DJN November 18, 2021

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 Nov. 18-24, 2021 / 14-20 Kislev 5782

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thejewishnews.com

House of Spirit

Frankel Jewish Academy introduces ‘FJA Houses’ to promote communitybuilding and school spirit.

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contents Nov. 18-24, 2021 / 14-20 Kislev 5782 | VOLUME CLX, ISSUE 15

PURELY COMMENTARY

4-12 Essays and viewpoints.

OUR COMMUNITY 14 House of Spirit

Frankel Jewish Academy introduces ‘FJA Houses’ to promote communitybuilding and school spirit.

18

Chanukah Happenings

Local organizations have special events planned for the holiday.

20

For the Love of Books

21

A Life in the Law

22

2021 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival promises to be ‘eclectic.’

Judge Avern Cohn launches new book.

“The Honor of my Life”

WDIV-TV General Manager Marla

Drutz retires after 40 years in television.

23

Welcome Home, Danny Fenster!

Journalist held in Myanmar prison is back home in Huntington Woods.

NATIONAL 24 White Nationalists

Unapologetic

The second week of Charlottesville

trial includes testimony by white nationalists and Holocaust expert Prof. Deborah Lipstadt.

JEWISH@EDU 26 Mic-Drop!

MSU’s Zipser Open-Mic Night gives students the chance to showcase their talents.

28

Israel Peace Week

29

Furry Therapy

Hillel’s Students for Israel educate Wayne State students about Israel.

Hillel of Metro Detroit helps sponsor Pet a Puppy at Lawrence Technological University.

GIFT GUIDE 30 Toys that Teach

Kids can learn through play with Discovery Toys.

32

A Grab Bag of Gift Ideas

Still looking for the perfect present?

Try one of these.

34

Holiday Shop

Find unique gifts at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center starting Dec. 2.

SPORTS 36 Back on the Lanes

Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowlers must be vaccinated for COVID-19 to compete.

36

Quick Hits

23

FOOD 38 Bring on the Sides

for Turkey Day

ERETZ 41 Israel Year in Review MAZEL TOV 42 Moments

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SPIRIT 43 Torah portion 44

Be Thyself

46

Synagogue Directory

ARTS&LIFE 48 A Link to Past Generations

Through art, writing and teaching, Jay Saper honors his Jewish heritage.

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From the Underworld and Back Hadestown comes to Michigan for two stops.

52

Celebrity News

EVENTS 53 Community Calendar ETC.

The Exchange 54 Spotlight 56 Obituaries 57 Looking Back 62

48 Shabbat Lights

Shabbat begins: Friday, Nov. 19: 4:49 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, Nov. 20: 5:52 p.m. * Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

ON THE COVER: Cover photo/credit: Students at Frankel Jewish Academy enjoy Spirit Week. Courtesy of FJA. Cover design: Michelle Sheridan

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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PURELY COMMENTARY for openers

I

n my Oct. 14 column, I bemoaned the fact that our radio and television airwaves have become saturated with nonstop, nailson-a-chalkboard-annoying commercials promoting sportsbook betting. Thank you to the JN readers who reached out to me since then to share their own disdain. I knew I wasn’t Alan alone.

Muskovitz I did want to add a little addendum to my diatribe that I didn’t include in my previous column simply because I had reached my word count. So please indulge me for a few extra words on the subject.

(I’ll make it up to you with some lighter fare later in the column.)

Sportsbook betting is here, it’s legal and I’m not campaigning to have that form of entertainment “canceled.”

But I think it’s worrisome that at the core of most, if not all, of the commercials are the ceaseless bombardment of incentives to entice you into gambling.

Sportsbook commercials woo you with deals like “riskfree” betting, deals that will “match your bet” or the lure of “bonus money,” just to name a few. If you weren’t a gambler before, you just might be seduced into being one or, regrettably, feed an already existing addiction.

The promotional messages are always followed by a rapidfire disclaimer at the end that includes an 800 number to call

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

if you’re having a gambling problem.

Admittedly, sportsbook commercials aren’t really doing anything different than, let’s say pizza commercials, that offer two pizzas for the price of one.

One is offering you the chance to line your pockets; the other is offering to line your arteries.

Both whet your appetite, but the last time I checked, pizza commercials that are “feeding” my deep-dish addiction don’t offer an 800-help number.

At any rate, I just wanted to get that additional issue about sportsbooks off my chest. At the end of the day, whether it’s gambling or eating, it really is all about self-control anyway, right? I mean that’s why I’ve never been asked to lead a Weight Watchers meeting.

OK, I’m going to do an about face and share what are currently my absolute favorite commercials airing right now. Hands down it’s the entertaining television ads produced by Progressive Insurance.

You’re probably most familiar with the commercials that feature “Flo” and her team of Progressive Insurance representatives dressed in their white company aprons bestowing the virtues of Progressive’s coverage in a variety of humorous situations.

I love those. But it’s the Progressive spots that feature life coach “Dr. Rick” that leave me laughing out loud.

Dr. Rick is a so-called pioneer in “parentamorphosis” who helps sufferers to “un-become” their parents. He takes his “patients” on group

PROGRESSIVE.COM

Commercially Speaking

outings to perform exposure therapy to help change their behaviors learned by years of witnessing their own aging parents’ awkward and humiliating habits.

The patients of Dr. Rick I most relate to are those folks who have the uncontrollable urge to communicate with complete strangers in public places. Examples include a woman in an airport who witnesses someone running late for a flight and can’t help but say out loud: “Oh no, someone should’ve left home earlier.” Or the man in a hardware store who offers unsolicited advice to another customer looking at the same display. “If you’re looking for a grout brush this is...,” he says, before Dr. Rick intervenes and stops him from talking up the great virtues of a particular grout brush he’s holding.

I ... am ... that... grout brush guy. What can I say? I’m a kibitzer to a fault and, OK, I’m starved for attention.

I’ve passed by folks walking teeny-weenie little dogs and said: “Lookout, killer dog on the loose!” which is usually followed by sympathy chuckles from the dog owners. I’ll turn to a parent holding a baby in

line at Starbucks and say: “I’ll bet your baby can’t start their day without that first cup of coffee,” again followed by a respectful “ha, ha, ha.” Yeah, I know — pathetic.

But it was a similar “talking to a complete stranger” incident at a Starbucks just last week that may make me think twice, at least temporarily, from entering these awkward, uninvited exchanges.

I had joined a group of people waiting for their coffee orders to be finished. Among them was a mom with her cute son, maybe all of 5 years old, who was nattily dressed in a two-piece suit and shiny black dress shoes. And my impulsive self said: “Looks like your little businessman is getting ready for a long day at work.” The mom smiled and said: “Yes, thank you, he looks sharp, but unfortunately. we’re going to a funeral.” In Starbucks lingo, I felt like a Grande Moron.

I have an appointment with Dr. Rick next week. I hope he accepts Medicare.

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voiceover/acting talent, speaker, and emcee. Visit his website at laughwithbigal.com,“Like” Al on Facebook and reach him at amuskovitz@thejewishnews.com.

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PURELY COMMENTARY essay

Grandmother’s Warning

W

hen can I come on one of your tours at the Holocaust Center?” my then 10-year-old granddaughter Annie asked after she heard me talk to her older brother about what I do as a docent there.

“I hope soon,” Linda I said, evading Laderman a direct answer because Annie is the girl who cries at movies even when there’s a happy ending. I didn’t think she was emotionally ready to hear the story of the Holocaust.

Annie reminds me of a young visitor, a girl, who once asked me where Anne Frank is buried.

I was lost for words then, too. I knew the likely answer, but, as a mother and grandmother, I

hesitated. “I’m not quite sure,” I hedged, as I looked at the freckle-faced questioner. Wearing a Girl Scout uniform with double rows of badges, she couldn’t have been older than 11. She looked back and smiled. Should I have spared her from the reality? I am still not sure of the correct answer.

Before COVID-19 put a stop to in-person visits at the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus in Farmington Hills, Michigan, my docent colleagues and I were giving several tours a week to groups of school kids, college students, and adults of all ages and backgrounds.

Becoming a docent was never part of my plan. Yet, I realize now that the seeds were planted early by my grandmother, Esther Civins Wittenberg, who

was born in Lithuania. One day, while watching the news on our new black-and-white RCA television, my grandmother, whom I called Nanny, said to me, “Don’t ever think it can’t happen here.” I was 8, too young to fully grasp what she meant, but I had a child’s instinct to understand that her words were something I should remember.

Nanny was born in 1886, just as a fresh wave of pogroms tore through Lithuania’s Jewish communities. As a young woman, she and her husband sought religious freedom in America.

While she loved her adopted country, she never forgot where she came from, and she never failed to remind me that the liberties she found in the United States were not to be taken for granted.

In many respects her

America was like my America — imperfect but buoyed by its underlying ideals of freedom, equality and dignity. Esther Civins Wittenberg believed in the promise of those ideals.

After all, in the midst of the Great Depression, one son made it through medical school.

Another became a successful politician in the Midwest when Jews were rarely elected to public office. And, in 1935, her youngest, my mother, married an attorney — arguably not an achievement in 2021 when half of all law students are women, but that was 1935.

By the time World War I began, Nanny was a young mother with three children under the age of 10. She and her husband had established a successful produce business in Ohio. But with the onset continued on page 8

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PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 6

of the Depression, they lost everything. Still, they started over. Then came the Second World War and the reality that money they had sent to help get their endangered family out of Eastern Europe either arrived too late, or not at all.

CONFRONTATIONS WITH ANTISEMITISM While growing up in Toledo, Ohio, and throughout my life, I would recall my grandmother’s words whenever I was confronted with antisemitism.

Don’t think it can’t happen here.

Sometimes I would feel compelled to act, but other times I would look away.

Toledo was not the county seat of tolerance. Graves were routinely vandalized in the area’s two Jewish cemeteries.

I remember how my stomach ached when I was sent home from Hebrew school because swastikas and other Nazi slogans had been spray-painted on our synagogue’s windows.

As an 11-year-old, I was confused. What had we done? Was this the antisemitism that had fueled my grandmother’s veiled warning?

When I was 30 years old, shopping for my son, I discovered a costume kiosk at my local mall selling Hitler masks for Halloween. It was 1983. “We have to do something. I am going to call every media outlet in town to see this,” I yelled over the phone to the city’s sole Orthodox rabbi. “If we go to the media, it will only draw more attention to the issue,” he answered. “How had our silence ever served us?” I asked him.

I vehemently objected. They removed them.

My Judaism provoked other incidents of prejudice and

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reaction. There was the time a college friend told me I wasn’t welcome to join their spring break trip. It wasn’t her choice, she said. One of the mothers of another girl forbade her daughter to go if I went. I didn’t want to spoil it for the rest of the group. I stayed home.

In 1991, on an assignment to interview tennis great Billie Jean King, I mentioned that the club where we were about to attend a sponsor’s lunch had historically barred Jews from joining.

I am still ashamed that I backed down when King indicated that if that was the case she would leave. “I don’t think they do that anymore,” I murmured. My moral compass was broken.

But it was when my then-teenage son, the only child of a Jewish mother and Catholic father, was taunted by members of his hockey team for his heritage that I felt most betrayed.

Who were these kids I’d adored?

Until then I saw them as my son’s talented teammates. Now I saw them as anti-Semites.

How could they use the ethnic slur, kike? Did they even know what it meant? I should not have been happy when my son jumped on top of the kid who started the war of words, but I was.

Still, weren’t we lucky? A twoday suspension for fighting on the hockey bus wasn’t a death sentence for my child. Unlike our European Jewish brothers and sisters who lost their lives because they were Jews, we didn’t have to run. We wouldn’t be murdered. We were born here. We were Americans!

My grandmother’s warning tucked away, I told myself that these kids just didn’t understand how much pain their words created.

THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER When I moved to the Detroit area in the spring of 2011, I was excited to find a robust Jewish community that included Jewish adult education, more than a dozen synagogues and, most importantly to me, the Holocaust Memorial Center.

On my first visit to the Center, I sat alone on the long granite bench in front of the black stone wall inscribed with the names of the Nazi-occupied European countries, and the number of Jews murdered from each of those nations. I walked closer and stood where I could see my reflection in the smooth stone. I set my gaze on Lithuania, my grandmother’s birthplace, where 130,000 Jews were murdered. I fixated on the what ifs. What if, like the 6 million victims of the Shoah, she couldn’t have left?

It was as if Nanny was reminding me to take nothing for granted.

I knew that I wanted to be a part of the Holocaust Memorial Center where I would be able to do more than randomly holler at someone or something. I wanted to learn to tell the story of the Holocaust in the best way I could.

A new docent class was beginning in a few months.

Yet, after going on a few public tours, I doubted my ability to share the story of the Holocaust with visitors. I was not a Holocaust scholar or a survivor.

I didn’t consider myself a storyteller like the other docents I’d heard. Oh, they were so good.

Suddenly I was just that scared Hebrew-school kid whose stomach hurt. But this time I knew why, and that I had to do something about it.

I was accepted into the next docent class and paired with a mentor, Donna Sklar, of blessed memory. She taught me how to tell a story. Halfway through the training I told her that I was sure I could not do this.

She smiled and told me that my lack of confidence was “right on time.” Did I want the phone number of her other successful mentees who had also panicked halfway through? she asked, reminding me that her docentsin-training always passed.

It wasn’t an option to ruin Donna’s perfect record.

Over the next few years, I spoke to groups about vigilance, the fragility of democracy, and why, when we talk about the horrors of the Holocaust, we proclaim, “Never again.” More often than not, I felt compelled to explain that “never again” has become an aspirational phrase in a world where genocide based on race, religion and ethnicity continue to exist.

This past winter, as the U.S. Capitol was breached by those who didn’t believe in the veracity of the election results, I again thought of Nanny’s warning. It is happening here with a fueled ferocity that I thought I’d never see. I’m tempted to throw my hands up and say there’s nothing I can do. But when I think of the faces of the people whom I’ve met on my tours, I know that’s not an option. Because if I don’t want it to happen here, I have to do everything I can to try and make a difference.

Linda Laderman is a Detroit-area writer and a volunteer docent at the Holocaust Memorial Center where she leads adult groups on discussion tours.

This was originally published in Jewish Historical Society of Michigan’s journal, Michigan Jewish History, Vol. 61 (Summer 2021) and is being reprinted with the permission of JHSM.

letters THE JCC BOOK FAIR I grew up in Northwest Detroit and also have friends who remember the “old neighborhood” whose high school students went to Central High. Because of this, I have always enjoyed reading Mike Smith’s column, as I enjoyed reading about the many good times my friends and I enjoyed growing up in the 1950s in these areas in Detroit.

However, I did have an issue with his last column about the history of the Jewish Book Fair (Nov. 4, page 54). First, let me thank and commend all the many volunteers who helped make the Jewish Book Fair such an important event. It was what was not included in the article that bothered me.

The Jewish Book Fair was a pretty small event for quite a while. However, under the hard work and guidance of Adele Silver, it became the best Jewish Book Fair in the United States. Adele was able to bring many well-known Jewish authors to speak at the book fair without them receiving large payments for doing such. There were also new authors who were brought to our attention.

Sometimes, it was difficult to choose which lecture to attend. It was an oversight not to acknowledge her contribution to the book fair.

— Judith Ancell Farmington Hills

THANK GOD FOR ISRAEL DAY On Sunday, Nov. 7, I had the privilege of attending the “Thank God for Israel Day” via Zoom.

This annual event, sponsored by the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, is held to educate and bring the Christian and Jewish communities together in steadfast support for the State of Israel.

Sixty enthusiastic proIsrael supporters attended the event.

We listened with great interest to our speaker, Daniel Pollak, Zionist Organization of America director of government relations and head of its Washington office, discuss the embassy/consulate issue; the political turmoil in Israel; the younger generation’s loss of interest; and the hatred and extremism driving a wedge in the U.S./Israel relationship.

Pollak’s command of the subject and Q&A responses were smart, educational and important.

We came away from this experience encouraged by our Zionist Christian friends who expressed their wholehearted commitment to the survival of the State of Israel and its people.

As Psalm 133:1 states: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”

Congratulations and thank you to Rev. Tim Munger, the Friends of Israel Great Lakes executive director, for his tireless efforts with this yearly program and his organization’s dedication to Israel, and to ZOA”s Dan Pollack for his clarity and expertise.

— Ed Kohl West Bloomfield

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PURELY COMMENTARY essay

Encouraging Jews to Connect to Their Judaism

T

he Pew Research Center study on “Jewish Americans in 2020,” which was released in May this year, shows that Reform and Conservative Judaism is plummeting, while the number of “unaffiliated” is increasing. The Farley Weiss same goes for the JNS.org Orthodox, the vast majority of whom don’t intermarry and have many more children than their non-Orthodox counterparts.

According to the poll, six in 10 Jews intermarried during the last 10 years, as compared with 45 percent in the previous decade. In contrast, only 18 percent of Jews who married before 1980 have a non-Jewish spouse.

These statistics, which reflect a rapidly changing Jewish world, should be cause for pause, contemplation and action.

Outreach efforts to stem assimilation have not made significant inroads, however. Clearly, then, the current strategy to bring Jews back to Judaism needs altering.

The key may lie in an ancient text — Chapter 3/12 of Pirkei Avot/“Ethics of the Fathers”— in which Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa says: “Those whose wisdom exceeds their deeds, their wisdom will not endure; but those whose deeds exceed their wisdom, their wisdom will endure.”

In other words, the focus

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needs to be on persuading Jews to perform mitzvot, God’s commandments, many of which will have an impact on the person observing even a few of them. Lighting candles before sunset on the eve of Shabbat, for example — even if one is not yet keeping the Sabbath — is a beautiful step

that Noah took during his 120 years of building the ark, and not a single person followed his example.

Instead, it was Abraham and Sarah who became the first Jews, hosting meals for strangers and speaking to them about God. The Torah says that they taught those

in the right direction.

And it only takes a couple of minutes. Former famed Israeli actor Uri Zohar started with this mitzvah, eventually leading to his switching of careers and becoming a renowned rabbi. Literally and figuratively, the impact of the deed on the actor — the one who acts — cannot be overstated.

Unfortunately, rather than getting Jews excited about mitzvot, some outreach organizations emphasize the wisdom of Judaism. But without the mitzvot, the wisdom learned doesn’t endure.

Others teach young Jews to serve as an example to others.

Yet, this was the approach

with them to act with “charity and justice.” Good behavior inspired by wisdom, in turn, created inspiration among their followers.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE ORTHODOX Furthermore, Jews need to be encouraged to experience Judaism, not simply by visiting Israel or learning about the Holocaust. Much can be learned from the Orthodox about what works and what doesn’t.

Orthodox Jews, for instance, take a break from using cell phones and responding to emails one day a week. It’s a great process of rejuvenation.

Shabbat meals, too, are uplifting, as they provide uninterrupted time for parents and kids to speak and be together, without everyone staring at a screen. It’s an essential component of family bonding.

In addition, because they don’t drive on Shabbat, Orthodox Jews tend to live within walking distance from one another and form a community.

It’s common to invite guests or receive invitations to others’ homes for Shabbat meals.

Many lifelong friendships and even marriages have come about from such gatherings.

When I told a friend who used to drive to our synagogue that though we enjoyed seeing him on Shabbat morning, it would be better to see him all day, and suggested that he move to the neighborhood, I was glad that he took my advice. He later said that it was the best decision he’d ever made. If I hadn’t suggested it, it might not have occurred to him.

A similar thing happened when I witnessed a friend in his 70s laying tefillin (putting on phylacteries) at his grandson’s bar mitzvah for the first time since his own bar mitzvah.

“Abe, laying tefillin takes five minutes,” I said to him. “Could you do this every day?”

He responded with great enthusiasm and engaged in the practice from that day forward.

Had I not given him the idea, it’s not likely that he would have done it.

The above two encounters illustrate the way in which Jews can bond.

Another bonding custom among the Orthodox is the shivah, the seven-day mourning period after a funeral.

Prayer services are conducted in the home of the bereaved family (except on Shabbat, when even the mourners attend them at synagogue).

Meals are regularly provided to the mourners all week as well.

The shivah, when the bereaved stay at home for a full week and receive guests with whom they reminisce about their lost loved one, has been lauded by many as the best way to work through grief.

Happy occasions, too, are enriching. When a baby is born, for example, many Orthodox communities provide one or even two weeks of dinners to the parents. As a father of six, I can attest that these meals were a huge help. Such gestures are a boon to all involved, not just the grateful recipients.

Still, many Orthodox outreach programs stress teaching and learning, without encouraging participants to embrace greater Jewish observance. When I asked teachers of the unaffiliated why they didn’t request of male students that they wear kippot while studying, one answered that he doesn’t know how to push mitzvot the way I do.

Somehow, though, he knew how to push for payment from his adult attendees.

Little gestures, such as that which I suggested to the teacher and those I extended to friends, can be magnified.

The internet provides access to assimilated Jews who could

just as easily get excited about their Judaism.

Birthright and other groups that bring young Jews to see the miracle of Israel can have a big impact, but follow-ups are needed to ensure that the effects are long-lasting. One such idea is that, upon their return, Birthright participants be invited by Orthodox families to Shabbat meals to observe the beauty of Judaism.

The Pew study found that only 26 percent of American Jews believe in God, compared to more than half of all Americans. The complexities of the world and the amazing realization of the prophecies of the Jewish people’s return to Israel — a military, economic and technological power, with a tenfold population increase in 73 years — should be among the concepts employed to change the figures among Diaspora Jews.

I am among those fortunate Jews able to lead a religious Jewish life. Sadly, only a small minority of Jews have had such a benefit, and so many more would want to enjoy it if they could just taste the experience.

We need to be like Abraham and Sarah and bring our fellow Jews into our homes and let them know of the beauty of the religion into which they were born — and, in too many cases, have never ever learned about. Time is running out, and we need to act now.

Farley Weiss, former president of the National Council of Young Israel, is an intellectual property attorney for the law firm of Weiss & Moy. The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily representative of NCYI.

Welcome Home, Danny Fenster!

Journalist Danny Fenster was released from prison Monday morning. See story on page 23.

The Detroit Jewish News joins the community in joyful relief that Huntington Woods native Danny Fenster is coming back to Metro Detroit after having spent

176 days in a gruesome prison in Myanmar (Burma).

Follow the news at https://bringdannyhome.com

and

BringDannyHome.fenster-verse.tumblr.com facebook.com/groups/1164768597279223 NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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PURELY COMMENTARY essay

Schools Are Using Anti-Critical Race Theory Laws to Ban Children’s Literature ADL.ORG/BLOG

I

n the battle over the false idea that Critical Race Theory is “infiltrating” our K-12 schools — and the belief that it must be stopped — the new frontier is children’s literature.

Critical race theory (CRT), taught primarily in higher education and law school, is the study of how laws and policies can drive and perpetuate racial disparities and inequities. Even though Critical Race Theory is not taught in K-12 schools, it is being attacked and subsequently banned by many state legislatures to score political points, using misinformation and fear to drive a wedge between people.

The intention of these state measures is to limit and prevent teachers from discussing sexism, racism and other forms of systemic oppression. It is troublesome because teachers should be encouraged to teach about those important concepts — through social studies, literature and other parts of the curriculum.

BOOK CHALLENGES AND BANS Challenging and banning children’s books is unfortunately nothing new. The American Library Association has a website focused on book

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banning and there’s an annual Banned Books Week that celebrates the freedom to read. This current banning trend is particularly concerning because it is targeted and specific. Parents, schools and districts are using the new state bans against CRT to justify banning books that help students understand the impact of racism and systemic discrimination and oppression. And there is a ripple effect even in states without these laws.

A group of parents in Tennessee are trying to get dozens of books removed.

The list includes a book written by and about Ruby Bridges, the first Black child to attend and desegregate an all-white elementary school in 1960 in New Orleans.

Tennessee’s state law limits how teachers can discuss racism and sexism and these Williamson County parents objected to the teaching of the picture book, Ruby Bridges Goes to School. The parents complained about the book because it mentions a “large crowd of angry white people who didn’t want Black children in a white school” and the book doesn’t offer redemption at the end.

One ripple effect of the CRT debate was exemplified in Plainedge, New York —

where there is no anti-CRT law. A group of parents objected to Front Desk being read aloud in their child’s classroom, stating it was a “CRT-recommended novel” and demanded it not be read. Front Desk is an awardwinning middle grade chapter book written by New York Times bestselling author Kelly Yang. Front Desk is about a young girl who staffs the front desk of the motel where her parents live and work.

The book shares immigration narratives, reflecting on the harm of poverty and bias and the triumph of them working together to overcome it. After some pushback, the book was not banned — at least temporarily — but parents were given the option to “opt out” of reading it, and several chose to opt out.

In the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, an online parent petition led to the cancellation of an appearance by Newbery award-winning author and illustrator Jerry Craft. Parents alleged that Craft’s books promote “critical race theory.”

His graphic novels, New Kid and Class Act, tell the story of two Black young people navigating their worlds at

home and in their private school where they are among the few students of color. The books explore issues of identity, diversity and belonging. In addition to canceling Craft’s presentation, his books were “temporarily” removed and are currently under review.

In Southlake, Texas, a school district already so embroiled in controversies about race and racism that there is an NBC News podcast series about it, has their own book-banning controversy.

The Carroll Independent School District in Southlake recently announced new districtwide rules about books that teachers can use in their classrooms.

The district provides training and instructions for removing books that don’t meet the new standards. As teachers began taking stock of their classroom libraries, one teacher said she would have to remove Separate is Never Equal from her collection.

This is a picture book based on the real-life story of Sylvia Mendez and her family, who fought to end school segregation in California in the 1940s.

It is also disturbing to

note that in recent months, other works of children’s literature, particularly those written by Black authors, are increasingly being questioned, challenged and banned amid the Critical Race Theory debate. Further, of the 2020 most challenged books, six out of 10 are about race and racism and by authors of color, most of whom are Black. That is in sharp contrast to 2019, where the top-challenged books were primarily LGBTQ+ themed books.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS PROVIDE “MIRRORS” AND “WINDOWS” We know the importance of children’s books as both mirrors and windows for young people. “Mirror books” help children see themselves reflected there so their lived experiences are

acknowledged, appreciated, and valued. “Window books” help young people learn from and about the experiences of others who don’t share aspects of their identity.

Starting at a very young age and up to the teen years, children’s books open doors to conversations about identity, diversity, bias and social justice — conversations that are an integral part of a young person’s education. Over the last 10 years, progress has been made in the publishing of more diverse books and by authors representative of that diversity.

What do the books described here have in common?

All of these books were written by and share narratives about people of color and other historically marginalized people. All of these books address bias,

discrimination and injustice in some way. All of these books foster empathy and understanding of the stories’ characters. And all of these books are examples of excellent, popular children’s literature with engaging plots and compelling themes. All of these books tell important stories for young people to learn about the world around them — both past and present.

Children’s books teach about history and current events. We cannot let these anti-CRT state laws and measures prevent educators from teaching about important topics through the lens of children’s literature. In addition to exploring different identities and perspectives, these books help teach the truth of our history, reflect on current events, show how bias and injustice show up, and

illustrate how people can take actions to overcome it.

Providing windows, mirrors and the truth of our history across the curriculum can help students learn, think critically and flourish — in school and in life outside the classroom. It is also important that young people have the freedom to read what they want, to follow their interests and have a wide range of options to choose from and explore.

From picture books to graphic novels, chapter books to young adult literature, we need more of these books on the shelves of our school and community libraries, not less.

That will help us all build a better and more equitable future.

This piece was published on the ADL blog in October 2021. No author byline was given.

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JEWISH NEWS

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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OUR COMMUNITY

Jack Beavers ’25 and Eli Rosenzweig ’25

A House

of Spirit

Frankel Jewish Academy introduces ‘FJA Houses’ to promote community-building and school spirit.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

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t the start of the school year, Frankel Jewish Academy (FJA) began a new tradition — FJA houses.

Houses in school settings may be familiar to many from the Harry Potter books and movies, but school houses are quite common in schools in England, says FJA’s new Judaic Studies Principal Rabbi Abi Taylor-Abt, a British native.

Students, faculty and staff were split into three houses — Galil (north), Mercaz (center) and Negev (south) to represent the different regions of Israel.

Students will keep their same house affiliation throughout their time at FJA. Currently, the school has 123 students enrolled.

Taylor-Abt grew up in British schooling and wanted to implement the house model she

experienced, believing it’s a way to create bonds and community within the school.

The house system was one of the first ideas Rabbi Abi TaylorAbt brought up when she started.

“I was very aware of the fact that our students have missed out on the social-emotional learning over the past two years,” TaylorAbt said. “We did a great job with their academics and keeping them going and bringing them into school, but where we had to cut for health and safety were the lunches, the after-school activities — everything that creates these bonds and the community.

To me, it just seemed like perfect timing to bring something in that would encourage team-building and forging friendships across the different year groups.”

Some community-building

definitely needed to happen after the past two years with the pandemic, agreed Shana Kantor, FJA’s director of advancement.

“These houses were an opportunity to jumpstart and rebuild those networks and communities in new, fun and interesting ways for the students,” Kantor said.

Throughout the year, students can earn house points for mensch-like behavior like picking up a piece of trash, offering to help with something, having a really well thoughtout, insightful response to something in class, looking especially nice in their Shabbat attire and more. Two monitors in the school allow students to real-time track the status of the house points at any given moment.

“For all things that benefit our school community, you can earn points for it throughout the year,” said Nicole Kahn, English department chair and head of Mercaz House.

At the end of the year, the overall winning house will receive a small prize, which FJA is keeping secret for now, along with bragging rights.

“THESE HOUSES WERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO JUMPSTART AND REBUILD THOSE NETWORKS AND COMMUNITIES IN NEW WAYS FOR THE STUDENTS” — SHANA KANTOR

Grace Kleinfeldt ’25 and Sarah Krivichkin ’25

While only a few months into its first year, Taylor-Abt believes the system has gone really well, even if it took a short while for the students to understand what it was all about.

“Initially, they didn’t really know what to make of it, but my office is right in the middle of the school next to their lockers, and outside my office is one of these enormous monitors that keeps track of the points in real time. What happened was, my door was open, and I started hearing the kids go, ‘Oh, look at that, we’ve got the lead!

Wait, how is that possible, we were just winning!’ It was funny because almost despite themselves, they became excited about the concept,” Taylor-Abt said.

The feedback from parents for the concept has been overwhelmingly positive. Taylor-Abt received an email from a particular parent saying how excited they were because their daughter and daughter’s cousin were in the same house, and their son who will be coming up from Hillel is also excited about the fact he’ll end up in the same house, too.

“Not only did we ensure sibcontinued on page 16

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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OUR COMMUNITY

Adam State ’22, Daniel Bernstein ’22, Eli Gordon ’22, Andy Tukel ’22, Dalia Zwas ’22, Benjamin Schmeltz ’22, Kira Saroken ’22, Daniel Stryk ’22 and Melanie Sesi, Social Studies and History department chair.

continued from page 15

lings were in the same houses because it’s easier for parents, we also didn’t want to create rivalries within families,” Taylor-Abt laughed. “I think it’s so awesome that it’s already traveled beyond our own school and the younger kids in the community are learning about this.”

Taylor-Abt has noticed a difference in the corridors this year, with the school not necessarily trying to “get back to pre-COVID times,” not even knowing if that’s a complete possibility.

“What we’re doing is redirecting the attention and we’ve created a path to excitement and community-building within the school that isn’t dependent on anything from ‘the before,’” Taylor-Abt said.

She is proud of making the connection to Israel by dividing the houses into the three

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

regions, creating a situation for cross-curricular activity. The students actually designed their own house logos based on the characteristics of their house and its respective Israeli region, which Taylor-Abt believes makes it a global learning experience.

“Galil, which is up north, is very green. The characteristics that came out of it were peaceful, serene, calm, adventurous.

Mercaz was enthusiastic, welcoming and vibrant. Negev is adaptable, resourceful and resilient,” Taylor-Abt said. “It gives a taste of the different flavors of Israel. To have the house system as an additional resource in creating connections with Israel, it’s a win-win and a fantastic teaching tool.

“We really aim to allow our students to find their place to shine,” she continued. “By creating the houses, which are not

just academic-based or athletic-based, it’s a little bit of everything; it allows these students to find their place to represent.”

Taylor-Abt doesn’t want to give away any possible plans they have for future years of the house system but says to look for continued innovation.

“I think there’s something here that shows I’ve taken a historical artifact from my own Jewish education, brought it around years later and it’s as true and trusted as it was then, and I think that’s a lesson we have within Judaism.”

HOUSE SPIRIT WEEK During the final week of October, FJA conducted a House Spirit Week. FJA’s annual grade-by-grade spirit week will still happen in the spring.

The FJA community showed their spirit by dressing up each day in different themes: Friends

of the IDF Day, Book & Movie Character Day, Sports Day, Decades Day and House Color Day. There was an overflowing amount of activities, competitions and student participation opportunities associated with those themes throughout the week, one associated with each specific day.

There were also student house delegates who helped plan and set up spirit week, four from each house and one from each grade, along with teacher-leaders Melanie Sesi, Social Studies department chair and head of Galil House; Nicole Kahn, English department chair and head of Mercaz House; Margaret-Ann Wommer, social studies instructor and co-head of Negev House; and Kat Untener, English instructor and co-head of Negev House.

Movie trivia, relay races, a “Music of the Decades”

Jeopardy game, capture-theflag, camp crafts and drawing murals representing each house are just some of the activities students participated in during the week.

Each day was planned to include a dress-up, an active activity and a passive activity. Passive activities included everything from guessing the amount of candies in a jar to finding hidden trophies around the school.

Fundraising was also incorporated into the spirit week.

On Friends of the IDF Day, students dressed up in camouflage and did a penny war to raise money for Friends of the IDF. A toiletry drive also took place throughout the week. In their Hebrew classes that week, students also wrote letters to IDF soldiers.

“We were touching on our core values throughout,” TaylorAbt said. “Everything we did has this concept of our value system within it, even spirit week.”

Sesi says she and other teachers overheard students saying they wouldn’t get this experience anywhere else, realizing how cool that is.

“There was a real engagement of, ‘Wow what a cool thing we get to do here,’” Sesi said. “I think sitting with a teacher and making a craft while someone else is playing capture the flag, while someone else is creating a mural to represent their house, it’s just unique and special.”

At the end of the week, the winning house, Galil, won coffee and donuts for the whole house. The hope is that next year and beyond, House Spirit Week and the house concept as a whole will grow at FJA. “Our hope is that as we transition back to normalcy post-COVID, that this is a really great on-ramp to that return,” Kantor said. “It’s an opportunity for us to put in place some fun and exciting things for our students that will help them build communities, learn about themselves in different ways and try out new things they may never have tried. Students get to stretch themselves in all different kinds of ways inside the classroom, and this spirit week was also a way for them to stretch themselves outside of the classroom.”

FJA STUDENTS FJA freshman Caleb Starr and senior Leah Phillips are both in Galil house and won spirit week. Both believe the houses are a cool way to connect with others in school.

“We really became a community and I got to know a lot of the upperclassmen, it was a really nice way to meet new people,” Starr said.

“There was also some learning in it, and that was interesting as well.”

Starr believes the points incentive has been a fun part of the house system but thinks FJA students are doing good deeds regardless and not necessarily doing it just to win something.

“I think it’s a good incentive, but I also think people are doing these things anyway, though it’s nice they’re getting recognized,” he said.

Starr was a Galil house delegate for the freshman and was able to help plan how it went.

“I got to recommend things and it was really interesting and fun to hear what other people thought,” Starr said.

“We’re definitely a small

school, and I think it’s important because of that we form a really strong community, we need to stick with each other, and I think spirit week was a good way to bring us together and form that bond. It definitely sets us apart, not every school has that.”

While Phillips is only going to be able to take part in the houses for one year at FJA, she’s grateful she was able to experience it at least once.

“I’m at least happy that, as a senior, I was able to participate, help set this up for future grades and hopefully inspire or keep this tradition going as something people get really hyped up about,” she said.

Starr will be in Galil house for the rest of his time at FJA and is looking forward to how the house system evolves.

“I’ve talked about this with some friends, we said we feel like it’s our job to welcome people who are going to come after us and make them feel welcome like the upperclassmen welcomed us,” he said.

“It’s now our job to keep that tradition alive.”

Eliyah Fradkin ’24, AJ Goodman ’23, Caleb Robbins ’23, Jack Beavers ’25, Gabriel Gordon’’23, Daniel Stryk ’22 and Eli Gordon ’22 NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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OUR COMMUNITY

THE 8TH CRAZY NIGHT The community is invited to join an outdoor Chanukah celebration at Adat Shalom Synagogue Sunday, Dec. 5. At 4: 30 p.m., the festivities will begin, including a photo booth (in an igloo!), DJ Phreddy, a fire performance by Detroit Circus, fantastic activity stations brought to you by community co-sponsors and so much more.

There will be a BIG menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m. The celebration will conclude at 6 p.m. with a car parade to Jewish Senior Life in West Bloomfield to light the menorah there. If there is inclement weather, this event will be indoors.

Toys will be collected for the Bottomless Toy Chest, if you would like to donate. $18 per car includes a large kosher pizza and donuts, hot chocolate and activities.

Advance registration required by Tuesday, Nov. 30, at www.adatshalom.org/chanukah.

Partners include Adat Shalom Synagogue, Tamarack Camps, Camp Ramah, Congregation Beth Ahm, Congregation Beth Shalom, Congregation B’nai Moshe, Congregation B’nai Israel, Camp Young Judaea Midwest, Hillel Day School of Metro Detroit, Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, JCC Day Camp, MCUSY, Willoway Day Camp, Frankel Jewish

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Lego Menorah from Chanukah Wonderland

Chanukah Happenings Local organizations have special events planned for the holiday.

Academy and other community organizations.

For information, call (248) 851-5100.

CHANUKAH PHONE-IN CANDLE-LIGHTING SERVICE As part of offering outreach to Jewish community members who live alone or in non-Jewish communities or who are still isolating to protect themselves from COVID-19, the Jewish Senior Life Chaplaincy and Community Outreach program is providing a phone dial-in service for Chanukah candle lighting daily during the eight nights of Chanukah.

This is the mission of Rabbi Dovid Polter and the Jewish Chaplaincy program, which serves vulnerable and isolated Jewish older adults and reaches out to Jewish residents living at skilled rehabilitation and nursing homes. Polter also leads services and Torah study on behalf of JSL. The Jewish holidays heighten the need for outreach and thus, the rewards of participation are heightened as well.

Every week, Polter dispenses his take on Torah and Talmudic wisdom, which is run as a weekly column in the JSL Newsletter

Rabbi Dovid Polter

sent to more than 5,000 community members.

Polter updates the phone line weekly for Shabbat and provides inspirational thoughts for his weekly column that corresponds to the weekly Torah portion. The usual dial-in program is called Shabbat Shalom

by Phone. During the Chanukah season, beginning early this year, Sunday, Nov. 28-Monday, Dec. 6, anyone who is interested may call in nightly for a Chanukah menorah lighting and listen to some holiday inspiration. continued on page 20

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

13 t h A N N U A L

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Your generosity has helped women in our community re-enter the workforce and rebuild their lives.

SA P P H IR E S P O NSO RS Hadas and Dennis Bernard Douglas C. Lane and Associates EHIM* Elaine Fieldman through the Fieldman Family Foundation Greenleaf Trust Jill and David Guz Henry Ford Health System Linda Otis Kole and Dr. Bernard Kole Lisa and Brian Meer* Bluma Schechter Bea and Paul Schwarzbaum* Fran and George Stern* Stone Foundation of Michigan Lori and Alan Zekelman* R U BY S P O N S O RS Faye and Paul Blatt* Brogan and Partners Communications Carol Craine* CKC Agency Edw. C. Levy Co.* Emily and Josh Eichenhorn* The Farbman Group Gallagher* Nancy and James Grosfeld* Hilary and Edan King Stephanie and Jared Rosenbaum* AQ UA M A R IN E SP O NSO RS Ascension BERLINE* Butzel Long* Dickinson Wright PLLC Rozanne and Bernard Friedman Law Offices of Kristen R. Gross, PC* Frances and David Grossman Jody and Richard Grossman

Hodges Subaru Linda and Mark Jacobs Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.* Lynne Ludwig Anne and Jeffrey Mendelson Brad Oleshansky Simmons & Clark Jewelers* Star Trax Events* Temple Israel P EARL SP ONS OR S Brightwing* Janis and Harvey Eisman Terri and David Friedman Paula and Louis Glazier Linda Hayman Laura Hirschhorn and Ron Yolles Julie Nelson-Klein and Linda Kole Jean Phelan PNC Bank Leah and Daniel Rosenbaum Arlene and Rick Selik Linda and Robert Schmier Sherrie and Norton Stern Lori and Steven Weisberg* AMETHYST S PONS OR S Karen and Eric Adelman Julie and Lawrence August David Ben Ezra Jane Brumer-Cullen C. Thomas Toppin and Associates Lindsay Dembs Shelley and Michael Eizelman Francee Ford and Marshall Blau Dani Gillman and Ben Chutz Barbara and Michael Horowitz Joyce Keller and Michael Walch

Keller Williams Home & Michigan Allied Title Agency Nancy Mahlin, Realtor Andrea and John Kessler* Lisa Lis Aubrey Macfarlane* Julie and Adam Rothstein Lisa G. Rotter Ellen and Ronny Schmier Judith and Bradley Schram Family Foundation Lena and Darren Schwartz Eva and Raymond Shapiro* Marie Sickon-Burke and Kevin Burke Andi and David Sklar Susan Sosnick Terri Spoon Robin Tobin-Murav and Avery Murav Denise and Michael Tobin* Connie and Peter Vetowich Wallside Windows Ellen and Marc Whitefield TOPAZ S PONS OR S Sandy August The Ben-Ezra Family Roz and Stanford Blanck Dr. Karen Bolak Risa and Bruce Brickman Evolution Media Brett Finsilver and Family David Flaisher Peggy and Dennis Glick Judy Greenwald* Huntington Technology, Inc. / Jodie and Steve Krasnick Linda and Dennis Kayes*

Wendy and Lawrence Kohlenberg Northwest Dermatology Group Stephanie and David Lubin Molly MacDonald Alexandra and Ryan Mollen* Bobbie Patt Lori and Charles Shanaman Janis and Larry Shulman Cathy Slavik Jeannie Steuer Helaine and Andy Zack Special thanks to: Breath of Spring CKC Agency Detroit Marriott Troy Detroit Sewn Marin Goldberg Eagle Graphics Amy Lange Kari Martin Skinnytees …and the 2021 JVS Trade Secrets committee!

*JVS Partners are generous sponsors of both Trade Secrets and Strictly Business events.

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OUR COMMUNITY

For the Love of Books 2021 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival promises to be ‘eclectic.’

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

T

he 34th annual Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival runs Nov. 21-Dec. 16, and features 24 authors online via Zoom. All events are free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Noemi Herzig, director of Jewish Cultural Arts and Adult Education for the Ann Arbor JCC, says it’s an eclectic festival this year.

“I like to mix it up so there’s something for everybody,” she said. “The festival’s purpose is to

enrich people’s lives and knowledge about subjects they like or new stuff they haven’t explored, to expand people’s vision and to bring the Judaism in the book world to people’s homes in an easy way.”

Author events include one with Ami Ayalon, author of Friendly Fire, How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy and Its Hope for the Future, and another

CHANUKAH HAPPENINGS continued from page 18

To listen, call (605) 3134107 Access code: 270368#.

CHANUKAH CONCERT AT THE FRANKLIN CIDER MILL For 43 years, Chabad of Farmington Hills has had a special relationship with the Franklin Cider Mill.

Rabbi Chaim Moshe Bergstein’s son Yitzchok saw Jack Peltz, owner of Franklin Cider Mill, and thought he was Jewish. He asked him if he wanted to do a mitzvah. Peltz said yes and did the blessing on the lulov and etrog. Chabad of Farmington Hills has been blessed with the Peltz family’s kindness ever since, continuing until today with the third generation.

On the fourth night of Chanukah, Chabad of Farmington Hills will sponsor a

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

live outdoor Chanukah concert at the Franklin Cider Mill and the lighting of a huge 12-foothigh menorah. The event cosponsors are Chef Cari, Pro-4 Marketing, 1-800selfstorage, Kidon Security Services and Branded Design.

Featured at the concert will be the Jewish Frankel Academy Shabbatones, under the direction of Rabbi Boruch Lazewnik, and the Rogers Park Band, a popular group of singers and musicians from Rogers Park in Chicago.

A raffle and free toys for the kids will round out the event.

The Dec. 1 concert will begin at 5 p.m. The Chanukah lights will be lit at 5:30.

CHANUKAH WONDERLAND & MORE Last year, children in the community sorely missed the

with Daniel Sketch, author of Can We Talk About Israel?: A Guide for the Curious, Confused and Conflicted.

Other events include Jeffrey Veidlinger, professor of history and Judaic studies at the University of Michigan, speaking about his book, In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust. James McAuley, a European affairs columnist for the Washington Post, will join the festival with a presentation of his book, The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France.

Author Heather Dune Macadam will be speaking about her book, 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz, which tells the story of 999 young, unmarried women who were tricked into boarding a train that became

the first official transport to Auschwitz.

On Dec. 15, former CIA/ FBI agent and Nobel Prize winner Tracy Walder takes festival-goers on her journey in The Unexpected Spy: From CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World’s Most Notorious Terrorists.

That same evening, Robert Lefkowitz will talk about his journey from cardiologist to legendary scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize with his book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm: The Adrenaline-Fueled Adventures of an Accidental Scientist.

Chanukah Wonderland put on

by Bais Chabad Torah Center in West Bloomfield. They will be happy to hear that this year, it’s back!

This year, all the holiday fun, crafts, food and activities will take place in a heated tent in the shul’s parking lot.

The tent will be open to the public Sunday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Dec. 5. Admission is $5.

Bais Chabad will also hold the Chanukah Parade of Love & Light at 4 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 2, at Meer Jewish Apartments in West Bloomfield. Attendees can share the festive joy of the holiday and decorate their cars and wave their Chanukah flags as they drive by seniors’ windows. Bais Chabad will enhance the ride with delicious latkes, donuts and a hotdog dinner.

Also, on Dec. 4, at 8 p.m.,

you can enjoy Chanukah on Ice at the Novi Ice Arena with Bais Chabad. Skate to Jewish music, enjoy a kosher dinner and a beautiful ice sculptured menorah.

Details available at chanukahwonderlandmi.com.

The full schedule of author events, including Zoom links, can be found at book.jccannarbor.org. For additional questions, Noemi Herzig can be reached via email at noemiherzig@jccannarbor. org.

Rogers Park Band

ography

OUR COMMUNITY

A Life in the Law Judge Avern Cohn launches new book about his life, career.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

J

$29.95

- Jack Lessenberry

Jack Lessenberry

Thinking About ‘the Other Fella’

Avern Cohn’s Life and the Law

Judge Avern Cohn

himself or herself in the place of those standing before you, to have empathy for them — not necessarily sympathy, but empathy,” Lessenberry explained. “That, I think, is the hallmark of Avern Cohn’s career.”

In Cohn’s speech, he thanked everyone who helped him along the way, including his wife, Lois, Lessenberry and Zerwekh, and all his staff over the years. “Behind every federal judge, there is a good staff,” Cohn said.

A copy of the book was made available for each of the attendees, with Cohn signing the inside of each one.

“The book is a collation of all that reflects my career,” Cohn said. “I must also tell you how flattered I am having my own book. I have lived with books all my life. Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, he once said, ‘What shall I do with all of my books if they cannot be my friends, let them at least be my acquaintances, if they cannot enter the circle of my life, I will not deny them at least a nod of recognition.’ I hope to each of you the book will be a friend.”

Jack Lessenberry has been a writer and editor and political analyst for numerou s publica tions, has hosted radio and television shows and taught journali sm for many years at Wayne State University and the University of Michiga n. He is the author of The People’s Lawyer: Th e Life and Times of Frank J. Kelley, the Nation’s Longest-Serving Attorney General (Wayne State University Press, 2015) and Reason vs. Racism: A Newspaper Family, Race, and Justice (BCI Press, 2020).

Elizabeth Zerwekh is a professional librarian and archivist, specializing in rare books and private collectio ns. She has worked with Judge Cohn for years, and in addition to this book, played a major role in researching Reason vs. Racism.

Elizabeth Zerwekh

Auld Classic Books 13165 Ludlow Ave. Huntington Woods, MI 48070

‘the Other Fella’

the best-known part of his career really n 1979, when Presiden t Jimmy Carter ed him a federal judge.

For more than ars he presided over cases that included of a spy for the CIA whose employers n her, landmark and controve rsial free ases in the early years of the internet, police and racial issues, a product liae that potentially affects every woman ever used birth control pills, and a mous patent case that inspired a book vie, Flash of Genius. book looks at the importa nce of those , the sweep of his career, and w the judge and his legacy— how as well sees it himself. It also contains some e articles that show that the judge is historian.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said of his judicial philoso the core phy was “you have to think about the other fellow.” By that, he meant you have to be devoted to justice, but also have empathy for the human beings whose cases come before you.

Those words exactly describ e Avern Cohn’s career seventy years as a lawyer throughout and federal judge during a life devoted to the law, justice and his community.

“Eventually, we hammered out a compromise, and I think that, in fact, what we produced is better than what a biography would have been,” Lessenberry said.

Thinking About the Other Fella is part biography and part anthology. “Sort of an Avern Cohn compendium,” Lessenberry said.

The book includes biographical sketches and articles written about the judge, as well as a rigorous examination of a dozen or so of his most important cases, done by Lessenberry.

Thinking About

AVERN COHN’S REMAR KABLE LIFE D CAREER spanned most of a century, included thirty years as one of Detroit’s t respected lawyers and forty years as a minent federal judge.

Born in Detroit when in Coolidge was Presiden t and segregation taken for granted, he served in the U.S. y during World War II, went on to college aw school at the Universi ty of Michigan.

949, he began both practicing law and ing in a wide range of communities in it and Michigan, at various times serving erything from the Michiga n Civil Rights mission to Detroit’s Board of Police Comners, both of which he chaired. He also as President of the Jewish Federation of politan Detroit, and was a major force in wish community and in the Democratic or decades.

udge Avern Cohn was celebrated by family, friends and colleagues on Friday, Nov. 5, at Franklin Hills Country Club for the launch of his book, Thinking About the Other Fella: Avern Cohn’s Life and the Law, written by Jack Lessenberry and Elizabeth Zerwekh.

Judge Cohn served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1979-2019. When he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, he was the only Jewish judge on that court.

Cohn’s many volunteer roles in the Jewish community include serving as president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, 19811983. He has also been a supporter of Jewish education, including Orthodox day schools. Like his father, Avern Cohn was awarded Federation’s Fred M. Butzel Award for distinguished community service.

Lessenberry had followed the judge and had been interested in his career for some years and, when he retired, he suggested to Cohn that they do a biography.

His response was an immediate and unequivocal “NO!” Cohn said there were too many judges with biographies and autobiographies out there, and that he didn’t think he was anything special. “I just want to be remembered as a good judge,” he said.

Lessenberry appealed, feeling passionate about many of Cohn’s court rulings.

They live in Huntington Woods and Charlevoix with their dogs Ashley and Chet, in homes overflowing with books.

Jack Lessenberry

and

Elizabeth Zerwekh

There is also a wide selection of Cohn’s own writing on legal and especially historical subjects, which Lessenberry believes readers will find fascinating.

“The title comes from something Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said was his legal philosophy — “You have to think about the other fella,” meaning that a good judge has to be able to put

Jacket design by Anne Zimanski Jacket photographs courtesy of Avern Cohn Printed in the U.S.A.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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OUR COMMUNITY

“The Honor of My Life”

WDIV-TV General Manager Marla Drutz retires after 40 years in television.

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

F

or the last four decades, if a story led our local newscasts on WDIVTV Local 4, you can bet Marla Drutz was among those who knew about it first. She’s had what she describes as a “front row, 50-yard-line-seat” to daily news Marla Drutz events and history in the making.

Now, the vice president and general manager of Detroit’s NBC affiliate is retiring after holding the station’s top job for 13 years. Her last day was in mid-November.

“I’ve become very much in awe of the coverage,” she says.

“So much work goes into putting together a product that’s fair and accurate. It’s been a phenomenal ride. I don’t think I could have asked for a better career. It’s been the honor of my life.”

Over the course of her career, Drutz has been at the epicenter of fast-paced, high-intensity TV news operations at stations in Cleveland and Detroit. She’s played an integral role in research, programming and TV sta-

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

tion management — making critical decisions about what and who you see on the air.

It’s unusual for a woman, let alone a Jewish woman, to serve as a TV station general manager. Drutz has led the way with grace and ease.

“Marla is a dynamic local broadcaster who loves, eats and breathes everything about serving a local market,” Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group, WDIV’s parent company, said in published reports. “She consistently demonstrates a keen ability to … create engaging news and local programming and increase revenue while leading a management team dedicated to growing ratings and upholding the highest standards of journalistic integrity.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Drutz grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, but Ohio was the launching pad for her career. She graduated from Ohio University and earned a master’s degree at what is now Cleveland State. As she was approaching graduation, the school’s placement office

Marla was featured on the cover of the JN in January 2002.

helped her land an entry-level job as a research analyst at WJKW-TV (now known as WJW-TV). That’s where she met the first of what she calls her “patron menschen,” the station’s general manager Bill Flynn.

“He took me in, he schooled me, he explained the industry to me and made sure to connect me with people at the station who could teach me,” she says. “I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to have people who have been so gracious and kind to me, and I’ve tried to pass it on. I feel I have an obligation to pay it forward.”

In 1984, when Flynn got transferred to WJBK-TV (now Fox 2 News) in Detroit, he brought along some of his all-

star team members and that included Marla. Her thenboyfriend (now long-time husband) Ron Kaplovitz came along with her, and they built a life together in the Motor City, joining Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield and raising a son who attended Hillel Day School.

“There’s no greater hospitality than Midwestern hospitality — especially among the Jewish community,” she says. “That made it easy for us to fall in love with Metro Detroit.”

Drutz worked as research director and marketing director for WJBK then became research and program director for Detroit’s ABC affiliate, WXYZ. After 20 years there, Channel 4 came calling with

THE RICHARDSON CENTER

Former U..S Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson, right, poses with journalist Danny Fenster in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on Monday following his release from prison.

Marla Drutz and Rhonda Walker at her retirement party

Welcome Home, Danny Fenster!

Journalist held in Myanmar prison is back home in Huntington Woods.

JACKIE HEADAPOHL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL

A

an offer she couldn’t refuse — the opportunity to lead a station, something she’d always wanted to do. Drutz has received many honors for her work including Emmy Awards and being named Broadcasting & Cable’s General Manager of the Year. A multiplication buff, she figures she’s driven to and from work at least 20,000 times — even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — when she went to work every day to be alongside her team.

To celebrate her trailblazing, fearless and compas-

sionate leadership, Channel 4 recently threw a retirement party for Drutz in a tent outside the station featuring an appearance by the Detroit Youth Choir of America’s Got Talent fame. She says she and her husband plan to stay in Detroit but will likely spend winters in a warmer climate.

The next chapter of her career will focus on nonprofit work.

“I have a strong desire to give back to the community, particularly helping Detroitarea organizations,” she said.

“This is a part of my life I’m really looking forward to.”

American journalist Danny Fenster is back home in Huntington Woods after having spent 176 days in a Myanmar prison.

The good news came early Monday, Nov. 15, from former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who had been visiting the country on a humanitarian mission regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Myanmar military spokesperson confirmed Fenster had been “released and deported.”

According to a statement released by Richardson, Fenster traveled through Quatar on his multi-day journey back to the United States.

“This is the day that you hope will come when you do this work,” Richardson said in a statement emailed from his office.

“We are so grateful that Danny will finally be able to reconnect with his loved ones, who have been advocating for him all this time, against immense odds.”

Richardson is known for traveling to nations where the U.S. has poor diplomatic relations to obtain the freedom of detained Americans.

The news came just days after Fenster, the managing editor of the online magazine Frontier Myanmar, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a military court for spreading false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations and violating visa regulations.

The Fenster family released the following in a statement: “We are overjoyed that Danny has been released and is on his way home — we cannot wait to hold him in our arms.

“We are tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped secure his release, especially Ambassador Richardson, as well as our friends and the public who have expressed their support and stood by our sides as we endured these long and difficult months.

“I don’t know how we could ever express our gratitude. On behalf of the Fenster-RaceyKurzweil families, we say THANK YOU and we love you so much.”

The Detroit Jewish News is working on a full-length feature about Danny Fenster. Look for it in the Dec. 2 issue.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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23

NATIONAL

White Nationalists Unapologetic The second week of Charlottesville trial includes testimony by white nationalists and Holocaust expert Prof. Deborah Lipstadt.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

L

eaders of white supremacist organizations unapologetically confirmed their racist and antisemitic views during the second week of the Charlottesville trial. In polite, calm responses to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, several defendants expressed their beliefs that Jews and people of color threaten white civilization.

Professor Deborah Lipstadt, an American historian and Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, provided a detailed analysis of how the words and symbols used by the defendants expressed beliefs consistent with those of Nazi Germany. She explained that the phrase “Jews will not replace us”— used in Unite the Right marches — reflects white genocide/ white Christian replacement theory that says Jews control others to destroy white society.

Defendant Matthew Heimbach confirmed that he has stated online: “The total destruction of Jewry is the only way that we can ensure that we will no longer be plagued by the enemy of all

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time.” A video of defendant Robert Ray, a neo-Nazi, shows him exhorting “Gas the kikes” to a cheering crowd during the Unite the Right rallies during Aug. 11-12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Protests and counter-protests were organized that weekend in response to the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville by local officials. The civil lawsuit charges that the defendants conspired to prevent individuals from exercising their Constitutional rights to protest peacefully and for injuring them during the United the Right weekend.

White nationalists from multiple organizations marched in organized groups, some with tiki torches, black clothing and shields — terrorizing unarmed protesters with racist and antisemitic slurs and assaulting them with shields and flag poles.

Fights broke out. But the most shocking incident came at the hands of James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a group of protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring others.

Fields is serving a life sentence for

these crimes. Several men were convicted of beating an African American man that weekend. But there were no legal repercussions for others who injured and terrorized protesters.

HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE A nonprofit organization, Integrity First for America, was formed to file a civil lawsuit to hold the alleged perpetrators accountable for their actions, which it claims were organized and planned.

The civil suit is based primarily on the Ku Klux Klan Act, a federal law from 1871, which was passed in part to protect African Americans in the South from being denied their vote. The law has been used more recently for offenses that denied individuals their Constitutional rights based on their race.

As a civil suit, if the plaintiffs prevail, the defendants — leaders of an array of white supremacist and right-wing nationalist groups — will be fined and sanctioned by the court.

Some have already been sanctioned — one receiving a jail sentence — for

refusing to provide or destroying evidence. The defendants claim they were exercising their free speech rights and that they did not coordinate and plan the violence that weekend, which they attributed mainly to counter-protesters and Antifa, as well as inaction by the Charlottesville police.

Several defendants claimed that they had little or no contact among each other,

but cell phone records and texts accepted as evidence showed otherwise.

While a civil lawsuit does Professor Steven not require Winter “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” it does require a “preponderance of evidence,” according to Steven Winter, Walter S. Gibbs

Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at Wayne State University Law School.

Winter says the plaintiffs’ lawyers must show that the defendants intended to deprive the plaintiffs of their Constitutional rights, participated in a conspiracy for that purpose and injured the plaintiffs.

There is a huge volume of evidence for the case — much of it digital — cell

Prof. Deborah Lipstadt described how white Supremacists and neo-Nazis have developed code words to avoid having their online posts removed by social media filters. Here are several examples: • HH or 88 may substitute for Heil Hitler. (H is the 8th letter in the alphabet.)

• Kayak — a boat — may be used instead of kike.

• The “14 words” refers to the white supremacist slogan: “We must secure the existence of white people and a future for white children.”

Q

phone call records, texts, internet posts and videos from the weeks before as well as during the weekend of Unite the Right, in addition to some comments from defendants about their satisfaction with the outcome.

Winter says this evidence will be evaluated in terms of context and substance.

Racist and antisemitic comments, whether made at a rally or online, are not by themselves necessarily crimes; the First Amendment protects free speech. He anticipates that regardless of the jury’s verdict, there will be an appeal — first to the Court of Appeals and then potentially to the Supreme Court.

The trial is expected to last up to two more weeks.

For additional information, visit integrityfirstforamerica. org.

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Supported through the generosity of The Jewish Fund and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Family Foundation.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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for college students by college students

Mic-Drop!

MSU’s Zipser Open-Mic Night gives students the chance to showcase their talents.

Samantha Cohen } jewish@edu writer

A

s the vice president of community programming at Michigan State Hillel, event planning, promotion and production are a big part of my everyday life. Because I’m a student at the School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State, I was excited to recently become an event planning intern for a new program series at MSU Hillel.

There, I have been working very closely with Josh Rudman, the new Springboard Innovation Specialist from Hillel International, to put on Zipser Open-Mic Nights. This brand-new event series enables students a platform to showcase their performing talents. Zipser Open-Mic Night is open to any and all performances, which can range from singing, to stand-up come-

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dy, to freestyle rapping and even a skit performance. The main purpose of this program is to enable and encourage students to practice and display their unique talents and be proud of what they can do.

Our vision for Zipser is to take our MSU Hillel event planning goals and tools and elevate them. One way we did that is by forming and bringing along with us our own Zipser House Band. The Zipser House Band is made of four Michigan State students. Throughout the program series, the band will be available to students, who can send the musicians music to learn to perform at the next Open-Mic Night. Students will also be able to practice with the band to perfect their performances.

One challenge of planning Zipser OpenMic Night was finding a suitable venue. We ran into many obstacles, like finding venues that had the necessary space for the band to setup and play that could also provide food. Luckily, we reached out to Blue Owl Café of East Lansing, and we were pleasantly surprised with their response. Blue Owl

Nov. 18, 2021 / 14 Kislev 5782

Students shine at Zipser Open-Mic Night.

Café already had its own open-mic program, and they needed some help with it.

Zipser Open-Mic Night collaborated with Blue Owl’s “The Mic Drop” and packed the venue. Fans were enjoying the show outside the Blue Owl as well.

There is a saying “don’t fix what isn’t broke,” but one can always continuously improve. I am so happy with how our program went; however, I’m excited to make our next Zipser Open-Mic Night even bigger and better!

I hope that this program allows more people to go out and chase their singing careers or inspire people to find their passions and perform — just as I got to use my passion in getting the wonderful opportunity to plan such a fun event.

Come check out the next Zipser OpenMic Night at Blue Owl Café in East Lansing on Thursday, Nov. 18. The doors open at 6 p.m. @ Samantha Cohen is the vice president of community programming at Michigan State Hillel.

THE NEW HOME OF WARRIOR HOOPS. The roar you hear is coming from Wayne State. Our brand-new, 3,000-seat fieldhouse generates excitement that draws people of all ages to the Motor City. Living on campus puts you closer to more sports, more art, more music and more energy than any other state university. When it comes to having fun, everywhere you look, Warriors are stronger than ever.

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Next is where minds are free to imagine what could be. At GVSU, next is now. And whatever’s next for you, we will help you get there.

Students at Wayne State received unique T-shirts at the Artists 4 Israel event.

Israel Peace Week Hillel’s Students for Israel educate Wayne State students about Israel.

Adi Siegmann } jewish@edu writer

E

gvsu.edu/next

SURVIVORSHIP SERIES

There are over 3 million prostate cancer survivors in the U.S. Join us as we discuss advances in imaging technology and treatment opportunities.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 6 p.m.

Facebook Live: facebook.com/MIUMensHealth

Join us in person: Michigan Institute of Urology 6900 Orchard Lake Rd., Suite 300, West Bloomfield Panel experts: Jason Hafron, M.D.

Michigan Institute of Urology

Tom Boike, M.D., M.M.M.

Genesis Care/MHP Radiation Oncology

Moderated by Dr. Michael Lutz, President, MIU Men’s Health Foundation

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very year, Hillel of Metro Detroit hosts Israel Peace week at Wayne State University. Last year, because of COVID, it was canceled, which made this year’s events especially fun to attend.

Hillel’s Students for Israel (SFI) works to educate students about Israeli culture and to show Israel’s positive influence in the world. Hillel hosts this event to encourage students to talk about Israel — no matter what their point of view is.

Over the week of Oct. 25, SFI hosted four events, including one in the Student Center that focused on teaching students about how IsraelAID helps other countries. Dr. Howard Lupovitch (who teaches classes on Zionism and the State of Israel) and Dr. Saeed Kahn (whose classes include the History of Islamic Political Thought) talked about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.

And there was an outdoor Artists 4 Israel event and an Israel celebratory Shabbat dinner.

More than 200 students participated, but, for me, the highlight was Artists 4 Israel.

The event was set up in the middle of Wayne State’s campus at Gullen Mall, so that anyone walking through campus could see what was happening and join in.

Student Jenna Friedman said, “It was great to see students of all backgrounds gathering together for Israel Peace Week at Wayne State University.

Artists 4 Israel was something unique that I hadn’t seen on campus before. The event really brought people together.”

Israeli street artists with easels customized more than 100 free T-shirts with graffiti images and words of the students’ choosing.

Students from all backgrounds attended, which was an amazing opportunity for Hillel’s staff and the artists to discuss Israel with them. @ Adi Siegmann is a senior at Wayne State University studying psychology. Adi is also the treasurer of the Students for Israel campus organization.

COURTESY WAYNE STATE

for college students by college students

Furry Therapy Hillel of Metro Detroit helps sponsor Pet a Puppy at Lawrence Technological University.

Tyler Shanbom } jewish@edu writer

L

awrence Technological University’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teamed up with Hillel of Metro Detroit’s Jewish students on campus to bring emotional support dogs to the Atrium on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The program, Pet a Puppy, was designed to cultivate LTU students’ sense of belonging and engagement on campus.

As a student during COVID, it made sense to create a program that was comforting and

that everyone could enjoy.

Although I have been lucky to have most of my classes in-person, some of my peers have not been so lucky. In times of high stress, the key is to do something calming or enjoyable — and petting dogs is on that list.

For many people, including myself, virtual learning is mentally draining. So, when 150 students showed up to pet the dogs, it made sense (and also, who doesn’t love to pet a puppy?).

MELANIE

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Students at LTU enjoy some downtime with dogs.

The dogs, including four golden retrievers and one Bernese mountain dog, arrived with staff from the Mid-Michigan Therapy Dogs.

These special dogs are trained to give affection and comfort to anyone in need.

It seemed like everyone loved their time together, including the dogs! It was really nice to see so many diverse students participate and further our connections

BISHOP

NOAH

Tyler Shanbom is a freshman at Lawrence Technological University.

Tyler is also enrolled in Hillel of Metro Detroit’s J-Talk program, a Jewish learning series led by Hillel of Metro Detroit’s Rabbi/Educator Michele Faudem.

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I’m happy to say that this won’t be the only great event that Hillel is planning for LTU. We are having a Shabbat dinner and Channukah event on campus later this month. @

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SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS! NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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COURTESY OF TERRY LANDA

GIFT GUIDE

Toys that Teach Kids can learn through play with Discovery Toys.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

erry Landa was disappointed to miss her first invitation to a Discovery Toys home party in October 1985, but the scheduled date was right after her family’s move from Colorado to Detroit for her husband Ken’s new automotive industry job.

Discovery Toys, a brand for more than 40 years, has a notable reputation for “specializing in premium quality, kid-powered learning products for children.” The toys are targeted at the developmental needs of newborns through school-aged children, including those having autism and special needs.

Though Landa couldn’t come to the Colorado party, she ordered Marbleworks Grand Prix anyway for their 4-year-old son.

“We played Marbleworks with Jeremy, who loved it,” said Landa, noting that Jeremy plays Castle Marbleworks with his boys today.

The Landas’ daughter, Elise, was born in March 1986 in Michigan. That’s where Discovery Toys caught up with Terry again.

Attending a home-based party in October 1986, she learned that hostesses earn free toys based on sales. Landa booked her own event for the following month. The play adviser demonstrating Discovery Toys asked if she’d be interested in starting her own business.

The answer was yes. Working part-time as an independent contractor dovetailed perfectly with Landa’s desire to remain a stay-at-home wife and mother in Huntington Woods. She put in more time as her children grew older. Currently, for two-thirds of the year, she works a flexible schedule of about 15 hours a week. Her hours increase during the holiday gift-buying season of October-December.

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Landa’s grandson Oscar Landa, then 2, plays with Discovery Toys’ Giant Pegboard.

Children don’t grow out of Discovery Toys; the toys grow up with them, according to Landa. “You invest in something today and your children will be playing with the toy years later,” unlike other toys they might get bored with.

“A toy should be challenging and not frustrating,” she continued. “It should make kids think and find new ways to play.”

The native New Yorker brings a bachelor’s degree in elementary education to her endeavors. She graduated from Brooklyn College, part of City University of New York, and is certified to teach art to grades K-8. Landa also earned a master’s in food and nutrition at University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. She has worked as a nutritionist in a retirement community.

Besides leading home parties, Landa brings Discovery Toys to educational conferences and boutiques sponsored by organizations. They included Chanukah bazaars at the former Workmen’s Circle Educational Center in Oak Park, where her children attended Sunday school, and currently at Congregation Beth Shalom’s Chanu-Con. With success, she has donated baskets

Terry Landa leads a pre-COVID Discovery Toy party.

of toys and books for clients of Common Ground and Jewish Family Service and contributed to Toys for Tots and local hospitals.

Since the COVID pandemic, Landa’s conducted sales by phone with customers located all over the country. She posts online video demonstrations of her toys and uses Zoom for personal shopping appointments and chatting at virtual home parties. She maintains a VIP group to apprise customers of special pricing on her toys. In October, she returned to hosting an in-person Discovery Toys demonstration.

Landa has become “a leader within the company and a trainer of the people I help get involved with Discovery Toys.

“I thought I would do this until Elise started elementary school,” she said, “but here I am, 34 years later, and I still love selling the toys. I get to share these wonderful products with others who want to teach through play.”

Call Terry Landa at (248) 259-5205, visit terrysbiz.com or follow her on social media at Facebook pages for Terry Landa and Terry Landa - Discovery Toys.

Discovery Toys’ best-sellers

The company introduces 20-30 new toys each year and retires roughly the same number, though some might come back. Here are a few of Landa’s suggestions from the current collection: Birth-6 months: Try-Angle 12 months-2 years: Measure Up! Cups 19 months-2 years: Giant Pegboard 3-4 years: Busy Bugs 3-7 years+: Hydro Launch 5-8 years+: Marbleworks Grand Prix, Think It Through Learning Tiles 8 years-adult: Mosaic Mysteries, Tricky Fingers and Jishaku games

Our warmest wishes this holiday season!

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GIFT GUIDE

Chanukah Bobble Heads

A Grab Bag of Gift Ideas

Still looking for the perfect present?

Try one of these.

W

ith eight crazy nights to prepare for, perhaps you need to pick up one or two more things for the people on your Chanukah list. Here we share some fun ideas for your holiday shopping.

GOOD CLEAN FUN Do you want to make bath time more fun for your little ones?

Consider Dabble & Dollop’s mixable bath products, which are made in the USA, safe for all ages, including babies/infants, and feature clean ingredients.

“Dabble & Dollop is the only mixable children’s bath brand — we allow children a safe opportunity to mix scents and textures together to create their own unique concoctions,” explains brand Founder & CEO Stephanie Leshney.

Dabble & Dollop is offering a Hanukkah Box: Celebrate Chanukah with the traditional colors of the holiday, blue and white, plus yellow — symbolizing the flames of the menorah

candles. Nearly 30 oz. of 3-in-1 shampoo, bubble bath and body wash packaged in a “gift ready” Dabble & Dollop Deco box.

Mix the blueberry and lemon gels with the vanilla whip gel to create seven unique scent and texture combinations. Available through Dec. 18. $42. dabbleanddollop.com

sion has blue candles, another has blue and white candles and a third has a multicolor assortment of candles. The Bobble Dreidel is on a gelt-shaped base with each side inscribed with the Dreidel’s Hebrew letters —Nun, Gimel, Hey and Shin — in a different color. The limited-edition bobbles were produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.

The bobbles, which will ship out to customers the third week of November, are $25 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. https:// store.bobbleheadhall.com/ products/hanukkah?_pos=1&_ sid=688f08367&_ss=r&variant=41454880751769

DIY REUBEN KIT The Zingerman’s Reuben Kit is the quintessential gift for anyone with a soft spot for authentic deli fare, top-shelf ingredients and indulgent Saturday lunches. Some assembly is required but considering it has been known to make grown men weep in appreciation, it might be worth it. $150 and up. zingermans.com.

HOLIDAY CARDS TO FIGHT HUNGER Forgotten Harvest has released its 2021 festive holiday card collection, sponsored by Tom and Carol Cracchiolo. Forgotten Harvest holiday card sales aim to fight food insecurity in Metro Detroit, which the organization has seen a 50 percent increase in throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The holiday cards work to fight hunger by providing $175 worth of groceries per card pack. In 2020, card sales helped the organization provide more than 151,612 meals to people facing food insecurity in Metro Detroit.

This year, Forgotten Harvest

CHANUKAH BOBBLE HEADS The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum this year unveiled its first Bobble Menorah and Bobble Dreidel.

The Bobble Menorah features nine bobbling flames and comes in three color patterns. One ver-

32

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

offers 12 different card options to choose from, including seven new designs. Cards include Circles of Snow, Let It Snow, Menorah, Michigan Love, Orange Tree, Candy Canes, Evergreen Branches, Hanukkah, Happy Healthy Christmas, Old Fashioned Truck, Geometric Trees and Winter Wonderland.

There is also an option to write a personalized message of up to 150 characters.

Holiday cards and accompanying envelopes are available in packs of 25 for a donation of $25 per pack. Special tribute cards are also available for a donation of $5 each, which can

be inserted into a holiday card as a wonderful gift. Holiday card packages and tribute cards are available online on Forgotten Harvest’s website at forgottenharvest.org/holidaycards.

Compiled by Jackie Headapohl, Director of Editorial

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Weekly Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox. thejewishnews.com/newsletter 34

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

T

he Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s (BBAC) annual Holiday Shop, now in its 41st year, is a local pop-up shopping experience where more than 3,000-square-feet of BBAC gallery space is transformed into a unique boutique offering one-of-akind, artisan-made gift items from more than 200 participating artists.

The Holiday Shop opens Dec. 2 and runs through Dec. 21. Hours are 10 a.m.6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-4 p.m. Sundays.

New this year, in addition to ceramics, jewelry, fiber wearables, glassware, paper goods, ornaments, Judaica, men’s gifts and more, shoppers also will enjoy an expanded home goods section, with the return of the popular “Mug Wall,” as well as the addition of more baby and children’s gift items.

There is something for everyone at Holiday Shop,

with items starting as low as $5, up to several hundred dollars.

As the impacts of the pandemic continue to be felt, the support of shoppers at this year’s Holiday Shop is more crucial than ever. All Holiday Shop proceeds benefit working artists and BBAC’s ArtAccess and education programs.

The Holiday Shop, located at 1516 S. Cranbrook Road in Birmingham, is free and open to the public. Capacity limits in the spacious galleries will be monitored to allow for safe distancing, and masks are required.

For those interested in further supporting the BBAC, Virtual Patron Tickets ($150/each; 100% tax deductible) are available in advance. Patron tickets include a gift bag and onetime 10-percent discount on all same-day Holiday Shop purchases. Tickets are available at https://bbartcenter. org/holiday-shop-2.

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35

sports HIGHlights brought to you in partnership with

NMLS#2289

Back on the Lanes

Jerry Gurwin, 87, with teammates (from left) Bill Zavier, Joey Schecter and Yale Weiner, make up the Jerry & His Kidz team in the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowling league. Schecter is Gurwin’s grandson.

It’s the first time they’ve bowled together on a team.

A

fter a 1½-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the weekly Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowling league is up and running again.

And, of course, COVID-19 is part of the story.

Each league bowler must be vaccinated for the coronavirus and provide proof of vaccination. That was a decision made by the league’s executive board.

Nobody left the league because of the mandate, said league spokesman Gary Klinger.

To the contrary, Klinger said, “some guys said they wouldn’t bowl if people weren’t

GARY KLINGER

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

vaccinated,” he said.

“I’d say about 10% of the guys are wearing masks during league nights. That’s their decision,” Klinger said. “We aren’t requiring masks.”

The league is bowling at 7:30 p.m.

Mondays at Country Lanes in Farmington Hills.

Week No. 7 of a 26-week regular season was completed this week. There will be three weeks of playoffs.

There are 22 teams in the league. That’s up four teams from the 2019-20 season, the

quick hits

BY STEVE STEIN

Former Frankel Boys Basketball Coach Has a Saline Solution Michael Marek is living a dream.

The 33-year-old former Frankel Jewish Academy boys basketball coach was named the boys basketball coach at Saline High School last month.

“It’s always been my professional goal to coach a Division 1 high school boys basketball team,” Marek said. “I never thought it would happen this fast. And I certainly didn’t want to coach at four schools in five years to get there.

36

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

“I will always be appreciative of my time at Frankel. Coaching there jump-started my career. While there were good players on my teams there, they’re better people.

I’m still in contact with just about all the Frankel players I coached.”

Frankel went 24-18 in Marek’s two seasons in charge of the Jaguars (2017-18 and 2018-19) after a 4-16 finish in the 2016-17 season.

It was during the 2018-19 season that Marek’s team made the most news.

The Jaguars went 7-4 and finished second in the seven-team Catholic League Intersectional 2 Division, qualifying for the league’s C-D tournament.

last time the league was in operation.

Three teams have moved to BrotherhoodEddie Jacobson from the Downtown FoxMLZG B’nai B’rith league, which disbanded.

And there are two new teams.

“We’ve had around 16-18 teams in our league the last 10-15 years,” Klinger said.

“Having 22 teams gets us closer to a heyday in the 1990’s when we had 28 to 32 teams.”

Most of the 22 Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson teams have four bowlers. Some teams have a fifth bowler who fills in as a substitute.

Scores haven’t been great so far, Klinger said, most likely because bowlers are shaking off the rust that has accumulated over the past 1 1/2 years.

“Averages are down considerably,” Klinger said. “Some guys are higher, but not many.”

The division leaders through six weeks of the season were the Rolling Stoned in the Pistons Division, Yogi’s Rollers in the Tigers Division, Mix-N-Match in the Red Wings Division and the Holy Rollers in the Lions Division.

Frankel beat every team in the division including champion Riverview Gabriel Richard at least once during the division season.

But the Jaguars couldn’t play in the C-D tournament because the tournament schedule included firstround games and the championship game on Saturdays during Shabbat.

Marek was hired at Saline on Oct. 28, almost a month after former Michael coach Jake Fosdick Marek resigned. Fosdick had a 74-52 record in six seasons at Saline.

Because of his hiring, Marek’s commute was cut in half.

Saline is about a 20-minute

drive from his home in Canton.

Waterford Kettering, his previous coaching stop, was a nearly hour drive in good weather.

“I wasn’t looking to leave Kettering. But the Saline job came open, so I thought I’d apply for it,” Marek said. “The stars aligned for me.”

Marek was 7-10 in his lone season at Kettering (202021). In his only season at Canton Prep (2019-20), the team went 14-7.

Marek and his wife Katie were engaged when he was coaching at Frankel. They’ve now been married for two years.

“Katie goes to all my games, she scouts with me, and she gets to know my players,” Marek said.

“It’s a family effort.”

MICHAEL MAREK

Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowlers must be vaccinated for COVID-19 to compete

Klinger has yet to bowl this season. He’s recovering from Sept. 28 back surgery and plans to return to bowling after the first of the year.

He’s bowling for the MIA team, an appropriate name considering his condition.

Country Lanes is the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson league’s longtime home. The league was supposed to return there in the 2020-21 season after bowling for two years at 300 Bowl in Waterford.

The Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson and Downtown FoxMLZG leagues each saw its 2019-2020 season end early because of the pandemic.

The last Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson bowling night of the season was March 9, 2020.

Five weeks of regular-season competition and three weeks of playoffs remained for the 18 teams.

There were 16 teams in the Downtown Fox-MLZG league when it shut down for the season in March 2020.

It was the 59th season for the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson league. The Downtown Fox league had been around for more than 100 years.

The 2020-21 seasons never began for the leagues. After waiting a few months following what would have been the start of the league seasons, the seasons were canceled because of the pandemic.

While capacity and other restrictions placed on bowling alleys by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services made it impossible for the leagues to operate normally, there was a more important reason for the cancellations.

Several bowlers in each league had been infected by the virus.

“Too much risk,” Klinger said when asked why the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson executive board canceled the season in December 2020.

Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson competition for the 2020-21 season was scheduled to begin Jan. 4, 2021.

No opening date was set for the Downtown Fox-MLZG league, which planned to bowl Tuesday nights at its regular home, Hartfield Lanes in Berkley.

Please send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

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Berkley High School Grads Experience Soccer, Hockey Success dents at the private school.

Josh Nodler (Oak Park, Berkley High School) was the leading scorer on the Michigan State hockey team prior to last weekend’s games against Ferris State. He had three goals and five assists for eight points.

He also led the Spartans (4-5-1, 1-2-0) in assists, Josh Nodler was second in goals, tops in power-play points (2-2--4), and his 86 faceoff wins was seventh in the Big Ten Conference.

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

BEN ROSENBLATT

Here are a couple of college notes: Ben Rosenblatt (Huntington Woods, Berkley High School) is a member of the Elon University men’s soccer team that is playing in its first Colonial Athletic Association tournament since 2017. Rosenblatt, a sophomore Ben defender, has Rosenblatt one goal this season, vs.

Radford on Oct. 26. He’s played in most of Elon’s games. Elon is a Division I program based in Elon, N.C. There are about 7,000 stu-

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37

FOOD DINING IN

Bring on the Sides for

Turkey Day

A

s I often say, man (and woman) cannot live on turkey alone. But who knows how many turkeys are available this year? If entire birds are not available, you might be able to purchase turkey breast roasts or drumsticks of whatever you may find.

Annabel Of course, Cohen if turkeys are Contributing writer unavailable, you can eat chicken, plain turkey breast or juicy beef steaks.

I’ve included here some of my favorite side dishes that are perfect with whatever you eat.

These recipes usually serve about eight people — but if you’re like me and make four, five, six or more side dishes, these recipes can “stretch” to serve even more “pilgrims.”

38

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

SWEET POTATO PUREE WITH PRALINE TOPPING Ingredients 14 cups (about 5 pounds) sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cubed ½ cup half-and-half or non-dairy creamer ½ cup maple syrup 1 tsp. vanilla extract ¾ tsp. salt 1 large egg, lightly beaten Topping: ½ cup flour ½ cup packed brown sugar ¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine, cut into small pieces ½ cup chopped pecans (optional) Directions Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9- by 13-inch baking dish (or equivalent) with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Prepare the potatoes: Place cut potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook until tender, for about 12-15 minutes (check tenderness with a fork). Drain the potatoes in a colander. Set aside.

While the potatoes are draining, combine halfand-half, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and egg in a large bowl and whisk well.

Add the potatoes and beat with a fork lightly until the mixture is slightly chunky.

Transfer this mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread. Set aside.

Make the topping: Combine flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.

Add the butter pieces and

pulse a few more times.

Add the pecans and pulse a couple of times to combine. Sprinkle this mixture over the potatoes.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Uncover and bake for 25 minutes more.

Makes 12 or more servings.

WILD RICE WITH LEEKS, CORN AND CHICKPEAS 1½ cups uncooked dark wild rice 2 tsp. kosher salt 3 Tbsp. olive oil 2 cups finely chopped leeks (white part only) ½ cup water 1½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed 1½ cups chickpeas, cooked and drained ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped 2 tsp. fresh finely grated lemon zest or orange zest Salt and pepper to taste Directions Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add rice and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered; cook until rice is tender, but still a bit chewy, about 45 minutes.

Transfer to a strainer and drain, then transfer to a medium bowl.

While the rice is cooking, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the leeks and saute for 2 minutes.

Add water and cook until the leeks are tender, about 6 minutes. Add the leeks, corn, chickpeas, parsley and zest to the rice and toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Adjust to taste with more salt. Makes 8 or more servings. continued on page 40

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FOOD DINING IN

continued from page 38

STUFFING IN A PUMPKIN Serve this stuffing in a hollowed pumpkin for a dramatic presentation.

Ingredients ¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine 2 cups chopped onions 1½ cups celery, chopped 2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional) 12 cups good-quality coarse crumbled toasted bread (or bagged stuffing bread) 1 tsp. dried sage 3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth Salt and pepper Directions Cut off the top (stem end) of a medium-sized pumpkin (keep the “lid”). Scoop out

the seeds and fibers. Set aside (you may do this a day ahead and keep the pumpkin with lid chilled, a cold garage is a natural refrigerator).

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat butter or margarine in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery and saute until very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms, if using, and cook, stirring every few minutes, until the mushrooms are softened and have released all their liquid.

Combine all the stuffing ingredients (including the liquid from the mushrooms) — except broth, salt and pepper — in a large bowl and toss well. Pour 2 cups broth over the mixture and toss well with your hands.

Add more liquid, as needed, to make for a moist mixture (not wet or soggy).

Season to taste with salt and

pepper.

Spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Transfer the stuffing to the dish and cover with foil.

Bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for 20 minutes more, until the top is browned. Transfer this mixture to the room temperature pumpkin, replace the pumpkin “lid” and serve.

Alternately: Cook the stuffing in the pumpkin: This must be made the same day you plan to eat the stuffing.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a baking dish large enough to accommodate the pumpkin with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon the stuffing into the cavity of the pumpkin and replace the pumpkin “lid.”

Bake until the pumpkin is brown and softened (it will collapse a bit), about 1 hour.

Transfer the pumpkin to a

serving dish and serve hot.

SPICED ORANGE PECAN CRANBERRY SAUCE Ingredients 1 can (about 14 ounces) mandarin oranges with juice ¾ cup white sugar 1 (about 12 ounces) package fresh cranberries 1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted in a 325°F oven for 10 minutes ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground cinnamon ½ tsp. ground nutmeg Directions Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before serving. Makes 8 servings.

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ERETZ NAOMI MILLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

NEW GOVERNMENT On the political front, Israel voted in a new government and a new prime minister after three elections failing to reach conclusive results.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-reigning premier, and his Likud party were sent to the opposition by voters in the fourth election, held in March 2021. The new coalition is Israel’s most diverse government to date, including parties from both ends of the spectrum and, for the first time ever, an Arab party. The White House welcomed a new face to the IsraeliUSA relations arena when Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, on his first official state visit, met with President Joe Biden at the Oval Office in late August.

The Knesset also voted in a new president, in accordance with the national presidential timetable of seven years. Unlike the prime minister, the president is largely a ceremonial,

ITAY BEIT-ON/GPO

A

m Yisrael recently ended the period of the Jewish High Holidays, a traditional period of reflection for the Jewish people.

It begins with Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, followed by Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and repentance, and concludes with Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, the holiday commemorating the 40 years of biblical wandering in the desert to the Promised Land.

The past year has seen changes in the land that are both promising and challenging, full of dramatic and exciting events from politics to sports, hi-tech to pandemics.

Here are few that dominated the Israeli headlines.

Artem Dolgopyat, President Isaac Herzog and Linoy Ashram with their Olympic gold medals at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, Aug. 16, 2021.

Israel’s Year in Review apolitical figure. The popular Reuven “Rubi” Rivlin ended his term this summer and Isaac “Bougie” Herzog took office as Israel’s 11th president. He is also the first president who is the son of a former president; his father, Chaim Herzog, was installed as Israel’s sixth president in 1983. As a teenager, Isaac Herzog attended high school in New York and American Jewish summer camps; and as a college student he attended NYU and Cornell. Herzog faced off against Miriam Peretz, a prominent educator, public speaker and recipient of the Israel Prize.

Eighty-seven of the 120 Knesset members voted for him, making his election the largest victory in Israel’s presidential history.

BATTLING COVID Eighteen months into COVID, Israel is learning to live with the pandemic. With one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, the first country

to vaccinate 12–16-year-olds and a quick rollout of the third booster vaccine, life in Israel is approaching normalcy. Schools opened according to schedule on Sept. 1, and indoor and outdoor events are taking place with precautions and vaccination guidelines.

The holidays saw Israelis enjoying their proximity to Europe and traveling once again. While infection numbers plummeted in the early summer, they were on the rise during the holiday period, now reducing again. The most encouraging news is the relatively low number of seriously ill patients, directly related to the high vaccination rate and the booster shot that over half of Israeli adults have taken.

Thanks to the high vaccination rate, the reopening of the economy and a robust hi-tech market, the economy is pushing ahead in the shadow of the pandemic, with the Bank of Israel predicting a GDP growth

this year of 5.5%.

Israelis were elated with their record results at both the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games. The all-star national judo team won bronze in the mixed event, and Israeli athletes brought home a bronze in Taekwondo and two golds in gymnastics. For the first time in the country’s Olympic history, Israel participated in baseball.

Israel wrapped up the Paralympic Games ranked a respectable 22 on the medal ladder, bringing home six gold medals, two silver and one bronze. Swimmers Ami Omer Dadaon and Mark Malyar created new world records in swimming, and swimmer Iyad Shalabi is Israel’s first Arab citizen to bring home a medal.

The outstanding athletes with disabilities served as a wonderful source of pride and inspiration for the entire country.

The new year ahead holds many challenges, but Israel is off to a promising start.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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MAZEL TOV! MAY 16, 2021 Stephanie and Sean Brownridge of New York City announce the birth of their son, Jack William Brownridge. Delighted grandparents are John and Paulette Baum of Novi, Larry and Lizzie Brownridge, and Filomena MacLean, all of New York. Thrilled great-grandmothers are Joan Baum of Sarasota, Fla., and Pat Brownridge of Delray, Fla. Jack is named in loving memory of greatgrandfathers Jules William Radin and George William Brownridge.

Ella Barnett, daughter of Linda Sucher Barnett, and Robert and Nicole Barnett, will lead the congregation in prayer as she becomes a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021.

She will be joined in celebration by her siblings Alexa, Tessa, Joelle, Larissa and Britney. Ella is the loving grandchild of Sheldon Sucher, the late Peggy Sucher, the late Evelyn and Marvin Barnett She is a at student at Warner Middle School in Farmington Hills. As part of her most meaningful mitzvah project, Ella volunteered at the Temple Israel Fresh Food Pantry.

Ari Jeffrey Ellis, son of Rachel Grey Ellis and Dr. Jason Ellis, will become a bar mitzvah at Temple Israel in West

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Bloomfield on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. He is the grandchild of James Grey and the late Ruth Grey, Darlene Jorden and Steven Ellis; great-grandson of the late Lydia and Archie Grey, and the late Sarah and John Nemon. He will be joined on the bimah by his brother Noam and sister Shira.

Ari is a student at West Hills Middle School. For his mitzvah project, he is collecting activity-based toys and comfy clothes to donate to the Bottomless Toy Chest, where he is volunteering his time.

Noam Grey Ellis, son of Rachel Grey Ellis and Dr. Jason Ellis, will become a bar mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021.

He is the grandchild of James Grey and the late Ruth Grey, Darlene Jorden and Steven Ellis; great-

grandson of the late Lydia and Archie Grey, and the late Sarah and John Nemon. He will be joined on the bimah by his brother Ari and sister Shira.

Noam is a student at West Hills Middle School.

For his mitzvah project experience, he is collecting activity-based toys and comfy clothes to donate to the Bottomless Toy Chest, where he is volunteering his time.

Emily Hannah Miller, daughter of Beth and Jason Miller, will become a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. She is the grandchild of Susan and Samuel Bernstein, and Sandi and Dr. Jeffrey Miller.

She will be joined on the bimah by her twin Norah.

Emily is a student at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit in Farmington Hills.

For her mitzvah project, she volunteered with West

Bloomfield-based JARC, leading virtual bingo, a JARC and Yad Ezra garden project, and as a baking sponsor and participant.

Norah Belle Miller, daughter of Beth and Jason Miller, will become a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. She is the grandchild of Susan and Samuel Bernstein, and Sandi and Dr. Jeffrey Miller.

She will be joined on the bimah by her twin Emily.

She is a student at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit in Farmington Hills.

For her mitzvah project, Norah volunteered with West Bloomfield-based JARC, leading virtual bingo, a JARC and Yad Ezra garden project, and as a baking sponsor and participant.

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.

SPIRIT

TORAH PORTION

Facing Our Legacy

A

t the outset of our That’s exactly the opposite weekly Torah porof what is about to happen tion, Jacob prepares with Esau. Jacob is going to to meet his brother Esau for meet him directly, to confront the first time in many years. the danger of his once-furious The last time they saw brother head on. No each other, Esau had avoidance, no trickery. promised retribution Before this confrontafor Jacob’s stealing his tion, however, he meets blessing from their the angel who fights with father Isaac. him. He doesn’t outfox Rabbi Josh After splitting his him or deceive him, but Levisohn large family into two he wrestles with him camps, Jacob is left and overcomes him. It Parshat alone and encounters is a shift in the way that Vayishlach: a mysterious figure, Jacob has operated; for Genesis who wrestles with him 32:4-36:43; that, the angel permathroughout the night. nently changes his name Obadiah 1:1-21.

Before dawn, the man from Jacob — the one injures Jacob’s thigh, who avoids and deceives but Jacob emerges victorious; — to Israel — one who at which point, the antagonist encounters matters directly. proclaims that Jacob should no Although Jews are the longer be called Jacob but rath- descendants of Jacob, we are er Israel, a name that signals called the people of Israel. Our that he “took on man and God charge is to leave aside the and prevailed.” trickery and confront issues This enigmatic episode begs directly. for an explanation. What does We need to wrestle with our Jacob’s name change really inclination to avoid confrontamean and why is it through tion because we are the people the name Israel that his of Israel, the people who repdescendants are known? resent the transformed legacy Jacob’s original name carof our forefather Jacob. ries an ambiguous meaning.

Throughout history, we The Hebrew name means have seen many exemplars heel (Jacob grabbed Esau’s among our Jewish ancestors heel when emerging from the who have seen injustice, who womb) and it also means “to have recognized misfortune trick or deceive.” Indeed, Esau and who have taken it upon accused Jacob of tricking him themselves to tackle these twice, and Jacob also tricked problems head on. This is our his father-in-law Laban (perlegacy as the people of Israel, haps deservedly) by tricking and it continues to be our him into giving him extra responsibility as a nation. cattle before he snuck away to Rabbi Josh Levisohn is head of school return to Canaan. Until this point in our story, Jacob avoids at Farber Hebrew Day School in Southfield. direct encounters and prefers trickery, avoidance and deceit.

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SPIRIT

A WORD OF TORAH

Be Thyself I

have often argued that the episode in which the Jewish people acquired its name — when Jacob wrestled with an unnamed adversary at night and received the name Israel — is essential to an understanding of what it is to be a Jew. I Rabbi Lord Jonathan argue here that Sacks this episode is equally critical to understanding what it is to lead.

There are several theories as to the identity of “the man” who wrestled with the patriarch that night. The Torah calls him a man. The prophet Hosea called him an angel (Hosea 12:4-5). The Sages said it was Samael,

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guardian angel of Esau and a force for evil. Jacob himself was certain it was God. “Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared” (Gen. 32:31).

My suggestion is that we can only understand the passage by reviewing the entirety of Jacob’s life. Jacob was born holding on to Esau’s heel. He bought Esau’s birthright. He stole Esau’s blessing. When his blind father asked him who he was, he replied, “I am Esau, your firstborn.” (Gen. 27:19) Jacob was the child who wanted to be Esau.

Why? Because Esau was the elder. Because Esau was strong, physically mature, a hunter. Above all, Esau was his father’s favorite: “Isaac, who had a taste for

wild game, loved Esau, but Rebecca loved Jacob” (Gen. 25:28). Jacob is the paradigm of what the French literary theorist and anthropologist Rene Girard called mimetic desire, meaning, we want what someone else wants, because we want to be that someone else. The result is tension between Jacob and Esau. This tension rises to an unbearable intensity when Esau discovers that the blessing his father had reserved for him has been acquired by Jacob, and so Esau vows to kill his brother once Isaac is no longer alive.

Jacob flees to his uncle Laban’s home, where he encounters more conflict; he is on his way home when he hears that Esau is coming to meet him with a force of 400

men. In an unusually strong description of emotion, the Torah tells us that Jacob was “very frightened and distressed” (Gen. 32:7) — frightened, no doubt, that Esau was coming to kill him, and perhaps distressed that his brother’s animosity was not without cause.

Jacob had indeed wronged his brother, as we saw earlier. Isaac says to Esau, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” (Gen. 27:35) Centuries later, the prophet Hosea says, “The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. In the womb, he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God.” (Hos. 12:3-4) Jeremiah

uses the name Jacob to mean someone who practices deception: “Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan; for every one of them is a deceiver and every friend a slanderer” (Jer. 9:3).

As long as Jacob sought to be Esau, there was tension, conflict, rivalry. Esau felt cheated; Jacob felt fear. That night, about to meet Esau again after an absence of 22 years, Jacob wrestles with himself; finally he throws off the image of Esau, the person he wants to be, which he has carried with him all these years.

This is the critical moment in Jacob’s life. From now on, he is content to be himself.

And it is only when we stop wanting to be someone else (in Shakespeare’s words, “desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope, with what I most enjoy contented least” that we can be at peace with ourselves and with the world.

BE WHO YOU ARE This is one of the great challenges of leadership. It is all too easy for a leader to pursue popularity by being what people want him or her to be — a liberal to liberals, a conservative to conservatives, taking decisions that win temporary acclaim rather than flowing from principle and conviction. Presidential adviser David Gergen once wrote about Bill Clinton that he “isn’t exactly sure who he is yet and tries to define himself by how well others like him. That leads him into all sorts of contradictions, and the view by others that he seems a constant mixture of strengths and weaknesses.”

Leaders sometimes try to “hold the team together” by saying different things to

different people, but eventually these contradictions become clear — especially in the total transparency that modern media impose — and the result is that the leader appears to lack integrity.

People will no longer trust their remarks. There is a loss of confidence and authority that may take a long time to restore. The leader may find that their position has become untenable and may be forced to resign. Few things make a leader more unpopular than the pursuit of popularity.

Great leaders have the courage to live with unpopularity. Abraham Lincoln was reviled and ridiculed during his lifetime. In 1864, the New York Times wrote of him: “He has been denounced without end as a perjurer, a usurper, a tyrant, a subverter of the Constitution, a destroyer of the liberties of his country, a reckless desperado, a heartless trifler over the last agonies of an expiring nation.”

Winston Churchill, until he became prime minister during the Second World War, had been written off as a failure. And soon after the war ended, he was defeated in the 1945 General Election.

He himself said that “success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” When Margaret Thatcher died, some people celebrated in the streets. John F. Kennedy, Yitzchak Rabin and Martin Luther King were assassinated.

SELF-IDENTITY Jacob was not a leader; there was as yet no nation for him to lead. Yet the Torah goes to great lengths to give us an insight into his struggle for identity, because it was

not his alone. Most of us have experienced this struggle. (The word avot used to describe Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, means not only “fathers, patriarchs” but also “archetypes”). It is not easy to overcome the desire to be someone else, to want what they have, to be what they are. Most of us have such feelings from time to time.

Girard argues that this has been the main source of conflict throughout history.

It can take a lifetime of wrestling before we know who we are and relinquish the desire to be who we are not.

More than anyone else in Genesis, Jacob is surrounded by conflict: not just between himself and Esau, but between himself and Laban, between Rachel and Leah, and between his sons, Joseph and his brothers. It is as if the Torah were telling us that so long as there is a conflict within us, there will be a conflict around us. We have to resolve the tension in ourselves before we can do so for others. We have to be at peace with ourselves before we can be at peace with the world.

That is what happens in this week’s parshah. After his wrestling match with the stranger, Jacob undergoes a change of personality, a transformation. He gives back to Esau the blessing he took from him. The previous day he had given him back the material blessing by sending him hundreds of goats, ewes, rams, camels, cows, bulls and donkeys. Now he gives him back the blessing that said, “Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.” (Gen. 27:29) Jacob bows down seven times to

Esau. He calls Esau “my lord,” (Gen. 33:8) and refers to himself as “your servant,” (33:5) He actually uses the word “blessing,” though this fact is often obscured in translation. He says, “Please take my blessing that has been brought to you.” (33:11) The result is that the two brothers meet and part in peace.

People conflict. They have different interests, passions, desires, temperaments. Even if they did not, they would still conflict, as every parent knows. Children — and not just children — seek attention, and one cannot attend to everyone equally all the time. Managing the conflicts that affect every human group is the work of the leader — and if the leader is not sure of and confident in their identity, the conflicts will persist. Even if the leader sees themself as a peacemaker, the conflicts will still endure.

The only answer is to “know thyself.” We must wrestle with ourselves, as Jacob did on that fateful night, throwing off the person we persistently compare ourselves to, accepting that some people will like us and what we stand for while others will not, understanding that it is better to seek the respect of some than the popularity of all. This may involve a lifetime of struggle, but the outcome is an immense strength.

No one is stronger than one who knows who and what they are.

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, 1991-2013. His teachings have been made available to all at rabbisacks.org. This essay was written in 2020.

NOVEMBER 18 • 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.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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ARTS&LIFE ART

A Link to Past Generations Through art, writing and teaching, Jay Saper honors his Jewish heritage.

KERI GUTEN COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jay Saper of Pashkevil Press in East Lansing

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A

t age 30, Jay Saper of East Lansing is an old soul. Through his art, writing and teaching, he keeps alive the beliefs and history of progressive social/ political activists, including some relatives, who preceded him by generations.

We met at “Freedom of the Press,” a printmakers’ exhibit at Eastern Market in early October. He sat at his table patiently, waiting for passersby to stop and ask about his work. I was curious.

I saw Hebrew letters on notecards. I saw an eye-catching letterpress poster featuring a well-known statement from Pirkei Avot about working to bring about a better world, with the word “organize,” a more modern reference to labor unions, tucked subtly in the background.

All his posters are printed on a traditional letterpress, using handmade wood type set by hand. He calls his endeavor Pashkevil Press, after the Yiddish word for a poster pasted on walls in Orthodox communities of the past and still seen most typically in Chasidic Jewish neighborhoods.

These posters can express political commentary aimed at those in power, convey other strongly held opinions or announce basic funeral information and more.

“I honor this vibrant Jewish print culture by creating prints that engage Jewish history and texts, as well as support social movements,” Saper says.

Yiddish is a big part of his link to past generations. He not only learned Yiddish to keep this Old-World language alive but also teaches it.

Currently, he is translating a Yiddish poetry book by Holocaust survivor Rikle Glezer, “who leapt off the train from the Vilna ghetto bound for death at Ponar to take up pen and pistol against the fascists, chronicling her life TOP: This statement as a partisan through poetry,” he says. from Pirkei This work, with Corbin Allardice, is Avot about making a better world overlays supported by a translation fellowship the more modern from the Yiddish Book Center in statement: Organize!

Amherst, Massachusetts.

ABOVE: A papercut of ballerina Franceska “I am very interested in connectMann from Saper’s ing to my Jewishness by embracing Radical Village Yiddish, my grandma’s first language,” walking tour of Greenwich Village.

Saper said. “Her life was in Yiddish. I didn’t hear it myself. When she died a few years ago, I didn’t want her to be the last in my family to speak Yiddish.”

He participated in summer Yiddish programs in Warsaw, London and Weimar, Germany. He has taught the language online during the pandemic, and he’ll soon teach an online course at Middlebury College, the liberal arts school in Vermont where he studied sociology.

Art also is part of his background.

As the son of Nell Kuhnmuench and Roy Saper, founder and owner of the highly regarded Saper Galleries in East Lansing for more than 40 years, he grew up around art. The gallery features many Jewish artists, including some in Israel. Since the pandemic began, Saper moved back to his family home, where he has set up a studio.

He grew up attending Shaarey Zedek, a Reform synagogue in East Lansing.

As I talked to Saper, his old soul first revealed itself in two stories involving family members. His Aunt Sheri Saper grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where her synagogue and her rabbi’s home were bombed because the congregation held the first interracial service when they visited freedom riders who had been jailed.

“My aunt was part of integrating public schools in Jackson and continued to do what was right even in the face of violence,” Saper says. “It’s incredibly inspiring. I am interested in what solidarity has historically meant and how we can build that today and come together with other communities with other experiences to build a better world. Those stories have a lot to lend to our present — a look backward to see how to navigate moving forward.”

Another family story is influencing an art series he is working on about Henry Ford. “There’s a larger story on growing up here and always being surrounding by Ford and his legacy, even though the Michigan Jewish community knows another story [about his antisemitism],” Saper says. “I want to create things that continue to engage these things that are protected.”

He tells of when Ford got agitated by workers unionizing in Detroit, the carmaker started sending parts to be made in different little towns. One was Manchester, Michigan, where his great uncle stood up to Ford in those early years. This great uncle, with the only Jewish family in town, refused to sell his screw plant to Ford. Ford built a plant there and continued on page 51 NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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ARTS&LIFE THEATER

PHOTO BY T CHARLES ERICKSON

From the Underworld and Back Hadestown comes to Michigan for two stops.

JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

O

n March 12, 2020, the day that Broadway shut down, Bex Odorisio was in final rehearsals for the world premiere opening of The Visitor at the Public Theater in New York City. She also had a callback for the North American tour of Hadestown.

One year later, Odorisio got an email that Hadestown was going to be the first musical to resume on Broadway on Sept.

2, and begin its tour on Oct. 13, and would she audition again.

“That was quite a surprise; I didn’t expect shows to be up and running yet. So I did a video audition from my living room. It was very surreal,” says Odorisio, who is now on her first Broadway tour featured as a Fate in Hadestown.

Hadestown comes to Detroit’s Fisher Theatre Nov. 23-Dec. 5 followed by performances at the Wharton Center in East Lansing from Dec. 7-12.

Hadestown is the winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for

Best Musical Theater Album.

It was also honored with four Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.

Hadestown is helmed by a dynamic female production team spearheaded by music, lyrics and book writer Anaïs Mitchell; and Jewish director Rachel Chavkin.

“Rachel Chavkin describes the Fates as a ‘supergroup’ where we have standout solo

moments, but we also meet in harmony on the same level,” says Odorisio, who’s onstage with two other Fates for the majority of the show.

“We are pulled straight from Greek mythology as the controllers of the lives of mortals and sometimes gods,” she adds.

“We embody the fears and impulses. If we’re not actively meddling, we’re actively observing so that we can meddle later.”

Hadestown weaves together two love stories — of the young Orpheus and Eurydice — with King Hades and his

“WE EMBODY THE FEARS AND IMPULSES. IF WE’RE NOT ACTIVELY MEDDLING, WE’RE ACTIVELY OBSERVING SO THAT WE CAN MEDDLE LATER.” — BEX ODORISIO

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

DETAILS

Shea Renne, Bex Odorisio, and Belén Moyano in the Hadestown North American Tour at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre Nov. 23-Dec. 5 and East Lansing’s Wharton Center Dec. 7-12.

Hadestown runs Nov. 23-Dec. 5 at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit and from Dec. 7-12 at the Wharton Center in East Lansing. Tickets for Hadestown at the Fisher Theatre start at $59 and can be purchased www.ticketmaster.com.

Tickets for Dec. 7-12 at the Wharton Center may be purchased by visiting www.whartoncenter.com.

Theater patrons will be required to show proof of a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the performance date or proof of full COVID-19 vaccination before they will be admitted into the venue. Additionally, all patrons will be required to wear a mask while inside the theater, regardless of one’s vaccination status.

wife Persephone — set against a poetically lyrical score of American folk, New Orleans jazz and blues. Mitchell describes Hadestown as “somewhere between a concert and a theater show.”

Odorisio, whose mother is Jewish and whose father is Italian, grew up in the large Jewish area of Ardmore, Pa., where she and her two sisters were all bat mitzvahed.

Growing up, they celebrated all of the holidays, including enjoying the Italian tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve and eating Chinese food and going to the movies on Christmas Day. Four years ago, Odorisio got a ukulele for Chanukah.

With her mission to becoming a proficient ukulele player, Odorisio took in-person les-

sons in Brooklyn and then continued on Zoom during the pandemic. Now the owner of three different ukuleles, Odorisio travels with her concert ukulele on tour and keeps it in her dressing room.

“Once I finish my makeup, I strum a little before the show.

It’s very relaxing and gets me in the right frame of mind,” she says.

For her Hadestown audition, Odorisio played the ukulele to showcase her musicality since all the Fates play instruments onstage during the performance.

On some tour stops, Odorisio’s boyfriend brings her pit bull, Gusto, for a visit.

Odorisio promises Detroiters: “You’ll want to come see Hadestown because you’ve never seen anything like it before.”

JAY SAPER continued from page 49

“I CREATED PAPERCUTS … TO HONOR THE REMARKABLE, OVERLOOKED STORIES OF JEWISH WOMEN IN THE RESISTANCE.” — JAY SAPER

eventually, Saper says, the town’s library was built on the spot of his great uncle’s plant, with no mention of the Jewish business that had stood there.

Saper aims to keep this legacy alive through his art.

NEW YORK YEARS After college, Saper studied progressive childhood education at Bank Street College in Manhattan. This was followed by teaching children at different progressive schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as being involved in organizing and political projects. He joined Park Slope Kolot Chayeinu, a progressive Jewish community.

“In addition to my work as a letterpress printer, I am also a papercut artist,” he says. “I created papercuts, a traditional Jewish folk art, to honor the remarkable, overlooked stories of Jewish women in the resistance to the Nazis. My work was published as the chapter ‘Fighting Fascists with Folk Art’ in Cindy Milstein’s There’s Nothing So Whole as a Broken Heart: Mending the World as Jewish Anarchists (AK Press 2021).”

Another papercut project combined several of his interests. He wrote a zine called Radical Village, a history of the Little Red Schoolhouse and Elizabeth Irwin High School (LREI) founded in

1921 in Greenwich Village, the families associated with it and its connections to social movements over the past century. He became interested in the school’s history before he worked there and was drawn to its Jewish beginnings.

“LREI was a hotbed of Jewish radicalism,” he says.

“The school’s first students were Yiddish-speaking immigrants on the Lower East Side.

The school served as a haven for politically active Jewish teachers and families who faced state repression and violence. The school was a cultural center for experimental and progressive Jewish artists.”

As he dug into the history of the school, he decided to create a walking tour of Greenwich Village that highlighted some of the school’s famous students (Angela Davis, the children of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and more), supporters of the school and events in the school’s history. The zine, with its papercuts, became a companion piece to the tour.

Now that he’s back in East Lansing, he is restoring his traditional letterpress and creating wood type, teaching online, embracing Jewish cultural art traditions and doing his part to keep alive the spirit of progressive social activism so prevalent in generations of Jews before him.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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ARTS&LIFE CELEBRITY NEWS

The late Harold Ramis

of this film.

Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the first two films with Dan Aykroyd, died in 2014, at age 69. Ramis also co-starred in both films as Dr. Egon Spengler. I have to say that it is laudable that the screenwriters have paid

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

JUSTIN HOCH PHOTOGRAPHING FOR HUDSON UNION SOCIETY

YOU KNOW WHO TO CALL — AGAIN; THE WILLIAMS SISTERS; BONDING TRIP Ghostbusters: Afterlife opens on Nov. 19. It’s a sequel to the two hit Ghostbusters movies that opened in the ’80s. Afterlife makes many references to the first two Ghostbusters films. It doesn’t reference Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, a 2016 “reboot” film that was a critical and financial failure. Most advance reviews of Afterlife are good, if not great.

“Charming” and “funny” are words used in many reviews.

The Afterlife cast includes all the surviving, original main cast actors: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts. Their roles are larger than a cameo, but new characters are the stars

homage to Ramis by making Spengler (Ramis) almost a major character in Afterlife.

In the new film, Spengler appears in several clips from the first two Ghostbuster movies. The Afterlife characters refer to these clips as “historical documents.”

Spengler also lives on in the plot of Afterlife. As the film opens, we learn that Spengler is deceased and that his daughter, Callie, is the single mother of two kids: Trevor, 15, and Phoebe, 12. Financial problems force Callie and her kids to move to rural Oklahoma and live in a decayed farmhouse that Spengler lived in and left to his daughter. Not long after their move, weird things happen near their new home, like unexplained earthquakes.

The earthquakes are followed by supernatural phenomena (ghosts, etc.) in their Oklahoma town.

While poking around the farmhouse, the “kids” find Grandpa’s old ghost-busting equipment and learn about his Ghostbuster career.

Phoebe and Trevor then enlist Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd, 52), a schoolteacher, and others (like the original Ghostbusters) to help save their town and maybe the world.

Jason Reitman, 43, is the director of Afterlife and the co-writer of the Afterlife screenplay. His directing credits include the hit films Juno and Up in the Air. The other writer is Gil Kenan, 44, a screenwriter/director who was born in the U.K. and raised in Israel. Afterlife

was produced by Ivan Reitman, 74, Jason’s father.

He directed the first two Ghostbusters movies.

King Richard, which also opens on Nov. 19, is a biopic that follows the early years of the amazing tennis careers of Venus Williams and her younger sister, Selena. The title refers to their father, Richard Williams (Will Smith), “a controlling father” who saw his daughters potential when they were about 5 years old and began coaching them. The Williams family lived then in Compton, a poverty-stricken city in Los Angeles County.

In 1987, Williams called tennis coach Paul Cohen, now about 80, and asked him to coach his girls.

Cohen went to Los Angeles, and after seeing them play, agreed to coach them. He was their coach until 1991, when they were 10 and 11.

(Cohen was a top college player, a touring pro and coached John McEnroe, among other greats. He also advised the Israeli Davis Cup team.)

Tony Goldwyn plays Cohen. Goldwyn’s paternal grandfather was the famous filmmaker Samuel Goldwyn (Tony’s only Jewish “grand”).

Jon Bernthal, 45, plays the sisters’ next coach, Rick Macci. In 1991, Richard Williams moved his whole family to Florida so his daughters could attend Macci’s tennis academy. By 1997, the sisters were top pros. (Advance reviews of this film are quite good).

Also opening on Nov. 19 is C’mon, C’mon. Joaquin

Joaquin Phoenix

Phoenix, 47, stars as a radio journalist who is left to care for his precocious young nephew, and they bond during a cross-country car trip. Advance reviews are good and praise the sensitive way in which the star characters’ emotions are portrayed. The film was directed by and written by Mike Mills. He showed a deft hand in directing and writing the acclaimed films Beginners (2010) and 20th Century Women (2016).

In Beginners, the father of the lead character, Oliver, comes out as gay in his 70s, after his wife dies. Oliver tells his Jewish girlfriend (Melanie Laurent, 38) that his maternal grandmother was Jewish, and his mother identified as Jewish until she wed his non-Jewish father. She agreed to her husband’s request to never mention her Jewish background, and his father agreed not to act on his gay orientation. This is Mills’ parents’ story in “real life,” too.

(Christopher Plummer won an Oscar for his performance as Oliver’s father.)

HARALD KRICHEL VIA WIKIMEDIA

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ON THE GO

PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS

FOUNDATION AWARENESS 8 AM-5 PM, NOV. 20 The Sky Foundation is planning its annual celebration during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month to support the nonprofit’s mission of raising awareness and education of this third-deadliest cancer and fund medical research and treatment. Visit skyfoundationinc.org.

TOT SHABBAT 10-11 AM, NOV. 20 Families with young kiddos are invited to join The Well at Beverly Hills Village Park, 18801 Beverly Road, for Shabbat songs, dances and stories led by Rabbi Jeff, Keith and Marni. For a special Chanukah treat,

they will wrap up the morning with donuts. To create an environment that is safe and comfortable for all our participants, this free event will be limited to 15 families (it’s a big park where we can all spread out!) Please bring your own blanket to sit on.

URBAN FARMING 11 AM-1 PM, NOV. 21 The growing season has come to an end, and now it’s time to put the farm to bed. Join NEXTGen Detroit volunteers for a day of service as they help the team at the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (7432 Brush, Detroit) get the farm ready for winter.

Dress for the weather and a little dirty work. After, grab lunch Downtown with everyone at Detroit Shipping Company. There is no charge to volunteer, but if you plan to join the lunch after volunteering, register for $5 and we will cover your lunch at the restaurant. Register at jlive. app/events/1147.

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the exchange

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PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS continued from page 53

community bulletin board | professional services Maurice Sendak, a grandchild of victims of the Holocaust. There is no fee to attend. To RSVP and receive the Zoom link, contact Kellie Yost, kyost@ adatshalom.org at 248-8515100, ext. 246.

For information regarding advertising please call 248-351-5116 or 248-234-9057 or email salessupport@thejewishnews.com Deadline for ad insertion is 9 a.m. on Friday prior to publication.

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Tim McAllister

VAUDEVILLE REVIVAL 3 PM, NOV. 21 The Detroit Chamber Winds will host Tim McAllister, saxophonist, at the Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Road, Detroit. He will be joined by pianist Liz Ames and members of the University of Michigan Saxophone Ensemble in a concert that celebrates Detroit’s history of vaudeville and variety music from the 1920s. Tickets: General $30; Senior (60+) $25. Info: detropitchamberwinds.org.

Rabbi Aaron Bergman

HOLOCAUST LIT 7 PM, NOV. 22 Adat Shalom Synagogue invites you to join Rabbi Aaron Bergman on Zoom to explore the work of

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NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

CALL JOHN: 248 -770-8772 EXPO-MICHIGAN NOV. 26-DEC. 24 The 10th annual EXPO Michigan Marketplace is hosted by the Oakland County Business Association of Michigan.

The event runs on weekends at the 30,000-squarefoot West Oaks Shopping Center 1 & 2, directly across from Twelve Oaks Mall. This expo will feature handcrafted items

by Michigan artisans from across the state, many with disabilities. Admission is $5 per person over 12, and two-for-one coupons are available online at expomichigan.com. Attendees can simply print a coupon and redeem it at the event.

The event will run from 10 am to 7 pm on Saturdays and noon to 5 pm on Sundays. For vendor information, advance ticket sales and to learn more, visit expomichigan.com or contact Shirley at 248-5992461 or expomichigan@ gmail.com.

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

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SPOTLIGHT

Bill Birndorf

Higher Hopes! 8th Annual Thanksgiving Program For the eighth year in a row, Higher Hopes! will be providing 1,000 Detroit-area families full Thanksgiving meals through its “1,000 Turkeys, 10,000 Smiles” program. The kits contain everything from the turkey to all the sides and

dessert, and provide enough food to feed 12 to 16 people. Giving families the ability to celebrate the holidays with loved ones in their own home is at the core of the Higher Hopes! mission.

In addition to the

Thanksgiving meal program, Higher Hopes! continues to support 1,000 families with monthly meal kits, each containing 35-45 lbs. of fresh, nutritious foods. These go to families who have children enrolled in Early Head Start

Infrastructure Bill Provides Aid to Synagogues The recently passed federal infrastructure bill will pour a trillion dollars into fixing and upgrading the country’s failing transportation systems.

Thanks to one part of it, the bill will also put a few million into fixing up the country’s synagogues, religious schools and nonprofits.

The Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act will allow houses of worship and nonprofits to apply for grants to increase the energy efficiency of their buildings. A total of $50 million will be allocated to the effort, overseen by the Department of Energy, with each entity eligible for a grant of up to $200,000.

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The legislation was supported by the Orthodox Union as well as a number of other religious organizations.

“We are very grateful to bipartisan leaders and the many rank and file lawmakers who worked to ensure this key provision ultimately was included in this legislative package,” Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s director of public policy, said in a statement. “The creation of the Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act will help our foundational institutions become more environmentally sound and enable them to expand their offerings through energy cost savings.” (JTA.org)

Child Care Programs. The kits contain proteins such as chicken, pork or beef, fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, grains like pasta and cereal, milk, eggs, fruit juice and more.

“Higher Hopes! Heroes invest time and money to provide households with access to sufficient, nutritious food,” says Higher Hopes! founder Bill Birndorf. “This is accomplished through collaborations, efficient operations, education and innovative solutions to battle hunger in the Metro Detroit area. The faces of hunger may surprise you.

Many who need assistance are middle-class families, the working poor, children and the elderly.”

Higher Hopes!, a registered 501(c)(3) charity, continues to fight the battle against hunger for the community’s most vulnerable children and their families.

Corporate and individual contributions are always welcome and can be made at www.higherhopesdetroit.org or at the Facebook page at www. facebook.com/pages/HigherHopes/351220508366604.

State Alters Prison Religious Rules The U.S. Department of Justice it has reached a settlement with the Michigan Department of Corrections last week to change the state’s policy regarding religious activities for prisoners, as well Jewish inmates’ kosher diet.

Under the agreement, Michigan corrections will no longer required a minimum of five people for religious services or activities. Also, Jewish inmates who do not eat a kosher diet all year can still qualify to receive kosher food for Passover.

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

CHERYL EDELSTEIN, 74, of Commerce Township, died Nov. 6, 2021.

She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Toma Edelstein; sons and daughters-in-law, Marc and Carin Edelstein of West Bloomfield, Eric and Tracey Edelstein of West Bloomfield; daughter, Lisa Edelstein of Novi; grandchildren, Dana Edelstein, Eli Edelstein, Drew Edelstein; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Ervin and Esther Edelstein; nieces and nephews, David Edelstein, Adam Edelstein, Alexandra Edelstein, Susan Fershtman, Marsha Harris, Steven Dunn.

Mrs. Edelstein was the loving sister and sister-inlaw of the late Gary and the late Marlene Lubin, the late Martin Lubin, the late Beverly and the late Milton Dunn; dear aunt of the late Michael Lubin.

Contributions may be made to the Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult Day Program, 6720 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322; or to a charity of one’s choice. The service took place at Hebrew Memorial Chapel. Interment was held at Hebrew Memorial Park.

Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

EUNICE A. GALPERIN, 87, of Birmingham, died Nov. 10, 2021.

She is survived by her daughters and sonsin-law, Leslye and Richard Golding, Vicki Galperin, and Jody and Gary Astrein; grandchildren, Kyle Astrein

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OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 57

Driver and Ian Driver, and Nolan and Jennifer Astrein; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Fred and Marlene Galperin; nephews and nieces, Sherwin and Marsha Marks, Paul and Alise Marks, Robert and Jodi Galperin, and Lisa Galperin; great-nephews and great-nieces, Brian and Lindsey Marks, Jason and Aria Marks, Jennifer and Harlan Marks, and Jacob and Jordan Galperin.

Mrs. Galperin was the beloved wife of the late Aaron Galperin; the loving sister of the late Phyliss Tomarken; the devoted daughter of the late William and the late Lydia Rossen.

She was also predeceased by William’s second wife, Gail Ross.

Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to Michigan Animal Rescue League, 790 Featherstone, Pontiac, MI 48342, marleague.org/donate/ donate-now. Arrangements

by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

SUSAN KOPONEN, 75, of Southfield, died Nov. 5, 2021.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Victor Koponen; son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Stacy Koponen; daughter, Dana Anson; grandchildren, Sean Eryk Koponen and Jessica Koponen; great-grandchildren, Allie Koponen and Roman Koponen.

Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s

choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

JUDY FERTEL LAYNE, 58, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 7, 2021.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Michael Layne; son and daughter-in-law, Joshua and Yui Layne; granddaughter, Beni Layne; parents, Max and Elaine Fertel; sister and brother-in-law, Sandi and Dr. Keith Reich; brothers and sisters-in-law, Dr. Howard and Natalie Fertel, Dr. David and Jill Fertel.

She is also survived by her dearest dogs, Trevor, Grand, Max; many loving nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

Interment took place at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak. Contributions may be made to Gleaners Food Bank, the Hope Fund at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan or to Yoga Moves MS. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

ESTHER ZITA LIWAZER, 86, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 11, 2021.

She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Marci and Dr. David Beneson, Anita and Dr. Dennis Blender, and Elizabeth J. Liwazer; grandchildren, Avi and Steffie Beneson, Jeana and Gadi Rivkin, Vicki and Shmuel Bass, Katie and Michael Stern, and Abbey Blender; great-grandchildren, Zevi,

Rochel, Akiva and Elisheva Beneson, Amichai, Aviad, Amalya and Aderet Rivkin, Leah and Gabi Bass, and Maddy and Ethan Stern; sister, Toby Fishkind Faber; sister-in-law, Betty Gilbert; other loving relatives, friends and her Adat Shalom family.

Mrs. Liwazer was the beloved wife for 46 years of the late Jakob “Kuba” Liwazer; the loving sister of the late Sheldon Gilbert; the devoted daughter of the late Jack and the late Lillian Gilbert; the loving longtime companion of the late Dan Greenberg.

Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Michigan, 25882 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 102, Farmington Hills, MI 48336, crohnscolitisfoundation.org; or to any Jewish

day school. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

BERNICE PINSKY, 95, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 9, 2021.

She received a Volunteer of the Year Award three times at Hechtman Apartments. She also volunteered at Yad Ezra, the Peter and Dorothy Brown Center and at Danto. As well, she was a volunteer reader at elementary schools in West Bloomfield.

Possessing a beautiful smile and a great attitude for life, she was a role model as a wife, mother, sister and friend. A noted violinist, Mrs. Pinsky was a member of the Women’s Symphony Orchestra of Detroit and a member of the Southfield Symphony Orchestra; she was

also a founding member of the Music Study Club.

Mrs. Pinsky is survived by her son and daughterin-law, Stuart and Roberta Pinsky of Farmington Hills; daughters and sons-in-law, Frances and Robert Harris of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Gail and Brian DePalma of Marcellus, N.Y.; brother and sisters-in-law, Gordon I. and Gloria Silverman, Shayna Silverman, Elsa Silverman; grandchildren, Dr. Benjamin Pinsky and Dr. Thuy Doan, Marla Pinsky, Rochelle and Alan Marcus, Andrew and Michelle Harris, Aaron DePalma and Giovanna Romano, Rebecca DePalma and Samuel Lockhart; great-grandchildren, Samuel Marcus, Sophie Marcus, Olivia Harris, Naomi Harris, Ty Harris, Daniel Lockhart, Emily Lockhart.

Mrs. Pinsky was the beloved wife of the late Daniel Paul Pinsky; cherished sister and sister-in-law of the late Harvey M. and the late Diane Silverman, the late Morris I. Silverman, the late Paul Silverman, the late Lorraine and the late Seymour Soverinsky, the late Henrietta and the late Willie Bitterman, the late Tillie and the late Joel Greenberg, the late Libby and the late Milton Pierce.

Contributions may be made to Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 48072; or to a charity of one’s choice. The service took place at Hebrew Memorial Chapel. Interment was held at Hebrew Memorial Park.

Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. continued on page 60

Judaism embraces all facets of life . . . including death.

Trust us to assist you with dignity and grace.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 59

LILLIAN J. REISS, 92, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 8, 2021.

She is survived by her daughters, Robin L. Reiss and Wendy A. Reiss. She is also survived by her granddog, Archie.

Mrs. Reiss was the beloved wife of the late Jerome L. Reiss; the dear sister of the late Grace Friedman and the late Nita Lichtenstein; and the loving daughter of the late Louis and the late Bessie Rome.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Hospice of Michigan, 43097 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302, hom.org/donations; American Cancer Society,

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20450 Civic Center Drive, Southfield, MI 48076, cancer. org; or Humane Society of Michigan, 30300 Telegraph Road, Suite 220, Bingham Farms, MI 48025, michiganhumane.org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

CHADWICK ROBERTS, 65, of West Bloomfield, a lifelong rebel, schemer and dreamer, passed away on Nov. 3, 2021.

“Dadwick,” as his son liked to call him, was impressively world weary in a way that made everyone who interacted with him question, even at an early age, how he defiantly refused to bend to conformity and risk letting the vibrancy of his child-like wonder ever be broken.

Roberts; adored brother of the Roberts Clan of Six, Gwen (Joe Ziomek) Baseman, Michael (Carole) Roberts, Joseph Roberts (the late Linda Tucker Roberts), Patti (Jim Bialik) Roberts and Joan (Bill) Bobee; many loving nieces and nephews; former wife, soul mate and mother extraordinaire to his children, Marla Vogt-Roberts; surrogate family, including Sheri Mark and Abe Slaim, Gary and the late Melanie Sicherman; all of the souls that passed through and were forever changed by the house on Tamerlane Drive.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

SANDRA BROWN SCHECHTER, 82, of Beverly Hills, died Nov. 9, 2021.

She is survived by her daughters c. 1985 and sons-in-law, Lisa and Artie Bennett, Laura and Tom Foligno, Marjorie Schechter, and Dina and David Niewood; grandchildren, Hannah Foligno, Sylvie Foligno, Ava Niewood, Michaela Niewood and Rebecca Niewood; brother, Victor Brown.

Mrs. Schechter was the beloved wife of the late Dr. Daniel Schechter; the dear sister of the late Mottel Brown; the loving daughter of the late Fayga and the late Benzion Brownstein.

SYLVIA G. SHOLDER, 101, of West Bloomfield, formerly of Ventnor, N.J., and Cheltenham, Pa., died Oct. 14, 2021.

She was the cherished mother of Michele (Morley) Wassermann and the late Jeffrey I. Sholder; loving grandmother of Evan Wassermann. She is also survived by nieces, Ilene Master and Gail Finnel.

Mrs. Sholder was the beloved wife of the late Frederic R. Sholder.

The funeral was held graveside at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose, Pa. Contributions may be made to Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 48072, yadezra.org/donate; or to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

ANDOR WEISS, 74, of West Bloomfield, died Nov. 9, 2021.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Vera Weiss; son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Amy (Nathan) Weiss; grandchildren, Saul and Theodore Weiss; sister and brother-inlaw, Susanna and Michael Berger; nephews, Albert (Andrea) Berger and Edward (Sarah Miller) Berger; many other loving family members and friends.

Interment took place at Nusach Hari Cemetery in Ferndale. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s

choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

HELEN WILEN, 89, passed away peacefully at her home in West Bloomfield on Nov. 8, 2021.

She is survived by her three children, Steven Wilen, Toni (Tom) Babineau and Roger (Julie) Wilen; grandchildren, Samantha Babineau, Adrian Wilen, Ethan Wilen, Benjamin Wilen and Alex Wilen; her beloved niece, Julie Resnick (Teresa Taylor); and son-inlaw Tom’s two older children, Brooke Foguth and Brandi Freeman.

Mrs. Wilen was predeceased by her beloved husband of 61 years, Stan Wilen; and her cherished twin sister, Evelyn Resnick.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jewishhospice.org. 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.

‘Mensch of Malden Mills’ Dies at 95 ASAF SHALEV JTA

A

aron Feuerstein, who became known as the “Mensch of Malden Mills” for continuing to pay his workers even after the textile factory he owned burned to the ground, died at 95 on Nov. 4, 2021.

The devout Orthodox businessman died at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, after being injured in a fall several days earlier, the Boston Globe reported.

“He did not suffer,” Feuerstein’s son, Daniel Feuerstein, told Boston 25 News. “He lived a long, vibrant and exciting life. His community was everything to him; from his Jewish community in Brookline, and equally important was the manufacturing community in the Merrimack Valley [of Massachusetts].”

Malden Mills was a textile manufacturer in Lawrence, Massachusetts, best known for its line of synthetic fleece products called Polartec.

In December 1995, the company’s redbrick factory complex caught on fire, causing one of the largest blazes in Massachusetts history. Work for the factory’s 1,400 employees stopped but Feuerstein kept paying them.

Feuerstein also bucked the trend that saw industrial manufacturing leave the area by rebuilding the family-run factory.

At the time, the Globe quoted Feuerstein as saying, “I’m not throwing 3,000 people out of work two weeks before Christmas.”

Feuerstein also explained after the fire that he was guided by Jewish tradition. “When all is moral chaos, this is the time for you to be a mensch,” he said.

Feuerstein’s grandfather, Henry

RICK FRIEDMAN/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES/JTA

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 SE First St., Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131, parkinson.org. Arrangements

by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Aaron Feuerstein, a factory owner who was famously generous to his employees, died at 95 on Nov. 4, 2021.

Feuerstein, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary, founded Malden Mills in 1906, with grandson Aaron taking over in 1956. The company survived the fire of 1995, rebranded as Polartec, and stayed in the family’s hands until 2007. But by then the business had seen a downturn and Feuerstein took it into bankruptcy.

A private equity firm then bought the factory, shut down and moved the brand’s manufacturing to Tennessee. In 2019, industrial manufacturing company Milliken acquired Polartec.

A graduate of Yeshiva University, Feuerstein belonged to the Brookline congregation of Young Israel. Jewish teachings informed how he treated his workers.

“You are not permitted to oppress the working man because he’s poor and he’s needy, amongst your brethren and amongst the non-Jew in your community,” he said on 60 Minutes during an episode titled “The Mensch of Malden Hills” that aired in 2003.

Feuerstein’s wife, Louise, died in 2013. They are survived by their sons Daniel and Raphael and their daughter Joyce.

NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

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Looking Back

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

‘Father of Hate Radio’

T

oday, unfortunately, we live in an era of numerous self-promoted media “experts” who spread misinformation, conspiracy theories and, often, boldfaced lies. The advent of the digital world, along with its wonderful capabilities to provide useful information and connect people and families, has exacerbated the problem of unreliable news sources. Anyone with internet access can create a media outlet: Deep knowledge of a topic or accurate reporting are not prerequisites.

Worse, many of these media “talking heads” not only spread falsehoods and ignorance, but they also promote hate, including virulent Mike Smith antisemitism. Although the Alene and Graham Landau new media forces of the digArchivist Chair ital age may seem novel and unprecedented, they are not. An outstanding new podcast, “Radioactive: The Father Coughlin Story,” from Tablet Magazine reminded me of this fact.

Father Charles Coughlin (1891-1979) was America’s first mass media celebrity. He is also, as University of Michigan Sociologist Donald I. Warren succinctly wrote, the “Father of Hate Radio.” Indeed, the roots of today’s media miscreants can be traced to Coughlin’s radio show in the 1930s when tens of millions listened to his broadcasts every week.

An ordained Catholic priest, Coughlin was on the faculty at Assumption College (now, university) in Windsor, Ontario, 19161923. Detroit Bishop Michael Gallagher gave him an opportunity to establish a new parish, now the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak. Through massive donations via his radio appeals, Coughlin built the Shrine into a magnificent structure on Woodward Avenue. Although building a religious shrine may seem like a somewhat noble cause, this one has a very dark underside.

Coughlin made his first radio appearance in 1926. This was just six years after the first regularly scheduled radio programming in history. By 1930, Coughlin had a huge national audience. Although his initial

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broadcasts focused upon Catholic education, he soon became political. Coughlin claimed — like many media personalities today — to speak for the “common” folks. In 1935, he formed the National Union for Social Justice (NUSJ). It soon had 1 million members and, in 1936, begin publishing Social Justice as a vehicle for his viewpoint.

Coughlin was staunchly anticommunist and, as the years passed, increasingly antisemitic. He cited Jewish “financiers” as dominating the world’s economy and as instigators of World War II. Coughlin praised Adolf Hitler, defended the Nazi violence of Kristallnacht and published his own version of the Protocols of Zion. Finally, in 1942, after America’s entry into WWII and a federal investigation, Detroit Archbishop Edward Mooney forced Coughlin to cease non-congregational activities.

Coughlin continued his work at the Shrine of the Little Flower until his retirement in 1966.

Coughlin has a large presence in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History, appearing on 476 pages. Perhaps the best indication of how Coughlin vexed Detroit’s Jewish community is that reports about him appeared on 53 front pages, with headlines like: “Columnists and Editors Join in Condemning Rev. Coughlin’s Attacks on the Jewish People” (Dec. 9, 1938, Chronicle), “Father Coughlin Preaching Hate…”

(June 2, 1939, Chronicle) and “Rabbis Charge Father Coughlin is Exploiting ‘Social Justice’ Term” (June 23, 1939, Chronicle), to name just a few.

The “Radio Priest” generated a massive audience. It’s too bad he chose to set a precedent of spreading hate instead of promoting good. This is a history we should not forget.

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

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An appreciation of our day school educators during this pandemic.

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