Common Ground, 1410 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302, commongroundhelps. org; or American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), 120 Wall St., 29th Floor, New York, NY 10005,
afsp.org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. RON SOUFRINE, 73, of Palm Springs, Calif., formerly of Detroit, died Sept. 15, 2021. He is survived by his beloved life partner, Ricki Rogow; children, Marcy, Zack (fiancée Kaylen), and Anthony; sister and brotherin-law, Joanee and Stephen Hurwitz; niece and nephew, Alexandra and Andrew Weitz; Wyatt, LuLu and Simone; Ricki’s children and grandchildren and a world of friends. Mr. Soufrine was the devoted son of the late
Albert and the late Shirley Soufrine. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Local arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. SUSAN KOKIL STILLWATER, 72, of Oakland, Calif., formerly of Michigan, died Sept. 19, 2021. She was a graduate of Detroit Cass Tech and the University of Michigan. She was a black belt in Kung Fu. Mrs. Stillwater is survived by her daughter and sonin-law, Pilar Stillwater and Jeff Dalldorf; brother and sister-in-law, Larry Stillwater and Randi Brown;
sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Craig Ellison; adoring grandchild, Declan Stillwater; nephews Steven Stillwater (Carrie) and Michael Stillwater (Lisa); aunt, Betty Stone (the late Sidney Stone); many loving cousins and friends. She was the beloved daughter of the late Fraida and the late Dr. Karl Stillwater. She was preceded in death by Pilar’s father, Harold Chivo Fellion. Contributions may be made to the Dr. Karl Stillwater Memorial Fund in Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital Foundation, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Suite. 218, Detroit, MI 48202-9807; or a charity of one’s choice.
DR. DAVID SUSSER, 92, of Bloomfield Hills, died Sept. 20, 2021. Dr. Susser is survived by his wife of 58 years, Danielle Susser; sons and daughters-in-law, Steven and Aviva Susser, and Eric Susser and Theone Davis; daughter and sonin-law, Nicole Susser and Roger Lewis; grandchildren, Ethan, Isaac and Anna Susser, Josephine, Victoria and Wyeth Davis, and Maya, Ella and Tessa Lewis; brother, Murray “Buzzy” Susser; sister-in-law, Liliane Hershkowitz; many loving nieces and nephews. Dr. Susser was the loving
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brother of the late Ruth Leeds, the late Larry Susser, and the late Margery Tamres; the dear brother-in-law of the late George “Jojo” Zeff. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Des Moines College of Osteopathic Medicine, 3200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312, dmu.edu/do; or American College of Osteopathic Internists, 11400 Rockville Pike, #801, Rockville, MD 20852, acoi. org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
OBITUARY CHARGES The processing fee for obituaries is: $125 for up to 100 words; $1 per word thereafter. A photo counts as 15 words. There is no charge for a Holocaust survivor icon. The JN reserves the right to edit wording to conform to its style considerations. For information, have your funeral director call the JN or you may call Sy Manello, editorial assistant, at (248) 351-5147 or email him at smanello@ thejewishnews.com.
Mary and Henry
Raiber
MARY AND HENRY RAIBER Mom, we can’t believe it’s been 17 years already and Dad, it’s been 7 years since you left us. Mom years already Notwea can’t day believe goes its bybeen that15we don’t think of you. You are both missed and Dad it’s been 5 years since you left us. youthatwill everthink know. Notmore a daythan goes by we don’t of you. We love you with all of our hearts. You are both missed more than you will ever know.
xall of our hearts. We love you with
Frieda x & Jay Igol Lili & Les Frieda & Jay Gold Igol Les GoldRosner EstherLili &&Frank Esther & Frank Rosner Your loving Grandchildren Your loving Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021
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Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
Semper Fi!
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SGT. ISAIAH CAMPBELL/USMC/JTA
Y
ou may have seen the recent, heart-touching photo showing Jewish U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Matt Jaffe holding a baby during the evacuations in Kabul, Afghanistan. The war there ended as it began, with Marines guarding the airport, but Jaffe showed the world the compassionate side of the Marine Corps (USMC). Unfortunately, this tender moment was followed by a despicable terrorist bombing that killed 13 U.S. servicemen — 11 of them Marines — with others wounded. About 170 Afghan civilians were also killed and Mike Smith many more were wounded. Alene and Graham Landau As someone who served in Archivist Chair the Corps, I felt the impact of both stories. They also led me to inquire about Jewish Marines in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History. I found plenty of great reading. Note: While I’m writing about Marines, the Archive also holds a tremendous number of stories about Detroit Jews serving with honor in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard — and the Israel Defense Forces. One of the earliest stories was about Jewish Detroiter and Marine Leonard Koch returning from WWI with a “scarred war diary.” Koch fought in numerous battles, including Chateau-Thierry, one of the most storied battles in USMC history (May 23, 1919, Chronicle). The JN and the Chronicle closely followed Jews in the Marines during WWII and after. You may have known some of them. Monte Korn, well known postwar for his financial advice on radio and TV. He was a Marine (Feb. 28, 2013 JN). Local lawyer William Weinstein become the first Jewish Michigander and only the second Jewish American to become a Brigadier General in the USMC (Aug. 25, 1967 JN). Sgt. Sheldon
Sgt. Matt Jaffe, a U.S. Marine assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), holds a baby during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, in this photo taken on Aug. 20, 2021.
Schwartz of Novi was a Medal of Honor awardee. This medal is only given to the bravest of the brave (Nov. 6, 2009 JN). And it is not just Detroit Jewish men who served and serve in the Marines. Evelyn Nyman was the first Michigan woman to enlist in the Marines during WWII (obituary in Dec. 21, 2006 JN). Dorothy Florence joined the USMC in 1944 (Oct. 13, 1944 Chronicle). In 1945, Dr. and Mrs. Morris Schiff welcomed their daughter, Cookie, home after two and a half years in the Corps (Dec. 14, 1945 Chronicle). Jewish Detroiters also do their part to support Marines. For example, a front-page photo for the Aug. 8, 1943 JN shows USMC Capt. Frank Upton receiving a contribution for the cigarette fund, a project that was sponsored by the JN (while no one would have a “cigarette fund” drive today, during WWII most in the military smoked and greatly appreciated extra cigarettes). This tradition of Michigan Jews supporting Marines continues today. For example, see the story about the friends of Lance Corporal Jordan Leitson in the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on
board the USS Carter Hall. They sent him and his buddies lots of goodies (July 25, 2013). MEUs, by the way, are stationed on U.S. ships around the world, ready to go into action at a moment’s notice. Appropriately, in 2019, the USMC held its first Jewish Heritage Month recognition for “the invaluable service and selfless contributions Jewish Americans, both military and civilian, give to our country and Corps.” This means Sgt. Jaffe and all Jewish Marines. Semper Fi! Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation. org.
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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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