DJN August 12 2021

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 Aug.12-18, 2021 / 4-10 Elul 5781

$

thejewishnews.com

From Detroit to D.C., The People’s Advocate

Sen. Carl Levin (1934-2021)

See pages 12-19

contents Aug. 12-18, 2021 / 4-10 Elul 5781 | VOLUME CLX, ISSUE 1

Shabbat Lights

Shabbat starts: Friday, Aug. 13, 8:18 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, Aug. 14, 9:21 p.m. * Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

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ON THE COVER: Cover design: Michelle Sheridan

thejewishnews.com Follow Us on Social Media: Facebook @DetroitJewishNews Twitter @JewishNewsDet Instagram @detroitjewishnews

20 PURELY COMMENTARY 4-10

OUR COMMUNITY 11

Cookies and More

Sen. Carl Levin (1934-2021)

29

Faces & Places

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Metro Detroit bike ride mirrors Auschwitz-to-Krakow event.

Family Legacy

Custom graphic books document grandparents’ stories.

In Vogue

Local teen enjoys unexpected modeling career.

A New Name

The Birmingham Temple is now the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit.

ARTS&LIFE 38

30

Party leaders address antisemitism, hate crimes at Jewish caucus event.

JCC Maccabi Games on Shelf for Another Year Detroit athlete Alex Lustig disappointed, but determined to compete in 2022

ERETZ 31

Meet Meir Goldberg

Business opportunities attracted him to Israel.

MAZEL TOV 32

Moments

32/44 Here’s To

SPIRIT 33

Torah portion

34

The Ecological Imperative

36

Synagogue Directory

Anne Frank’s Polish Counterpart

HMC exhibit documents the faith and fate of an Orthodox girl from Lodz Ghetto.

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Creative Therapy

42

Celebrity News

SPORTS

JVS Human Services and Kadima Announce Merger

Ride for the Living

Keith Schonberger welcomes all to Federation’s NEXTGen Detroit.

Democrats’ Simcha

Expected to be operational in early 2022, new name being explored.

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He’s All In

27

Yocheved Perlman-Magier loves to bake with her bubbie.

12-19 From Detroit to D.C.: A Lifetime of Service 20

24

Essays and viewpoints.

46

Meet Samm, a certified Zentangle teacher.

EVENTS 43

Community Calendar

BUSINESS 44

Building a Household Name

Father-and-son duo want to take Nano Magic global.

HEALTH 46

There’s an App for That Israeli company aims to help psychiatric patients with new technology.

ETC.

The Exchange Obituaries Spotlight Looking Back

47 48 53 54 AUGUST 12 • 2021

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PURELY COMMENTARY for openers

The Century Club

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AUGUST 12 • 2021

NANCY SERLIN

L

ost in all the hype over Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera’s chasing milestone home run and RBI records is the fact that quietly, and dare I say modestly, I am only 70 years shy of tying Danny Raskin’s breathtaking record for years consecutively writing for the Detroit Jewish News.

Spoiler alert — I actually will never tie or surpass Danny Raskin’s nearly Alan 80-year JN journalistic record Muskovitz because I plan on only writing for the JN through 2090, purposely and respectfully leaving Danny’s record intact.

As you well know by now, Danny, a popular fixture in our community and our beloved colleague at the JN, passed away on July 26 at 102.

Danny was a big baseball fan, so it makes sense that when I began reflecting on his longevity in the journalism game, I immediately thought of the legendary New York Yankee Lou Gehrig, who for his durability over the course of his illustrious 17-year baseball career was nicknamed the “Iron Horse.”

Much has been written in these pages over the last couple of weeks documenting the incredible journey and menschkeit qualities Danny exhibited in both his professional and personal life.

I was particularly moved by the revelation I read in several tributes to Danny that he never wrote a negative restaurant review. If he were on the disappointing end of a poor dining experience, he spared the restaurateur any public shaming in print; unlike the vitriol we too often see on social media platforms. Danny, instead, would privately offer advice to the proprietor with the hope of returning to write about the new and improved version of the restaurant.

Danny was a witness to so much history that only a lifespan of 102 years could afford. Thanks to the Detroit Jewish News Foundation’s William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History, you’ve got a free time machine at your disposal to go back to the JN’s inaugural issue in 1942

TOP: Dr. Maurie Reizen enjoys a recent lunch date with his daughter Nancy Serlin.

BOTTOM: Dick Purtan and Alan “Big Al” Muskovitz visiting Eva Port on the occasion of her 104th birthday.

and read Danny’s first column. Set aside a few hours and binge read a few decades of Danny.

RARE TREASURES Rare is the opportunity to write about a centurion like the amazing Danny Raskin.

So, while I’m at it, allow me to give a shoutout to 102-year-old Dr. Maurice “Maurie” Reizen of Novi. The good doctor, a former director of Michigan’s Department of Public Health, is a longtime friend of my father.

I was thrilled, along with a throng of other friends and family, to witness his 102nd “distanced” birthday celebration out-

side his senior living community this past Feb. 24.

Maurie continues to celebrate life’s simple pleasures as was evident in a photo his daughter Nancy sent me of her beaming father on one of their recent drives to a lake for an afternoon of lunch, relaxation and reading.

Then there’s the unforgettable and unflappable Eva Port, of blessed memory.

In 1992, while on the air at WOMC radio in Ferndale, I received a phone call from a Ferndale convalescent residence. They thought that since I worked on the air for Dick Purtan on 104.3 FM, it was the perfect reason for us to interview their resident, Eva Port, on the occasion of her 104th birthday. And we concurred.

Dick and I will never forget that visit with Eva. I was a little more portly at the time (OK, I was fat), and when I asked Eva what I could do to experience the kind of longevity she had been blessed with, she replied emphatically without missing a beat — “lose some weight!”

Bill Clinton was president at the time of our interview and the Monica Lewinsky scandal had been making headlines. It turns out, I underestimated how up to date Eva would be on current affairs when I asked her what she thought about Bill Clinton.

Again, without a second of hesitation she shot back, “I think he thinks with his pants!”

What a treasure Eva Port was. And what a privilege to have interviewed her on her 104th birthday … and again when she turned 105, 106, 107 and 108. She passed two months after her 108th birthday, and I was just one of three in attendance at her funeral.

I’m constantly inspired by the knowledge and enthusiasm for life by folks like Danny, Eva and Maurie. I think they make a good argument for that adage that youth is indeed wasted on the young.

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

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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PURELY COMMENTARY

The West Must Counter Iran’s Maritime Terrorism

C

ommercial shipping activity in the Gulf of Oman near the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates was disrupted Aug. 3 after several ships in the area reported difficulties operating their GPS-based navigational sysVice Adm. tems.

(Ret.) Eliezer Meanwhile, Marom another report JNS.org came in that a ship named Asphalt Princess had been hijacked by armed assailants. The entire story can be traced to a recent incident in the Arabian Sea, in which the Iranians attacked the MV Mercer Street vessel with a suicide drone, killing the ship’s Romanian captain and a British crew member.

After the world realized,

“THE IRANIANS ARE ADEPT AT PUSHING BOUNDARIES.” — VICE ADM. (RET.) ELIEZER MAROM

based on Israeli intelligence, that Iran was behind the attack, senior U.K. and U.S. diplomats openly accused the Islamic Republic and threatened retaliation without saying whether it would be diplomatic or military in nature. The U.S. Pentagon said all options were on the table.

The Iranians, who apparently didn’t intend on killing any of the crew, were caught in this crisis rather off guard.

The ensuing condemnations

from all directions, along with the numerous threats, it seems, sparked considerable anxiety in Tehran, and the Iranian leadership, seeking to nip matters in the bud, delivered a message that any action against Iran would be met with a response, which would most likely severely disrupt oil shipments from the Persian Gulf.

It’s worth noting that some 30% of all of the world’s oil passes through this highly sensitive waterway, such that

any disarray could cause a global crisis even to the point of war with Iran.

The Iranians are adept at pushing boundaries. In any crisis, they pull the rope to its absolute limit, right to the point before it snaps, in order to gauge the West’s response. When the Iranian tanker Grace1 was stopped

by British forces in Gibraltar in the summer of 2019, the Iranians hijacked the Britishflagged tanker Stena Impero.

Ultimately, the British released the Iranian vessel, and the Iranians released the British tanker, ending that particular crisis.

In the latest incident, the Iranians, it appears, activated GPS jammers that disrupted several ships’ navigation systems, and armed assailants, who didn’t identify as Iranian, to hijack a vessel. The Iranians continued on page 8

Publisher The Detroit Jewish News Foundation

| Board of Directors: Chair: Gary Torgow Vice President: David Kramer Secretary: Robin Axelrod Treasurer: Max Berlin Board members: Larry Jackier, Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer

Senior Advisor to the Board: Mark Davidoff Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: Mike Smith Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: Arthur Horwitz Founding Publisher Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory

| Editorial DIrector of Editorial: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com Associate Editor: David Sachs dsachs@thejewishnews.com Social Media and Digital Producer: Nathan Vicar nvicar@thejewishnews.com Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz dschwartz@thejewishnews.com Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@thejewishnews.com Contributing Writers: Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, Ashley Zlatopolsky

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MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel.

VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.

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PURELY COMMENTARY letters

Editor’s Note: The JN thanks our readers for your thoughts on the July 26 passing of Danny Raskin, of blessed memory.

Danny’s ‘Florida Guy’

“The Best of Everything” kind of says it all about my friend, Danny Raskin. In fact, most everyone who came in contact with Danny had the feeling that they were his friend.

Several years ago, maybe 20 or so, and upon our moving from Michigan to Florida, Danny asked me to “review” and write-up some local restaurants from Miami to Palm Beach to be “my Florida guy.” Inasmuch as Debbie and I enjoy discovering and eating at new places, Danny’s request ranked as one of those “I’d pay for this job.”

Early on, I quickly learned: • never to write a bad

review, he wouldn’t use it; • always say the names of who we were eating with (especially if Detroiters); • plan on returning to that restaurant at a later date to compare from the prior visit; • “can you cut it down, I don’t have that much space for it.”; • or, “can you expand upon it as it is ‘too short.’”

Any “review” was not accepted at first draft, whereas questions would follow like “did you order off the menu,” “did others in your group have the same dishes” and on and on until we finally agreed on a final go-to-press review.

Yes, and as each draft and redraft was submitted, Danny always said, “Remember me to Debbie” … a little touch that said so much about him.

And, we all know of his charitable acts for Jewish and other needy causes.

Debbie has fond memories dating back to the 1980s when she and a group of gals attended the City of Hope Convention in Los Angeles. And, lo and behold, in an adjoining room was Danny with whom the group all shared a wonderful week together.

He will be missed, spoken about and quoted by many for

a long time in the future.

We will miss you, Danny.

— Dennis and Debbie Silber

A Caterer’s Hero

To the Detroit Jewish News family, my condolences to the Danny Raskin family. Danny was a groomsman in my parents, caterers Albert and Sarah Rosenberg’s wedding party in which I have a picture of Danny giving my father a push down the synagogue aisle.

I started out my career as the caterer at Adat Shalom Synagogue beginning in 1972.

From that moment, I had the opportunity of becoming a new friend of Danny, which I will cherish forever!

Blessed memory for Danny Raskin.

— Jeffrey Lee Rosenberg

A True Legend

I worked with Danny for more than 20 years at the Detroit Jewish News. When I first arrived as a local columnist and special sections editor, it didn’t take long for Danny to ingratiate himself with his sense of humor and knowledge of everything and everybody in Detroit. I then became editor of Style magazine, a secular lifestyle publication at the JN, and our friendship grew.

In the ’90s, political correct-

ness was not a big issue, and Danny was a flirt — he would always compliment the waitresses and the JN sales staff.

Danny and I bonded over our love of candy — especially his stash that he kept in a drawer.

Danny’s licorice was the best, and he tied it with a rubber band after opening the bag. He knew I loved it, but he chastised me whenever it was left open.

He always stopped by the office to tell me when the stash was replenished. Once, I was in the drugstore buying candy, and I didn’t notice Danny behind me.

When I went to pay for my $20 order of candy, Danny rushed up and treated me!

Danny liked to drive when we went to events. One time on I-696, we were pulled over by the Southfield police for speeding. He told me he would handle it. The officer came up to the window, and Danny introduced himself. “Oh, you’re Danny Raskin,” said the officer. No ticket. “You’re a legend,” he said.

Yes, Danny, you are and were a legend.

—Carla Schwartz Carla Schwartz currently lives in Florida and has a blog, www.motownsavvy.com.

For more on Danny Raskin, please see “Looking Back” on page 54.

MARITIME TERRORISM continued from page 6

apparently want to show the West that they possess a variety of capabilities in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and that if the West decides to act, as its leaders have suggested, Tehran has a diverse array of responses at its disposal.

RESPONSE NEEDED There’s no doubt whatsoever that this crisis with Iran neces-

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AUGUST 12 • 2021

sitates a Western response.

Iran’s actions are maritime terrorism for all intents and purposes and contravene international law. The West has more than a few diplomatic tools at its disposal for deterring the Iranians, which must now be implemented.

In the background, meanwhile, the Biden administration and the other signatory

countries (P5+1) want to bring Iran back to the negotiating table and renew the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal.

The talks in Vienna were paused to allow the Iranians to finish the process of replacing their president and are supposed to recommence in the coming days. Will Iran’s

actions and the West’s interests prevent Western countries, spearheaded by the United Kingdom, from retaliating against Tehran’s terroristic activities? Time will tell.

Vice Adm. (Ret.) Eliezer Marom served as commander of the Israeli Navy from 2007–2011. This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

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“We moved to Southfield as a young married couple, and used Neighborhood Project to help purchase the home we’ve been in ever since,” Margery said. “It was wonderful to have that support, but it wasn’t my first exposure to Hebrew Free Loan. Without breaking confidentiality, I heard from Dad through the years about the wonderful things that happened in our community because of HFL. Now, just like Dad, I have nothing but praise for the compassion, respect and the heart of the staff and the Board.

They really have that Jewish neshama.”

Margery quickly made the position her own, helping to promote more technology-driven solutions for HFL processes, from paperless standards to digital signatures, to helping the refreshed website become more userfriendly.

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AUGUST 12 • 2021

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PURELY COMMENTARY analysis

The Coming Earthquake

G

iant fissures are emerging from just beneath the earth’s surface throughout the Middle East, and Israel is bracing for the inevitable eruption. The United States had better wake up, too, because the aftershocks Sarah N. will be felt here, Stern and they will not be mild.

In a briefing to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies’ Professor Manuel Tratjenberg stated that Tehran has accumulated immense knowledge of greater levels of highly enriched uranium and uranium metal production, operating more and more advanced centrifuges. He also expressed concern that the talks in Vienna are leading nowhere, buying more time for Iran.

Iran, in the meantime, has insisted that there would be no more talks until their new hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, assumed office on Aug. 5. In order to sweeten the pot to induce Iran to sit down to the negotiating table, we have already rewarded the Islamic Republic. Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy to Iran, gave a rather revealing interview on the PBS NewsHour on April 2, basically blaming the United States for leaving the deal during the Trump years.

Malley said, “The United States will have to lift those sanctions that were inconsistent with the nuclear deal of 2015, so that Iran enjoys those benefits that were part of the

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deal.” This, despite the fact that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when he spoke at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 21, said we will have a “longer, stronger deal.”

Malley also said that “verification will be easily determined by the International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA).” This does not conform at all to the reality on the ground in Iran. Last month, the story emerged that Iran has been restricting access to the nuclear inspectors in its main power plant in Natanz. When they have been let in, the IAEA nuclear watchdogs have found suspicious particles at several undeclared sites. “They are provoking us,” said one Western official who closely monitors the IAEA. Getting back to his April 2 interview, Malley cites the progress that Iran has made toward a nuclear bomb since the United States, under former President Donald Trump, withdrew from the deal as the reason for the necessity of returning to the deal. But correlation is not causation.

We had been promised by former President Barack Obama that once this deal was agreed to, Iran would be welcomed back into the international community, its maligned behavior curbed. The United States did not announce its withdrawal from the nuclear deal until May of 2018. They had three full years to prove to the world that they had become civilized with our inducement of $150 billion as a windfall for the agreement in 2015.

SPREADING TERROR None of this windfall has trickled down to the impoverished people in Iran but has been used to arm Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and has simply made the Middle East more volatile.

blackout from that region.

People are being heard in Tehran chanting, “Shame!

Khomeini, let go of this country!” and “Mullahs, get lost!”

This is profoundly reminiscent of 2009, when millions of protestors were out on the streets holding up signs that read, “Obama, Where Are You?” And the Obama White

“IRAN HAS BEEN RESTRICTING ACCESS TO THE NUCLEAR INSPECTORS IN ITS MAIN POWER PLANT IN NATANZ.” — SARAH N. STERN

In Lebanon, which has become nothing more than a puppet state of Iran, billionaire businessman Najib Mikati has just been appointed as the prime minister-designate and has the firm backing of Hezbollah. One cannot count on Makati to cleanse the state of its corruption and cronyism that has entered into every sphere of life there, and the throats of the good people of Lebanon remain under Hezbollah’s and Iran’s firm boot.

Today, the streets of Iran are erupting. What began as an isolated demonstration because the government absconded with water during the hot summer and because of the horrific summer drought in Khuzestan province has spread rapidly throughout the country. In Khuzestan, we know that people have been murdered on the street, and that internet service was cut and there was a news

House ignored their anguished cries simply to get a horribly flawed nuclear deal.

If it is truly serious about wanting stability and peace in the region, the United States should support these brave protesters. We did it when we stared down the former Soviet Union, utilizing the humanrights issue of the Soviet Jewry movement as leverage. We now have that opportunity again not to ignore the courageous people in Iran and throughout the region that are suffering under Iranian militias and proxies.

Raisi, the notorious “Butcher of Tehran” is about to assume office. Iran is perhaps, mere weeks away from total nuclear breakout. The tremors of the earthquake are already being felt.

What are we waiting for?

Sarah N. Stern is founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), a think tank and policy institute in Washington, D.C.

OUR COMMUNITY

PEOPLE WE KNOW & STORIES WE DON’T Shelly and Yocheved

Cookies and More Yocheved Perlman-Magier loves to bake with her bubbie.

DOVID NISSAN ROETTER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

B

aking with one’s bubbie is a fun and memorable activity, and something that Yocheved Perlman-Magier “wouldn’t change for the world.

It’s priceless.”

Yocheved, of “Cookies and More by Shelly and Yocheved,” loves blending her passion for baking with spending weekly quality time together with her bubbie and zaydie. Together, they bake everything from challah to cookies, cornbread, chocolate cinnamon babka, donut holes, all the way to custom cakes for every occasion.

However, baking wasn’t always the plan for Yocheved.

When she was in 12th grade, she planned to open a restaurant. Other plans were to do nutrition or physical therapy.

Plans changed in 2015 when her bubbie, Shelly Perlman, asked her if she would like to help her bake.

After a while, Yocheved attended Schoolcraft College for a Baking and Pastry Arts certificate. Going to a non-kosher

baking program was “absolutely weird” for her, as she was unable to taste anything she was working on nor any finished products — something she left for her partner to do.

Her final was to create a wedding cake, to which she said, “I’m going the nerd route hardcore”, as she made a gorgeously detailed Harry Potter-themed wedding cake; to this day it’s one of her favorite creations.

Unfortunately, for kashrut reasons, she was unable to have a slice.

While in school, baking with her bubbie slowly grew. They began with cookies and stuff for the holidays. In the summer of 2017, they began to do things for Shabbat. When Yocheved graduated from her program in 2018, they began to make custom cakes, which quickly became their bread and butter. Thanks to Facebook and Instagram, as well as word of mouth, they got many orders.

Their original goal was to make a bakery in the com-

munity; however, Yocheved is unsure if they would continue to do everything they currently offer, or simply focus on cakes.

In the meantime, they cook out of each other’s homes, varying each week with a menu posted Yocheved PerlmanMagier

on their social media accounts.

When asked what her favorite thing to bake is, Yocheved replied, “I have to pick just one?” and said that their peanut butter and chocolate cookies “are so much fun to make because they look so beautiful when they come out.” She likes decorating custom cakes because she’s about to try new techniques, and she loves the feel of the dough when braiding

challah.

Although turning a hobby into a business can be daunting, she said it’s fun for her because she gets to spread the delicious results of her bubbie’s recipes within the neighborhood, as well as create new delicacies and flavors together. Their menu has received both in-town and outof-town orders. “Cookies and More” originally was named by Yocheved’s bubbie back when she was selling cookies to her friends and also selling at a local farmer’s market. Once Yocheved joined in they added their names to the title.

When Yocheved was getting married earlier this summer, she wanted to create and bake her own wedding cake. When she learned that was not possible because of kashrut reasons with the caterer, she made one for her Sheva Brachot (week of celebration) instead.

Newly married, she balances her work and her baking time and leaves her evenings to spend with her husband. When needed, her husband will join in the fun.

Cookies and More by Shelly and Yocheved has experience baking gluten-free and vegan products; and do their best to cater to the needs of their clients.

Their menu rotates weekly, with some items like the challahs and certain cookies being a staple.

They then pick the items they are in the mood to bake that week and add it to the menu.

Yocheved’s bubbie and zaydie find it all to be fun, and they benefit by spending time with their granddaughter while helping her passion grow into a business.

You can view their weekly menu, usually posted on Mondays, and contact Yocheved to place orders at facebook.com/cookiesandmore2016 or via Instagram at @shellyandyochevedcookiesam.

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE SEN. CARL LEVIN (1934-2021)

From

Detroit to D.C. A Lifetime of Service Carl Levin, the people’s advocate who confronted the powerful.

JACK LESSENBERRY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

C

arl Levin was more than Michigan’s longest-serving senator in Washington — and the longest-serving Jewish U.S. senator in American history.

He was truly a “Giant of the Senate.”

Ironically, another senator who was also Jewish, Minnesota’s Al Franken, once wrote a book with the satirical title, Al Franken, Giant of the Senate. Like Franken, Levin was a man who could laugh at himself. But that phrase would be anything but satire if it were used to describe Carl Levin. He really was all that — and more.

Levin, who left the Senate in 2015 after serving six terms and 36 years, died July 29, 2021. He was 87 years old.

But he is unlikely to be soon forgotten.

Levin won near-universal acclaim for the work that he did as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he became famous for rooting out examples of waste and bloated and unnecessary spending. In his role as chair of the Governmental Affairs Investigations Subcommittee, he fought hard and often successfully to hold Wall Street firms accountable, notably Goldman Sachs. He tried to limit the amount of surveillance intelligence agen-

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cies did on the communications of private American citizens.

Levin, perhaps more than any other contemporary senator, was a master of sometimes mind-numbing detail on virtually every topic that came before his committee.

“You have to really know a subject if you are going to examine or cross-examine a witness,” he once told the National Journal, and woe could come unto anyone who testified before him without having done his homework.

Yet, though he had a strong profile on national issues, he was a Detroiter — and a Jewish Detroiter — to the core. Born in the city on June 28, 1934, he was the third of three children of Bess and Saul Levin, and grew up mainly on Boston Boulevard. All went to Roosevelt Elementary and Central High School in the city.

JEWISH VALUES Earlier this year, when Sen. Levin’s book Getting to the Heart of the Matter: My 36 Years in the U.S. Senate was published by Wayne State University Press, he told me that he had been heavily influenced by being Jewish. “It surely did. I think the

values in Judaism are important — the values of being charitable, of thinking of others, the important Jewish values, which I learned early in life.”

The history of antisemitism, he said, “has made me very sensitive to others who are victims of prejudices and discrimination.”

In the late 1970s, the senator and his wife, Barbara, and 10 other families formed a new congregation, T’chiyah, a small Reconstructionist congregation.

But besides Judaism, politics and public service were in Carl Levin’s blood. His father was a lawyer in practice with his brother Theodore “Ted” Levin who later became a highly respected U.S. District Court judge, the one for whom the federal courthouse in Detroit is now named.

Carl’s brother, Sander, three years older, preceded him into politics, serving as Michigan Senate majority leader before losing two close elections for governor and finally serving 36 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, matching his brother’s time in the Senate. “Sandy was always my hero,” Sen. Levin told this writer earlier this year; the brothers remained close all their lives.

Following high school, the future sena-

COURTESY OF MICHIGAN RADIO/PHOTOGRAPHER LESTER GRAHAM

Carl, Andy and Sander Levin in 2018

Andy Levin: The ‘Uncle Carl’ I Knew

By U.S. Rep. Andy Levin

Sen. Carl M. Levin

tor went to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and then Harvard Law School. But to help pay for college, he worked summers in three auto plants, dirty and sometimes grueling work, which he later said gave him insight into both the difficulties the workers faced — and the weaknesses and inflexibility of the industry.

Following graduation from law school in 1959, Levin worked for several small firms in Detroit and became involved in Democratic Party politics, serving as a precinct delegate during John F. Kennedy’s campaign.

A few years later, Frank Kelley, a recently elected Michigan attorney

general, started a civil rights division, put the office in Detroit and hired a new assistant attorney general to run it: Carl Levin. “I knew he was going places,” Kelley said.

HEALING DETROIT Not long after that, dismayed by the civil disturbances that devastated Detroit in 1967, Carl Levin decided to run for Detroit City Council in the hope that he “might be able to help start the process of rebuilding and healing my shattered hometown.”

Four years later, he was not only easily elected, but was the top vote-getter and became City continued on page 14

Throughout my adult life, wherever I went in Michigan, from Copper Harbor to Monroe, I would run into people who would say, “I don’t always agree with Sen. Levin, but I support him anyway because he is so genuine, he tells it straight and he follows through.”

Carl Levin personified integrity and the notion of putting the public good above self-interest. As he walked about the Capitol in a rumpled suit, almost always with a plain white shirt and pedestrian tie, carrying bulging files with the occasional paper flying away, Carl was the very picture of sober purpose and rectitude.

In truth, he wasn’t unfun. In fact, he often pierced tense situations with self-deprecating humor, and he privately shared incisive observations about others with staff and colleagues.

But Carl was all about the work, and the great honor the people of Michigan had bestowed upon him with their votes and their trust. He did not seek to divine their views to be popular, but rather to study the issues and advance the people’s interest to the best of his ability.

Uncle Carl met with more presidents, kings, queens and other important people than all but a few of us ever will. But he treated them all the same as he did a Detroit autoworker or a beet farmer in Michigan’s Thumb — with a full measure of dignity but no airs, ever ready to puncture self-importance, posturing, mendacity and avarice.

He was so well-prepared for every meeting, hearing and conference that he challenged conventional boundaries between continued on page 14 AUGUST 12 • 2021

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Family Ties Uncle Carl was above all a family man. No matter the pressing business he faced as a senator, he always centered Aunt Barbara, my cousins Kate, Laura and Erica and their families, devoted time to them and so obviously cherished them.

And the way he loved and treated his family radiated out and served as a model for how he treated colleagues, staff, constituents, soldiers and the world.

My dad and Uncle Carl never merged their identities no matter how often and humorously they were confused for each other, but they embarked on all manner of adventure. They drove cabs and worked at auto plants in Detroit, shared a room from kindergarten to law school and were the key adviser on every campaign from City Council to state Senate to Congress.

They competed fiercely in innumerable squash matches and one-on-one basketball

Kate Levin Markel passes the microphone to her father, Carl Levin, who was honored with the Leonard N. Simons History Award in 2015.

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THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE

games, each always insisting he alone was at fault for any collision or foul. They had each other’s back always, talked almost daily, deferred to each other in their areas of expertise and bragged on the other’s leadership.

In my childhood, we had extended family dinners every Sunday rotating between our house, Carl and Barbara’s house, our late Aunt Hannah and Uncle Bill’s house, and my Grandma Bess’ apartment.

Whatever house we happened to be at on a given Sunday, it was equally full of recipes and cooking, play and sport and silliness, and endless politics — planning, strategizing, debating the issues of the day.

Indeed, this paradigmatic brotherhood arose from and symbolized a larger sense that everything started with family.

From my earliest memory to this moment, perhaps above all, he has defined with my dad how close two brothers, two siblings, two people can be. In the end, these two Jewish boys from Detroit, these grandsons of immigrants each served 36 years in Congress, 32 of them together, becoming by far the longest co-serving siblings in the 232-year history of this place. As heartbroken as we are in this moment, I feel so grateful to have experienced this love and legacy.”

SEN. CARL LEVIN

Carl Levin in his Detroit City Council days, circa 1970

LIFETIME OF SERVICE continued from page 13

ELAYNE GROSS

senator and staff. He was one of the most challenging senators to work for and one of the most rewarding. Challenging, because you had better know your business in detail, since he surely did. Rewarding, because he had authentic relationships with staff, treated them with deep respect and was loyal to them.

Council president. He fought redlining, and tangled with HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over its reluctance to demolish dilapidated homes.

Most importantly, he later said, his battles with Mayors Roman Gribbs and mainly Coleman Young “would prove to be a valuable training ground for later tussles — and sometimes battles” with presidents when he got to the U.S. Senate.

The year after Carl Levin left City Council, U.S. Sen. Robert Griffin, a Republican from Traverse City, decided not to run for reelection, missed a lot of votes and then changed his mind.

Levin thought — correctly — that would make Griffin vulnerable, and it did. He got into the Senate race, ran a smart but underfunded campaign and managed to become the only Democrat to defeat a GOP incumbent that year.

He would go on to narrowly win reelection six years later, bucking the 1984 Reagan landslide in the state, and then go on to win four more terms by progressively larger margins. Unlike many incumbents, he was always willing to publicly debate his opponents.

In the U.S. Senate, a body notorious for huge egos and show horses, Carl Levin was a workhorse — and the voters knew it.

ELECTED SIX TIMES By the last time he ran in 2008, he was the closest thing to a universally admired politician one can imagine in these deeply polarized times.

He won his sixth term with an astonishing 63% and more than 3 million votes — a Michigan record.

Another man known for his integrity, the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, once said that Levin “is the model of serious purpose, principle and personal decency, whose example

COURTESY WSU PRESS

THE UNCLE CARL I KNEW continued from page 13

COURTESY WSU PRESS

ought to inspire the service of new and returning senators.”

Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston has made a career of skewering unethical politicians and officeholders. But he recognized that Levin was something different.

“Carl Levin served as the de facto conscience of the United States Senate for 36 years,” he wrote in lines for the cover of Sen. Levin’s book. “As chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Levin ferreted out wrongdoing, abuses of taxpayers and failed policies, its reports all issued with bipartisan agreement — a remarkable feat of dignity, duty and moral strength in our era.”

Sen. Levin was not only interested in national and international issues; he was a staunch defender of Detroit’s auto industry. While he was an environmentalist, he often opposed imposing what he felt were unreasonable fuel economy standards and worked to have them not make domestic cars less competitive.

He also fought against having Japan take part in free trade talks, arguing that its unfair trade practices killed jobs in the U.S. Not surprisingly, he battled hard to get the Senate to support the federal “bailout” of Chrysler and General Motors in 2008-2009.

ISRAEL SUPPORT Levin was, throughout his career a strong, but by no means uncritical, supporter of Israel. He successfully worked to have the United States and Israel jointly develop missile defense systems.

“It is almost unimaginable to think of what would have happened if hundreds of missiles and rockets over the years coming at Israel had not been destroyed in flight before they

A ‘Moral and Ethical Compass’

G

rowing up in the 1930s and ’40s in Detroit, Carl Levin and his older brother and sister, Sander and Hannah, were close with their parents, Bess and Saul, who were part of an iconic political and Jewish Robert Sklar family. But the Former JN inquisitive sibEditor lings awaited Sundays with relatives in the family’s westside home, first on LaSalle Boulevard and later on Boston Boulevard.

It was during Sunday dinner the siblings grasped the importance of current affairs and the role of thoughtful debate as the family typically gravitated into a lively discussion inspired by the national radio program Drew Pearson Comments. It was a time when parents encouraged their kids to try to make the world a better place via the then-noble calling of public service.

Bess, active in Hadassah, and Saul, a lawyer who served on the Michigan Corrections Commission, were Zionists who imbued in their children a love of Israel and Jewish life.

Family values rooted in Jewish tradition motivated and guided Carl and Sandy as they went on to serve in government with resourceful dignity and a principled demeanor. In Congress, the brothers were drawn to the plight of Soviet Jews. And they supported a strong U.S.-Israel relationship but didn’t back away from questioning Israeli policy.

VOICE OF REASON In mourning his death at age 87, let us remember how special a leader and a fighter

The Levin brothers, Sandy, 9, and Carl, 6, by the family Pontiac in Detroit

Carl was in the cauldron of politics. En route to retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2015 after serving 36 years, Carl became an influential voice on national security and international diplomacy. He provided a moral and ethical compass for future generations of young Jews who held a yearning to serve with a similar style of honor and humility.

Carl sought balance over bluster — and compromise, where possible, over partisanship. He was savvy, civil and articulate — and knew how to listen. He exuded leadership at every stage, from the Detroit City Council to the U.S. Senate.

Never a flashy dresser or in awe of his standing, Carl, a proud Detroiter, connected with ordinary Americans. They appreciated his unswerving commitment to the well-being of the American people.

Carl cut his political spurs serving as unofficial campaign manager when Sandy won a state Senate seat in 1964. Carl won Detroit City Council terms in 1969 and 1973.

The Harvard Law School graduates joined Congress within four years of one another. Carl was elected to the Senate in 1978. Sandy won his

House seat in 1982; he did not seek reelection in 2018.

The Detroit Central High graduates — Sandy was president of his class and Carl served as treasurer of his — grew up sharing a room and came to share a passion for public service.

SCALING THE HILL In a 2013 JN interview after Carl announced he wasn’t seeking Senate reelection, his wife of six decades, Barbara, kvelled over the “great integrity, energy and intelligence” he brought to Capitol Hill every day on Michigan’s behalf.

Sandy described how Carl “has been able to get into the shoes of a lot of people and run on their behalf.”

And run Carl did.

Surely borne from those Sunday dinner-table debates while growing up in the heart of pre-1950s Jewish Detroit, Carl, a Democratic liberal, understood the art of respecting opposing opinions when it was clear they also mattered.

Robert Sklar was Editor of the Detroit Jewish News from 1998 to 2011, thereafter serving as Contributing Editor until 2020.

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THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE SEN. CARL LEVIN

A Proud Jewish Detroiter Focused on Tikkun Olam SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

S

en. Carl Levin’s Jewish roots developed during his Detroit childhood, growing up in a home with parents who were strong Zionists; his mother was very active in Hadassah. The family attended Congregation Shaarey Zedek and Carl went to Central High School, which had a great number of Jewish students.

“His most Jewish connection was that he lived tikkun olam every day of his life with every bone of his body,” says Eugene Driker, a prominent lawyer and former chair of the Board of Governors at Wayne State University.

Eugene Driker Driker and his wife, Elaine, became friends with Sen. Levin and his wife, Barbara, when the two families moved to Detroit’s Green Acres neighborhood 56 years ago.

“Sen. Levin was a strong supporter of Israel, but he had his own ideas about what support for Israel should look like,” says Driker. “He supported the Iran nuclear accord and parted company with AIPAC over its opposition.”

Driker remembers that Sen. Levin initiated an economic development project between

Israelis and Arabs living in Gaza and the West Bank. A small group of businessmen, including some Detroiters, met regularly to build business connections across borders. After the deadly violence of the Second Intifada, however, the project was shelved.

“It was indicative of his character to reach for the stars in creative ways to create peace and harmony,” Driker says.

“Sen. Levin was always concerned about the underdog and always an advocate for underserved populations,” says Bob Aronson, former CEO of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. “He was concerned about social justice, which is a big part of Jewish values.”

Sen. Levin and his brother, former Rep. Sander Levin, were honored by the Jewish Theological Seminary with its Eternal Light Award in 2010 for their impact on the Jewish community.

Sen. Levin was also very committed to Detroit. The Levins were founding members of Detroit’s Congregation T’chiyah — the first new Jewish congregation in the city for many years — when it was established more than 40 years ago. A small group of Jewish Detroiters had been gathering for monthly Jewish

Mary Freeman and Andy Levin; Syma Echeandia, then-president of Congregation T’chiyah; Sander Levin; and Barbara and Carl Levin at a benefit dinner for the synagogue in 2013

observances, says Judy Harris, a Detroiter. Sen. Levin contacted her about creating a more formal organization.

“We had a committee that developed guiding principles, and Carl Levin brought a lot of insight into the process. Many Reconstructionist principles were brought into T’chiyah, which affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement during the mid-1980s.

Reconstructionist Judaism is participatory, inclusive and egalitarian,” explains Harris, who served as T’chiyah’s first president.

The congregation met initially on the third floor of the St. Mary’s Church school building in Greektown. When the first two floors were unused, the building was kept locked. Harris remembers that Levin provided a bell that was tied to a rope so that congregants who wanted entry could communicate that they were outside to be let in.

T’chiyah eventually split into suburban and city congregations.

The Levins continued to attend T’chiyah after the congregation moved to Oakland County, but then shifted to the new Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit, which remains in the city. According to Matthew Schenk, its president, the Levins participated in some of the congregation’s holiday services via Zoom during the pandemic.

“Carl Levin was a natural Jewish leader,” Aronson says.

“He had that aura and personality to be a Jewish leader.

He commanded respect. He was a humble man who Bob had a calming influAronson ence with a sense of humor and warmth.

He was incorruptible.

“He was always there for the Jewish community. If Federation asked him to do something, be on a panel or speak, he would always participate. I remember him speaking after the 9-11 attacks. He was an extraordinary man.”

“WE HONOR THE MEMORY OF SEN. CARL LEVIN, A BELOVED MEMBER OF OUR LOCAL JEWISH COMMUNITY. THROUGHOUT HIS HISTORIC CAREER, SEN. LEVIN TIRELESSLY ADVOCATED FOR THE WELL-BEING OF ALL MICHIGANDERS. A TRUE STATESMAN, SEN. LEVIN WAS ALSO A GREAT FRIEND TO THE STATE OF ISRAEL. HE WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR HIS INTEGRITY AND COMMITMENT TO BUILDING A BETTER SOCIETY.” MATTHEW B. LESTER, PRESIDENT, JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT DENNIS S. BERNARD, PRESIDENT, UNITED JEWISH FOUNDATION STEVEN INGBER, CEO, JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT

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ERIN KIRKLAND

COURTESY WSU PRESS COURTESY WSU PRESS

CARL M. LEVIN PAPERS, BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Carl Levin conferring with Rep. John Dingell; speaking with President Barack Obama at the White House; seated with brother Sander Levin while visiting Durfee School in Detroit in 2019; at President George W. Bush’s 2003 signing ceremony of the Defense Authorization Act with Sen. John Warner, Sen. Levin, Rep. Tom Davis, Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Duncan Hunter.

LIFETIME OF SERVICE continued from page 15

hit their targets,” he wrote.

However, he could be harshly critical of Israel “when it allowed illegal settlements that undermine a two-state solution, or when I believe it uses or condones the use of excessive force.”

However, he noted that he never forgot that “Israel is an island surrounded by an ocean of threats.”

Carl Levin was a man of many interests, a few of which bordered on the whimsical.

He was very proud that when he was on the Roosevelt Memorial Commission, he successfully pushed to have a statue of Fala, FDR’s famous Scottish terrier, included at the president’s feet.

But perhaps most importantly, beyond his stand on

any particular issue, was his continual work to find common ground, to reduce tensions among his colleagues, and to make the U.S. Senate work. “That meant being pragmatic and not ideologically rigid. I’ve always said that if you don’t come to elected office willing to compromise, you don’t come wanting to govern,” he said When he decided to retire in 2014, he was asked why, since he was still healthy and was virtually certain to be reelected. Levin said he loved the Senate but wanted to spend more time with his wife and family. For many years, Michigan politicians from Gerald Ford to Jennifer Granholm have left the state for the Sunbelt or began

careers as Washington lobbyists after leaving office.

Carl Levin moved back to Detroit, helped create the Levin Center at Wayne State University Law School, and taught and shared his insights with students until he became ill.

His nephew, U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, now represents Michigan’s 9th District in Congress, as did Andy’s father, Sandy, before his retirement.

Sen. Carl Levin is survived by his wife, Barbara Levin; daughters and sons-in-law, Kate Levin Markel, Laura and Daniel Levin, Erica Levin and Richard Fernandes; brother, Sander M. Levin; grandchildren, Noa, Bess, Benjamin, Samantha, Beatrice and Olivia.

He was the loving broth-

er of the late Hannah Levin Gladstone.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Levin Center at Wayne Law, Wayne State University — Gift Processing PO Box 674602, Detroit, MI 48267-4602, (313) 577-2263; or Henry Ford Cancer Institute Development Office, 1 Ford Place #5A, Detroit, MI 48202-3450, (313) 876-1031, henryford.com/ development/make-a-gift.

Condolence acknowledgements may be emailed to: Levin.Family@Wayne.Edu. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Jack Lessenberry is a veteran journalist who knew Sen. Levin for many years, and is the co-author of The People’s Lawyer, a biography of Frank Kelley.

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THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE SEN. CARL LEVIN

Carl and Sander Levin in 2010, as they were honored by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Loving Memories of Carl Levin

S

DAVID SACHS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

en. Carl Levin was memorialized at a heartfelt, privately attended service at Ira Kaufman Chapel on July 30.

Rabbi Ariana Silverman of the Downtown Synagogue and Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network officiated. Burial was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.

A public celebration of Sen. Levin’s life will likely be planned for the next month or two.

At the funeral, Carl Levin’s daughter Kate Levin Markel spoke about her dad.

“He lived life to the fullest — his energy was boundless,” she said. “He was so smart, and he used it to solve problems in the most creative ways, big and small.

“Dad was blessed to be born into an extraordinary family, to grow up in that family, to be a part of that family and get incredible strength from that family.”

Also at the funeral, Sen. Levin’s heartbroken brother and lifelong best friend, Sander Levin, spoke about him. “Carl’s book, Getting to the Heart of the Matter, really expressed who he was,” Sander said. “‘Getting to the heart’ meant getting to the essence of what it was all about.

“If you read his book, what he liked most of all were the examples of where he stood on the side of the downtrodden — the dispossessed. And for those who ignored it — those who thought the main riches in life were their riches — he was willing to take them on, but never with rancor.

“There could be no bigger heart [than Carl’s]. So, that really led him into every effort.

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Barbara and Carl Levin

“We grew up together for 85 years,” Sander said. “When we moved, the first thing our parents did was to tear down a wall. And I think their example got into Carl’s bloodstream, and his life was tearing down walls.

“And after that, we spent so much time together, in all of our pursuits, and with all of his determination and with all of his love.

“I think our lives together, if I might say so, sends a kind of signal of what life is really all about.”

CARL’S BEST FRIENDS Rabbi Silverman noted that Sander, three years older, and Carl were, in Sander’s words, inseparable. “They lived in the same room together as kids and did everything with each other,” she said. “They played together, read the same books, listened to classical music together, went to camp together and snuck up to the balcony of Shaarey Zedek during High Holiday services

together. In endless games of basketball in the back yard, Sandy can’t remember a time when he and Carl weren’t side by side.

“During Carl’s first year at Harvard Law School, he and Sandy were able to live together again.”

The two brothers both served 36 years in Congress. “And in addition to their shared pursuit of justice,” Rabbi Silverman said, “they also began their lifelong passion for playing squash, which they continued into their 80s.

“Carl called Sandy his best lifelong friend, because in 1960 he met his best friend, Barbara,” Rabbi Silverman said. “They were set up on a blind date by Carl’s cousin Joe. “They dated long-distance for a year. She was in New York, he was in Detroit, and they were married in 1961. Carl, a passionate Detroiter would not move to New York, so Barbara moved back to her hometown and got a job in Detroit.”

Within five years, they had three daughters.

“He adored being a dad,” Rabbi Silverman said. “Carl was a father who was full of energy, humor, love, playfulness and dedication.

“Carl was, and remained, Barbara’s greatest fan. He adored listening to her play piano.

He made sure she was able to go to law school at Wayne State and pursue her career.”

A ZEST FOR LIFE “In every way, Carl’s approach to life was so pure and straightforward,” Rabbi Krakoff said. “It was motivated by the desire to serve his fellow human beings — to make our state, to make our country, to make our world a better place than he found it. And he did this, each and every day, well beyond measure.

“Carl was a man of deep sincerity and authenticity — integrity and modesty. He embodied a zest for life that was so clear in everything he did.

“He maintained not one, but two standing desks so he could pace back and forth, not ever having to sit down while multitasking.

“During his four-and-a-half-year battle with stage 4 lung cancer, he pushed himself forward every day, as he did with everything else in his life. Never for a moment losing his fighting spirit,” Rabbi Krakoff said.

“He did not complain, but only talked about how blessed he was. And he did this in each and every conversation until taking his very last breath.

“May the values, the essence and the brilliant legacy of Sen. Carl Levin live eternally in the souls of those who were so lucky to know him and love him.”

The Levin Center at Wayne Law celebrates the life and legacy of

Senator Carl Levin June 28, 1934 - July 29, 2021

Senator Levin's legacy of dedicated public service, integrity, and unwavering commitment to good government will be an eternal inspiration and will guide our Center's work in the years to come. As our founder, chairman, mentor, and most importantly as our friend, he will be greatly missed.

Meet Daniel Daniel is a single father of two boys. He was a talented chef at a Detroit restaurant…before the pandemic hit. Mandated shutdowns put him out of work and his kids out of school.

With both kids attending classes virtually, Daniel had to purchase a second computer. He was able to pick up some part-time work at a local retailer, but his reduced paycheck meant he struggled to put food on the table. He fell behind on his bills. And he feared losing his home. Until he called Jewish Family Service.

JFS helped Daniel apply for benefits, which meant he no longer worried about putting food on the table. We connected him with resources to help with his mortgage, job search, and to make sure the lights stayed on. Working with his social worker, they developed a plan for financial stability.

Daniel and his kids are not alone. There are hundreds of families just like them and JFS is here to offer support and resources. Whether or not you know what you may need,

All you need to know is that JFS can help.

We helped Daniel with these services: • Case Management Services • Benefits Assistance • Emergency Financial Assistance • Housing Resources

We can help you or your loved one, too.

Contact our Resource Center at 248.592.2313 or resourcecenter@jfsdetroit.org

JFSDETROIT.org AUGUST 12 • 2021

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OUR COMMUNITY

JVS Human Services and Kadima Announce Merger Expected to be operational in early 2022, new name being explored.

JN STAFF

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VS Human Services and Kadima, both nonprofits who serve vulnerable communities in Metro Detroit, announced they will move forward with a merger expected to be operational in 2022. The boards of directors of JVS Human Services and Kadima voted Aug. 2 to unite the organizations. JVS is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the central fundraising and planning organization of the Detroit Jewish community.

JVS provides social services and vocational programs,

including services for people with developmental disabilities. Kadima provides behavioral health services, including supportive housing, for adults with mental health challenges. The decision was made to create a new single organization, yet unnamed, to provide a broader continuum of care, more robust and higher quality programs, and overall better outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Unemployment can be as high as 80% for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. Between JVS Human Services and Kadima, approximately 1,000 people

with a diagnosed mental illness will be served in areas of vocational, residential and clinical services at the time of the merger.

Paul J. Blatt, current JVS president and chief executive officer, will continue in Paul Blatt that role to lead the new organization. Aubrey Macfarlane, JVS executive vice president and chief operating officer, will also remain in her role after the merger. Eric Adelman, Kadima executive director, will be the executive vice president and chief

advancement officer of the new organization.

“From the outset, we were Aubrey Macfarlane eager to see if a combined organization would be better positioned to positively impact the lives of people in Eric our community,” Adelman said Blatt.

“Through an in-depth due diligence process, we were able to demonstrate that the new organization will be able to offer a more expansive continuum of services, yielding stronger outcomes for the people we serve. This is an exciting time for JVS, Kadima and our communities.”

Through shared operational and administrative savings, the new organization will reinvest funds into programs

Ride for the Living

Metro Detroit bike ride mirrors Auschwitz-to-Krakow event.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

T

he Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s annual Ride for the Living event is returning full-bore this year on Sunday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., after a year of socially distanced riding due to the pandemic.

Federation’s Ride for the Living event is a satellite ride done in conjunction with the ride that happens every year in Krakow, Poland.

The JCC Krakow’s Annual Ride for the Living is a 34.5-mile bike ride from the Auschwitz death camp

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to the JCC in Krakow that commemorates Jewish history, including the Holocaust and the victims that died, and celebrates the miraculous rebirth of Jewish life in Poland today.

Federation’s satellite ride — which is approximately 30 miles — is Jewish Detroit’s own way to commemorate and celebrate the living.

All the proceeds from the Metro Detroit ride go to the JCC Krakow and the Jewish community there.

The ride is for bikers of all skill levels, including Slow Rollers (avg. 8-10 mph),

Bikers on a past Ride for the Living event in Detroit

Cruisers (avg. 11-15 mph) and Chasers (avg. 16-18 mph).

This year, Federation is making it a little more of a social event. Instead of just doing the ride, everyone’s meeting afterward at Ferndale Project on Livernois

for food and drinks.

The loop-around ride will see riders meet up and start at Ferndale High School, ride all the way to the Detroit Riverfront and finish back at Ferndale Project, where the socializing, food and drinks will commence. The

that directly benefit and support underserved community members, such as those with development disabilities, autism or mental illness.

Deeper investments in areas of clinical services and compliance will allow for more data-based decision making and impact measurement, all exponentially enhancing outcomes for people served and the community at large.

The merger will ensure long-term sustainability of vital services for individuals who need them, while positioning the agency for success in the everchanging landscape of public mental health service funding.

“This merger is vital because it will strengthen our operations, allow us to provide more impactful services and enable our new organization to thrive for many years to come,” said Adelman. “By improving services for the people we serve

today and ensuring the sustainability of those services for decades to come, we continue to realize our founders’ goals of meeting the needs of vulnerable people in our community.”

The two agencies offer dozens of services, including career counseling and job placement for job seekers with obstacles to employment, supportive housing for individuals with severe mental illness, financial education, day programs for adults living with developmental disabilities and/or mental illness, counseling for families in crisis, assistance and support coordination for adults living with mental health challenges, enrichment activities and more.

There are no plans for reducing programs; in fact, it is expected that the merger will allow for programs to be upgraded, updated and strengthened.

registration fee includes a ride T-shirt and drink voucher.

Last year, the live ride had to be canceled. There was no official event, as Federation simply encouraged people to take part in their own ride and to donate whatever they wanted to the JCC Krakow if they were able to do so.

Bracha Katz, administrative assistant at the Israel & Overseas Department of Federation, thinks people are excited to get back to riding.

“A lot of them are big bikers and they do this every year, so it’s a good event for riders to get out, get back to normal and be able to have some fun once again, because it’s been a while for a lot of people,” Katz said.

Katz hopes the ride can

bring some awareness to the Jewish community in Krakow as well as provide fun for the riders.

“It’s not a sad ride. It’s a lot of joy and hope, that’s why it’s called ‘Ride for the Living,’” Katz said referring to the main Auschwitz to Krakow ride and its local counterpart. “It’s sort of showing people, ‘yes, that happened to us right here and it was really sad — but look at us, we’re a vibrant community and we’re still here, and we’re going to ride our bikes from this place of tragedy to the center of the Jewish community.’

“It’s just a really beautiful sentiment.”

Registration for the ride, which costs $36, can be done at jlive.app/ events/523.

Janet Halper, Rebecca Rosen and Allen Halper

Family Legacy Custom graphic books document grandparents’ stories.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

E

very family has a cherished story, sometimes many stories, but over time, memories fade and sometimes storytellers are no longer available. Rebecca Rosen’s parents and grandparents were doing genealogy research and trying to figure out how to document their family stories.

Her father, Marc Rosen, Ph.D., a psychologist, had taken notes from conversations with his in-laws, Janet Halper, 85, about her life, and recorded interviews with, Allen Halper, 87. The Halpers live in West Bloomfield.

“Both are great storytellers,” says Rebecca Rosen, 26, a data scientist for a nonprofit organization in New York City, who has been living in Ann Arbor. But written notes and recorded conversations are not a very accessible or permanent record.

Then she thought of Kira Appelman, a Detroit-based artist. “Kira makes beautiful books and is an incredible artist and illustrator. She had been working with storytelling for a Jewish program and had

Cover of Appelman’s graphic novel

done some art books about notable artists’ and writers’ lives,” Rosen said. So, she commissioned Appelman to create individual graphic books depicting her grandparents’ life stories.

The end result was a digital novel about her grandfather, a retired educator, who also received a physical copy of his digital book. Her grandmother’s story was translated into “more of an art book.” Rosen said.

Since she had not told them of her plans, they were both surprised and delighted to receive their books. “My grandpa cried,” she says.

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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MARK ARROYO

OUR COMMUNITY

Sammy Pandolfi

In Vogue Local teen enjoys unplanned modeling career.

JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hen a New Yorkbased model and talent management agency asked Sammy Pandolfi if he was interested in modeling after seeing the videos he posted on the social media platform TikTok, his first thought was, “this is a scam.”

Pandolfi, an 18-year-old Berkley resident, researched the agency and then called the New York phone number. It

turned out that the message from Soul Artist Management was legitimate. Due to COVIDimposed travel restrictions, the agency turned to social media as a scouting platform instead of going to Europe.

“They were interested in talking to me, and my feelings went from skepticism to pure excitement,” says Pandolfi, who signed a contract with the company at the end of January.

In March, he traveled to New York to personally meet his new agents and have his first professional photoshoot.

The pictures were for an online portfolio, which is being used to promote Pandolfi to magazines, designers and others looking for models.

“He has an incredible face,” said Sarah Hamilton-Bailey, Soul Artist Management agency director. “He’s also a perfect size. Our clients are responding extremely well to him. We’ve had major, major brands inquiring about him. He confirmed the YSL (Saint Laurent) show which is really unheard of with a brand new face.

“Now we have a lot of editorial magazines from all over the world that are shooting in America asking for him as well.

He’s got the attention of fashion stylists, art directors, designers.”

In the few months since his March trip to New York, Pandolfi has already been in Vogue, had castings — auditions — with some major designers and traveled to Europe twice.

One of those trips was to the South of France, where he spent a mere 41 hours before returning home because he did not get the modeling job.

“He handled it all with incredible grace,” said his mom, Stephanie Pandolfi, about his two-day trip to France. “When I asked him if he was OK, he told me, ‘I had a great experience. I learned what these castings are all about, I met some great people, and I got to come home to my beautiful girlfriend.’”

The second trip was more successful. Pandolfi was selected to appear in the Saint Laurent Spring Summer 2022 menswear collection runway show in Venice, Italy.

The iconic fashion company flew him to Paris to make sure he was a good choice for the show. There, he met Anthony Vaccarello, YSL’s creative director, who liked his look, and Pandolfi got the job. He was one of 54 models in the show.

From Paris, Pandolfi flew to Venice, filling nine days with photoshoots, sightseeing and, of course, walking the runway sporting some very expensive designer clothing.

Pandolfi, who had no prior modeling or acting experience, is more of an exception than the rule.

“We have new faces that come in, and we test them, and sometimes it doesn’t work out,” said Hamilton-Bailey. “Sammy has a face that the camera absolutely loves. He’s kind of a natural.”

OTHER PURSUITS Pandolfi graduated in 2020 from an online school and decided to take a gap year before college. He was supposed to backpack around Europe, but COVID put a halt to those plans. Instead, he found ways to earn money, played video games and spent time at a skate park. He still plans to continue his education, but he will pursue expanding his modeling career for now.

Aside from being a natural in front of the camera, he also has a talent for playing

“SAMMY HAS A FACE THAT THE CAMERA ABSOLUTELY LOVES. HE’S KIND OF A NATURAL.” — SAMMY’S TALENT AGENT, SARAH HAMILTON-BAILEY

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video games. In 2018, at the age of 15, he was gaming at a professional level and making money in Fortnite tournaments and on Twitch, a video game livestreaming service.

Because of a chronic inflammatory disease called eosinophilic esophagitis, Pandolfi attended school online. The condition made it hard for him to sit in class on some days. The condition causes an array of stomach issues, including severe pain, the inability to swallow food and vomiting. His symptoms have since improved, but one of the things he hopes to do if his career takes off is use modeling to bring awareness and funding to help combat the disease.

“Although I’m doing better and able to function normally, there are a lot of people who aren’t,” he said.

Pandolfi likes to skateboard and travel. While he was in Venice, he encountered a group of Orthodox Jews. He approached them and said, “Shalom. I’m a Jew from America; how’s it going? I didn’t really know what else to say, other than that.”

His other interests include spending time with family and friends. Pandolfi said he appreciates the time he has to be with the people he loves because he doesn’t know how often he will be traveling.

Plus, a move to New York will eventually be necessary for a modeling career.

“He’s my favorite person to hang out with,” said his mom. “He’s confident and comfortable with who he is but not cocky. I’m proud of his attitude and the way he’s handling everything by staying down to earth.”

A New Name

The Birmingham Temple is now the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit.

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

he Birmingham Temple has replaced its name with a more accurate description. Its new name: the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit.

The impetus for the change came from the congregation’s outreach project. Analyzing factors relevant to recruitment, committee members noted that the inherited name did not succeed in “telling our story.” In an official statement, the congregation leadership observed that “Humanistic Judaism is not well understood, and our name was doing little to even prompt questions or curiosity about it!”

Rabbi Jeffrey Falick felt that personally: “When I was out in the community, introducing myself as the rabbi of the Birmingham Temple meant that I never even had the opportunity to state the most important thing about us, that we’re a community of Humanistic Jews.”

He adds, “I have already noticed that when I say I’m from the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, I get more questions about what that means.”

Some leaders also objected that the old name did not come close to meeting the congregation’s ideology: That we “say what we mean.”

“We haven’t been in Birmingham for close to 50 years,” Rabbi Falick added.

In a process taking more

than a year, moving from the outreach project to the board to the entire congregation, the congregation sought a new, more expressive name for itself. The most widely accepted of the 27 suggestions included the words “Humanistic Judaism.”

In 1963, Rabbi Sherwin Wine with eight like-minded families founded the Birmingham Temple as the first Humanistic Jewish congregation in 1963, introducing a number of significant changes in breaking from the Reform Movement, such as dropping mentions of God in the liturgy and removing the Torah from the front of the sanctuary to a space in the library. The non-theistic movement emphasizes human beings as the sources of values.

Rabbi Falick explains, “The original name was really a legacy of a short stay in Birmingham, some of which did not go all that well. For example, there was that time when the Birmingham Masonic Temple received so many complaints about our non-theistic celebrations that they actually evicted us! In any case, the original name never underwent any kind of process. It was simply an inheritance.

Rabbi Jeffrey Falick

“Naming the movement, on the other hand, was the result of a real process back in the 1960s,” Rabbi Falick said. “After considering possibilities like ‘Rational Judaism’ or ‘Naturalistic Judaism,’ they landed on Humanistic, a positive and upbeat way to describe us and draw interest.

“Given the attachment to our movement and its name, it just seemed right that it should become prominent in our new congregational name. Our members and leaders have always stood ready to share with anyone interested just what Humanistic Judaism is all about.

“Now they don’t have to waste the time explaining what Birmingham has to do with anything. They can get right to the point about our innovative approach to Judaism.”

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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He’s

All In

K

eith Schonberger has developed an impressive resume: From teaching a computer to solve a Rubik’s Cube on his way to a bachelor of science degree in computer science at Michigan State University, including a brief software engineering internship with the Boeing Company, on to MSU College of Law, where he earned his J.D. and found his calling in patent law.

With almost nine years in practice — including almost six years with Troy-based Young Basile — Keith is now a shareholder in the law firm.

A two-career family today, Keith and Tara met at MSU in what Keith briefly describes as sorority girl meets fraternity boy in a Battle of the Bands during Greek Week. “Tara is the real brains in the family,” says Keith. With a master’s degree in clinical laboratory science and more than a dozen initials behind her name

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that certify her hard-earned credentials, Tara has worked in the Blood Bank and HLA Laboratories at Beaumont Health for 12 years.

Reflecting on the challenges of work in balance with family homelife, Keith describes coming through COVID as a remarkable year of growth and reawakening. “COVID has tested every aspect of what we consider to be normal, but the concept of togetherness and community — doing something greater than yourself with other people — has always been a focal point of my life. Today, I can say that I’ve seen my family, my colleagues and our community grow stronger, more resilient and more creative together.”

ON FAMILY LIFE IN THE TIME OF COVID Q: Keith, please give us a snapshot of your family over the past year. How have you fared?

Keith Schonberger welcomes all to Federation’s NEXTGen Detroit.

VIVIAN HENOCH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Keith Schonberger: Honestly, we’ve been wonderful — blessed to be healthy and happy — but we crave the same things everyone craves: getting back together with family and friends.

I’ve been working from home for more than a year, spending loads of time with Tara and our children. Eli is 5 and will enter kindergarten in the fall; Adam is 3; and Leah — born shortly before the pandemic began — is a year and a half. Our boys were physically in school at Somerset Academy in Troy last year and did well. Eli is learning to read and write and is doing such an incredible job on both, and his brother is quickly becoming a reader, too.

We also recently moved to a new home in Rochester Hills in a beautiful area that is strategically nearby grandparents. With Tara’s parents in Romeo and my folks in West Bloomfield, we

JOHN HARDWICK

OUR COMMUNITY

have some daycare support, and everyone is vaccinated at this point.

It’s easy to dwell on what we’ve missed this … but when I think about it, there’s so much I’ve gained in the time.

Time is the one resource we all have. And you never get time back. Being home with Tara and the kids gave me the time to catch more of those precious little moments we might ordinarily miss.

ON JEWISH FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION Q: You have been an active community volunteer with Federation for more than a decade — additionally serving on the boards of MSU Hillel and Tamarack Camps. In what ways has the Jewish community been a strong part of your upbringing?

KS: My family’s involvement with Federation and its partner agencies starts back

two generations ago with my mother’s parents who met at Tamarack Camps. We still like to tell the story about the baseball game at Tamarack (the Fresh Air Society at the time), and the boy who threw a wild pitch into the stands and hit a girl in the head. The pitcher was my grandfather, the girl was my grandmother.

No injuries were reported, as I understand, but it was the pitch that started our family.

My grandparents, all four of blessed memory, were very community-driven.

In particular, my maternal grandparents spent their time building bridges between the Jewish community and the Black and Arab communities.

Building a greater Detroit was a longtime desire and goal of theirs. My parents were a part of that and loved being involved in making friends across those community lines, blurring those lines — teaching one another.

I grew up with a strong sense that my parents’ and grandparents’ Jewish identities were essential to them. However, my own Jewish identity didn’t truly materialize until I participated in a Teen Mission to Israel in 2004. My parents decided to enroll me after seeing an advertisement for the trip in the Jewish News, and I’m so glad that they did. At 17, I was not unlike other teens in high school — rebelling for the sake of rebelling, including by struggling with my Jewish identity and the concept of organized religion.

But then, when I stepped off the bus in Israel at that first stop at Castel — that lookout point over Jerusalem — suddenly I realized where

I stood and how connected I was to our ancestry and the history of the land. And it was in that moment that something clicked, and I thought that maybe my Jewish identity was more important than I realized.

I carried that Jewish identity to college and adopted MSU Hillel as the place I most loved to be on campus. I’m an Alpha Epsilon Pi alum, but MSU Hillel was where I spent much of my time. I studied there, hung out there, led Shabbat services there for six years. I can’t say enough about Cindy Hughey and Jonathon Koenigsberg [executive director and associate director] and how they and the rest of the incredible staff made MSU Hillel a home for all of us.

What eventually drew me to community work in my 20s, though, was the realization that I had received so much from the Jewish community and that I felt it was time to start giving back. I also had friends in community leadership roles showing me the way.

To be on the receiving end of our community resources is a good thing but giving back feels great. Sixteen years a community volunteer in Jewish Detroit, and I still consider myself a “newcomer,” just getting started on a lifelong journey with Federation. And I couldn’t be prouder to be on my way.

ON PROFESSIONAL AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Q: How does a computer geek become a patent lawyer?

KS: I started college with a love for video games and pursued computer programming coursework to learn how to make them.

With programming — writing software — the only resources you need are a computer and your brain to create, invent and solve problems beyond your wildest dreams.

I found it to be a challenging and fulfilling activity … until I realized that most of software development is debugging — fixing broken code — especially when it was written by someone else.

It turned out that debugging was not something I enjoyed.

Still, I was halfway toward my computer science degree, and it made no sense to throw out that knowledge. So, I looked to see how I might apply my skills to another field and found the answer in patent law.

Patent law is pretty specialized. I had to take an additional bar exam to get my license to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. I work with inventors — engineers at global corporations, industry leaders in software and telecommunications — in all sorts of other spaces. I’m the guy who can translate their science into legalese. I learn about what they’ve invented and how it works, and then I write patent applications, which are dense, legal documents explaining how to make and use the invention, to help them protect those inventions. Not unlike any other aspect of law, it’s challenging, it’s rewarding — and there’s a lot of strategy involved.

The past couple of decades, in particular, have seen an explosion in the number of patents awarded to software inventions. In just the span of time that I’ve been in practice, the rate of U.S. invention has been mind-boggling.

ON NEXTGEN DETROIT AND THE STRENGTH OF COMMUNITY Q: How did you first get involved with Federation?

KS: My two-year term on the board of Tamarack Camps (2015-17) was my introduction to communal leadership. Joining that board led to a wider network with Federation’s NEXTGen Detroit and my first assignment as cochair of Federation’s Interfaith Couples Group.

With that connection, Tara and I had all the incentive we needed to jump into a new Jewish community adventure together. Tara’s role in helping to shape Federation’s programming opportunities for interfaith couples and encouraging others to participate was as formative as mine.

Tara grew up Presbyterian, but if you ask her, I imagine that she would say that religious belief is a personal choice, and that she doesn’t identify with any religion today. Before we married, we were in clear agreement: Out of respect and love for our blended families, we have chosen to raise our kids in a Jewish household where we can celebrate Christmas and Easter with their maternal grandparents.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to co-chair the Interfaith Couples group.

As studies have shown for years, our family represents an estimated 50-60% of the population that is interfaith.

To be a vibrant Jewish community, we must embrace our diversity and welcome interfaith couples, with the acknowledgement that this is their community as well. If we continued on page 26 AUGUST 12 • 2021

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aren’t engaging this growing segment of our population and including them, welcoming them in and making them feel wanted, it’s a disservice to our community. I am very glad Federation began this outreach and engagement and have loved being a part of it.

Q: Who do you consider to be your mentors along your path to community-building?

KS: Wow, too many to list!

A mentor is anyone who has taught me something of value: about community, about the power of communications, about the professional skills of listening — learning when to say yes and when to say no.

If I had to name one person?

Without a doubt, it’s Jonathan Schwartz. Jonathan was in his

second year as a NEXTGen board member when I was in my first. Federation’s Interfaith Couples Group was his brainchild in 2016, but as co-chairs we were strongly aligned in launching the program. Jonathan has led the way for me, every step of the way — a cherished friend and colleague who creates and grows lasting relationships. It speaks for itself that Jonathan’s leadership was recognized with the Frank A. Wetsman Young Leadership Award in 2021.

Q: Looking back in a year of tremendous challenge and upheaval, in what ways have you seen NEXTGen grow in strength?

KS: Federation’s NEXTGen Detroit is built on the strength

of our community. We are here to welcome everyone.

Our “target age” group is 21-45, but we’re open to any life stage, whether you are fresh out of college or an established business leader with 100 employees, whether you are single, married, have kids — it doesn’t matter. If you want to be involved with our organization, we want you to be there with us.

Like most organizations, our greatest challenge through COVID has been maintaining our connections, creating new opportunities for engagement and growing meaningful relationships, all while operating in a remote capacity and in virtual space. Altogether, I would say Federation and NEXTGen Detroit have done

a remarkable job with that. In particular, we have taken some different approaches in our outreach.

If we talk about silver linings during COVID — from my perspective, the past year has been an extraordinary leap for our community, despite the considerable challenges.

Through catastrophe and navigating months of uncertainty, together we’ve shown a capacity for growth and adaptation far greater than what we might give ourselves credit for, and we’ve proven just how resilient and strong we are. And NEXTGen Detroit and Federation have been there every step of the way.

A longer version of this story was first published on myjewishdetroit.org.

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COURTESY OF NOAH ARBIT

Democrats’ ‘Summer Simcha’ Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus meets.

Party leaders address antisemitism, hate crimes at Jewish caucus event.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Gov. Whitmer

N

oah Arbit was a self-described “political nerd” two years ago when he founded the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus (MDJC).

Arbit, 25, director of communications for Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, said he was “restless for a new project” after working to elect Democrat Gretchen Whitmer as Michigan’s governor in 2018. He saw the need for an organization, not then existent, that could bring Jewish Democrats together because “I believed fiercely that our Jewish community needed political leaders who understood the issues facing our community — right here, right now.”

MDJC (mijewishdems.org) seeks to “provide a voice for Michigan’s Jewish com-

munity within the Democratic Party, to empower and mobilize Jewish Michiganders on behalf of candidates, causes and issues we believe in,” Arbit said.

MDJC, he added, is the only Jewish organization in Michigan that endorses candidates for state and federal office and helps raise money for them.

“The Jewish community has enthusiastically supported our movement,” Arbit said, noting that MDJC has endorsed 50 candidates, raised nearly $200,000, recruited nearly 3,000 members and held more than 40 public events.

On Aug. 1, MDJC added to its fundraising totals when board members and other volunteers helped Arbit host a “Summer Simcha.” Elected Democrats, several of them Jewish, gave speeches before an enthusiastic, partisan crowd on the grounds of a Bloomfield Township home overlooking shimmering Wing Lake.

This second Summer Simcha picked up from where it left off after last year’s cancellation. About 200 attended in 2019, but “this one was bigger,” Arbit said. “We had to cap

turnout at 300,” said Troy Zukowski-Serlin of Kalamazoo, MDJC’s Southwest Michigan chair.

With admission pegged at different levels, “we raised $50,000,” Arbit said. “$40,000 will go to support the campaigns of Gov. Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel.”

Both Michigan leaders, up for reelection in 2022, spoke to the crowd; top givers had guaranteed access to meet them.

“The Jewish community is caught between the right and left in politics,” said Arbit in his introductory remarks. “We [MDJC] organize on our own terms with adherence to Jewish values. We are a voting block beyond Israel. We want to get our elected officials on the record, addressing issues of importance to our community.”

HATE CRIMES UNIT Nessel said she was surprised during her campaign by the attacks she received for being Jewish, more than for being gay.

“When I got into office, one of the things I wanted to address was the exponential

continued on page 28

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OUR COMMUNITY

Noah Arbit

continued from page 27

rise in hate crimes and rise in antisemitism,” she said. “I created a Hate Crimes Division to target actions that were biased-related, motivated by hate against certain groups.

“Little did I know that soon we would have to expand the division to Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism. I’m proud that our department is charging cases against these extremist groups that traffic in hate.”

McDonald said, “We are in a disturbing moment” about the increase in antisemitic incidents in Oakland County over the last four years. The Hate Crimes Unit she established has “a dedicated prosecutor” determining whether reported crimes are racially or ethnically motivated.

“We are spending money to teach officers to recognize what is a hate crime, when a crime has that dimension.”

Defeating domestic terrorism is an urgent matter for Nessel, among several speakers who referenced the storming of the state capital building in Lansing on April 30, 2020.

State Sen. Jeremy Moss, the only Jewish member of the Michigan Senate, decried that lessons “weren’t learned” from the armed “mini-insurrection,” which foreshadowed the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6.

“Antisemitism was there on that day,” recalled Rep. Haley Stevens (11th Congressional District).

Discussing voting rights, Nessel said the issue at stake is “not only to uphold the right to vote but to uphold the integrity of our electoral systems in its entirety. We must hold responsible elected officials who are opponents of fair elections.”

Gov. Whitmer and Rep. Debbie Dingell (12th District) were among those paying tribute to the late Sen. Carl Levin, who died on July 29.

Katie Costello brought greetings on behalf of his nephew, Rep. Andy Levin (9th District).

Also addressing the audience were Rep. Elissa Slotkin (8th District), Rep. Brenda Lawrence (14th District), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus of Black-Jewish Relations, and state Rep.

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Samantha Steckloff (37th District), the only Jewish member of Michigan’s House.

“It was so inspiring to hear from the mostly women politicians,” said Leah Klein of West Bloomfield after the event. “I really appreciated the emphasis on working against hatred — especially antisemitism.”

Her daughter, Rebecca Berenbon, said, “I’m really proud of Michigan Democrats for talking about not just how we can fight hate against Jews, but how we as Jews can fight hate against all people.”

Michelle Zukowski-Serlin of Kalamazoo said, “We always hear about antisemitism and the terrible things happening.

That’s why it’s so important that the Democratic Jewish Caucus is really successful. People need to realize that we need to go forward.”

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Weekend Rains Don’t Dampen Giving at Kids Kicking Cancer’s 2021 Fundraiser BRYAN GOTTLIEB FOR KIDS KICKING CANCER

A slight breeze and mild temperatures complemented the late July sunset, providing the perfect atmosphere at Knollwood Country Club for Kicks Kicking Cancer’s annual Golf Outing fundraiser on July 27.

The heavy and consistent rain Detroiters endured through much of the summer made the golfing portion of the event impossible — with saturated greens and soaked fairways forcing the rescheduling of the golf tourney to Aug. 9.

Nevertheless, KKC officials said the sold-out event was an unabashed success; early estimates pegged this year’s effort raised in excess of $222,000, helping fund its mission to help pediatric oncology patients and their families.

“These gifts help us to ensure that more kids are connected to the tools to learn self-regulation and work though overwhelming emotions like pain, fear and anger,” explained Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, founder of Kids Kicking Cancer.

“When kids transform from victim to victor, they are unlocking their inner power; and when they teach these techniques to others, it reinforces great purpose in their young lives.”

Sponsors of this year’s event included the Suburban Collection, Agree Realty Corporation, Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss, Art Roffey and Gail Danto, Lisa and Hannan Lis, Dr. and Mrs. Eric Kovan, and many others.

Veteran broadcaster Lila Lazarus and Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg share the spotlight at the KKC Annual Fundraiser at Knollwood Country Club.

Alexis Mantei and Barak Leibovitz enjoy the beautiful summer weather.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KKC

Jamie Davis, Chelsea Rebeck, Warren Frenkel and Chad Skop enjoyed cocktails and mingling at the KKC Annual Golf Outing.

LEFT: KKC supports children like rising fifth-grader Leah Vincenzetti of Highland, Mich., and her family through various programs and group activities. FAR LEFT: Longtime KKC backers Janelle and Stuart Teger show their support for the organization’s mission.

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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SPORTS LUSTIG FAMILY

JCC Maccabi Games on Shelf for Another Year Detroit athlete Alex Lustig disappointed, but determined to compete in 2022 STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Alex Lustig (right) poses with a player from an opposing hockey team during the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games in Detroit.

A

LUSTIG FAMILY

lex Lustig’s dream of participating in the JCC Maccabi Games this summer as Detroit’s lone representative was dashed at the 11th hour.

The quickly organized JCC Maccabi Texas Regional Games in San Antonio were canceled July 28, less than two weeks before the Aug. 8 opening ceremony, because of a surge in COVID-19 infections in Texas.

The JCC Association of North America, along with Barshop JCC of San Antonio, Evelyn Robinson JCC of Houston, Shalom Austin and Aaron Family JCC of Dallas, made the cancellation announcement, citing concerns about the “health and well-being of our participants and communities.”

Lustig, 14, hoped to compete in golf for Detroit in San Antonio after working hard on his game at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield.

He also was looking forward to taking part in other Maccabi Games activities like JCC Cares and Hang Time social and culAlex Lustig tural events.

Lustig played hockey for Detroit in the 2019 Maccabi Games held in Detroit, so he knew what would be taking place in Texas, albeit on a much smaller scale than in Detroit.

“It’s disappointing not to be able to go to

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the Maccabi Games in Texas, but there’s nothing you can do. Safety is safety. I’m excited to go to the Maccabi Games next year. I’m hoping they’ll be held,” he said.

The incoming Birmingham Groves High School freshman from West Bloomfield didn’t know when he made those comments that a Maccabi Games is planned for 2022 after cancellations in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.

He has two years of Maccabi Games eligibility remaining.

Next year’s Maccabi Games will be held July 31 through Aug. 5, in San Diego. The announcement was made July 31 by the host Lawrence Family JCC of San Diego.

SAN DIEGO ADDITION A new Maccabi Games wrinkle is planned for southern California.

The San Diego Games will be a pilot for JCC Maccabi Access, which will provide Jewish teens with cognitive and developmental disabilities with a Maccabi Games experience.

“I’m so excited,” longtime Detroit Maccabi delegation head Karen Gordon said about the announcement of the return of the Maccabi Games in the year of the event’s 40th anniversary.

More than 100,000 Jewish teens have participated in the Maccabi Games over the past four decades.

After celebrating the Maccabi Games’ return in 2022, Gordon quickly pivoted to this year’s Texas Regional Games and the last-minute decision to call them off.

“It was the right call to cancel them,

especially with kids coming from out of town. It was just too risky,” she said.

Golf was one of six sports on the docket for the Texas Regional Games, joining boys basketball, boys soccer, girls soccer, tennis and swimming. There also was going to be a Star Reporter opportunity.

About 100 teen athletes from San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver and St. Louis would have competed during the threeday, two-night event that would have concluded Aug. 10.

JCC Cares involved the teens bringing school supplies to San Antonio that would have been donated to Communities in Schools San Antonio and the Boys & Girls Club of San Antonio, organizations that give backpacks and school supplies to needy youngsters.

Mark Berke was Lustig’s coach in 2019 on one of two Detroit Maccabi hockey teams. Even though that was two years ago, Berke remembers Lustig well.

“We had a lot of young players. Alex was easily the smallest kid on our team, but he played like a huge kid,” Berke said.

“He played with such heart and passion.

That whole team was a pleasure to coach.

We had a lot of fun. The kids and parents were great.”

Lustig still went to Texas last week. He visited his grandparents, Bob and Beth Noe, who live in Austin, about two hours from San Antonio. Dov and Allison Lustig are Alex’s parents.

Anyone interested in participating in the 2022 Maccabi Games as a coach, athlete or artist from Detroit should send an email to Gordon at karengordon44@icloud.com.

ERETZ

MEET THE OLIM

Meet Meir Goldberg Business opportunities attracted him to Israel.

AVIVA ZACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

S

itting down with Meir Goldberg, 39, was a leap back in time for me. I remember him when he was a teenager, and it was fun to catch up with him after all these years. Meir has been living in Israel for 18 years and says he would never live anywhere else. He lives with his young family in Ra’anana and enjoys going back to Michigan regularly for business and to visit family and friends.

Q: Where did you go to shul and school in Detroit?

MG: I grew up going to the Young Israel of Southfield where my father (Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg) was the rabbi and is still rabbi emeritus.

I went to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah for elementary school.

Q: Did you come to Israel for the year after high school?

MG: I studied at Yeshivat HaKotel during the Second Intifada, and that year, my father led a group of young people from my community on the March of the Living. I hung out with the group, and the discussions with the kids were understandably intense. They had come to Israel straight from the gas chambers of Poland.

My great-grandmother died in Auschwitz, and my grandfather, for whom I was

named, was a partisan fighter who smuggled children out of the camps. It was personal.

Being with these young people who were reliving the depth of the Jewish experience made me feel even more intensely the blessing of the ground underneath me. It was a moment of awareness that my roots, my heritage, everything about me, was very much connected to this land.

Q: Tell me about your aliyah.

MG: I grew up coming to Israel regularly as a child and developed a great love for the country and the people. I never imagined, however, making Israel my home. It was after one particular trip, when I was 22, that I found myself connected to a great community of fellow Anglos. At the same time, there were tremendous business opportunities that were very attractive.

Q: After you’d been living here for a while, why did you decide to make it permanent?

MG: The real estate market in Israel was booming. I began a business with my U.S. network, finding apartments, renovating buildings and eventually developing projects.

I also met my wife who was born in England and moved here at a young age. Israel had become home, so it was natural

Meir Goldberg and family.

to make aliyah officially.

Q: And what do you do now?

MG: As much as I enjoyed real estate development, I saw the growing tech sector in Israel as an opportunity to help support the country while offering my growing U.S. network of investors real opportunities for top Israel investments.

I joined an amazing company called OurCrowd, which was focusing a great deal of talent and know-how in choosing the right startups to invest in. As we have experienced extraordinary exits, my network of investors, including back in Detroit, has grown significantly. It gives me a great excuse to come back to Detroit often and see my family and friends.

I am also very passionate about the Kids Kicking Cancer program in Israel, where I sit on the board. My dad started KKC in Detroit a number of

years after my sister passed away. We have a strong program in 12 Israel hospitals but have also supplied our martial arts therapy to young trauma victims all over the country.

Q: What do you miss about living in Detroit?

MG: I miss my family. I also miss getting to see the Pistons, Lions, Tigers and Red Wings live. And Jerusalem Pizza, and not in that order.

Q: Do you have a message for anyone who is reading this in the Detroit area?

MG: Many people are challenged going a bit out of the culture that they are used to. However, when it comes to Israel, you don’t need a strong Hebrew or religious background to quickly feel enveloped by the country of the Jewish people. I love Detroit, but I know that in Israel, I am really home.

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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MAZEL TOV!

HERE’S TO

MAY 18, 2021 Alex and Lilly (Epstein) Stotland of Birmingham are thrilled to announce the birth of their son, Donald Ezra Stotland. Proud big siblings are Nathan and Elise Stotland. Donald is the grandson of Marjory Winkleman Epstein of Bloomfield Hills, and Mark and Ida Stotland of Brooklyn, N.Y. He is named in loving memory of his beloved late grandfather Donald Epstein and is the great-grandson of the late Eugene and Elsie Epstein, the late Stanley and Peggy Winkelman, the late Joseph and Genya Kozak, and the late Joseph and Roslyn Stotland.

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.

As part of National Mortgage Brokers Day, United Wholesale Mortgage celebrated Jason Glass and other brokers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 21, 2021. Glass was one of the lucky winners of a raffle drawing and got to join Mat Ishbia and 12 other brokers on the podium to ring the closing bell.

Jewish Historical Society of Michigan announced that Michael Feldman has joined the organization as director of development. Over the last three years, JHSM has made significant strides in fulfilling its statewide mission, producing knowledge in its award-winning journal, delivering engaging programming, collaborating with other organizations, and becoming more visible in the community and beyond. Now, JHSM is in the early stages of establishing a Museum of Jewish Michigan.

Council Re|Sale in Berkley Seeks to Hire More Staff

Jewish Family Service Gets United Way Grant

Council Re|Sale, owned and operated

by National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan (NCJW|MI) since 1934, needs additional paid sales staff plus a merchandise donations coordinator.

The Berkley store, which is known for having high-end second-hand clothing, accessories, shoes, evening wear and home decor, has been impacted by the pandemic. Forced to close for several months, the store was able to reopen in July 2020 with strict protocols. However, like many businesses, Council Re|Sale has been impacted by workers forced to pivot their working lives because of the pandemic.

“We have part-time and full-time paid positions and the joy of working at Council Re|Sale is knowing that you are doing so much to help the community, because all proceeds benefit our important work for families, women and children in need,” explained Executive Director Susan Gertner.

“It’s exciting, too, because you never

Jewish Family Service has been awarded a grant from United Way for Southeast Michigan to support staffing in the agency’s family support services and behavioral health departments.

The grant is in keeping with United Way’s vision of a strong and connected safety net that promotes stability and health within a network of partner organizations and will allow JFS to continue providing the same level of support to those in the community requiring assistance with basic needs and mental health.

“That United Way for Southeast Michigan was the recipient of Jewish Family Service’s Community Partner of the Year award and makes this partnership all the more meaningful,” said Dini Peterson, chief program officer, JFS Family and Community Services.

“Their support allows us to maintain services to those most vulnerable in our community.”

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know what treasures will turn up, plus our customers are very loyal and become our friends.” NCJW|MI projects include the annual Back 2 School Store, Backpack Project for homeless children, blankets for foster children, Kosher Meals on Wheels, among others.

All items featured at Council Re|Sale are donated by generous community members. Anyone interested in working at Council Re|Sale should call (248) 548-6664. For more information about the store, visit www.councilresale.net.

SPIRIT

TORAH PORTION

A Dedicated Purpose in Life

W

hat is the essence of silence overcame the sanctuthe month of Elul, ary. The cantor stared at Velvel the 30-day period with disdain. The minute-long prior to the Days of Awe in staring match went on for what which, according to Chasidic seemed forever, with neither the philosophy, “The King is in the cantor (who it turns out was also Field,” when God is, as it a KGB agent) nor Velvel were, more accessible to giving an inch. Abruptly, us than throughout the Velvel screamed at the year? I believe that the cantor in Yiddish: “I am story of Velvel, a Soviet not afraid. You’ve already refusenik I met in Riga, taken everything that you Latvia, in the month of can take away from me!

Rabbi Shlomo Elul 5730 (1970), offers When I began to come to Riskin an answer to this quesshul and I lost my job as a Parshat tion. result, my wife left me and Shoftim: Due to my involveshe took the children with Deuteronomy ment on behalf of Soviet her. I have no job; I have 16:18=21:9; Jewry in the 1960s, I was no family. The only thing I Isaiah summoned to a meeting 51:12-52;12. have is my Jewish tradition. with the Lubavitcher The only thing I have is Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem this tallit. I am not afraid.”

Mendel Schneerson, of blessed The cantor resumed the memory. He asked me to be procession. Velvel had made a his shaliach (emissary) to estabprofound statement to everyone lish centers of Torah learning present: We have nothing in life in several cities in the Soviet except for God, His Torah and Union.

His commandments. Nothing On a Friday night in Riga, I else truly matters. met a gentleman named Velvel In Elul, time comes to remind in the city’s main synagogue. us of our true purpose on this During a conversation after din- earth, to live a life dedicated ner, Velvel told me with sincerity to God. A true life of holiness that there was nothing in the involves interacting with and world he wanted more than a relating to others. To live a life new tallit, since the one that he dedicated to God is to acknowlhad received when he was a bar edge that, ultimately, all we have mitzvah was in tatters. I gave is God. Everything else is transione to him discreetly, which tory and illusory. It is no wonder brought an ear-to-ear smile to that it is precisely during this his forlorn face. season that people are more As the cantor led the Torah prepared than usual to internalprocessional through the mostly ize this message. Perhaps this is empty sanctuary the next day, because, indeed, “The King is in Velvel drew near and lifted the Field.” Let us go out to greet the tzitzit (ritual fringes) of the Him. obviously new tallit to touch Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor them to the Torah scroll. of Ohr Torah Stone and chief rabbi of The cantor dramatically Efrat, Israel. stopped the procession. A frosty

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SPIRIT

A WORD OF TORAH

The Ecological Imperative I

n the course of setting out the laws of war, the Torah adds a seemingly minor detail that became the basis of a much wider field of human responsibility and is of major consequence today. The passage concerns a military campaign that involves laying siege to a city: “When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not Rabbi Lord destroy its trees by putting Jonathan an ax to them, because you Sacks can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build fortifications until the city at war with you falls.” (Deut.

20:19–20) War is, the Torah implies, inevitably destructive. That is why Judaism’s highest value is peace. Nonetheless, there is a difference between necessary and needless destruction. Trees are a source of wood for fortifications. But some trees, those that bear fruit, are also a source of food.

Therefore, do not destroy them. Do not needlessly deprive yourself and others of

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a productive resource. Do not engage in a “scorched earth” tactic.

The sages, though, saw in this command something more than a detail in the laws of war. They saw it as a binyan av, a specific example of a more general principle. They called this the rule of bal tashchit, the prohibition against needless destruction of any kind. This is how Maimonides summarizes it: “Not only does this apply to trees, but also whoever breaks vessels or tears garments, destroys a building, blocks a wellspring of water, or destructively wastes food, transgresses the command of bal tashchit.” This is the halachic basis of an ethic of ecological responsibility.

What determines whether a Biblical command is to be taken restrictively or expansively? Why did the sages take this seemingly minor law to build out a wide halachic field? What led the sages in the direction they took?

The simplest answer lies in the word “Torah.” It means law. But it also means teaching, instruction, direction, guidance.

The Torah is a lawbook like no other because it includes not only laws but also narratives, genealogies, history and song.

Law, as the Torah conceives it, is embedded

in a larger universe of meanings. Those meanings help us understand the context and purpose of any given law.

THE EARTH BELONGS TO GOD So it is here. First and foremost is the fact that the Earth is not ours. It belongs to its Creator, to God Himself. That is the point of the first chapter of the Torah: “In the beginning, God created …” He made it; therefore, He is entitled to lay down the conditions within which we live in it as His guests.

The logic of this is immediately played out in the story of the very first humans.

In Genesis 1, God commands humanity: “Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28). “Subdue” and “rule” are verbs of dominance.

In Genesis 2, however, the text uses two quite different verbs. God placed the first man in the Garden “to serve it [le’ovdah] and guard it [leshomrah]” (Gen. 2:15). These belong to the language of responsibility. The first term, le’ovdah, tells us that humanity is not just the master but also the servant of nature. The second,

leshomrah, is the term used in later biblical legislation to specify the responsibilities of one who undertakes to guard something that is not their own.

How are we to understand this tension between the two opening chapters? Quite simply: Genesis 1 tells us about creation and nature, the reality mapped by the natural sciences. It speaks about humanity as the biological species, homo sapiens. What is distinctive about humans as a species is precisely our godlike powers of dominating nature and exercising control of the forces that shape the physical world.

This is a matter of fact, not value, and it has increased exponentially throughout the relatively short period of human civilization. As John F. Kennedy put it in his inaugural presidential address: “Man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” Power is morally neutral. It can be used to heal or wound, build or destroy.

Genesis 2, by contrast, is about morality and responsibility. It tells us about the moral limits of power. Not everything we can do may we do. We have the power but not the permission; we have the ability but not the right. The Earth is not ours. It belongs to God who made it. Therefore, we are not the owners of nature but its custodians. We are here to serve it and care for it.

This explains the story that immediately follows, about Adam, Eve, the serpent and the forbidden fruit. What the fruit was, why the serpent spoke and what was the nature of the first sin — all these are secondary.

The primary point the Torah is making is that, even in paradise, there are limits.

There is forbidden fruit. Not everything we can do may we do.

A BAD TRACK RECORD Few moral principles have been forgotten more often and more disastrously. The record of human intervention in the natural order is marked by devastation on a massive scale. Within a thousand years, the first human inhabitants of America had traveled from the Arctic north to the southernmost tip of Patagonia, making their way through two continents and, on the way, destroying most of the large mammal species then extant, among them mammoths, mastodons, tapirs, camels, horses, lions, cheetahs and bears.

When the first British colonists arrived in

New Zealand in the early 19th century, bats were the only native land mammals they found. They discovered, however, traces of a large, ostrich-like bird the Maoris called “moa.” Eventually skeletons of a dozen species of this animal came to light, ranging from 3 to 10 feet high. The remains of some 28 other species have been found, among them flightless ducks, coots and geese together with pelicans, swans, ravens and eagles. Animals that have not had to face human predators before are easy game, and the Maoris must have found them a relatively effortless source of food.

A similar pattern can be traced almost everywhere human beings have set foot.

They have consistently been more mindful of the ability to “subdue” and “rule” than of the responsibility to “serve” and “guard.”

An ancient Midrash sums this up, in a way that deeply resonates with contemporary ecological awareness: When God made Adam, He showed him the panoply of creation and said to him: “See all My works, how beautiful they are. All I have made, I have made for you. Take care, therefore, that you do not destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one left to mend what you have destroyed.”

OBLIGATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT Environmental responsibility seems to be one of the principles underlying the three great commands of periodic rest: Shabbat, the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year. On Shabbat all agricultural work is forbidden, “so that your ox and your donkey may rest” (Ex. 23:12). It sets a limit to our intervention in nature and the pursuit of economic growth. We remind ourselves that we are creations, not just creators.

For six days the earth is handed over to us and our labors, but on the seventh we may perform no “work,” namely, any act that alters the state of something for human purposes. Shabbat is thus a weekly reminder of the integrity of nature and the limits of human striving.

What Shabbat does for humans and animals, the Sabbatical and Jubilee years do for the land. The Earth, too, is entitled to its periodic rest. The Torah warns that if the Israelites do not respect this, they will suffer exile: “Then shall the land make up for its Sabbatical years throughout the time that it is desolate, and you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land rest and make up for its Sabbath years” (Lev. 26:34).

Behind this are two concerns. One is environmental. As Maimonides points out, land which is overexploited eventually erodes and loses its fertility. The Israelites were therefore commanded to conserve the soil by giving it periodic fallow years, not pursuing short-term gain at the cost of long-term desolation. The second, no less significant, is theological: “The land,” says God, “is Mine; you are but strangers and temporary residents with Me” (Lev. 25:23).

We are guests on earth.

Another set of commands is directed against over-interference with nature. The Torah forbids crossbreeding livestock, planting a field with mixed seeds, and wearing a garment of mixed wool and linen. These rules are called chukim or “statutes.”

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (Germany, 1808–1888) in the 19th century, like Nachmanides six centuries earlier, understood chukim to be laws that respect the integrity of nature. They represent the principle that “the same regard which you show to man you must also demonstrate to every lower creature, to the earth which bears and sustains all, and to the world of plants and animals.” They are a kind of social justice applied to the natural world: “They ask you to regard all living things as God’s property. Destroy none; abuse none; waste nothing; employ all things wisely …

Look upon all creatures as servants in the household of creation.”

So, it was no accident that Jewish law interpreted the prohibition against cutting down fruit-bearing trees in the course of war as an instance of a more general prohibition against needless destruction, and more generally still, against acts that deplete Earth’s non-renewable resources, or damage the ecosystem, or lead to the extinction of species.

That is why a religious vision is so important, reminding us that we are not owners of our resources. They belong not to us but to the Eternal and eternity. Hence, we may not needlessly destroy. If that applies even in war, how much more so in times of peace. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” (Psalms 24:1). We are its guardians, on behalf of its Creator, for the sake of future generations.

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, 1991-2013.

AUGUST 12 • 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.

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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ARTS&LIFE EXHIBIT

Anne Frank’s Polish Counterpart HMC exhibit documents the faith and fate of an Orthodox girl from the Lodz Ghetto.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A

lmost 70 years after Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was first published, The Diary of Rywka Lipszyc appeared on bookshelves to reveal the tragic experiences of yet another teenager descending into conditions forced by the Holocaust.

While Anne Frank writes about an Amsterdam family in hiding together, Rywka (pronounced Rivka) Lipszyc writes about the separation of her Polish family as she grapples with the devastation experienced during confinement in the Lodz Ghetto before being moved into the camps.

The information presented in the Lipszyc journal, found in Auschwitz and published by San Francisco’s JFCS (Jewish Family and Children’s Services) Holocaust Center in partnership with Lehrhaus Judaica, has been supplemented through an exhibition developed by the Galicia

Details

“The Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto” will be on display through Dec. 30 at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills. Free with admission ($5-$8).

Derek Hastings will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1. $10 Nonmembers.

(248) 553-2400. holocaustcenter.org.

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AUGUST 12 • 2021

Jewish Museum in Krakow, Poland: “The Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto.”

Traveling the United States, the exhibition will be on display through Dec. 30 at the Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) in Farmington Hills, where visitors will view translated text, commentaries, associated artifacts and ghetto photographs taken in secret and including images of girls close in age to Rywka.

To expand on the diary contents and the ghetto environment, there will be a talk Wednesday, Sept. 1, by Derek Hastings, Oakland University associate professor of history.

LOVE OF JUDAISM “The exhibit offers the perspective of an Orthodox girl whose devotion to God and faith is very visible throughout the entire diary,” said Jakub Nowakowski, director of the Galicia Jewish Museum and exhibit curator working with a team. “Although Rywka lost her siblings and parents, she still said she was thankful for being Jewish.

“The diary shows that the longing of Rywka and many others was for Palestine, for a new home. There are lots we can take out from her story in her writing

about hunger, fear and hope. What’s so helpful about her perspective is that it’s about daily living and the daily difficulties she faced.”

Expert commentary explains and contextualizes parts of the diary. For instance, diary sections about hunger and starvation are joined with descriptions of ghetto conditions, food rations and prohibitions against holiday celebrations. Rabbis, historians, psychologists, doctors — all women — provide the additional information.

“Rywka was Orthodox, and her diary describes spending time among girlfriends and women,” Nowakowski said.

“There are no men other than her brothers and father in the text. Because we wanted to honor this very special environment, all the other voices in this exhibition are from women.

“There are sensitivities in her diary that are missing in the texts created by men, who are focusing on politics and the situation. Entries coming from men are more precise in terms of numbers and information.

Rywka notes her feelings and

A page from Rywka Lipszyc’s diary. The exhibit will feature reproductions, enlargements and translated sections of Rywka’s diary.

emotions, which are missing in the diaries created by men.”

LODZ GHETTO ARTIFACTS Artifacts on display, assembled from the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., include personal items of those in the ghetto, such as children’s shoes made in a Lodz workshop, as well as newspapers and maps.

The traveling exhibit is supplemented by materials supplied by local Lodz Ghetto survivors.

An anonymous donor provided German sewing needles used by Jews making textiles and leather goods for Germans in ghetto workshops. A Polish family photo album was donated by the late Miriam Zack Garvil, who resettled in Ann Arbor.

“We always try to bring a Michigan element into our

SOCIETY L MPORARY HISTORICA WAR AND CONTE R FO E N TR MA, CEN CUMENTATION O CEGESO AND DO RESEARCH

PHOTOS COURTESY HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER

List of BergenBelsen Concentration Camp inmates liberated by the British army. Rywka Lipszyc is on the list.

Emaciated and ill, she likely died soon after liberation.

space where we are allowed so we can focus on survivors who ended up in Michigan,” said Mark Mulder, HMC manager of curatorial affairs who partnered with the Special Events Department to choose the exhibit.

“I am a great admirer of the Galicia Jewish Museum, so I was familiar with this exhibit. I saw it on the web from there and also from Milwaukee. It’s a perspective that we don’t see as often, specifically that of a religiously observant young woman, and I appreciate the interpretation of women to keep that perspective. That’s a powerful and unique approach to Holocaust storytelling.”

Numerous text panels give detailed outlines of the significance of the ghetto, the significance of what happened to Rywka and interviews with her cousins who are still alive. The documentation goes to the last-known reference of Rywka and the paper trail relatives followed for her.

“The most heart-wrenching part is the story of her cousins,” Mulder said. “They assumed she had passed until research on her began in earnest relatively recently, and there’s a very profound emotional impact.”

Hastings, whose talk also will be available digitally, will cover the historical background and context of the Lodz Ghetto, everyday life in the ghetto and the broader historical significance of central themes raised in the diary.

“I have read Rykwa’s diary multiple times and read extensively about the exhibition,” said Hastings, a frequent HMC speaker who teaches courses on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust in addition to writing two books: Catholicism and the Roots of Nazism and Nationalism in Modern Europe.

“My presentation will strive to provide broader historical contextualization,” Hastings said.

“Hopefully, that will deepen and enrich attendees’ understanding of Rykwa’s experiences.”

TOP TO BOTTOM: Baby shoes manufactured at a sewing workshop in the Lodz Ghetto. A thimble found on the site of the Kulmhof (Chelmo) Death Camp. An emblem from a sewing workshop in the Lodz Ghetto.

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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ARTS&LIFE ART

Creative Therapy RINA HENNES SABES

Meet Samm, a certified Zentangle teacher.

I

f you’ve never heard of Zentangle — the relatively new art movement of purposeful doodling until one reaches a Zen-like state — you’re not alone.

But Oak Park’s Samm Wunderlich is an expert on it.

She discovered it by chance.

Wunderlich grew up in Pleasant Ridge, attended Ferndale Public Schools and graduated from Central Michigan with an undergrad in psychology and recreation therapy, something, Wunderlich said, most people haven’t even heard of. She belongs to Young Israel of Oak Park.

As a recreation therapist, Wunderlich worked with people who’ve had traumatic brain injuries, helping them reintegrate into the community through their personal interests.

“I specialize in cognitive skill retraining, such as social skills. I’d take clients to community settings where they needed to interact with the world, and I’d coach them through the steps needed for the interaction,” Wunderlich explained.

In 2011, Wunderlich was working at Havenwyck Hospital in Auburn Hills.

One of the tools the staff informally used was a how-to book on Zentangle.

Wunderlich found the concept fascinating and often flipped through the book herself. Intrigued, she looked up more

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information and found there were classes for anyone who wanted to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT).

Wunderlich immediately signed up. She discovered Zentangle had been invented in 2008 by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts, a husband-and-wife team in Massachusetts.

Roberts noticed that when Thomas, a calligraphy artist, inked her patterns or embellishments, it was hard to get her attention.

Thomas was able to break down what she was doing into easy-to-follow steps for Roberts. Soon some of their friends and neighbors got in on the meditative fun, and the Zentangle Method was born.

ANYONE CAN CREATE According to Wunderlich, it’s simple; anyone can do it. She’d been prepared to adapt the Zentangle Method for people with lower cognitive abilities and motor skills but found she didn’t have to.

“It’s just repetitive geometric abstract swirls and patterns. Really, anything repetitive and deliberate can be relaxing … It might look like doodling, but we don’t like that term, because there’s a negative connotation; it makes it sound absent-minded, which is the opposite of the Zentangle Method,” Wunderlich said.

Wunderlich began using the Zentangle Method more pointedly with her clients

Samm Wunderlich

and word quickly spread. She later had a following in a Ferndale art studio and has been giving private art classes out of her home, stopping periodically when she got married to her husband, David Faust, in 2019 and during the pandemic.

Supplies are portable so she’s also run Zentangle workshops at bat mitzvah parties, birthday parties, in various dining rooms, and even corporate events, as well as classes at nursing homes and independent living facilities. She’s had between one and 150 people doing Zentangle at once.

In 2018, Wunderlich went back to college to get a research degree and ended up with a master’s in program evaluation.

“I went from one field no one heard of to another!” Wunderlich laughed. She works with programs and organizations, usually nonprofits, many of which are funded by grants to help figure out if what they’re doing is working and how continued on page 42

AUGUST 12 • 2021

JESSICA BELICKA

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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ARTS&LIFE CELEBRITY NEWS

RESPECT, AN ISRAELI THRILLER AND MORE Respect, a bio-pic about the late Aretha Franklin, opens in theaters Aug. 13.

Aretha, of course, grew up in Detroit. After living in New York and Los Angeles, she returned to the Detroitarea in 1982 and lived in the area (Bloomfield Hills and Riverfront Towers in Detroit) until her death in 2018, age 76.

Marc Maron, 57, has a large supporting role as Jerry Wexler (1917-2008), a legendary producer and record company executive (Atlantic Records) who made Franklin a star after she signed with his company in 1966.

Marc Maron

It appears that the film does not go past the 1970s.

By 1980, Franklin’s career was in a slump, and it was revived with the help of Clive Davis, now 89, the (Jewish) head of Arista Records. Both Wexler and Davis are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as is Aretha, of course).

Aretha’s huge hit, “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” (1967), is sung in the film. The music is by Carole King, now 79. The lyrics

WIKIPEDIA

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

were by her first husband, Gerry Goffin (1939-2014). It has always intrigued me that a man wrote the “Natural Woman” lyrics.

The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills will begin showing the film on a “regular” schedule Aug. 13. But, on Aug. 12, they will host a oneday “special” with a Q&A following the film with Jennifer Hudson (Aretha Franklin), Marlon Wayans (Ted White) and Liesl Tommy (director) and a moderator, broadcast live from Harlem via Fathom network.

Hit & Run is the first Israeli series created for Netflix. All the actors, except one American, are Israeli and Jewish. The nine-episode series follows a tour guide (Lior Raz, 49) investigating the mysterious death of his wife. It began streaming Aug. 6.

Jonah Hill, 37, who already has several tattoos, just got a big tattoo that says “Body Love.” Hill, who is often quite portly, has experienced a lot of “body shaming” and his tattoo is a “body-positive” push-back against such shaming. He posted pics (Aug. 1) of his body art on Instagram. Actresses Zoe Kravitz, 32, and Natasha Lyonne, 42, tweeted support.

The Instagram tattoo pics also reveal that he has also dyed his hair very blonde. I’d call it California surfer blond.

He’s also dyed his full beard and mustache the same color (that’s not easy to do).

Not sure what that dye job is all about. Maybe he’s planning an anti-body shaming, everybody-goes-to-thebeach movie? The beach, we all know, is ground zero for body shaming.

they’re really making a difference in people’s lives.

“Basically, I went from working one-on-one to help change lives, to working with organizations who help change lives,” Wunderlich said.

Beyond working and teaching Zentangle classes, Wunderlich also has a background in music — she plays the oboe and English horn and has been part of the Detroit Medical Orchestra since 2014. She’s also dabbled in painting, jewelry making, metal stamping and candle making. She often uses her interests interchangeably, bringing a therapeutic approach to everything she does.

COLLAGING THERAPY “Anyone can benefit from intentional wellness intervention,” said Wunderlich, who has even been trained as a SoulCollage Facilitator, yet another out-of-

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the-box therapeutic method.

In the collaging process, a person creates cards with images that speak to them. They then decide what message, if any, the picture is giving to them. They label them, for example, “inner child” or “inner critic.” People can ask their different cards questions or about dilemmas they’re facing and answer with the voice of the card.

“You’re basically giving voice to a particular perspective within yourself,” Wunderlich explained. “The process can also help channel memories. If a person chooses, it can be a very self-reflective exercise.”

The greatest barrier Wunderlich says that she comes across is when people balk and complain, “I can’t do that, I’m not creative.” That makes her frustrated and sad.

She responds: “I can prove you

RINA HENNES SABES

CREATIVE THERAPY continued from page 40

Zectangles are the art of “purposeful doodling.”

wrong in 30 minutes.”

And she does. Wunderlich explained, “To be human is to be creative. We’ve created a mentality that creative means talented, but it’s not accurate.

Being creative is being willing to take risks … and if someone is afraid to take risks with a pen on a 3x3 inch piece of paper that no one has to

see again, how do we expect people to take risks when it does matter like in science or engineering?”

For more information on Zentangle, visit the official Zentangle website at zentangle.com, or Wunderlich’s website: wunderrec.com. Wunderlich can be contacted via email at samm@ wunderrec.com or (248) 629-0002.

ON THE GO

PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS

BACKYARD SHABBAT 4-7 PM, AUG. 13 Join Detroit City Moishe House and The Well for a backyard Shabbat service and dinner for young adults.

Welcome Shabbat with a short service and Jewish learning led by Rabbi Jeff and then dive into a vegetarian catered Shabbat dinner. Nosh, schmooze and celebrate together and then finish off the night with s’mores and songs by the fire — the best parts of a summer Shabbat evening.

Due to the generosity of donors, the event is free, but advance registration is required: meetyouatthewell. org/calendar/ backyardshabbat.

DSO CONCERT 8-10 PM, AUG. 13 Join live and on-demand for a digital concert featuring Lizz Wright. The acclaimed vocalist presents her unique blend of jazz, gospel, R&B and folk music. Cost: $12.

The content will be available for on-demand viewing for two weeks following the livestream event. Info: 313576-5111 from 11 am-5 pm Mon-Fri. TOT SHABBAT 10-11AM, AUG. 14 The Well invites you to Franklin Park, 26495 Carol Ave., Franklin. Shabbat songs, dances and stories, led by Rabbi Jeff, Keith and

Marni. To create an environment that is safe and comfortable for all, this free event will be limited to 20 families (it’s a big park where we can all spread out). Bring your own blanket to sit on.

Snack and craft bags will be provided. As our littlest kiddos have yet to be vaccinated for COVID-19, we ask that all participants (who are old enough to do so) wear a mask until safely seated on their blankets. Once your family is in your own area, masks may be removed.

Info: contact Family Educator Marni Katz at marni@ meetyouatthewell.org.

YOGA + LIVE MUSIC 7-8 PM, AUG. 17 Practice yoga outdoors to live music performed by DSO ensembles. A Detroit Yoga Lab certified instructor leads a limited-capacity socially distant group yoga session in the DSO’s Sosnick Courtyard open to all skill levels.

Experience the bliss of warm summer air, and the sense of community that comes from safely enjoying live music and yoga with others. Please follow health and safety protocols. The DSO is following all current recommendations by the state of Michigan for masks. Visit dso.org/ safetyplan for more information. Tickets: $20

and Arnie Zane (both partners at the time) felt as they were embattled by the AIDS epidemic. Cost $12. Visit dia. org/events. (Closed captions available; 90 min.)

BE IN STYLE 11 AM, AUG. 18 Hadassah Greater Detroit invites you to a virtual Wellness Wednesday program, “The Colors and Styles for Fall” with Terri Cooper of Village Boutique. Register by Aug. 16, hadassahmidwest. org/GDWW2021. There is a $10 event fee. Info: contact greater detroit@hadassah. org or call 248-683-5030.

DFT AT HOME THROUGH AUG. 21 “Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters.” The creative process that culminated in choreographer, dancer and director Bill T. Jones’ tour de force ballet, D-Man in the Waters, one of the most important and influential works of art to come out of the AIDS crisis, is brought to life in this extraordinary new documentary. In 1989, D-Man in the Waters gave physical manifestation to the fear, anger, grief and hope for salvation that Bill T. Jones

SHALOM SHABBAT 10:30 AM-NOON, AUG. 21 At Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills. Hazzan Dan, Rabbi Dan and Rabbi Nosanwisch, director of spiritual care, lead us in a fun and musical Shabbat celebration outdoors. This special morning is geared to families and their children entering up to 4th grade. Advanced registration is required. Space is limited to 100 attendees (all adults and kids need to have a ticket). We will follow current CDC guidelines for masks and social distancing.

Restrooms will be available; masks are required for entering the building.

JET SEASON OPENS 8 PM, AUG. 27 JET opens its 31st season Aug. 27-29 with Grease performed under the stars at the Walled Lake Farmers’ Market.

The show starts at 8 pm Aug. 27 and 28, and at 7 pm Aug. 29. Adult beverages will be available for purchase at the show, which is appropriate for ages 13 and up. Tickets are $49 for reserved seating, $20 for adult general admission, $16 for students, 10 and under are free. Subscriptions are $225, and 2020 subscribers will have their tickets applied. Call 248-788-2900 for more information.

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

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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business SPOTlight

BIRMIN GH A M

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NANO MAGIC

brought to you in partnership with

Building a Household Name Father-and-son duo want to take Nano Magic global.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

A

Jewish son and father, born and raised in Metro Detroit, have reinvigorated a once-struggling

business.

Tom Berman and his father, Ron Berman, are breathing new life into Nano Magic, which specializes in nanotechnology-powered solutions with a focus on liquid industrial and consumer products to apply to surfaces such as glass, porcelain and ceramic.

Tom Berman, Nano Magic’s president and CEO, is an attorney by trade who also served a term as an Oakland County commissioner. Ron Berman helped start Rock Financial with business mogul Dan Gilbert in 1985 and has decades of business experience in Metro Detroit.

here’s to Dr. Joel M. Cohen, Ph.D., recently retired from Oakland Community College after 52 years of teaching Introduction to Psychology, Psychology of Organizational Behavior, Child Development, Abnormal Psychology and Marriage and Family in Modern Society.

He graduated from Wayne State University in 1960 with a B.S. in psy-

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Nano Magic was originally two different companies that merged, one based in Cleveland, NanoFilm Ltd., and one based in Austin, Texas, Applied Nanotech Inc. The merger occurred in 2014, and through 2018, they were never able to integrate well. On top of that, the business was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Ron Berman was on the board of directors of Applied Nanotech Inc. and survived the merger. He remained on the board but would just be on quarterly board calls. It wasn’t until the summer of 2018 that he heard about the challenges the company was experiencing, and he was surprised to hear it. At that time, he saw an opportunity to help turn around a once-strong company.

chology, M.A. in psychology in 1962 and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1965.

Dr. Cohen has helped thousands of students graduate over the past five decades. He does not seek accolades as he is very modest. He is well respected and loved by many of his students.

Dr. Cohen has been a licensed practicing psychologist since 1965, specializing in treating children, adolescents and families. He is a certified gambling counselor and

“My dad actually approached me,” Tom Berman said. “I had just left a company I helped build and grow, and it was fun to help parent their child, but it was time for me to start my own thing. I was working on a startup at the time, and my dad, knowing that, asked me if I would be interested in partnering with him in helping turn around this venture.”

The company was in rough shape and had significant debt, but seeing a diamond in the rough, they decided to take a stab at it.

“We put in some of our own personal money, we raised a few dollars from some family and friends and initial investors, and we negotiated an offering with the then-majority owner of the business to issue new stock and give us operational and financial control of the company,” Tom Berman said.

He said they’ve faced a lot of challenges The warehouse in but have clawed their way out of Heights the grave.

Madison Nano Magic is now debt-free, according to Tom, helped by fundraising as well as the coronavirus pandemic leading more consumers to purchase cleaning and anti-fog products.

“We’ve made significant progress, we’ve continued to have a few fundraising rounds and we have a lot of support and great investors, the majority of them from the Detroit Metro area, many of them Jewish,” Tom said.

MOVING TO THE MOTOR CITY After taking control, the Bermans felt they needed to move the company to Detroit

licensed family and marriage counselor with an approach which is both pragmatic and interpersonal. His practice helps many individuals who are struggling with both work and family stress.

Joel has been married to Betsy Cohen for 60 years and has a proud son, Matthew Cohen; daughter, Leslie Chudnow; and he is the proud grandfather of five amazing grandchildren, Jacob, Zachary, Nathan, Josh and Stefani.

to take the company to the next level.

“Not just out of convenience, but we really believed in the talent pool, the resources the region provides in supply chain and other partnership opportunities,” Tom said.

Nano Magic in fall 2020 moved its operations Ron and Tom Berman from Ohio to Madison Heights, taking space in a we’re supporting charities and 30,000-square-foot facility. other initiatives aligned with Tom said an important our mission and meaningful strategic initiative was to help to our team. We’re going to be support this region in the hirdoing a lot on that front, and I ing process, and getting to do think those things really set us it in Metro Detroit, a place he apart from our competition.” was born and raised, means Nano Magic products, that much more.

Nano Magic is doing a lot including eyeglass cleaner, defogging products and on the social impact front, nano-coated products for glass developing a “Buy an Ounce, and ceramics, can be found in Give an Ounce” philosophy, Walgreens and Lowe’s stores similar to TOMS Shoes. across the country, along with “Everything we do here you NanoMagic.com, Amazon can measure in ounces, and

Marketplace, Walmart Marketplace, Lowes.com, Homedepot.com and more.

“Without disclosing confidential information, you will see us in more to come,” Tom said. “We’ve hired 40 people in the last few months. We’re growing, doing some pretty cool things and really developing the Nano Magic brand identity.”

Ron Berman, who lives in Florida but has traveled to Michigan every other week for the past eight months, serves as the senior vice president of sales and marketing along with being a board member. The elder Berman is not certain this venture could have turned around without his son at the helm.

“I told the board I’m not going to put any more money in this company, and I’m not going to get anyone else to put

money into it unless two things happen: I get control of the company and I get somebody who can manage it,” Ron said.

“And that’s when I realized what Tom had accomplished and that he had the full skillset necessary to be the quarterback for this venture, and so far it’s proving to be true.”

With expected millions of Americans using Nano Magic products this year and with distribution in 92 countries already, the Berman fatherand-son duo have big goals.

“To build something locally, and I think I can go anywhere in the United States a few years from now and everyone will know who we are, to build not a national but international and global brand, that’s our goal,” Ron said.

“To think this company out of Detroit all of a sudden can be a household name — it’s exciting, it’s motivating.”

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AUGUST 12 • 2021

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HEALTH Dr. Ziv Yekutieli

There’s An App for That MONTFORT

Israeli company aims to help mental health patients with new technology.

AMIR SHOAM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

M

illions of mental health sufferers struggle with the impression that no one else knows exactly how they feel. A new Israeli partnership with a Detroit connection seeks to change things.

Ziv Yekutieli, Ph.D., studied both electrical engineering and medicine at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and Tel Aviv University and worked at Intel, where he was hoping he could develop chips to be implanted in the brains of disabled people and stroke survivors.

Once he had realized that was not the case, he and his friend Dima Gershman left the company and founded Montfort (Mon4t) in 2017.

Talking to doctors, Yekutieli realized that they did not need new technology,

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but ways to use existing technology more efficiently.

“The patient isn’t in the clinic 99.9% of the time,” Yekutieli said. “With diabetes or cardiovascular or lung diseases, it doesn’t matter when you catch the person. In neurology, it’s an entirely different world.

Things greatly vary day to day, moment to moment.”

Mon4t’s first proof of concept was a home version of a common test for Parkinson’s patients. In 2018, the company won the Henry Ford Health System’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge. Professor Peter LeWitt, the director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Program at the hospital, has since become

an adviser to the company, and recently, its chief medical officer.

Detroit was also the first U.S. city that Yekutieli had visited, as part of an American Technion Society delegation.

“In neurology, you don’t put a thermometer into the patient’s mouth and get a temperature,” Yekutieli said.

“We quickly realized that if we wanted to make something holistic and agile, for a

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neurologist who could see a patient with disease A today and disease B tomorrow, we couldn’t develop a separate app for every test. Eventually we developed an app that’s like a media player for tests instead of songs.”

Once a doctor anonymously registers the patient using one version of the app, the patient receives a link to a compact and custom version with reminders when to perform the tests. The app is also able to passively collect data such as the patient’s walking rate and number of steps.

PSYCHIATRIC UTILITY Mon4t’s app is already FDA-approved for patients with motor and cognitive impairments, and now the company is moving into the psychiatric domain. For that, the company has partnered with Professor Abraham Peled, a department chair at the Shaar Menashe mental health center and one of the first in the world to use mathematical models of psychiatric psychopathology in his post-doctoral research on neural networks.

“With this app, the doctor performs the usual diagnosis because it’s important to me that it will be an evolution, not a revolution compared to what we know,” Peled said.

“Simultaneously, the patient reports on his own condition.

Now, we also have a subjectiveobjective platform that samples the patient’s motor ability and unrest, his speech and, in the future, his ability to communicate with others.

Each validates the other.

“In recent years, we’ve known that psychosis, the most extreme part of

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psychiatric illness, is related to disconnection syndrome in the cerebral cortex. With this platform, you can predict that the patient will be diagnosed with it before seeing that in MRI. In the future, it can be the basis for pacemakers in the brain.”

All that data is attached to physiological data from the clinic. The name Mon4t comes from the monitoring of four dimensions — motor, cognitive, affective and physiological — over time.

Peled often says that if you let 10 psychiatrists diagnose the same patient and five of them were in agreement, it would be an impressive achievement.

“In medicine, the diagnosis system is etiological — the name of the disease is also its cause. In psychiatry, the system is descriptive,” Peled said. “When the patient says, ‘I feel depressed,’ and the doctor says, ‘You have depression,’ the patient thinks, ‘I’ve just told you that!’ If you tell a doctor that your stomach hurts, you won’t be satisfied if he says, ‘You have a stomach ache.’

“In the long term, the platform will let a doctor provide a translator that tells the patient what’s wrong with him. It can trigger some kind of a revolution in the rephrasing and discovery of diseases. I think Mon4t will catalyze it.”

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OF BLESSED MEMORY

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AUGUAT 12 • 2021 AUGUST 12 • 2021

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CHARLENE COLBERT, 96, of West Bloomfield, died Aug. 2, 2021.

She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Alan Colbert, Jeffrey and Debbie Colbert, and Gregory and Nicole Colbert; grandchildren, Lauren and Nicolas Seaver, Andrew Colbert and his fiancee, Margaret Smith, Eliana Colbert, Noah Colbert and Max Colbert; great-grandchildren, Brooke and Clayton Seaver.

Mrs. Colbert was the beloved wife of the late Norman Colbert.

Interment was at Hillside Memorial in California. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

HAROLD ALAN FOLKOFF, 69, of Southfield, died Aug. 1, 2021.

He spent his life working and participating in the Metro Detroit Jewish community. He was fiercely independent and an articulate advocate for the rights of individuals with disabilities.

Mr. Folkoff is survived by his brothers and sisters-in-law, Jerome and Judith Fields of Pikesville, Md., and Laurence and Linda Folkoff of West Bloomfield; adoring aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

He was the beloved son of the late Sara and the late Rubin Folkoff; fiance of the late Denise Anderson.

Interment took place at Beth Tefilo Emanuel Cemetery in Ferndale.

Contributions may be made to the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit, Yachad Inclusion Program, Avodah Young Adult Program at Camp Tamarack or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

ELEANOR GOREN, 91, of Southfield, died July 31, 2021.

She is survived by her daughters and sons-inlaw, Karen and Dr. Gary Fanton, and Lesley and Dr. Barry

Gimbel; grandchildren, Daniel and Jamie Fanton, Sara and Jason Weiser, Darren and Andrea Fanton, Adam Fanton, Justin Evan Gimbel, Dr. Brandon and Dr. Devon Gimbel, and Dr. Harrison and Dr. Priya Gimbel; great-grandchildren, Caylin and Emerson Fanton, Zoe and Riley Weiser, Dean and Devon Fanton, Avi and Zahava Gimbel, and Winston Gimbel; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jean and Jeffrey Clemes; many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Mrs. Goren was the beloved wife for 62 years of the late Frederick Goren; the loving sister of the late Manuel and the late Margaret Spinner, and the late David Spinner; the dear sister-in-law of the late Irwin and the late Donna Goren, the late Gerald Goren, and the late Mildred and the late Edward Rosenbaum.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

DR. MILTON GREEN, 90, of San Diego, Calif., formerly of Detroit, died on July 30, 2021.

Milt grew up in Detroit and occasionally snuck out of the house to play ball with his friends while his parents thought he was doing homework. These rare acts of rebellion did not hinder his academic achievements, however, and he graduated at the top of his University of Michigan medical school class at the age of 24.

Immediately after graduation, he began service as a captain in the Army, spending two years as a physician

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OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 49

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OBITUARIES

on the Fort Riley, Kan., base.

He enjoyed a lengthy career as a highly respected orthopedic surgeon, involved not only in patient care but also in the training of rising physicians. It is no coincidence that the course he most enjoyed teaching was medical ethics: His personal moral code served as a shining example to his colleagues, friends and family.

While vacationing with his family in South Haven after his freshman year at U of M, Milt met 16-year-old Sally Garfinkle. The two were immediately smitten, and their summer romance blossomed into a 68-year marriage that produced four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

They forged deep and lasting friendships with other couples and always had a busy social calendar; but first and foremost, Milt was a family man. He never missed a grandchild’s graduation and once flew 1,140 miles to attend two graduations in two states in a single day.

After his retirement, Milt and Sally spent winters in Lake Worth, Fla., where he played endless rounds of golf, became a valued member of the Wycliffe Photography Club, learned to expertly frame his own photographs, attended frequent current events lectures at a local university and enjoyed a nightly glass of scotch on his patio. After a brief move back to Michigan, he decided he needed a new adventure and, at the age of 89, moved to San Diego to be near more family. Never one to sit still, he was, a week before his death, still participating in a daily New York Times mini-crossword competition with his kids and was looking into learning how to roast coffee. He was a

superior man, and he will be missed.

He was the beloved husband of Sally Garfinkle Green; dear father of Jonathan (Nancy) Green, Amy (Mitchell) Robins, Dr. Daniel (Dr. Ulrika Birgersdotter) Green, and Dr. Nancy (Martin) Schreiber; adored grandfather of Daniel (Allison) Stocker, Andrew (Dr. Sarah Eid) Green, Alexander (Melanie) Robins, the late Sean Robins, Emily (Seth) Brody, Dr. Erik (Dr. Betsy Bateman) Green, Anna (Sam Ridge) Green, and Nils Green; proud great-grandfather of Madeleine Robins, Benjamin Stocker, Samuel Stocker, Oliver Brody and Lily Brody; cherished son of the late Dr. Lewis and the late Rose Green; dear brother of the late Beth (Dr. Robert) Ruskin; beloved brother-inlaw of Ron (Jill) Garfinkle.

Milt will also be sorely missed by his many loving nieces and nephews.

A private graveside service was held at El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego.

JERRY C. GREENBERG, 86, of West Bloomfield, died Aug. 2, 2021.

A native c. 1954 Detroiter, he attended Central High School and won several basketball championships.

He was recruited to play basketball at Wayne State University in 1952, winning three varsity letters. After being invited by the legendary Red Auerbach, he played in the summer leagues in the Catskills with athletes like Wilt Chamberlain. He went on to play in the NCAA basketball tournament. He grad-

uated with a degree in health and physical education in 1956 and enjoyed many years of teaching and coaching.

In 2014, Jerry became a Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation Hall of Fame inductee.

Mr. Greenberg is survived by his sister, Gloria Krause; nephews and wives, Dr. Brian and Dr. Elizabeth Krause, and Dr. Craig and Tanya Krause.

Interment was at Hebrew Memorial Park, Radomer Section. Contributions may be made to Radomer Aid Society, c/o Sandra Tuttleman, 5834 Cherrywood, #2407, West Bloomfield, MI 48322.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

SUSAN HACK, 68, of Commerce Township, died Aug. 4, 2021.

She is survived by her sis-

ter, Judith Hack; many loving cousins, other family members and a world of friends.

Susan was the beloved daughter of the late Herman and Freida Hack.

Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia.

Contributions may be to the Michigan Humane Society or to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

SARA HOFF, 99, originally from Detroit, died painlessly in her sleep on Aug. 2, 2021.

She resided in Michigan for about 50 years before relocating to Delray Beach, Fla. She led an active life, enjoyed the company of many dear friends and loved her family.

Mrs. Hoff was predeceased by her loving husband,

Morrie, her son, Mark; her sister, Ethel; and her nieces, Marsha and Phyllis.

She is survived by two sons, Phillip and Steven; her devoted sister, Helen; her four grandchildren, Carla, Lisa, Chelsey and Zak; and three great-grandchildren, Dahlia, Callan and Siggy.

Sara will be greatly missed and remembered for the unique person she was.

ERNEST “ERNIE” SCHOENFELD, 87, of Merritt Island, Fla., died July 30, 2021.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Ellen Joy and Bryan Hochberg; grandchildren, Andrea and Marissa Hochberg; many loving cousins and friends.

Mr. Schoenfeld was the

devoted son of the late Alex and the late Molly Schoenfeld.

Interment was at Nusach Harie Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

JOSEPH S. WILDBERG, 76, of Wolverine, Mich., died July 31, 2021.

He believed deeply in duty, honor and integrity. He served his nation with honor in the Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He had a deep love for his country — both for the people and for the natural beauty.

Above all, Joe had great love and devotion for his family: his parents, his wife, his children and his grandchildren. continued on page 52

Serving each family.

Consoling each heart.

For 105 years.

AUGUST 12 • 2021

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OBITUARIES

Bookstore Owner Focused on Food

OF BLESSED MEMORY

JTA

Mr. Wildberg is survived by his wife, Dr. Carol Ellstein; daughter, Ellysen (Lance) Sager; stepdaughter, Melissa (Rabbi Daniel) Fellman; grandchildren. Alex and Nicolas Sager; Zachary, Jacob and Elizabeth Fellman.

Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 780, New York, NY 10008-0780, michaeljfox.org; American Legion, Dept. of Michigan, 212 N. Verlinden Ave., Suite A, Lansing, MI 48915, michiganlegion.org; Temple B’nai Israel of Petoskey, 505 Michigan St., Petoskey, MI 49770, templebnaiisraelofpetoskey.

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org; or Temple Jacob, 301 Front St., Hancock, MI 49930, templejacoboftheup@gmail. com. 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.

and drinking.”

Nach Waxman, owner of the As much as he loved studying beloved New York City cookTorah, Waxman was equally book store Kitchen Arts devoted to traditional & Letters, as well as a Jewish foods, especially maven of both Jewish shmaltz and liver, and cooking and Jewish texts, kept a collection of his has died. He was 84. own Jewish cookbooks Although Waxman in the back of his store. had struggled with his Joan Nathan, the health in later years, his Jewish food writer death on Aug. 4 was and author of multisudden, according to an ple Jewish cookbooks, Nach Waxman announcement by his said Waxman helped Upper East Side shop. her find Yemenite and “He built the store into a Sephardic cookbooks — often worldwide haven for peosynagogue and community ple who were serious about cookbooks from all over the food and drink books,” the United States — before those announcement read. “He styles of cooking became popuencouraged the best authors, lar among Ashkenazi cooks. respected the passion and curi“We clicked right away, and osity of cooks and readers at all clicked over brisket because levels, and never lost a sense of he really liked brisket,” said pleasure and wonder at discovNathan, who first became ering the myriad ways people friends with Waxman in the wrote about cooking, eating, 1980s.

JTA

continued from page 51

SPOTLIGHT Fellowship Offered for Educators of Jewish Teens

Ford Rouge Glass Plant

Albert Kahn Postage Stamp Is Proposed

T

he Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit based in Detroit, has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Postal Service to create a stamp in his honor to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Ford Rouge Glass Plant, widely recognized as one of the most superbly designed industrial structures of the 20th century.

Kahn was tapped by Henry Ford to design his massive Highland Park factory where the moving assembly line was introduced to manufacture the Model T. Then, Kahn was tapped to design Ford’s River Rouge factory complex, the largest manufacturing facility in the world. Kahn’s streamlined fac-

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tories featuring open, column-less spaces, glass walls and operable skylights not only revolutionized industrial design but also served as seminal inspirations for the Bauhaus modernist movement.

Kahn is commonly referred to as the “Father of Modern Industrial Design.” His designs and techniques were used by architects and engineers globally.

Kahn was born in Germany into a Jewish family in 1869. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1881 and died in 1942.

The foundation suggests that the stamp could be part of a series on great architects, successful immigrants or innovators.

The Jewish Education Project of New York City launched the Generate Fellowship, a free, yearlong professional development program, open to early career educators from across the country who work with teens in youth groups, synagogues, camps, JCCs and any other educational setting.

Fellows will learn about challenges teens are facing, explore tensions that arise in their roles as teen educators, while connecting with peers from across the country. They will receive ongoing mentorship from an experienced educator and study with leading thinkers in the field of teen education.

Additionally, fellows will be eligible to apply for grant funding toward a project that enhances teen engagement in their local communities.

The Generate Fellowship is supported by the Jim Joseph Foundation. Applications are due by Aug. 30.

For more information and an application, contact the Jewish Education Project’s Jodie Goldberg, director of the generate fellowship, at jgoldberg@ JewishEdProject.org.

Kadima Benefit Showcases Art

Kadima’s 2021 Frame of Mind Benefit and Arts Showcase will be held 2-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept.

19, at the Michigan Opera Theatre.

The event will feature a year’s worth of visual art Kadima members have created through the Creative Expressions Program. There will be several live performances including a drum circle and original songs performed by Kadima members alongside Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians.

For information, visit kadimacenter.org/ events/frame-of-mind.

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Looking Back

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

Remembering Danny

W

hen I began working with the Detroit Jewish News Foundation in 2012, I soon learned there was a legend in the house. This fellow was much like “Elvis,” the type of celebrity that needs no introduction. At the Jewish News, that person was “Danny.” And, the more I worked with the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History, I understood why Danny Raskin had earned and deserved his far-reaching reputation.

Mike Smith First, on sheer volume, Alene and Graham Landau Danny was a winner. His Archivist Chair name appears on more than 10,000 pages in the Davidson Archive. As he had a weekly column in every JN since the first issue on March 27, 1942, that is, of course, a distinct advantage.

Danny began writing for the JN when he was only 23 years old. World War II was raging and that was a primary topic for Danny. His poem in the Oct 23, 1942, issue of the JN, “When Hitler’s Goose is Cooked,” was widely read, but I thought his work in the Feb. 2, 1943, JN, was much more poignant. “To Master Sgt. Meyer Levin” is a poem about a bombardier on a combat flight.

It was dedicated to Sgt. Levin, who was unfortunately killed on a bombing mission.

After the war, Danny’s weekly “Listening Post” continued and was more popular than ever. As he transitioned from youth to young man to middle-age (I don’t think he ever became old, did he?), his column would relate news of people, places and events in Detroit’s Jewish community. One might say that, before the advent of digital social media, Danny was a “newsprint blogger” extraordinaire.

In 1964, Danny debuted a second

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column, the “Best of Everything,” that he continued to write for every issue of the JN until the last few weeks of his life. Allegedly, the “Best of Everything” was a review of local restaurants. Upon reading his work in the Archive, however, it was soon apparent to me that Danny’s columns were never just about eating out. Although they always had news about local restaurants, each entry might also include social commentary, community news, human interest stories and, of course, his favorite jokes.

Above all, Danny’s columns were fun. For example, I appreciated “Slipp’ry Sliders” in the Aug. 8, 2010, issue of the JN, which was about locally famous slider hamburger joints like the Top Hat and Green’s. “Oldies but Goodies” (Sept. 8, 2011) was an ode to five bridge playing friends — Larry Stocker, Morton Lazar, Aaron Berg, Abe Pearlman and Bud Shiller — who at the time collectively had a total age of 478 years. “Just a number,” Danny said. Indeed, he knew the truth of this fact.

And this brings me to one last point, Danny was a pretty good historian. He had a fine memory and stories in his column were his personal oral histories, if you will, that give an archivist/ historian like me insight into the recent history (meaning the last 102 years) of Detroit and Michigan Jews.

It is not easy to write about a legend.

One can only relate a few highlights from an extraordinary life. Luckily, the Davidson Archive has preserved Danny’s work forever, and maybe that is a more fitting tribute.

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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