DJN July 8, 2021 by The Detroit Jewish News

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JEWISH NEWS 200 July 8-14, 2021 / 28 Tammuz - 5 Av 5781

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Bloomin’ Good! Photographer brings joy through botanical art. See page 34

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contents July 8-14, 2021 / 28 Tammuz – 5 Av 5781 | VOLUME CLIX, ISSUE 22

19 PURELY COMMENTARY 6-14

Essays and viewpoints

OUR COMMUNITY 16 18

Helping the Vulnerable

Celebrating 100 years, Oakland Family Services provides mental health assistance.

A ‘Virtual JCC’ for Teens

Through online video games, North American and Israeli teens build lasting friendships.

Helping Hand for Detroit Kids

Rabbi Pinson opens secular charter school so city’s youth can “achieve greatness.”

Travel Tips

Family Speaks to Danny Fenster

New Home

Taking your first post-pandemic trip? Here’s what experts want you to know. Another hearing set for July 15.

The Power of Plants

Acupuncturist whips up essential oil blends to boost health and wellness.

FACES & PLACES 24

The Well’s Staycation

ERETZ 25

Meet Polina Fradkin

27 28

Torah portion The Best-Laid Plans …

Synagogue Directory

Moments

How do we deal with unfulfilled goals?

SPORTS 32

Dramatic Victories on the Courts Bloomfield Hills High School girls tennis players Noa Goldstein and Carly Bernard win state championships.

ARTS & LIFE 34

Bloomin’ Good!

A Midtown Success Story

The ‘Center’ of It All.

Celebrity News

Photographer brings joy through botanical art. Detroit Public Theatre to move to its own new, larger venue. Former Oak Park mayor updates his book on Northland Mall.

EVENTS 41

Community Calendar

BUSINESS 42

Building Upon Success

New Kind of Collaboration

Here’s To

She felt connected to Israel since eighth grade.

MAZEL TOV! 26

SPIRIT

Congregation T’chiyah rents space in Ferndale, plans fundraiser.

HEALTH

32 25

Edward Rose & Sons celebrates 100 years in business.

NOSH 46

Twin Destinations on the RiverWalk

ETC.

The Exchange Obituaries Raskin Looking Back

47 48 53 54

Shabbat Lights

Shabbat starts: Friday, July 9, 8:53 p.m. Shabbat ends: Saturday, July 10, 10:03 p.m. * Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

ON THE COVER: Cover photo/credit: Laurie Tennent. Photo by Mackenzie O’Brien Cover design: Kelly Kosek

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PURELY COMMENTARY for openers

The Truth Is Out There

n June 25, the U.S. government released the long anticipated unclassified report on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) or as the military officially refers to them — Unidentified Aerial Alan Phenomena Muskovitz (UAP). You can go online and read the nine-page report for yourself from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which confirmed 144 different sightings. It’s provided in English, Spanish and Vulcan. The sightings occurred between 2004 and 2021 and, as the report describes, the incidents fall into “five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems,” and what they literally are calling a catchall “other” bin. Ah, the always convenient, nondescript “other” bin. If that isn’t code for “they’re keeping something from us,” nothing is. This report got me thinking. (Always a dangerous proposition.) If, in fact, these UAP are visitors from another world, they must certainly know by this intelligence report that we are finally on to them. And I believe they’re meeting as we speak to figure out what their next move will be and … it would sound

JULY 8 • 2021

something like this: We hear a gavel as Dork, the commander of the Alien Interplanetary Space Commission, calls the meeting to order. Dork: My fellow aliens, it appears that the cat is out of the bag. We have finally been discovered by the Earthlings. Zork: Commander Dork … Dork: Yes, Zork? Zork: What is a cat and why was it in a bag? Dork: “The cat is out of the bag” is an Earthling expression that means something is no longer a secret, namely our visits to Earth. A cat is a loving companion to humans found in 68% of U.S. households. To the remaining 32% of households, cats are annoying, selfish mammals with no redeeming value. Bork, I see you have three of your seven hands raised. Your question? Bork: Is the rumor true that you’ve brought us together to announce we will return to planet Earth and finally reveal

ourselves to its inhabitants? Dork: Yes, that’s true. But how did you know that? That was top secret information. Bork: It’s posted on all our planet’s social media platforms. Speaking of which, Commander, I saw you updated your profile picture on your NoFacebook page (these aliens have no faces) … and may I say you look fantastic. (They also have eyes in the back of their three giant heads.) Dork: Thank you, Bork. That reminds me, thank you to the 3,210 of you who wished me a happy birthday on NoFacebook. I’m sorry I’ve been a bit behind on replying. OK, where was I? Gork: You were confirming we will return to Earth and reveal ourselves in person to the humans. Dork: Yes, thank you, Gork. OK, listen up. Our spaceships are scheduled to leave for Earth the day after tomorrow. You will be allowed only one carry-on. And as a token of our appreciation, you will

all receive 30 lightyears in miles. (Cheers of approval.) Oh, and one other thing … you still have to wear masks. (Loud groans are heard) Any questions? Fork: I have a question, Dork. Dork: Yes, Fork? Fork: Why are we returning to Earth again? Have you watched cable news? Do you see how these Earthlings behave? They’re nuts! Dork: (Rolls the eyes in the back of his heads in disgust.) I know, I know, but if we don’t go now, we’ll lose the chance to win a million dollars by getting vaccinated. (Everyone acknowledges the point by nodding their giant heads in the affirmative.) OK, now who remembers what the two most important things are during our intergalactic journey? Pork: I know! I know! Dork: Yes, Pork? The two things? Pork: Go to the bathroom before we leave for Earth and never ask “are we there yet?” Dork: Bingo! Well done. Oh, one other thing. Anyone know why Cork didn’t shown up today? York: I heard he was caught in a bottleneck. Gork: Gotcha. Thanks, York. See everyone at the spaceship-port. Remember, we’ll meet at the Starbucks. 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.

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PURELY COMMENTARY guest column

We Are One People

y friend Yehuda (not his real name) is one of the best souls I have ever met. When I see his name on my caller ID, a smile comes to my face, and I rush to answer because talking to him always makes Alicia Chandler my day better. His presence is infused with wisdom and thoughtfulness and kindness. If you asked him about me, I believe he would say similar kind words if for no other reason that the goodness within him allows him to see me in a more positive light than I probably deserve. Yet, conventionally, our

friendship is improbable. Yehuda is a self-identified ultra-Orthodox Jew. To label myself, I am an intermarried Jew that was raised as part of Secular Judaism at Workman’s Circle and now identify with the Reform Movement. Last month, Pew Research Center has come out with its most recent study of American Jewry. As a sociology Ph.D. student, I am thrilled to be diving into the data and understanding who makes up our community. But as a communal Jewish leader, I am frightened. Because studies such as Pew place labels on us, force us into binary choices and result in a seeming competition between the segments of Judaism, it can

reinforce the idea that we are a divided, polarized community. Are Yehuda and I in competition? In every aspect of our friendship, should we wear our respective labels of denominational difference? Are we unknowingly at war, fighting for the future of American Judaism? Well, that seems ridiculous. I honor Yehuda’s religiosity and commitment to Torah and Halachah (Jewish law). I have been enriched by his Jewish outlook on the world. I am a better person and a Jew because of our friendship. But even as I constantly grow within my faith, I am who I am. I am not halachically observant. I drive on Shabbat. I love a good cheeseburger.

Pew asked the participants how much they had in common with Jews from the various denominations. When Orthodox Jews were asked about how much they had in common with Reform Jews, 50% responded a lot or some. 48% responded not much or nothing at all. When the question was asked of Reform Jews, 39% said they had a lot or some in common with Orthodox Jews. And 60% said they had not much or nothing at all in common. At first, these numbers appalled me. As Jews, we definitionally have something in common with each other. But then I wondered, five years ago, before I became friends continued on page 8

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PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 6

with Yehuda, how would I have answered? When I used to drive my kids past the yeshivot to drop them off at preschool at Temple Emanu-El, did I believe I had something in common with the black-hatted children I saw walking along 10 Mile Road? Did I place lines, this Jewish community versus that Jewish community, instead of one diverse Jewish community? INTRAFAITH DIALOGUE While I am a proponent of interfaith engagement between the many diverse faiths that exist here in the United States, Pew shows we also need a commitment to intrafaith engagement. Within Judaism there is a diversity of religious beliefs, religious practices and religious identities. How much stronger would we be as a community if we could engage with each other? How much stronger would we be if we felt that we shared commonality with each other? This is not to overlook the real difficulties that can exist. Before the first time Yehuda had my family over for Shabbos lunch, he honestly shared his struggle with me. “My children do not know that people like you exist.” I was not offended; I was honored that I meant enough to him to warrant grappling with the challenge that introducing a family like ours entailed. For me, I struggle with

JULY 8 • 2021

the gender differentiation in Orthodox communities. I am uncomfortable praying in situations where a mechitzah (a partition between the sexes) is present and bristle at the notion that I simply do not count in a minyan because of my gender. However, this would never stop me from joyfully standing in the room with a mechitzah as I watched Yehuda’s son become a bar mitzvah. These challenges are not an impediment to our friendship; instead these challenges have deepened our friendship. Today, if someone were to ask me if I had something in common with Yehuda, of course I would say yes. But holding community together is not just about two people. Holding community together means that each of us has to learn to break down the labels that are placed on us and push past our comfort zones to meet Jews who experience Judaism in ways that we may have never imagined. It is through these interactions that we will continue to build a more vibrant, richer, diverse American Jewish community. Alicia Chandler is pursuing her Ph.D. in sociology at Wayne State University. She is founder of Multifaith Life LLC, a consulting firm supporting the diversity of Jewish life today and co-founder of Nu?Detroit. A version of this article was previously published on Nu-Detroit. com.

poetry

Sign of the Times When I was just a little girl, my momma said to me, Why do you cry, my child? You should be full of glee. Momma oh momma, if only you knew; It’s due to all I see. Can you help us live in harmony? I wish I could stop all the pain that people go through! Love, love, love will overcome; Believe. It’s up to you and you and you! A black cloud of evil hovers above us! That is all the fuss! Guns here, guns, there, guns everywhere! Bad people shoot without a care, just evil, I swear! People suffer, it is too much to bear! We know the chill exists, such a terrible scare! It’s a worry about our family and our friends, too! Such a terror on our shoulders; that’s why we are blue! The mentally ill are blamed, I’m not so sure that’s true! “Normal” people kill, without reason or a clue! What is happening in our world? It affects me and you! We pray and say: “God bless us on this day!” Please, lead the way. STOP the violence! Let us live in peace, And make the killings cease! I know you are listening and have all the power! I know you are blessing us, within this very hour! Your light is here, I see it clear … your love is strong; We can’t go wrong! I sing this song: Love, Love, Love! Darkness disappears! The holiest light is here! — by Brenda Newman, Oak Park

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PURELY COMMENTARY essay

oni Netanyahu, the famed hero of the Entebbe operation, was killed in action 45 years ago on July 4. Benjamin Netanyahu’s older brother was named Jonathan (Yonatan) and is usually remembered as Yoni. He died fighting Moshe anti-Israel terrorPhillips ists on July 4, 1976, just as the world’s oldest democracy celebrated its Bicentennial. Yoni died in a heroic effort that successfully freed more than 100 hijacked Jewish hostages in Entebbe, Uganda. America’s commemoration of liberty shared the world’s headlines with Israel’s celebration of the liberation of the hostages. The daring of Israel’s commandos captured the world’s imagination like no other anti-terrorism action in history. Books and movies recall the Entebbe rescue, but there’s more to the story. Much more. It is not widely known that Yoni Netanyahu was a hero long before he commanded the Entebbe operation. He played a key role in many other crucial Israeli security operations, exhibiting courage and valor in the most dangerous of circumstances. He was a living example to the world’s statesmen that terrorism can be beaten — if the nations of the world have the will to fight back. Yoni was born in New York into a family of dedicated Zionists who greeted the news of the establishment of Israel by packing up and moving there in 1948. He returned to the U.S. in 1963 where his father, a distinguished Jewish studies scholar,

JULY 8 • 2021

Benzion Netanyahu, (1910-2012), accepted a professorship in Philadelphia. After graduating high school in a suburb of Philadelphia in 1964, Yoni returned to Israel to join the army, and it was not long before he had worked his way up to the leadership of an elite paratrooper unit. The mid-1960s was a time of growing danger for Israel. The Palestine Liberation Organization, established in 1964 for the purpose of “liberating” all of “Palestine” from the Israelis, had begun mounting terrorist attacks across Israel’s borders — and those were precarious borders indeed. In those days, before the 1967 war, Israel was just 9 miles wide at its strategic midsection, and all of Israeli’s major cities were within striking distance of Yasser Arafat’s terrorists. Yoni did not fear the possibility of losing his life in the war to protect Israel from its enemies. “Death does not frighten me,” he wrote to a friend. “I do not fear it because I attribute little to a life without purpose. And if it is necessary for me to lay down my life to attain an important goal, I will do so willingly.” BLACK SEPTEMBER The path that led to Yoni’s renown within Israel’s commando ranks may have begun in 1971 battling the Black September Organization, founded by Arafat’s Fatah faction. One of Black September’s first attacks was the assassination of Jordan’s Prime Minister Wasfi Tal. One of the assassins earned a permanent place in the history of savagery by drinking their victim’s blood in full view of photographers. In 1972, a Black September

WIKIPEDIA

Yoni Netanyahu: A Hero’s Story

Last known photo of Netanyahu, taken shortly before his death leading Operation Entebbe

unit carried out the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at Munich’s Olympic Village. Yoni was a member of a commando unit sent the night of April 19, 1973, to Beirut to attack the planners of the Munich Massacre. Israeli commandos landed on a Lebanese beach and slipped into Beirut. Yoni and his unit made their way to the apartment of Black September leader Muhammad Youssef Al-Najjar (Abu Youssef). He had not been originally assigned to the mission; Yoni volunteered. The last to leave the apartment, Yoni grabbed a satchel of papers just as Lebanese police jeeps arrived. The papers contained operational plans for the PLO’s terrorist network throughout Israel. Yoni’s discovery undoubtedly saved hundreds of lives. MORE HEROICS Details of another example of Yoni’s heroism are to be found in Moshe Dayan’s autobiography Story of My Life. Dayan recalls how Yoni suffered a serious wound in the Six-Day War and yet had returned to his army unit

and fought valiantly in the Yom Kippur War, despite his permanent injuries. Yoni and his unit “stalked and killed more than 40 Syrian commandos who had landed behind our lines,” wrote Dayan. After that, Yoni was responsible for an extraordinary mission that rescued Lt. Col. Yossi Ben Hanan from behind enemy lines. Again, Yoni volunteered. He had overheard a radio transmission about a severely injured tank officer and led his men on foot, braving a nonstop artillery barrage. Recalling the Ben Hanan rescue, Dayan wrote: “I do not know how many young men there are like Yoni. But, I am convinced there are enough to ensure that Israel can meet the grim tests which face her in the future.” Dayan’s memoirs were published before the Entebbe operation. Yoni’s last name is not revealed by Dayan in the book. His portrayal of Yoni seems visionary in retrospect. Self Portrait of a Hero is a must read; it contains Yoni’s letters to family and friends from 1963, when he first entered high school in the Philadelphia suburbs, to just days before the rescue of hostages at Entebbe. His intellect, patriotism, compassion, dedication to duty and leadership are all on full display, amplifying the loss of someone who had just turned 30. The book has had a profound effect on its readers for decades. If you have not yet read it, do yourself a favor and get a copy. You too will be forever changed by it. Moshe Phillips is national director of Herut North America’s U.S. division.

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PURELY COMMENTARY essay

South Florida and the Jewish Imagination

ntil a 12-story building inexplicably collapsed in the middle of the night, placing the whereabouts and lives of 159 residents in doubt, few gave Surfside, Fla., very much thought. The town was, Thane after all, a Rosenbaum South Florida JTA misnomer. There’s no surfing. The white caps on the Atlantic Ocean never provide enough tubular lift. The people of Surfside skew older. Nearly half its 6,000 residents are Jewish, and of those, many are Orthodox. You can call Surfside sleepy, but even that wouldn’t describe it. Nothing truly special had ever happened there. Now, with a tragedy so titanic — and still unfolding — its name will become synonymous with misery. To the casual observer, Surfside was a breakaway township from its more widely known neighbor, Miami Beach, just to its south. Those over the border on Miami Beach, and in Bal Harbour, the village to Surfside’s immediate north, for many decades had good reason to regard themselves as South Florida’s very own Old City of Jerusalem — a mixed enclave with a major

Jewish quarter, and a bit more decadence. Surfside didn’t have the Art Deco Jazz Age sparkle or swinger elegance that the Eden Roc and Fontainebleau hotels offered back in the 1950s into the ’70s. In Surfside, the Americana was the swankiest hotel. It once showcased a very young Jackson 5, long before any Billie Jean took notice of Michael. A rare excitement, but the town’s residents didn’t beg for more. Surfside enjoyed the stillness — on land and sea. MIAMI BEACH ROOTS I know about Surfside. I grew up on 74th Street on Miami Beach. The horrific spectacle that FEMA has now declared to be a national emergency site is on 87th Street. By the time the Champlain Towers were built in 1981, I had long decamped for college and then New York. I frequently return to Miami Beach, but mostly in my imagination. Many of my novels have featured scenes with Miami Beach as the backdrop. My last one, How Sweet It Is!, selected by the city of Miami Beach as its Centennial Book, is a nostalgic return to 1972 — a valentine, I call it — when Miami Beach was, oddly, the center of the world. During that summer, Miami Beach hosted

Miami Beach, Florida, April 1974.

both the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions. Unlike the infamous Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, the Miami Beach police somehow avoided clubbing the heads of Vietnam War protesters. Jackie Gleason, who no longer had his TV variety show — once filmed live on Miami Beach — was palling around with his buddy, Frank Sinatra, who had recently retired — for the first time. You could find them drinking in hotels along Collins Avenue, recapturing the easy camaraderie of their younger days at Toots Shor’s saloon near the Theater District in Manhattan. Meyer Lansky, the notorious Jewish gangster who two years later would be fictionalized in The Godfather Part II, had, in 1972, just been extradited from Israel back to Miami Beach to stand trial for tax fraud. He would spend his days at Wolfie’s Restaurant on 21st Street surrounded by an aging crew of Jewish wise guys still smarting over Fidel Castro’s takeover of their Havana casinos in 1959.

I.B. SINGER IN SURFSIDE All of them appear in How Sweet It Is! (yes, Gleason’s signature signoff), reimagined, of course — along with one more special guest. The Yiddish novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer, not long thereafter a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was spending the winters in Surfside. While there, he unsparingly fictionalized the Jews of Poland before the Holocaust, and those who survived and lived in New York thereafter, capturing their comical lives of heartbreak, betrayal and loss. Ensconced just over the Miami Beach city line, situated right in between two Jewish enclaves populated with those who had fled or escaped one hardship or another, Singer made a canny choice for a writer with a gravitational pull for the shortcomings and desperate moral choices of humankind. One wonders what Singer might have written about the Champlain Towers today, a short distance from his own apartment. All the avenues of Surfside were named for American and British authors. (Just west of the Champlain are continued on page 14

JULY 8 • 2021

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Hiding in Plain Sight Sunday, July 18 at 7 pm EDT

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Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus 248.553.2400

WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU

Thank you to all of the individual students and student groups who helped us this past school year. Your volunteer hours in the Giving Gardens as well as delivering groceries to our Yad Ezra clients helped feed thousands of food insecure people in the community. KUDOS TO YOU AND HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

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PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 12

Carlyle, Dickens, Irving and Emerson avenues.) Eventually a street would be named for him. He must have enjoyed the irony that some of the hotels of Surfside once restricted Jews. One shamelessly boasted, “Always a view, never a Jew.” Singer strolled the sunbaked landscape in a white suit and impish teardrop fedora. Always taking notes, he fiercely studied and measured the patterns of these transplanted Jews: melting snowbirds and Holocaust survivors looking to the sun to cure memories of more ashen, cloudier days; widows and divorcees looking for a male ticket back to the Northeast or out of loneliness; young families tired of the transit strikes and crime waves of New York; hasidim who dressed in the sweltering Sunshine State as if still in Lublin; and vaudevillians wearing makeup suitable to the burlesque surroundings of Miami Beach. All of them immortalized in Kodak color, or in the pages of My Love Affair with Miami Beach, a book of photos by Richard Nagler, for which Singer wrote the introduction in 1990. Imagine them as Singer once did: plotting affairs, swatting tennis balls, staring at stock tickers, clacking mah jong tiles, gliding discs along shuffleboard courts and gesturing wildly about socialism. “For me, a vacation in

Miami Beach was a chance to be among my own people,” Singer wrote. He found them sitting on the Broadway medians and inside the cafeterias on the Upper West Side, too, of course. But the Jews from Miami Beach were somehow of a different species — and not only because they were more prone to skin cancer. It was a Shangri-La of Jewish misadventure, a shtetl still trembling but without Cossacks, the Chosen People out of choices, the detour of a once wandering tribe — finally at rest in and around sleepy Surfside. And now it is home to new waves of Jews, reflecting the area’s diversity: retirees, of course, but also younger and wealthier Jewish families, many drawn to a booming Chabad; a large cohort of Hispanic Jews with feet in North and Latin America; a smattering of Israelis; and more Sephardic Jews than the national average. Miami Beach has served as a refuge for some, and as a playground for others. An infinite coastline of condos always seemed to be rising from the sand. Today, unimaginably, we know that one can come crashing down. Thane Rosenbaum is a novelist, the author of “How Sweet It Is!,” “The Golems of Gotham,” “Second Hand Smoke” and “Elijah Vislble,” among other works of fiction and nonfiction.

NOMINATE YOUR

HARDWORKING VOLUNTEERS

Volunteering is an important part of Jewish tradition. The Metro Detroit Jewish Community is blessed with individuals, families and organizations who give their time and energy to make the world better. As such, the Detroit Jewish News is excited to announce our first annual

Awards

We will honor a select number of members of our Metro Detroit Jewish community whose volunteer efforts have been instrumental in the success of a program or community initiative.

NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN Awardees will receive a special recognition award and be featured in the August 26, 2021, issue of the Detroit Jewish News.

SUBMIT NOMINATIONS ON OUR WEBSITE FROM JULY 1 - JULY 15

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OUR COMMUNITY

Helping the Vulnerable

Celebrating 100 years, Oakland Family Services provides mental health assistance.

his year, human services organization Oakland Family Services is celebrating 100 years in operation. The private not-for-profit agency, which works with vulnerable and disadvantaged children, adults and families in Southeastern Michigan, including those in the Jewish community, provides crucial mental health services to the area. Oakland Family Services began in 1921 as the Michigan Children’s Aid Society Oakland Branch, which launched as a small storefront in Royal Oak to help kids in the foster care system. It offered clothes to kids in need — almost like a “clothing closet,” says president and CEO of Oakland Family Services Jaimie Clayton — and continued to grow over the decades. Despite multiple name changes, Clayton says the organization’s mission has remained the same. “We never strayed far from keeping the family at the core of what we’ve done for a century,” she explains. “We expanded from the concept of foster care to family trauma, then expanded that into mental health and early childhood

JULY 8 • 2021

and prevention services.” Through prevention, education and treatment, Oakland Family Services tackles a variety of issues that impact the Southeastern Michigan community. It provides mental health services, ensures children have safe homes free from neglect and abuse, helps at-risk children gain access to learning, and assists people whose lives have been impacted by trauma or substance abuse. “We are a full-service nonprofit,” Clayton, 52, explains. She has been with Oakland Family Services for nearly 20 years. “We provide services from pre-birth all the way to older adulthood.” As an organization founded by women who were passionate about giving back to the community, Oakland Family Services continues to prioritize women in need. “Women’s programming is a priority in the state to be sure that women who have substance-use issues get treatment and can be with their children,” Clayton says. COVID ANXIETY Though she says the organization prides itself on achieving various milestones over the decades, like its continuous

PHOTOS COURTESY OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jaimie Clayton with some of the children the organization helps.

expansion into new services, Clayton believes Oakland Family Services’ biggest accomplishment was staying connected to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, when substance use and abuse and mental health issues skyrocketed. “Our doors were closed, but we were open,” she says. “We did not skip a beat during the pandemic. We found a way to provide virtual services and continue to serve all of our populations.”

A survey of 24,155 Michigan residents conducted in April 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, found 79% cited concerns about stress, loneliness, anxiety and/or depression, with 29% indicating that they were “very” or “extremely” concerned about these mental health symptoms. For the state’s vulnerable population, who already struggled with finding rides to appointments and financial concerns before

COVID-19, the pandemic hit especially hard. “We’ve seen a huge increase of suicide attempts,” Clayton explains. “We had more severe mental health problems with our adolescents because of the isolation from the pandemic and socially from school.” Though these numbers were “devastating,” Clayton says there was one silver lining of the pandemic: A switch to virtual appointments gave more people access to care who weren’t able to find transportation or childcare to attend in-person appointments at Oakland Family Services. “The demand went up for services,” she explains. “The people who were getting mental health treatment during the pandemic tended to engage more in our sessions as well.” JEWISH LINKS Clayton says Oakland Family Services opens its doors to everyone, including the Jewish community. As the organization’s president, Clayton, who is Jewish and

attends Temple Israel, says the agency has partnered with JVS and Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit in the past. Yet as a nondenominational organization, it simply strives to provide services to those who need it, while helping to break down the stigma around mental health and substance abuse treatment. With 100 years under its belt, Oakland Family Services is now looking to the next 100 years and how it can continue to serve the Southeastern Michigan community. To celebrate the major birthday, the organization will host a “Fun Run” walkrun event at Waterford Oaks County Park on July 24 and a 100th anniversary gala celebration at Bloomfield Hills Country Club on Sept. 24. “If we could make it the last 100 years, survive the pandemic and come out in just as good of a position,” Clayton says, “having treated and provided a safety net for our community, then we can be here for 100 more.”

“WE PROVIDE SERVICES FROM PRE-BIRTH ALL THE WAY TO OLDER ADULTHOOD.” — JAIMIE CLAYTON

FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES MICHIGAN CHAPTER

Please join us under the tent for the

Women of Valor Outdoor Luncheon Benefiting the IMPACT! Scholarship Program

Granting Academic Scholarships to Combat Veterans in Need

Honoree

Bluma Schechter Honorary Chairs

Judy Karp • Karen Weiss Honorary Co-Chairs

Julia Schechter • Rachel Schechter • Susie Schechter

Guest Speaker

Shir Peled

Wednesday, August 4, 2021 11:00am Registration & Silent Auction • 12:15pm Lunch & Program

Temple Israel

5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, Michigan 48323

For more information, please contact: michigan@fidf.org | 248.926.4110 | www.fidf.org

THEIR JOB IS TO LOOK AFTER ISRAEL. OURS IS TO LOOK AFTER THEM. JULY 8 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY

A ‘Virtual JCC’ for Teens Through online video games, North American and Israeli teens build lasting friendships.

A group of Lost Tribe gamers

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

hrough the sport of video games, young Jewish North Americans and Israelis have the chance to connect and “find their tribe.” Lost Tribe Esports, an organization focused on strengthening Jewish identity among teens, hopes their gaming platform will create one million Jewish friendships in the next three years. “We have the underlying belief Michal that Jewish friendNodel ships lead to Jewish parents,” explains video game programming expert Michal Nodel, 39, of Bloomfield Hills, who was recently hired by Lost Tribe as their director of Israel operations. Nodel, a veteran of the video game industry, is joining the organization to increase Israeli engagement while developing programs that will include Israel. Right now, Lost Tribe sees 90% of its engagement in North America and 10% in Israel — but the goal is to increase presence on the Israeli side. Nodel, born in Israel and fluent in Hebrew and English, will lead those efforts. Launched in 2019, Lost Tribe has already seen 20,000 Jewish teens engage with its platform, which offers gaming experiences for all interests. From sports games like Major League Baseball and FIFA (internation-

JULY 8 • 2021

al soccer), to sandbox games like Minecraft, teens in North America and Israel can log on to Discord, where Lost Tribe has a gaming server, and play games with or against one another. “A way to think of Lost Tribe is like a virtual JCC,” Nodel explains. “It’s a virtual recreation area where Jewish teens hang out. It’s kind of like a hangout space for the next generation.” Nodel says every time she logs on to Lost Tribe’s server, there are 400-500 kids online playing games with their friends in other countries. She says these connections are more important than ever, since Jewish teens may disengage from Jewish life after their bar or bat mitzvah. Lost Tribe’s programming includes regular online gaming tournaments, and participants also have a chance to be matched up to play with various teens who are enrolled in the community, which is free to join. Its Discord server includes different channels based on games or topics, so kids can jump right in and begin playing any game they want to. RAPID GROWTH Despite being a small and new organization, Nodel says Lost Tribe’s rapid growth is influenced by its strong social media presence. The COVID-19 pandemic also boosted its community, since kids worldwide were under

lockdown and turned to virtual means to engage with friends. Yet, it’s not just games that kids can interact with. Lost Tribe also has a learning component. It posts facts and history about Israel on its social media, using its platforms to combat rising antisemitism as well. “There’s a lot of negativity on social media,” Nodel explains. “Lost Tribe is using its power to share positive information, which can be really impactful for young people who are getting a lot of exposure to some not-so-positive information.” Lost Tribe is also helping North American teens understand the crisis between Israelis and Palestinians. During the recent Gaza bombings, Nodel says Israeli teens were writing to their North American gaming friends on the Discord server about what they were seeing in their hometowns. “‘Hey, I’m in Ra’anana. My dad’s still at work and our sirens are going off. I’m worried he’s not going to get home in time,’” Nodel remembers one Israeli teen wrote on Discord. “That lands a ton of bricks on, let’s say, a 14-year-old who’s sitting in North America at home, engaging online. “[You realize] this isn’t just something that’s going on on CNN,” she continues. “This is very real. Someone who is exactly your age and shares your interests is going through

a whole experience. The impact of that for teenagers brings something very far away close to home.” ADL PARTNERSHIP To further combat antisemitism and misinformation, Lost Tribe is also partnering with ADL (Anti-Defamation League) to provide resources for kids who might be confused or frightened by what they see happening in their personal lives or on social media. Additionally, as COVID19 restrictions continue to ease, Lost Tribe is also working on planning trips to Israel. The gaming organization has goals to expand even further to other areas of the world and recently held online events with communities in Argentina, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is also building a large-scale campaign around the upcoming Olympic Games to teach Lost Tribe members about participating Israeli athletes through social content and other feature stories. The ability to connect instantly, Nodel says, and to have fun while doing so, is what makes Lost Tribe and online gaming an excellent gateway for Jewish teens around the world to connect. “Lost Tribe has tremendous advantage where our community is actually engaging all the time,” she says. “We have 24/7 engagement.”

Helping Hand for Detroit Kids Rabbi Yisrael Pinson opens innovative charter school so the city’s youth can “achieve greatness.”

Hillel of Metro Detroit Receives Simon Grant

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

abbi Yisrael Pinson, who runs the Chabad House in Detroit’s Midtown, is adding to his resume: opening the Orchard Academy, a tuition-free, nonreligious, public charter school, this fall for Detroit children in grades K-2. Taking a look at the education landscape in Detroit a few years ago, Pinson felt there was a need for something new. “I thought this city has so much power in terms of higher education, healthcare, entertainment and sports, but how can it move forward if there aren’t good options for children to get a good education?” Looking to help the city find the solution to this problem long-term, Pinson wanted to open a public school that served the widest range of children possible, one that would offer something personal and unique to help children achieve greatness, not just basic literacy. After about four years of planning and preparation, the ribbon cutting ceremony for the facility took place June 16, with the school currently open for enrollment and the building set up for classes in the fall. The school is on Woodward Avenue and Calvert, in the city’s North End neighborhood. Orchard Academy seeks to provide a model of education that does not focus on academics alone, but also focuses on instilling in children a sense of mission and purpose in life, welcoming children of all

Rabbi Michele Faudem

Rabbi Yisrael Pinson (center) and guests at the ribbon-cutting for the Orchard Academy.

abilities with an approach to education that offers a rewarding academic experience for all students regardless of skill level. The curriculum will replicate the Stockwell Model of education, modeled after the high-performing Charyl Stockwell Academy in Hartland. ‘WHOLE CHILD’ FOCUS Through a unique blend of Continuous Progress Mastery Learning, a developmental approach to education and a focus on educating the “whole child,” Orchard Academy utilizes mixed-age classrooms and relies on daily evaluations by teachers to meet students where they are in terms of ability and education — offering every child an opportunity to learn at their own pace. As students’ skills and abilities continue to advance, they are offered the opportunity to move ahead into more advanced coursework and areas of study.

The school will have the capacity to enroll 60 students for the first year, with a plan to add about 20-25 more kids each year. The first year will see two mixed-age classrooms. “When they’ve fully mastered a unit, they move to the next unit. And when they’re ready both academically and socially-emotionally, they will move to the next classroom,” said Pinson. Along with the academic side of the model, the social-emotional side of things will be just as important. “In the model, the social-emotional well-being of a child is not just an additional item that is cared for, but a primary item cared for to make sure the child feels safe and that their needs are addressed,” Pinson said. Pinson hopes Orchard Academy can display a successful model that others would want to replicate in Detroit. To enroll your child or to learn more about the school, visit orcharddetroit.org.

Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD) received a grant of $50,000 from the Donald R. and Esther Simon Foundation to provide support for its dedicated staff rabbi/educator position and Jewish educational programming. The presence of Hillel of Metro Detroit’s staff rabbi, Michele Faudem, significantly influences the students’ experiences by providing ready access to Jewish learning, thought-provoking programming, personal counseling/guidance and the opportunity for students to develop a meaningful relationship with a rabbi. “Having an involved and dynamic rabbi on Hillel of Metro Detroit’s staff to work with students at such a pivotal moment in their lives is critically important,” said Miriam Starkman, HMD executive director. “In this extraordinary time of COVID and rising antisemitism on campus, we want to do what we can to keep our students connected to each other and to Jewish life. We are very grateful to the Simon Foundation for their generosity.” JULY 8 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY

Travel Tips

Taking your first post-pandemic trip? Here’s what experts want you to know.

Dramatic sunset in Cabo San Lucas with the view of Lands End at the horizon, Mexico.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

hough it seems like the world is slowly starting to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, traveling can still be a tricky (and sometimes, risky) business. While traveling inside the continental United States is still the safest bet, travelers may risk getting stuck in foreign countries due to sudden or unexpected COVID-19 restrictions, or in the event the traveler contracts David the illness and isn’t able to Fishman return home. Travel agent David Fishman, 61, of Cadillac Travel Group, says some clients are also facing canceled trips, particularly on European cruises that are now being put on hold for the remainder of the year. Despite selling tickets to customers, the cruises are being canceled. Fishman says the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest upheaval the travel industry has faced in his nearly 40 years of work, with the closest similar event being 9-11. Fishman says travel planning is a “day-byday” experience. “Things could shut down or something could change by tomorrow,” he advises. “It really depends on vaccines, outbreaks and a number of other things.” Yet this hasn’t stopped people within the Jewish community from traveling. Fishman has seen a huge uptick in “bucket list” travel planning and what he calls “revenge travel” — people hoping to travel extensively to make up for the lost year of travel in 2020.

JULY 8 • 2021

With the travel industry back to 60% normal operation, in Fishman’s estimation, he believes the world will see a tremendous growth in travel once things become more stable and steady. In the meantime, there are several steps people can take to travel smarter and more safely and comfortably, particularly for those who are taking their first trip since COVID19 restrictions have lifted or might be on the fence about planning a trip. PICK CONSISTENT DESTINATIONS Though countries that have just lifted travel restrictions may seem tempting to travel to, Fishman says opting for a more consistent choice can give you peace of mind (and ideally, uninterrupted travel plans). Traveling within the continental United States is a lower-risk choice for Americans. Fishman also notes that Mexico has been very consistent, making it a great vacation spot to consider. Some Caribbean islands and Costa Rica have also proven reliable, Fishman says. DO YOUR RESEARCH Once you settle on your location, it’s important to do as much research as you can. Look at everything and then some. Even within the continental U.S., restrictions can vary state by state, meaning museums and other attractions may be temporarily closed in the city you’re traveling to. Or, they may offer limited tickets on an advanced reservation basis. State-by-state restrictions can also

impact hotel availability, amenities and even dining options near you. For those traveling internationally, it’s important to know quarantine policies both in your arrival and departure cities. Travelers should also be wary of how international countries handle positive COVID-19 cases to avoid an unfortunate scenario of getting stuck somewhere. CONSIDER TRAVEL INSURANCE Fishman says, above all, travelers should consider travel insurance to cover the unexpected. This can be especially helpful for surprise medical costs, interrupted or canceled travel plans and more common issues like lost luggage. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic adding an extra layer of uncertainty and chance to most travel plans, he says it’s better to be safe than sorry. DO ONLY WHAT MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE At the end of the day, it’s smart to pick a trip (if any) that makes you feel comfortable. If you’re not physically or mentally ready to travel yet, that’s OK. Vacations are for fun, enjoyment and relaxation, and you’ll want to be able to do all three without having worries in the back of your mind. While some people might want to dive right into traveling, others may want to start small (such as a quick local trip) and slowly build their way up to a level of comfort that works for them. Ultimately, Fishman says being prepared is your biggest defense. “Know your coverage,” he advises. “And be flexible with your plans.” Tourist walking on a hanging suspension bridge in the jungle of Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica.

COURTESY OF BRYAN FENSTER

Family Speaks to Danny Fenster Another hearing set for July 15. STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

or the first time in 38 days since Frontier Myanmar managing editor and Metro Detroit native Danny Fenster was taken prisoner at Insein Prison in Myanmar, he was granted a phone call on June 30 with his wife, Juliana, who took it from the U.S. Embassy with his brother Bryan Fenster patched in from another phone. “It was mostly us checking in,” said Bryan in a phone interview with the JN. “We established he was OK, and we told him the whole world is watching and we are doing all we can as a family to get him out. He sounded good,

and he said he was healthy. I was even able to crack a joke with him and hear him laugh. We know he will be home soon, but not soon enough.” Danny had his second court hearing on July 1 in Yangon and was sent back to prison for another two weeks before his next July 15 hearing. On July 1, Danny’s employer Frontier Myanmar reported that a police complaint letter filed with the court confirms that the authorities arrested Frontier Myanmar managing editor Danny Fenster because they believed he was working at Myanmar Now, despite him

Bryan and Danny Fenster, September 2019, at a friend’s wedding in Krakow, Poland. It was the last time the brothers saw each other.

having resigned from that media outlet in July 2020. “Frontier believes Danny has done nothing wrong, and we reiterate our call for his immediate and unconditional release. The documents in Danny’s case file just further underscore why he should be freed immediately.” Though Bryan said that the phone call and news of his second hearing with the presence of a counselor from the U.S. Embassy are encouraging, he and his family will not rest until

Danny is back on U.S. soil. Bryan stayed up late into the night of June 30 to hear the outcome of the July 1 hearing, which took place at 10 a.m. “There is still no charge even after his second hearing,” said Bryan. “He has complied with Myanmar laws, policies and codes of the country, and he has respected the culture there the whole time. It would have been the perfect opportunity to deport him, but there is still no indication that’s going to happen; there is still no timeframe. “We are so thankful to the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy in Myanmar for their continued effort to secure access to Danny, and these are small successes,” said Bryan. “We are not done. Not even close. Success is not a phone call. Success is Danny Fenster, here, home in the United States. We will continue to work with and push our government.”

New Home

Congregation T’chiyah moves to Ferndale, plans fundraiser. BRIAN GOLDSMITH JN INTERN

R IMDB

econstructionist Congregation T’chiyah has a new home. The congregation was founded in 1977 with the mission of building an accessible, welcoming, diverse, inclusive Jewish community that integrates a deep commitment Marcia to social justice with Belsky robust, dynamic meaningful spirituality. The congregation will now meet at the First United Methodist Church in Ferndale. The shul outgrew its previous home at the David and Miriam Mondry Building in Oak Park on the Taubman Jewish Community Campus, according

to T’chiyah’s community engagement associate Jake Ehrlich. “Our congregation has been consistently growing since 2014,” he said. “It’s the largest we’ve ever been now with 130 folks.” T’chiyah settled in at its new home on June 22. The location is good for its members. “When looking at our membership historically and currently, we’re almost about 50-50 between folks who live in Detroit and in the suburbs,” Ehrlich said. The congregation chose to rent space from the First United Methodist because of the organizations’ shared values, such as the embracing of the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ+ community. Ehrlich said that one-third of congre-

New home of T’Chiyah

gants identify as LGBTQ+. When T’chiyah returns to in-person events, its schedule will consist of weekly services on either Friday or Saturday. The first scheduled in-person event at T’chiyah’s new home will take place during the High Holidays. Congregation T’chiyah will host a virtual entertainment gala on Thursday, July 22, at 7 p.m., titled, T’chiyah m’CHAIyah 2021: All Dressed Up & Nowhere to Go! This fundraiser variety show revue features comedy, music and other lifegiving shtick, including Detroit techno from T’chiyah’s own Jo Rad Silver; Geulah Finman, a stand-up,

sketch, improv comedienne and show producer native to Detroit and now in San Francisco; skits directed by Barbara Goldman, and headliner; feminist comedian and host of the Misandry Podcast, Marcia Belsky. In 2014, she was a semifinalist in the NBC Stand Up competition. Get tickets ($18-$540) at www. tchiyah.org/mchaiyah. Higher level tickets come with “Cheese Plate-in-a-Box” from Mongers Provisions. Commercial sponsorships are welcome. Direct inquiries to Victoria Kohl at vikol123@yahoo.com. For information, email Ehrlich at tchiyahjake@gmailcom. JULY 8 • 2021

COURTESY OF SARAH TENNENT

HEALTH

Sarah Tennent

The Power of Plants E

ntrepreneur Sarah Tennent always had a passion for natural healing. The owner and founder of Cedar Rose Botanicals, a Huntington Woodsbased wellness shop that sells essential oil-fused products, among others, was raised with a strong connection to nature. “My family has always been a little bit more holistic and organic,” Tennent, 34, explains. “We have a lot of gardeners in my family, so I really grew up playing with plants in the garden.” For the past five years, Tennent has worked as an acupuncturist in her private practice. Yet in 2019, the Jewish business owner had the idea to take her practice one step further and start offering her clients different wellness products that they could apply to their everyday lives. “I really treat everything,” she says of her acupuncture practice. Like Tennent’s approach, it’s common for acupuncture sessions to also include the

JULY 8 • 2021

Acupuncturist whips up essential oil blends to boost health and wellness. ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

addition of essential oils to the treatment. “I was blending up [essential oil mixes] for my patients, and I was seeing what was working well.” It was the beginning of Cedar Rose Botanicals, which Tennent says was a little delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is now in full swing. A longtime essential oil user, Tennent herself turned to the ancient healing method after a back injury left her with debilitating cramps. The essential oil formula that she mixed up to ease her pain was an inspiration for one of four boxes that Cedar Rose Botanicals carries, the “CRAMP Box.” Each box comes with a selection of wellness products, including a

hand-infused massage oil, essential oil rollers, an oral tincture, Epsom bath salts, and a tea or hot cocoa mix that’s specific to that particular box. “The CRAMP Box is good for extreme headaches or more severe cramping,” Tennent says. In addition to the “CRAMP Box,” Cedar Rose Botanicals also carries boxes geared toward stomach concerns, PMS symptoms, and fatigue or sadness, particularly when brought on by a women’s menstrual cycle. Though her products are for everyone, Tennent says women’s health in particular has always been a main focus of her work. Tennent explains that the key to safely using essential oils — and making the most out of them — is to properly dilute products before applying them to the skin. She believes that essential oils can not only relieve symptoms, but sometimes even treat the underlying condition at hand. “In traditional Western medicine and medication, there’s so many other symp-

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“ESSENTIAL OILS … ALLOW OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM TO RELAX MORE EASILY.” — SARAH TENNENT

toms that come with it that don’t always offer relief,” Tennent, who is trained in Chinese medicine, explains. “That can be really daunting for a lot of people. In my office, we allow people to see the pattern that is their body, and we can get them the tools to make sure that pattern is staying intact.” Tennent says acupuncture (and the addition of essential oils) can be a good option for those looking to address nervous system concerns through natural means, such as anxiety or stress. It’s an industry that she’s seen grow tremendously in recent years, as people continue to look for alternative ways to treat everyday concerns. Though she sometimes encounters

skepticism, she says those individuals usually walk out of her office feeling much better after treatment. As Cedar Rose Botanicals continues to grow, Tennent aims to make more products (which she creates in conjunction with her staff, who include a trained physician and herbalist) that address different areas. “I want to be able to mix and make more things for people,” she says, “take more custom orders and even develop a subscription box or two.” “Essential oils are so helpful for shifting our nervous system,” Tennent continues. “They allow our nervous system to relax more easily and they’re great for digestive and hormonal aspects as well.”

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JULY 8• 2021

faces&places

A Detroit Staycation Over the weekend of June 25-27, The Well embarked on a Detroit Staycation. Using the Renaissance Center Marriott as a home base and with a total of 27 young adults in tow, the group spent the weekend visiting Detroit staples, exploring the city and discovering hidden gems. The trip began with a festive

Shabbat dinner at Andiamo Riverfront in the Renaissance Center and continued with a historic kayaking tour facilitated by Detroit River Sports on Saturday morning. The group also enjoyed lunch at the famous American Coney Island, a walking tour of cultural landmarks in Midtown led by the Detroit

Experience Factory, a pitstop for delicious grilled cheeses at Mongers’ Provisions, and finished off the night with a private movie screening at Cinema Detroit. The Staycation wrapped up Sunday morning with breakfast in Capitol Park and attending a winning Tigers game! Participants were required

to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, and vaccination cards were verified at checkin. After over a year away, The Well was grateful to have had the opportunity to explore the city of Detroit once again, and with a wonderful group of young adult community-builders by their side.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE WELL

The group enjoyed dinner at Andiamo. Fun at Comerica Park

A group shot by the Detroit main library.

JULY 8 • 2021

Lunch at American Coney Island

ERETZ

MEET THE OLIM

Polina Fradkin

She felt connected to Israel since eighth grade.

Polina Fradkin

AVIVA ZACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

olina Fradkin, 26, grew up in Farmington Hills and moved to Israel four years ago. She wanted to be the one to make the decision to make aliyah so her future offspring wouldn’t have to deal with saying goodbye to her.

ing Birthright trips, finding programs that would take people on, for example, trips for creatives in Israel, or any way to get back here. Any possible excuse to come back to Israel — winter break, summer break, spring break — I was here.

Q: Tell me about your life in Michigan.

Q: What motivated you to move to Israel? PF: It felt natural that when I graduated that I would spend more time here. So, I started applying for programs and fellowships based in Israel. I ended up getting a Fulbright Fellowship here, researching music. In retrospect, I guess I was softening the “I want to stay here for good” blow I later dealt my family. During that year, I had an amazing friend group and apartment in Tel Aviv. Somehow, my apartment got the nickname “the Quad” and, thanks to one professional chef roommate of ours, we were hosting massive Shabbat dinners every single week. Eventually, we got sponsorships from Nefesh B’Nefesh and even raised money on Kickstarter to support these dinners. Then, when the year was ending, I started thinking about what to do next. All the options were in front of me — moving to New York, maybe going to Europe. But I was just so happy here. I meditated on the beach about it, and it became clear to me. I had an amazing life. Why would I want to

PF: I moved to Michigan from Russia with my family when I was almost 2. My parents sent me to Hillel Day School and then I went to Frankel Jewish Academy. After that, I did a gap year in Israel.

Q: What were your early Israel experiences? PF: My first trip to Israel was my eighthgrade trip, and when I came back, I was sobbing every day about how much I wanted to be in Israel. I was just so upset to be back in Michigan! This sentiment clearly stuck with me. For my gap year, I did an academic coed program called Kivunim. It was based in Jerusalem and focused on learning about global Jewry, bridging studies in Jerusalem and travels to all the places we learned about. We visited a total of 10 or 11 countries and spent a good amount of time in Israel as well. I went back to Michigan after my gap year, but I continuously tried to find ways to come back to Israel. This included staff-

go looking anywhere else? I decided to stay. I made aliyah a year after I had already been living in Israel. It didn’t feel like a difficult decision at all. Very natural. I thought of it in this framework: Being here means I’m deciding for future generations of my family. I’m pivoting the future Fradkin lineage, leading our thread which started in Eastern Europe and recently Russia and the U.S., back to our home and heritage. I envisioned staying in the states and my kids eventually leaving me to come here as I’m leaving my parents. I decided to make that decision for myself. That year, my parents came for Pesach, and I told them at the seder that I wanted to stay. My mom said something amazing: “Your father and I are the generation that left Egypt. But you’re the generation that gets to enter Israel. We can’t conceive of the kind of freedom it takes to be able to come back to the homeland. Stay!” Q: What do you miss about living in Detroit? PF: Seasons were nice. We don’t get much of that here. Tomatoes Apizza in Farmington Hills — ah, I miss that place. And of course, my family. Q: What do you love about living in Israel? Polina: On the day of the most recent election, everyone was out. I saw people dancing, live jazz bands in the street, kids handing out lemonades to people who’d voted. Everybody was so alive and so happy! And all I could think looking around at the shops and the streets and at these gorgeous colorful people around me was that I could not believe this country exists. I cannot believe that there is a place like this, that is so new, where all Jews can come, build their businesses, make a living, raise their children, vote democratically (we’re still working out the kinks on that one …) and speak our own language. I couldn’t believe how privileged I am to live here, to live in this moment, in this modern and ancient, beautiful and slightly dysfunctional state. There’s no place I’d rather be. JULY 8 • 2021

MAZEL TOV!

JUNE 12, 2021 Leah (Hurvitz) and Oren Yair of Farmington Hills are overjoyed to announce the birth of their son, Asher Levi. Sharing in their happiness are grandparents Ruth Hurvitz of West Bloomfield and Yardena and Moshe Yair of Knoxville, Tenn. Asher is named in memory of his grandpa Alan Hurvitz and great-uncle Asher. APRIL 25, 2021 Alexa Feldman and Scott Hantler are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Rylo Everson Hantler. Rylo is the grandson of Caren Harwood of Boston, Mass., formerly of Metro Detroit, and Marc Feldman and Lana Kantor, and Saree and Steven Hantler, all of Farmington Hills. Rylo is named for his late great-grandfathers, Robert Feldman and Rubin Goldenberg. FEB. 13, 2021 Hilary Gorosh and Eli Wald of Chicago are thrilled to announce the birth of their son, Judah Isaac Wald. Judah’s doting grandparents are Tammy and Bruce Gorosh of West Bloomfield and Laura and Jack Wald of Chicago; his adoring great-grandmother is Edith Rosen Erdberg. Judah is named in memory of Hilary’s great-grandfather Julius Spielberg, grandfather Jules Erdberg and uncle Jeffrey Gorosh, as well as Eli’s grandparents Irwin “Wynn” and Irene Robin.

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.

JULY 8 • 2021

Raider-Richardson

r. Jonathan Raider of Novi and Ms. Susan Boonenberg of White Lake announce the engagement of their son Jacob Alexander to Jessica Marie Richardson, daughter of Kathy Miller of Highland, Mich., and Charlie Richardson of Hamburg, Mich. Jessica earned a degree in nursing from Grand Valley State University. She is an RN at Blodgett Hospital. Jacob earned a degree in communications from Michigan State University. He is a senior account director technical recruiter for JBL Resources and teaches drum line at Rockford High School. The couple resides in Grand Rapids. An August wedding is planned in Dearborn. They are planning a honeymoon in Hawaii.

Feldman-Paone

aren Harwood, and Marc Feldman and Lana Kantor are delighted to announce the engagement of their daughter Bethany Rae Feldman to Cristina Maria Paone, daughter of Michela and Philip Matthews. Bethany earned her B.S. from Eastern Michigan University and her M.A. from Ball State University. Cristina earned her B.A. from Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. Bethany and Cristina reside in New Hampshire and are planning a post-pandemic wedding.

SPIRIT

TORAH PORTION

Schwarcz-Stetser

enneth and Mildred Schwarcz of Lake Orion announce the engagement of their daughter Dr. Brianna Schwarcz to Thomas Stetser of Royal Oak. Brianna earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan, and her medical degree at Marian University. Thomas earned his degree in finance and economics at Michigan State University. He works as an investment analyst at Merrill Lynch.

Schwarcz-Hamill

enneth and Mildred Schwarcz of Lake Orion announce the marriage of their daughter Alyssa Schwarcz to Andrew Hamill, the son of Robb and Sandra Hamill of Wixom. Alyssa earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Andrew has his master’s degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The two were married in a beautiful, small ceremony in the garden of The Whitney in Detroit. Alyssa’s sister, Brianna Schwarcz, was the maid of honor. Other participants in the ceremony included their daughter, Emerson, and Andrew’s brothers, Timothy and Patrick Hamill.

Spark of Goodness

ecently, the world experiMr. Avner asked, “Has the enced the COVID crisis. Rebbe lit my candle?” He It will never be the same. answered, “No. I have given you I have seen the deep toll — the match. Only you can light no one came away unaffected. your own candle.” Looking back at this deeply There is a fundamental premscarring year, we may ask ourise in Judaism that everyone selves a simple question: has a spark of goodness Do we, as human beings, and justice within them, have what it takes to cona unique energy that front this kind of adverempowers them to impact sity? Or for that matter the world for the good. any kind of difficulty that Unfortunately, this spirit challenges us to our core? Rabbi Yeshai of goodness can someEliefja The answer, I believe, times be dimmed and is yes. There is somedifficult to reach or even Parshat thing embedded in the recognize, but the potenMattot/ human psyche that, if tial remains. Massei: tapped into properly, can It was this spark of Numbers serve as an anchor for goodness that the Rebbe 30:2-36:13; every human being to Isaiah 66:1- sought to empower every 24. (Shabbat individual to reveal. The overcome adversity and confront the unexpected Rosh Hodesh) Rebbe believed and taught changes we experience. that the essence of goodThe late Yehuda Avner served ness and morality within every on the personal staff of five person can survive under all Israeli prime ministers. In 1977, circumstances and only needs to he had a private meeting with be revealed. the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi We are now in the three Menachem M. Schneerson, the weeks of mourning for the leader of the global Chabaddestruction of the Holy Temples. Lubavitch movement. During This is a time to reflect upon the conversation, Avner asked the root cause of the destructhe Rebbe what exactly the role tion, namely, the baseless hatred of a rebbe is. that was prevalent at that time. “I will tell you what I’m tryThe way to rectify this is with ing to do,” the Rebbe replied. “baseless love” by focusing on “Imagine you are looking at a the holy spark embedded within cupboard, and you see a candle each of us, thereby ensuring that there; but I tell you that it is not our own candle shines brightly a candle — it is a lump of wax and helps others light their with a piece of string inside. own. This will prepare our little When do the wax and the wick corner of the world for an era of become a candle? When one true world peace and tranquility brings a flame to the wick. That with the coming of Moshiach is when the wax and the wick and the rebuilding of the third fulfill the purpose for which Holy Temple; may it be speedily they were created. in our days. “And that is what I try to do Rabbi Yishai Eliefja is the youth director — to help everyone fulfill the at The Shul–Chabad Lubavitch in West purpose for which they were Bloomfield. created.” JULY 8 • 2021

SPIRIT

A WORD OF TORAH

The Best-Laid Plans ... How do we deal with unfulfilled goals?

waiter remembers every detail of an order but forgets those details as soon as the plates hit the table. Inspired by this thought experiment, German psychologist Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik conducted a series of laboratory tests to demonstrate that people have a better recollection of the puzzles they are prevented from finishing than those they have completed. Evidently, our brains are Rabbi wired to be preoccupied with Warren the details of incomplete Goldstein tasks. We have a deep-seated need to see things to the end. The human condition is to not be satisfied, to not let our minds rest, until we do what we set out do to. The problem is, very often we don’t. Very often, for whatever reason, we simply aren’t able to reach the finish line. One of our great sages of the 20th century, Rav Eliyahu Dessler, writes, “We are born in the middle of things, and we die in the middle of things.” Friends — life is messy. Full of loose ends, false starts, unfulfilled objectives. The question is, what should our attitude be to this unsatisfying state of affairs? In this week’s Torah portion, Massei, God gives Moshe the mitzvah of designating the cities of refuge — safe spaces for those who have inadvertently taken a life to escape to,

JULY 8 • 2021

to seek refuge from avenging parties and for atonement. There were six cities of refuge to be established — three east of the Jordan River and three west of the Jordan River. The eastern territory had already been conquered by this stage, and to get things started, Moshe was tasked with establishing these first three cities. He did this with great enthusiasm, knowing that he would never get to establish the three western cities because God had decreed that he would not cross the Jordan River and lead the Jewish people into the Land of Israel. That mission was left to his successor, Joshua. Analyzing the verse, Rashi comments that the six cities were a single bloc, and that none of the cities would be operational until all six were established. This means that the three eastern cities that Moshe set up did not become operational until Joshua conquered the western side of the Jordan River and established the other three. In other words, not only did Moshe not have the chance to complete the task, he never got to see any of the fruits of his efforts realized. The Talmud (Makot 10a) says this was a mark of Moshe’s greatness — that his passion for fulfilling God’s will was such that he threw himself into the task of establishing these cities even though he knew he would never complete it. The obvious lesson here is that we need to savor each moment, each accomplishment, each step along our life’s journey. On

the one hand, it’s good to be goal-oriented and to keep an eye on the destination. On the other hand, we cannot be consumed with our goals to the point where we are unable to savor the small moments and the small victories. Because these small moments and small victories are an important part of our lives. LIVE IN THE MOMENT Every moment of life is precious. We learn this from pikuach nefesh — the principle that virtually all the Torah’s laws are suspended in order to save a life. Even if it’s to prolong that life for a few moments. Life is nothing but the sum of small moments. Each moment is sacred because life is sacred. Torah learning provides a good illustration of the importance of small moments and small victories. The Mishna teaches that the mitzvah of learning Torah has no fixed limit. The Vilna Gaon has a novel reading of the Mishna. He says that this teaching applies at both ends of the spectrum — there is no upper limit on the amount of Torah one can learn, but there is also no minimum amount; each word of Torah we learn is a distinct mitzvah with eternal value. Kindness is another example. We have a Torah mandate to make this world a kinder, gentler place. But the mitzvah of chesed is fulfilled through incremental actions and gestures — a kind word, a small gesture, a brief embrace. Tzedakah is another example — a mitzvah performed one coin at a time. And prayer. It is made up of many individual words. Each of which has its own meaning and opportunity for devotion and connection to God. We see this principle articulated most explicitly in the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot: “It is not on you to complete the work, but nor are you free to desist from it.” (Pirkei Avot 2:16). Though the Mishnah is referring specifically to the mitzvah of Torah learning, which being God’s infinite wisdom, by definition, can never fully be comprehended or “completed,” it applies no less to every mitzvah we perform and all the objectives we pursue over the course of our lives. “We are born in the middle of things, and we die in the middle of things.” This could also be the message at the beginning of our Torah portion, Massei, which chronicles the journey of the Jewish

FREE Y E D LIVER people in the desert in painstaking detail. Each leg, each stopover of the 40-year journey is mentioned by name. Why is that? If anything, there’s good reason not to dwell on the drawn-out journey, which only became necessary because of the sin of the spies. But perhaps the verse does so to underline that each step of a journey is important, each moment is significant, each mitzvah is a milestone. We should not look at life as one unit. We should savor each of its components. MISSION INCOMPLETE The arc of Moshe’s life embodies this idea. He was appointed with the mandate to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, bring them to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, and then to lead them into the Land of Israel. Due to events in the desert, Moshe’s mandate to lead the people into Israel was transferred to Joshua. And so, in a certain fundamental sense, his mission was incomplete. The fairy tale ending would have been Moshe triumphantly leading the people into the Land of Israel. But the Torah is a book of truth. It’s a description of life as it is. And in real life “We are born in the middle of things, and we die in the middle of things.” There are no neat beginnings and endings, no neat resolutions. God is the master of the universe, and it is not in our hands to complete our arcs and wrap up our lives in a neat little bow. All we can do is focus on and appreciate each moment; take each task and each mitzvah one at a time; ensure we win life’s small victories.

All we can do is live with complete faith that Hashem will give us the time we need on this earth to do what we need to do — what we were born to do — even if it feels messy and unsatisfactory, even if it feels that things are incomplete. The key is to live with humility and appreciation — the humility that comes with understanding that we don’t control everything, and the appreciation that comes with savoring each moment and each small victory. And we need to encourage that attitude in our children. To encourage them in each milestone accomplished, each mitzvah performed, each moment of grace and kindness, no matter how seemingly small. As Jews, we believe in a Final Redemption — an era of the Messiah, in which the world is perfected, peace and closeness to God reign on Earth, and human history is brought to a glorious close. We all long for such a time. And yet, there is only one generation that will merit to witness this closure. We hope and pray that we are that generation — that the redemption happens today — and yet we carry on with our lives with the peace of mind that every good deed we do, every step we take in the right direction, every small difference we make in improving the world we live in is part of the unfolding of human history and leading inexorably toward the time we all long for. It’s about the small steps on the journey of life. Rabbi Warren Goldstein is the chief rabbi of South Africa. This essay was archived on aish.com.

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Weekly Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox. thejewishnews.com/newsletter JULY 8 • 2021

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

JULY 8 • 2021

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

Chabad Jewish Center of Novi-Northville (248) 790-6075 novijewishcenter.com Chabad-Lubavitch of Bingham Farms Bloomfield Hills (248) 688-6796 chabadbinghamfarms.com

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

Bais Haknesses Hagrah Oak Park (248) 542-8737

Dovid Ben Nuchim-Aish Kodesh Oak Park (313) 320-9400 dbndetroit.org

Shomer Israel Oak Park (248) 542-4014 godaven.com

Balfour Shul – K’Hal Rina U’Tefila Oak Park (732) 693-8457

Etz Chayim of Toledo Toledo, OH (419) 473-2401 Etzchayimtoledo.org

Bais Chabad of North Oak Park (248) 872-8878 chabad.org

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 Yagdil Torah Southfield (248) 559-5905 Young Israel of Oak Park (248) 967-3655 yiop.org Young Israel of Southfield (248) 358-0154 yisouthfield.org RECONSTRUCTIONIST Congregation Kehillat Israel Lansing (517) 882-0049 kehillatisrael.net

Temple Beth El Battle Creek (269) 963-4921 Temple Beth El Bloomfield Township (248) 851-1100 tbeonline.org

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

Temple Beth Israel Bay City (989) 893-7811 tbi-mich.org

Temple Shir Shalom West Bloomfield (248) 737-8700 shirshalom.org

Temple Beth Israel Jackson (517) 784-3862 tbijackson.org Congregation Beth Shalom Traverse City 231-946-1913 beth-shalom-tc.org

Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit (313) 567-0306 reconstructingjudiasm.org

Temple Benjamin Mt. Pleasant (989) 773-5086 templebenjamin.com Congregation Beth El Windsor (519) 969-2422 bethelwindsor.ca

Temple Jacob Hancock templejacobhancock.org

Temple Beth El Flint (810) 720-9494 tbeflint@gmail.com

Congregation T’chiyah Ferndale (248) 823-7115 tchiyah.org

REFORM Bet Chaverim Canton (734) 480-8880 betchaverim@yahoo.com

Temple Israel West Bloomfield (248) 661-5700 temple-israel.org

REFORM/RENEWAL Congregation Shir Tikvah Troy (248) 649-4418 shirtikvah.org

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

Temple Beth Sholom Marquette tbsmqt.org

SECULAR/HUMANISTIC The Birmingham Temple Farmington Hills (248) 477-1410 birminghamtemple.com

RECONSTRUCTIONIST Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (734) 445-1910 aarecon.org

Temple B’nai Israel Kalamazoo (269) 342-9170 Templebnaiisrael.com

Jewish Parents Institute West Bloomfield (248) 661-1000 jccdet.org

REFORM Temple Beth Emeth (734) 665-4744 templebethemeth.org

Temple B’nai Israel Petoskey (231) 489-8269 templebnaiisraelofpetoskey.org

Sholem Aleichem Institute Lathrup Village (240 865-0117 secularsaimichigan.org

RENEWAL Pardes Hanah pardeshanah.org

Temple Emanuel Grand Rapids (616) 459-5976 grtemple.org Temple Emanu-El Oak Park (248) 967-4020 emanuel-mich.org

SEPHARDIC Keter Torah Synagogue West Bloomfield (248) 681-3665 rabbisasson.wixsite.com/keter

SECULAR HUMANISTIC Jewish Cultural Society (734) 975-9872 jewishculturalsociety.org Please email factual corrections or additional synagogues to list to: smanello@thejewishnews.com. JULY 8 • 2021

SPORTS Noa Goldstein (left) and Carly Bernard celebrate their state championships.

Drama on the Courts

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

oa Goldstein and her doubles partner defeated the only team that had beaten them all season. Carly Bernard and her doubles partner recovered nicely from the only set they lost all season. Those are the stories behind the doubles state championships won by Goldstein and Bernard last month as they helped the Bloomfield Hills High School girls tennis team earn a share of the Division 1 team state title with Ann Arbor Pioneer. The team state championship was the first ever for the Bloomfield Hills girls tennis team. The high school opened in 2013 following the closing and merger of Bloomfield Hills Andover and Bloomfield Hills Lahser high schools. Goldstein and Hannah Tomina, seeded No. 2, beat No. 1-seeded Claire and Kate Beardslee from Grosse Pointe

JULY 8 • 2021

MICHAEL BERNARD

Bloomfield Hills High School girls tennis players Noa Goldstein and Carly Bernard win state championships.

South 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 doubles state championship match, a few weeks after the Grosse Pointe South team beat Goldstein and Tomina 6-4, 7-5. “Oh, yes, we had a ton of incentive to beat them in the state championship match. We really wanted to beat them,” Goldstein said. “We had such as amazing season, and we wanted to finish it with a victory.” It didn’t hurt, Goldstein admitted, that the Grosse Pointe South team had a very tough state semifinal match, beating Troy’s Angela Anderanin and Sabrina Song 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), while Goldstein and Tomina cruised past Pioneer’s Ashley Capelli and Juliana Pullen 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals. Anderanin and Song were the No. 4-seeded team. Capelli and Pullen were the No. 3-seeded team. Several factors played into their

earlier loss to the Grosse Pointe South team, Goldstein said. “Hannah wasn’t 100% the first time we played them. She had an injured wrist,” Goldstein said. “But the Grosse Pointe South girls were the better team that day. You have to give them credit. And we didn’t bring enough energy to the match.” Bernard and Reagen Tomina, the No. 1-seeded team, outlasted Troy’s Stephanie Ochoa and Grace Zhu 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5 in the No. 2 doubles state championship match. “Super duper close” is how Bernard described the match against the No. 2-seeded Troy girls. Bernard and Reagen Tomina got off to a great start in the first two sets, sprinting to a 3-0 lead each time. But the Troy team came roaring back. The loss in the second set was a first for Bernard and Reagen Tomina. It was the first time they dropped a set all season. They didn’t have time to think about it. Not with the third set of the match looming that would decide the state championship. Bernard and Reagen Tomina finished the match strong, pulling out the victory after the teams battled to a 4-4 tie. “We beat that Troy team very early in the season,” Bernard said. “They improved a lot since then, and so did we.” THRILLED TO BE BACK After not playing last spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Goldstein and Bernard were thrilled to get back on the court this season. Winning state championships was icing on the cake for the juniors, whose doubles partners (Hannah Tomina and Reagen Tomina are sisters) were selected by Bloomfield Hills coach Chris Dobson.

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“Hannah and I had great chemistry,” Goldstein said. “We really listened to each other. I love her. She was a great doubles partner.” Goldstein went 2-1 in singles matches when she was a freshman in 2019. Bernard said she and Reagen Tomina complemented each other on the court because they’re opposites. For example, “I like playing at the net and Reagen likes playing at the baseline,” Bernard said. “We’re like peanut butter and jelly, I guess. Reagen is a very talented tennis player. I was lucky to have her as a doubles partner.” This was Bernard’s second trip to the state tournament. As a freshman, she played No. 3 doubles with Emily Ross and lost in the semifinals. Bernard’s older sister Kaela Bernard was a Bloomfield Hills girls tennis player. Kaela lost her senior season last year because of the pandemic, and never had an opportunity to win a state championship after losing in the No. 4 doubles state title match as a freshman and No. 2 doubles state title match as a sophomore. Kaela’s competitive tennis career is over. She’s focusing on academics at Elon University in North Carolina. “Our team this year felt

bad for last year’s seniors,” Carly Bernard said. “We wanted to win the state championship for them because we know they worked so hard.” DOUBLES CHAMPS Bloomfield Hills earned its share of the state championship by winning three of the four doubles divisions in the tournament held in the Lansing area. Pioneer swept all four singles division titles. Each team scored 30 points. “We knew Pioneer had some amazing singles players, so we had to step it up in doubles,” Goldstein said. “It’s great that we’re the first Bloomfield Hills girls tennis team to win a state championship,” Bernard said. “It’s something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.” Dobson, Bloomfield Hills’ coach, didn’t let tying for the team state championship diminish his team’s accomplishment. “A championship is a championship, there’s no asterisk by it,” he told the Detroit Free Press. “Pioneer had a powerhouse lineup at singles like I’ve never seen. So, for what we had to do and how we had to battle, to share the (state championship) with a phenomenal team, there certainly is no shame in that whatsoever.”

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JULY 8 • 2021

ARTS&LIFE ON THE COVER

B Photographer brings joy through botanical art.

Laurie Tennent

JULY 8 • 2021

MACKENZIE O’BRIEN

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTOS BY LAURIE TENNENT

otanical artist Laurie Tennent has had a lifelong passion for the art of capturing images. The Birmingham native, who attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and received a bachelor of fine arts degree in photography, has had her work featured in public and private art galleries around the world. With her photography on display through October at City Bloom: Birmingham, a 3-mile outdoor installation along the Rouge River Trail that runs through Booth Park, Quarton Lake and Linden Park, the all botanical-themed exhibit is just one of many creative projects Tennent, soon to be 60, has in the works. “I really love historical botanical drawings and Dutch paintings,” she says of the two key influences on her style. “They’re really rich and very dark in the background.” For Tennent’s botanical photography in particular, where flowers pop in color against similarly dark backgrounds, she calls her twist on these two styles a “contemporary botanical illustration.” “In using photography as the medium, the images are classic in their composition,” she explains, “but they’re presented in a very contemporary, sleek contrast with metal frame to the edge, so they almost appear like a painting on canvas.”

PHOTO ART GALLERY It’s this distinctive, dramatic presentation of her work that has drawn people to Tennent’s photography for decades. After graduation, she began to build her nowrenowned career by working in local art galleries. “I really learned a lot about the business of handling artists and also what it took for artists to get their work into galleries,” she says. “I learned how the galleries worked with their artists to promote their careers.” Inspired to launch her own gallery, Tennent took these important lessons with her as she opened Eton Street Gallery in Birmingham. “I featured the finer work of commercial photographers all over the country,” she explains. This gave commercial photographers a chance to showcase their work, which Tennent says many of these artists didn’t have a chance to do. “There were a lot of great car photographers in Detroit, and they had all this great personal work that no one ever saw,” she recalls as an example, alongside architectural photographers. Yet Tennent found that showcasing these works alone couldn’t support the art gallery in keeping the space open. Already experienced in the business of commercial photography, Tennent joined the industry and began to do catalog work. She took photos for specialty retailers like J. Crew and Crate & Barrel,

plus Somerset Mall and various print magazines. The commercial photography arm of her multifaceted business became one of its biggest assets, an area she has now worked in for more than 30 years. Yet working in the commercial photography sector meant Tennent was regularly traveling. She also photographed weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs, making her a household name in Metro Detroit’s Jewish community. At one point, though, Tennent found herself working seven days a week to photograph the events, balancing raising a family with her blossoming career. PICKING BOTANICALS Then, nine years ago, Tennent was diagnosed with breast cancer, which forced her to slow down and take time to heal. It was during her recovery that she rediscovered her love for botanical art and made it one of the core building blocks of her career. “I realized being at home, how healing it was for me to be back in the garden,” Tennent recalls. “I really wanted to get back to my photography and my series that I created over the years on botanicals.” She took walks, developed her own garden at home and traveled to different botanical gardens around the country. One botanical garden in Arizona featured glass designs in a garden,

which made Tennent realize what she wanted to do with her work. “It was absolutely amazing,” she recalls. “I wanted to get this type of work off the gallery walls and into the garden, where people can really appreciate it back in its natural setting.” Tennent developed a marketing plan to showcase botanical artwork in gardens around the country. She partnered with botanists and different garden clubs to collect interesting botanical species that she could photograph in her studio. Yet, there was one challenge she had to solve. “In order to print these pieces to be in a garden setting, I had to experiment with a lot of materials,” Tennent says. “I came to print them on aluminum so that they are weatherresistant.” This method of printing, she explains, allows botanical art shows (like City Bloom: Birmingham) to operate during all seasons. City Bloom: Birmingham is the continuation of a traveling botanical art installation that Tennent partners with different collectors and exhibits to create. She says its appearance in Metro Detroit was the perfect timing, as it gave people a chance to not only get out of the house and walk along the trail but also provided a COVIDsafe activity that was both inspirational and fun. Created in partnership with the city of Birmingham

Astrantia snow at City Bloom

Milkweed

continued on page 36 JULY 8 • 2021

ARTS&LIFE ON THE COVER

continued from page 35

and the Robert Kidd Gallery, the 3-mile trail features Tennent's botanical photographs printed on weather-resistant materials that are tucked alongside trees, flowers and bushes. “It brings it back to nature,” she explains. BEAUTIFYING DETROIT Yet, Tennent's passion for botanical art doesn’t stop there. She’s also partnered with Daffodils 4 Detroit, an organization that aims to plant millions of daffodils throughout the city. As perennial flowers, daffodils would grow back year after year, showering Detroit in splashes of yellow. To support the effort, Tennent has launched a Daffodils 4 Detroit collection

A photo of succulents grace this back porch.

JULY 8 • 2021

Fern

that features daffodil-themed and inspired pieces like serving trays, notebooks, pencil pouches and even scarves and masks. “Daffodils 4 Detroit is a really interesting project that wants to plant a daffodil for every person in the city,” Tennent says. “I’m giving back money from the line of products that I created for that charity. It’s an uplifting sight to see the daffodils around the city.” Additionally, Tennent is an advocate of Alzheimer’s disease support groups. Earlier this spring, she

partnered with Neiman Marcus and the Alzheimer’s Association for their 2021 Spring Soiree, a shopping event that raises money for the association. There, Laurie signed copies of her book BOTANICALS: Intimate Portraits. For the artist, it was an important mission: her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother all died with early onset dementia by age 72. Now, as she continues to give back to the community in numerous ways, Tennent also runs her current

Birmingham gallery (Laurie Tennent Botanicals) while she plans a trip to Tuscany, Italy, in September for a photography workshop. She’s also teaching photography classes at Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Cranbrook and in her own studio. “I really am passionate about my work helping other people,” Tennent says. “If you can do something beautiful that other people love, and may bring not only beauty to their home, but to help a good cause, that is a huge importance for me.”

Dahlias

THEATER

A Midtown Success Story

AHRON FOSTER

ARTS&LIFE

Detroit Public Theatre to move to its own new, larger venue. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

own building on Third Avenue, and it is scheduled to open in the spring of 2022 with a seating capacity of 200. Birthday Candles, written by Grand Rapids native Noah Haidle and enhanced with music by Kate Hopgood of Ypsilanti, opens in the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway in a similar timeframe. Premiering director Vivienne Benesch will continue with the new production, starring Debra Messing (Will and Grace). “The leadership at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) had recognized the need for a theater, like the Detroit Public Theatre, in the cultural district so they welcomed and incubated us so generously,” said Winkler, producing artistic director with acting and admin-

The Detroit Public Theatre leadership team: Sarah Clare Corporandy, Sarah Winkler, Dominique Morisseau and Courtney Burkett

istrative experience. “We shared our space with the education programs at the DSO, and the leadership of the DPT and the DSO always knew at some point DPT could outgrow the space. Our theater programming was growing exponentially at the same time the outstanding education programs of the DSO were growing exponentially.” To celebrate the new space, DPT has scheduled a free Summer Block Party with food, entertainment and games 2-10 p.m. Saturday, July 10. BIG PLANS The DPT, which launched soon after Winkler’s family moved to Michigan, partnered with Courtney Burkett and Sarah Clare Corporandy, all holding

the title of producing artistic director. Burkett, former director of theater programs at Mosaic Youth Theatre, has worked as an actress, director, administrator and teacher. Corporandy continues as managing director of the Chautauqua Theater Company in New York. Playwright Dominique Morisseau recently joined the leadership team. “Right now, we have a fulltime staff of seven, and we’re going to expand to a full-time staff of 10,” Winkler said. “We’ll be hiring a general manager, facilities manager and connectivity and engagement manager to develop even more programming for outreach to audiences.” Plans are being made for a 2021-22 season to be performed at different area venues, adding continued on page 38

COURTNEY BURKETT

wo major moves in progress dramatize the six-year success of the Detroit Public Theatre (DPT) — the move into a larger space and the move of its first commissioned play from Motown to Broadway. Sarah Winkler, a longtime New York stage professional who partnered with local stage professionals and community leaders to establish DPT, mustered through the pandemic by collaborating on plans for the new 7,000-square-foot facility and proudly tracking the development of Broadway-bound Birthday Candles. DPT, which had been housed in a 150-seat venue at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Midtown, is moving three blocks away to occupy its

The new DPT building before and after.

JULY 8 • 2021

ARTS&LIFE THEATER

to the 20 productions in residence and six productions and festivals in Detroit communities. To find the new location, DPT convened a committee led by attorney-businessman David Jaffe and community arts leader Debbie Erb. The committee included board and community members as well as real estate and building experts. The team looked at more than 35 spaces before deciding on what had been a muffin factory and garage. Members liked its wooden ceilings, complicated metal trussing system and high-ceiling construction. Valet and free parking close to the theater will be offered. An important consideration was the building’s potential for availability to other arts organizations. An example of DPT outreach has been the Shakespeare in Prison program, directed by Frannie ShepherdBates and started in 2012 before joining with DPT in 2015. DSO BOOST “The DSO opened up their home to us, and we want to pay that forward and provide subsidized performance space for other performing arts organizations in Detroit,” Winkler said. Looking back on DPT productions, Winkler appeared in two: The Harassment of Iris Malloy by Zak Berkman and Cry It Out by Molly Smith Metzler. Her earlier New York roles have placed her in Einstein’s Gift by Vern Thiessen and The Last Seder by Jennifer Maisel. She also was producing artistic director of the Off-Broadway Epic Theatre Ensemble. Winkler played strong women in both Detroit plays and anticipates widening attention to Eric Gutman’s From Broadway

JULY 8 • 2021

to Obscurity. It was filmed for showing on Detroit Public Television and its Buffalo affiliate while efforts are in the works to offer that show through other public television stations. Winkler is married to Simon Leopold, chief financial officer at Agree Realty, and they have three sons. During the pandemic shutdown, the family missed activities at Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy and other synagogues with friends.

DASH MARSHALL

continued from page 37

MUFFIN MILIEU Winkler enjoys a laugh about the history of the new space, constructed in 1919. The building in renovation had been a factory making Bays English Muffins, a favorite of her mom. Elaine Stritch, the late and acclaimed Detroit-bred actress, was married to the late John Bay, whose family owned Bays Muffins. Stritch, the legend goes, gave out muffins to cast members on the opening nights of productions in which she starred. “We’re not going to have a lot of food in the theater snack bar, but we are going to have Bays English Muffins,” Winkler said. “I’m obsessed with that.” Returning to the serious side of her work, Winkler’s team is in the process of raising $3 million for DPT, which has raised $2 million. She explained, “There’s been a strengthening, particularly in this year, of my beliefs that theater has the power to unite and create empathy and activate communities’ understanding and caring for each other.” The Detroit Public Theatre’s free Summer Block Party will be held 2-10 p.m. Saturday, July 10, in the Selden Courtyard, 656 Selden, Detroit. Information: detroitpublictheatre.org/ festivals-partnerships.

Renderings of the completed theater

ARTS&LIFE BOOKS

A rendering of the front entrance

CONTOUR DEVELOPMENT GROUP

The ‘Center’ of It All Former Oak Park mayor updates his book on Northland Mall. SHARON LANDAU LEVINE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

F NAFTALY

ormer Oak Park Mayor Gerald E. “Jerry” Naftaly exhibited his skills in archiving memories and documenting local history in his 2016 pictorial work titled Northland Mall. Now, he is releasing an expanded edition of his book that includes everything from the first edition, including the mall’s founding and a glimpse at what the future holds for Jerry this iconic property. Naftaly I got a chance to ask Mayor Naftaly about the new edition of the Northland Mall book, which just won a “Finalist Award” from the International Book Awards. What motivated you to write about Northland Mall? I wrote the first edition in 2016. Like many people in our area, I grew up with Northland. My life mirrored that of Northland. I was born in 1952, the same year as the groundbreaking. My parents moved our family to Oak Park in 1954, which was the same year the mall opened to the public. My dad, Bill, took me to Hughes & Hatcher, Phillip Shoes and more. My mother, Northland elephant Grace, dragged with tower in the me to Kresge’s, background

Cunningham’s, Hudson’s and others. As I got older, I rode my bike with friends to pick up WKNR Keener 13 and CKLW music guides from Sam Press’ Ross Music. I bought records and Panasonic reel-to-reel tape recorders at Chuck Bassin’s Land of Hi-Fi and the latest cameras at Dunns. Years later, working at my brother’s CPA firm, I’d pick up client financial records from some stores. Older still as a stockbroker, some of the same employees became my clients. Sadly, my mother passed away as Northland was closing in March 2015. What alerted you to Northland’s demise? Major anchors, like TJ Maxx, Target and then Macy’s, were closing from 2013 to the first weeks of 2015. I had read in 2014 that the mall owners defaulted on a $30 million payment. The mall went into receivership, and I reached out to attorney John Polderman, asking permission to talk to then mall manager Miles McFee. I arranged a private meeting and tour with several friends. The Southfield police chief assigned officers to join our tour during their rounds, giving me credibility in talking with store owners and taking photos. So, your book examines some of the stores? Yes, the second edition includes everything in the first edition plus another 50 pages. There are dozens of photographs and memories of businesses, sculptures and activities that attracted us to Northland. The book contains the history

of the mall, from Victor Gruen, the visionary who created Northland Mall, to the Webber brothers, nephews of Joseph L. Hudson who financed the Northland Mall project. You’ve shared some of Northland’s history in Jewish History Facebook pages? Yes, interestingly, Victor Gruen (19031980), the pioneer of Northland and other shopping malls was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Vienna, Austria. As I researched the businesses, I found that many Jewish friends were owners, employees or related to someone who was. That included the Mummp, a music venue for teens. What are the plans for the Northland site? The city of Southfield sold the property to Contour Companies of Bloomfield Hills (Ascension Health bought 5 acres). I’ve known the chief architect, Bruce Allen Kopytek, for many years. (He’s authored

books on Jacobson’s and Crowley’s). Contour shared renderings for the plans to revitalize the property, and I’ve included seven in this book. Contour announced: “The project consists of two phases. A 1,339-unit apartment community in 14, five-story buildings. Six buildings will have a commercial component on the ground floor facing Greenfield Road. The J.L Hudson store, once the world’s largest branch department store, continued on page 40 JULY 8 • 2021

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

BLACK WIDOW IS BACK; ANOTHER LANSKY FLICK Black Widow opens in theaters on July 9 and starts streaming on Disney Premiere+ on the same day. It’s another tale about Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow (BW). Marvel Universe fans know that BW died in Avengers: End Game (2019). However, this film is an End Game prequel, set between the events depicted in Civil War (2016) and Infinity War (2018). The new flick finds BW battling a serious conspiracy. Once again, Scarlett Johansson, 36, plays BW. Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz, 51, co-stars. She plays Melina Vostokoff, a veteran member

of the Black Widow organization, a seasoned spy and a mother-figure to Romanoff. Lansky, a bio-pic about famous Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky, (1902-83) opened in a few theaters on June 25 and is available on-demand. Reviews range from so/so to complete pans. However, every reviewer says that Harvey Keitel, 82, is superb in the title role. The premise is that a terminally ill Lansky agrees to a frank run-down of his career with a reporter. But nothing about their conversation will be published until after his death. Variety says of Keitel: “[He] commands attention not by resorting to showboating… but rather by conveying the sometimes ingratiating, sometimes intimidating self-assurance of someone who has seen it all.” The director and scriptwrit-

Black Widow

er, Eytan Rockaway, 35ish, says he was inspired by interviews with Lansky that his father, Robert Rockaway, 81, an Israel-based historian, did in 1973. Robert, a Detroit native, earned his undergraduate and grad degrees in Michigan and is the author of The Jews of Detroit: From the Beginning (1986). Almost all critics say that flashbacks featuring the young Lansky and subplots involving the reporter and the FBI just don’t work (the young Lansky is played by John

continued from page 39

JULY 8 • 2021

CONTOUR DEVELOPMENT GROUP

published in 1959 that described the making of the Oak Park sledding hill. The copyright had expired, so I filed my own and published the book on the 60th anniversary in 2019. I added articles and photographs about the hill and the David Shepherd Park. I published an expanded version in 2020. I’m currently writing the story of Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours. How can people purchase your books? The first editions of Oak Park and Northland Mall are on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. All books, including second editions and The Hill are only available from me. People can contact me via Facebook or my website, JerryNaftaly.com, or email GNaftaly@att.net directly to purchase signed and personalized copies of all the books.

A rendering of the proposed Hudson City Market

Northland was the home of Ross Music

NAFTALY

will be returned to use as the Hudson City Market, a food and home furnishings marketplace filled with dining and entertainment options. Phase II located along Northwestern Highway and J.L. Hudson Drive will include townhomes. The landmark power plant will become a community playhouse. Northland’s iconic water tower will remain in place.” Initial work, including demolition of JCPenney and other structures, is already underway. Groundbreaking may occur this fall. You’ve written other books? My first book was about Oak Park, launched on 12/12/12. I then wrote the Northland first edition in 2016. My third book was an homage to a book I read as a kid … The Hill That Grew, a children’s learn-to-read book

Magaro, 38. He was raised in his mother’s Jewish faith). I want to believe Lansky’s “Jewish avenger” stories (repeated in the film). But I take them with a grain of salt because the main source is Lansky and other criminals. How many times did Lansky (really) help break up prewar American Nazi rallies and how many guns did he (really) run to Israel during the Israeli War of Independence? Wanting clarity led me to speak to Lansky’s grandson a few years ago. He didn’t know anything interesting that he learned by virtue of being a Lansky. What he knew came from secondary sources, and he had no clue where Lansky’s reputed millions went after his death. He was, however, smart enough to trade on his family name via TV and other paid appearances.

IMDB

ARTS&LIFE

ON THE GO

PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS

SUPPORT GROUP 1:30-2:45 PM, JULY 8 JVS is holding a virtual caregiver support group for individuals who are care partners for those living with cognitive changes, including various types of dementia. Contact Dorothy Moon, Brown Adult Day Program social worker, for Zoom link and more information. 248-514-3627, dmoon@jvshumanservices. org. CONCERT 7-9 PM, JULY 9 Alexander Zonjic & Friends will headline a summer concert series at the Adell Center in Novi, 43700 Adell Center Drive. The concerts are sponsored by both the Adell Center and DTE. Concertgoers can sit on the lawn or bring their own lawn chairs. For information, call Phyllis at 419-280-1073. VIRTUAL CONCERT 8 PM, JULY 9 The Ark in Ann Arbor will present Making Movies, a band based in the United States with a sound Rolling Stone describes as “an eclectic blend of rumbero percussions, delicate organs and grungy fuzz rock.” Watch free on The Ark’s Facebook page. Info: the ark.org. YIDSTOCK 2021 JULY 11 The Yiddish Book Center invites you to watch this year’s virtual YIDSTOCK: The Festival of New Yiddish Music, which will be a prerecorded, 75-minute program featuring a dozen musicians from around the world. The program will be emceed by YIDSTOCK artistic director

Seth Rogovoy. For information and to purchase a ticket, visit YIDSTOCK: The Festival of New Yiddish Music, yiddishbookcenter.org/ yidstock. Aviv Ezra

CONSUL GENERAL NOON, JULY 13 Join JCRC/AJC and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor and the Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids on Zoom as they thank Consul General Aviv Ezra for his service to the Midwest over the past five years. Register at bit.ly/3gTIJGj. MUSIC CLASS 4-5 PM, JULY 13 Especially for grandparents and grandkids (parents invited, too). Join Lindsay Mall for a special music class filled with bubbles, rhythm and fun. At Inglenook Park, 20901 12 Mile, Southfield. This class is geared toward children ages 0-6 with their parents and grandparents. Spaces are limited. Registration required. Info: sepez@jccdet.org, 248432-5632. SUSTAINABILITY 7 PM, JULY 14 This NCJW|MI event is a sustainability webinar presented by NCJW Green Committee. Hear from two experts on sus-

Making Movies

VIRTUAL CONCERT 8 PM, JULY 9 tainability and learn what each of us can do to help repair the world (tikkun olam). To register, visit NCJWMI.org; the webinar is free but advanced registration is required. THEATER TALKBACK 8 PM, JULY 14 The Catastrophist is presented by the Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice at Jewish Theological Seminary in partnership with Marin Theatre Company and Round House Theatre. Join in conversation with the team behind the acclaimed virtual drama, a story of real-life virus hunter Nathan Wolfe — who just happens to be the playwright’s husband — and a stirring meditation on scientific discovery, Judaism, family, life and loss. Register at jtsa.edu/ the-catastrophist. JEWISH PROTEST SINGERS 7 PM, JULY 15 The Yiddish Book Center will present “The Times They Were a-Changin’: Jewish Protest Singers of the 1960s,” with Seth Rogovoy. In this livestreaming multimedia talk, Rogovoy, author of a book about Bob Dylan, will explore how Jewish artists addressed many of the same issues their Yiddish forebears tackled just a few decades earlier and how Jewish values seem to have informed their work. RSVP: yiddishbookcenter.org.

RELIGIOUS ART TOUR 7-8 PM, JULY 15 The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit will host a free Zoom program featuring religious-themed art at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Christian Black, a DIA gallery educator, will discuss six paintings and sculptures with faith-related themes, most from the DIA’s own collection. These artworks were created by individuals from the Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh religions and Native American tradition. The program is free. Registration info: detroitinterfaithcouncil. com. GUNS N’ ROSES AUG. 8 Iconic rock legends Guns N’ Roses touring production, produced by Live Nation, will now visit Comerica Park. Tickets are on sale now at Tigers.com/GNR. Tickets for the previously scheduled dates (July 11, 2020, and July 24, 2021) will be honored for the newly scheduled date and fans are encouraged to hold onto their tickets. Ticket holders unable to attend the rescheduled date now have 30 days, or until Wednesday, July 30, 2021, to request a refund at point of purchase. Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in advance to calendar@thejewishnews.com.

JULY 8 • 2021

BUSINESS

SPOTlight

brought to you in partnership with

BIRMIN GH A M

Building Upon Great Success

Edward Rose & Sons celebrates 100 years in business. ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

hen Edward Rose, founder of national real estate development company Edward Rose & Sons, immigrated to the United States in 1907 to live on a farm with his Uncle Streir, the young boy had virtually nothing to his name. Like so many immigrants who also left Poland for a better life in America, he had to somehow build a career from the ground up. Now, Edward Rose & Sons is celebrating 100 years in business thanks to a timeless success story that mirrors those of many Jewish immigrants who relocated to the Detroit area. It began during World War I, when Rose was enticed by Henry Ford’s offer encouraging workers to move to Detroit and take on jobs in the city’s booming auto industry. The wages promised were $5 per day, which at the time was a handsome sum. Though working for Ford didn’t ultimately come to fruition for the then-21-year-old Rose, he had other ambitions to pursue. After trying out a temporary building business with his brother, Louis Rose, Edward decided to launch

JULY 8 • 2021

his own company. He partnered with a friend, Max Rosenfeld, to invest $5,000 saved from a window-washing company into what would become Edward Rose & Sons (Rose later bought out Rosenfeld). By 1921, the new building company was open for business. “We’ve been in continuous operation since 1921,” explains Warren Rose, grandson of Edward Rose and current CEO of Edward Rose & Sons. “My grandfather founded the company at that time as a single-family home builder.” Now, Edward Rose & Sons has significantly expanded, branching into luxury apartments, multi-family units and even a new senior living arm. GIVING VALUE Warren Rose attributes the company’s success to his grandfather’s unwavering commitment to getting the “most house for your money.” “That was his inspiration,” Rose explains. “He wanted to give great value to the people who purchase homes.” For Edward Rose, a simple man who came from humble beginnings and didn’t need

Edward Rose’s mission was to provide value to homeowners.

The founder of the business

the luxuries in life, his goal was for customers to buy homes that would be worth every dollar. This was especially important during the historic economic collapse of the Great Depression, which significantly impacted the housing industry. Surviving the Great Depression, Warren Rose says, was one of his grandfather’s — and the company’s — biggest accomplishments. “My grandfather was a very astute businessman and was able to get through that economic downturn in one piece,” he explains. While there wasn’t a lot of activity during this time, Edward

Rose and the company maintained their solidarity. The Rose family then opened a mortgage business, Advance Mortgage Corporation, which was later sold to Citicorp (now Citigroup) in 1970. The mortgage business, Warren Rose describes, was the company’s second key milestone. SENIOR LIVING Their third major milestone is the new Rose Senior Living business, which works exclusively with the senior community. “It’s hard to believe we’re now in our 100th year,” Rose says. “I think the entire family takes great pride in the legacy that was started by Edward and all that he did.” The business, which is kept going strong by several generations of the Rose family, sees many members involved in its management. Though times have

changed (including the economy and market demands), Warren Rose says Edward Rose & Sons continues to adhere to his grandfather’s motto of getting the “most house for your money.” This has carried them through the decades, he believes. “It’s a thread of culture,” he says of the motto. “It’s a common theme of the company and over Edward’s lifetime.” The Rose family is also heavily involved in Jewish philanthropy and advocacy, including Warren Rose serving on Temple Beth-El leadership for a number of years. MARKING CENTENNIAL To celebrate 100 years in business, Edward Rose &

Sons will host events at their 150 apartment communities over the next few months. They’ve even hired a filmmaker to put together a documentary showcasing the history of the company. Though the business has seen remarkable growth over the past century, Warren Rose says the story of his grandfather’s vision is only just beginning. “We want to see continued growth in new markets around the country,” he explains. “We’re currently in 18 states and growing. We’d like to continue developing new product lines and also increasing our presence in senior living spaces.”

The current generation shepherding the family business: Warren, Irving, Leslie and Sheldon Rose

Yet despite their success, Warren Rose says Edward Rose & Sons will always remember and honor their humble roots. “It’s remarkable how all they had is their wits, their hard work and their ethics,”

he says of his grandfather’s generation and other immigrants who made a name for themselves. “They turned that into success, and Edward is certainly an example of that group.”

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BUSINESS

A New Kind of Collaboration Hybrid virtual and in-person networking platform helps business professionals connect. ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Steven Nelick

JULY 8 • 2021

hortly before COVID19 hit, entrepreneur Steven Nelick, former vice president and general manager of Enterprise Holdings, retired from his role. At the time, Nelick relocated to Birmingham to be closer to his wife’s family, who originally hails from Metro Detroit. Though they were married at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, they lived in many cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. “I wasn’t really sure if I was going to go back to work,” he recalls. “Then COVID hit, so I started looking for the next best thing because I became kind of bored.” He managed to bump into an old Enterprise friend in Birmingham, Jim Lareau, and the two decided to look for a franchise together. “We investigated a bunch of franchises, and we ran into this company called M3Linked,” Nelick says. M3Linked offers a unique twist on networking opportunities for business professionals with both virtual and in-person events. “We absolutely loved it because it was all about helping entrepreneurs, business owners and CEOS move their businesses forward.”

For Nelick, 52, who was always passionate about collaboration and business growth, he felt that buying the Michigan franchise rights for M3Linked was the right move. “It felt like a really good extension of what I’ve done my whole career,” says Nelick, who managed more than 2,000 employees across 200 locations while at Enterprise Holdings. Together, Nelick and Lareau bought the franchise rights and got to know M3Linked’s business partners. “They basically asked us to come in and buy half the company and be the managing partner,” Nelick explains of the transition. M3Linked moved its headquarters from Scottsdale, Ariz., here to Birmingham, where it currently stands, making Nelick and Laureau franchisors instead of franchisees. Nelick became CEO, while Laureau became COO. NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES Now, M3Linked is live in nine markets across the country, including Detroit — and Nelick says his goal is for the company to grow even further. “I think it fixes a bunch of things,” he

says of M3Linked’s capabilities. “Business owners and entrepreneurs don’t always have a lot of people when they’re at the top who can help them. When they get involved in a community like this, they have all the resources they need to move their business forward and get guidance.” The way M3Linked works, Nelick explains, is that it builds communities of entrepreneurs, business owners, attorneys, CEOs, investors, celebrities and founders. The platform brings these individuals together using different experiences within the community. There is an entry-level membership where members can join special events, receiving 60 seconds to tell people about their professional background, their mission and their motivation. From there, members can create breakout groups with two to three people who might be able to help them out. There are other levels as well, including one called “Masterminds” where eight to 10 people meet every month for half a day, diving into one another’s businesses and solving various business problems. For now, many sessions are remote, but Nelick says in-person events are picking back up as COVID-19 restrictions ease. “The biggest difference between us and some of our competitors is that you don’t have to attend every meeting, and referrals aren’t a requirement,” Nelick says. There’s also a strict membership vetting — only members with true intentions to help others can join. “We’ve

Guests gather to watch a live event in the Birmingham headquarters of M3Linked: clockwise from left, Carolyn Koblin, Steven Nelick, Roy Sadler, Franka Sadler and Stacy Latona.

turned away people that are worth millions and millions of dollars because we realize they’re only there for the take.” EMOTIONAL MOMENTS Even on a personal level, Nelick says the networking he’s witnessed has moved him greatly. “I’ve sat through many Masterminds, and every time I do, at least one person ends up crying,” he recalls. “People really love it when they come to us. They say they’ve finally found the right type of organization and community.” Nelick says M3Linked looks for members who have a positive attitude and a lot of energy. “It’s a business collaboration, and everybody knows within the organization that if you help,

you’ll get help.” He also believes M3Linked provides a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and other professionals to scale their businesses across the country, since they can meet with people in different markets (for example, a Detroit business owner can meet with a Los Angeles business owner to discuss bringing that particular business to another market). The virtual meeting capabilities, Nelick says, make this possible. “We like to say we’re spearheading the collaborative revolution,” Nelick continues. “Our short-term goals are to expand into the top metro markets in the United States. After that, our plans are to go international and go worldwide.”

HERE’S TO Former U.S. ambassador to Morocco David T. Fischer received, in Washington, the Alaouite Wissam of the Order of Commander, which was awarded to him by HM King Mohammed VI. The royal decoration was presented to Mr. Fisher by the King’s ambassador to the United States, Her Highness Princess Lalla Joumala, during a ceremony held at the residence of the Moroccan Embassy. The Wissam was awarded to the former U.S. ambassador in recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and close friendship between the two countries. Fischer served as ambassador to Morocco from 2020-2021. He currently serves as chairman of Troy, Michigan-based Suburban Collection Holdings.

The Michigan Bankers Association announced the election of William B. Kessel, president and CEO of Independent Bank as chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Kessel joined Independent Bank in 1994 as vice president of finance, was appointed to serve as the company’s president as of April 2011 and chief executive officer in 2013.

Adat Shalom Synagogue celebrated Rabbi Aaron Bergman’s bar mitzvah year at Shabbat morning services July 3, 2021. Rabbi Bergman joined the Adat Shalom clergy July 1, 2008. On June 6, 2021, Rabbi Bergman was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Jewish Theological Seminary, marking 30 years since his ordination.

JULY 8 • 2021

Chicken and turkey at Smokey G’s

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

DINING AROUND THE D

Avocado Bomb at Geisha Girls

Twin Destinations Grace the RiverWalk ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

JULY 8 • 2021

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

obert C. Valade Park, a $4 million riverfront park named for the philanthropic, former leader of clothing manufacturer Carhartt, opened in October 2019 as a marvelous addition to the Detroit RiverWalk. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy project reclaiming the riverfront is gradually building toward its conclusion east of the Belle Isle Bridge. Other parks dot the 5½-mile expanse starting at the Ambassador Bridge, but this stretch — just east of the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater, with free parking across from the box office — is my favorite. It’s a complete summer blast here with a beach, sand volleyball, kids’ playground and an open pavilion. On a weekday here, I saw picnickers learning to Latin dance. Turquoise umbrella tables are widely spaced on a patio around a former boat slip. Beyond that, over a bridge, is Bob’s Barge, a floating weekend bar for patrons to enjoy libations while facing Windsor, Canada. Hungry visitors will find quality takeout items available at two separately owned businesses, Geisha Girls and Smokey G’s Smokehouse. They are side-by-side at a counter inside the Shed. The large, light-flooded public space has sparse tables, flat-screen TVs and garage-style overhead doors. Greg Simms opened Smokey G’s in

GEISHA GIRLS SMOKEY G’S SMOKEHOUSE 2670 Atwater Street Detroit, MI 48207 GG: (313) 880-0899 GG: See Facebook page SGS: (313) 693-2533 Smokeygsmokehouse.com $$$ out of $$$$$ ABOVE: The Shed at Valade Park on the RiverWalk

Valade Park on March 9, 2020 — just before “the world shut down” for the COVID-19 pandemic. Simms got his start as a caterer in 2014, bringing his smoker to university tailgate parties. He continued catering during the shutdown. My friend Roberta was pleased with the

taste of her well-trimmed beef brisket at Smokey G’s. Bottles of Simms’ barbecue sauce will be carried soon at upscale housewares store, Williams Sonoma. The sauce added delicious flavor and some heat to my meal. More notable items are smoked salmon and turkey legs. His vinegary coleslaw “clears your palate so you really taste the product you’re eating,” Simms said. Vegetarian sides are smoked sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts, with smoked Portobello mushrooms and smoked peaches soon to join the lineup. Geisha Girls also opened that March 9. “I relied on online delivery apps to stay afloat,” said owner Mary Stallworth. She’s also doing pop-ups again, bringing food to distilleries and bars for customers to enjoy with their liquor. Stallworth learned to make traditional sushi from chefs at her previous restaurants. But the Geisha Girls menu is unique — “a fusion of soul food and Japanese” — that reflects her Japanese and African American ancestry. She likes incorporating familiar foods, such as apple cider or buttermilk. Avocado Bomb was my choice recently. So good! The panko-encrusted avocado quarters are topped with spicy mayo, sweet soy, spicy tuna, imitation crab and mango salsa. Crispy sweet potato root strings are the garnish. “It’s like an avocado exploded,” Stallworth said. Bring it on, say I. Sushi Tacos include a wonton base, vinegared rice, choice of sushi and mango salsa. Slappin Roll has shrimp tempura, pineapple and more. Both take-outs open at 11 a.m., with varying closing times.

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PROFESSOR STEVEN HORWITZ, 57, of Indianapolis, Ind., died June 27, 2021. He is survived by his beloved wife, Sarah Skwire; father, Ronald Horwitz; son, Andrew Horwitz; daughters, Rachel Horwitz, Abigail Waschow and Penelope Waschow; brothers and sisters-in-law, Michael (Laura Marchak) Horwitz, David and Laurie Horwitz, Robert and Dr. Amy Horwitz; many loving nieces, nephews, other family members and friends. Professor Horwitz was the son of the late Carol Horwitz. Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to the Multiple Myeloma Association or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. ESTELLE BAUM KABRIN, 94, of Margate, Fla., died June 27, 2021. She is survived by her daughters and son-in-law, Carole Kabrin, Donna and David Silver, Davida Kabrin; grandchildren, Shawn Silver, Kari Silver; sisters-in-law, Marilyn Baum, Pearl Baum. Mrs. Kabrin was the beloved wife of the late Samuel Kabrin; loving daughter of the late Abraham and the late Frieda Baum; dear sister of the late Harvey Baum, the

late Sidney Baum and the late David Baum. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. A graveside service was held at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. CHARLENE BETH GENSER LEZELL, 72, passed away on June 18, 2021. There are people in this life who inspire with actions, others with words; she tried to do both. She is survived by her son, Darren Myerson; sister and brother-in-law, Claire and Gene Richmond; nephews, Randy and Adam Genser, Steven and Jodi Richmond; many nieces and nephews. Mrs. Lezell was the mother of the late Alissa Faith; sister of the late, Morton; daughter of the late Leo and Kay Genser. Interment was at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. STEVE MEDOW, 85, of Boca Raton, Fla., formerly of Michigan, died on June 25, 2021, at home with his family by his side. Steve was a longtime member of the Labor Zionist Alliance (Ameinu) and Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park. He served on the board of Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit,

where his sons attended. He was the beloved husband for 66 years of Isa Medow; the loving father of Mitchell Medow and Janet Sobel-Medow, and David Medow and Barbara Bernstein; affectionate zaydie of Rachel and Justin Gilson, Joshua and Gina, Alex and Nathan; adoring great-grandfather of Sammy and Natalie Gilson; the dear brother and brother-in-law of Herman and Toni, and the late Lottie and Norman Franklin; uncle of Barry and Linda Franklin. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bluma and Hershel Medow. Interment was in Florida. Contributions may be sent to the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Jacobson Family Food Pantry in Boca Raton or Yad Ezra in Berkley, Mich. MARION D. WOLOCK, 92, of West Bloomfield, died June 28, 2021. She is survived by her children, c. 1988 Steven (Miriam) Wolock, Jody (Lee) Schottenfels and Annie Wolock; grandchildren, Tali Zechory, Ilan Zechory (Audrey Gelman), Maya Wolock, Peter Schottenfels (fiance, Mark Lightner), Abby Schottenfels, Emily Schottenfels (Drew Christ), Sarah (Patrick) Neff, Jacob (Sarah) Wolock; great-grandchildren, Brendan Neff, Marion Neff, Aiden Wolock, Nick Wolock and Sidney Gelman Zechory; sisters, Maxine Berghoff and Sharry Friedman; nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews; friends; caregivers, Carolyn Williams, Quanesha Williams and Tasheona Beard LPN. Mrs. Wolock was the beloved wife of the late Samuel O. Wolock; the loving companion

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During the coming week, Kaddish will be said for these departed souls during the daily minyan at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. Your support of the Torah learning of our children and our Kollel’s Torah Scholars brings immeasurable heavenly merit. Please call us at 248-557-6750 for more information.

2 Av July 11 Sol Brodsky Seymour J. Cohn Chaviva (Helen Esther) Engelsberg (Schuraytz) Hilda Golaner Myra Gold Morris H. Kaner Jacob Landgarten Minnie Lipchinsky Ida Madanick Paul Meretsky Sara Zabludovsky 3 Av July 12 Esther Allan Harry Robert Bockoff Emma D. Dana Herbert Glogower Pauline Gutfreund Ellen C Harris Philip Hoffman Benjamin Shepard Louis Sugar 4 Av July 13 Zise Bigman Barish Bokhaut

Frances Dorothy Crane Morris Green Helen Koelner Hannah Diem Israel Hirsh Mason Dorothy Eizen Harry Overton Chaya Itta Gorenstein Anna Spears Fanny Gould Minnie Weberman Julie Grunwald Jean Weiss Lillian Harris Etta Levin 7 Av July 16 David Levitz Isay Feldman Sonia Menenberg Annie Kelmanovitz Esther Shifra Moshel Esther Marcus Bill Rosenthal Gertrude Marks Samuel M. Shorr Jacob Peltz Joseph Stein Anna Weisberg 5 Av July 14 Bertha Weisser Sarah Ausch 8 Av July 17 Katie Glicklin Louis Baggleman Lena Miriam Lieberman Millie Franovitz Bernard Markofsky Julius Freedman David Sherman Max Graff Ralph Slootsky Morton Keller Aaron Yampolsky Sylvia Lipson Sam Yanchair Victor A. Mallis 6 Av July 15 Richard David Mitchell Max Feldman Sophie Pfeiffer William Milton Fleisher Eva Wasserman

School for Boys • Beth Jacob School for Girls • Bais Yehudah Preschool Weiss Family Partners Detroit • Kollel Bais Yehudah • Maalot Detroit P.O. Box 2044 • Southfield, MI 48037• 248-557-6750 • www.YBY.org

JULY 8 • 2021

OF BLESSED MEMORY

Caring for the Community DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Monument Center Inc.

“Same Location Over 80 Years”

OBITUARIES

nriching the Jewish aspects of life. While Marcia community in and preferred to lead from behind around Metro Detroit the scenes, she and Eugene was a consistent objective in were philanthropic partners Marcia Applebaum’s life. and champions for causes In 1999, Marcia and her that advanced education, husband, Eugene, announced health and medical research the largest capital gift in the as well as organizations that history of Metro Detroit’s enhanced the arts, culture and Jewish community, leading to strengthening of the Jewish the naming of the Eugene and people and Israel. Marcia Applebaum Jewish The Applebaums comCommunity mitted much of Campus in West their philanthropy Bloomfield. to research and “It was our education in the mom’s insistence healthcare field. In that the well-be2006, Beaumont ing of others Hospital opened would drive the the Marcia and Applebaum famEugene Applebaum ily philanthropy Surgical Learning in helping the Center, the first most vulnerable,” facility of its kind reflected daughters Marcia Applebaum in the country. Lisa Applebaum Nationally, the and Pamela Applebaum. Applebaums’ philanthropy has “She defined compasalso benefited the Mayo Clinic sion through her desire to and Brigham and Women’s improve the lives of vulnera- Hospital in Boston. ble Jewish older adults. Our Marcia and Eugene were mom was private, quiet and also partners in life, spenddignified in her generosity ing cherished time together and in her life.” at their homes in Florida and Marcia Applebaum, 81, New York. Most of all, they of Bloomfield Hills, died valued time at home here in June 24, 2021. Born on Dec. Michigan with their beloved 7, 1939, in Rochester, N.Y., children and grandchildren. Marcia was the loving daughMarcia had an elegance, ter to the late Sadie and the kindness and exquisite lens late Seymour Lipsky. on life that served as an Marcia lived a life filled extraordinary example to her with love and purpose devotfamily and friends, and she ed to her family and commuwas someone who defined nity. She was a partner to her style and class, said Rabbi late husband, Eugene, in all Joseph Krakoff, who officiat-

continued from page 49

ed at the funeral. “She was a truly great and inspiring lady who was overflowing with intelligence, with humor and with kindness,” he said. “Marcia was deeply intuitive and read people well,” Rabbi Krakoff added. “She was the embodiment of sincerity and authenticity and as such, she held tremendous respect for those who conducted themselves truthfully and honestly. “In every way, Marcia lived a life of devotion to her beautiful family, her dear friends and her beloved community.” ‘SOURCE OF STRENGTH’ “For 56 amazing years, Marcia and Gene were always by one another’s side,” Rabbi Krakoff noted. “They were an invaluable source of strength and support for each other in

every way imaginable. “Gene told me this himself, ‘Marcia is my guiding light, my best friend and the most wonderful partner I could have ever asked for or wanted in life.’ Gene attributed so much of his success to Marcia and her ability to handle whatever came her way. “They represented, day-in and day-out, an inspiring and enduring example of utter devotion as well as the most reciprocal and pure love that husband and wife could ever have for one another.” Marcia Applebaum was the beloved wife of the late Eugene Applebaum. Cherished mother of Lisa Applebaum and Pamela Applebaum (Gaal Karp). Adoring Nanny of Rebecca, Molly, Mia and Sky. Loving sister of Alice (Ronald)

Turett. Devoted cousin of Shelly Freedman and devoted daughter of the late Seymour and the late Sadie Lipsky. She is survived by nephews, nieces, and many cousins. She is also survived by her longtime and dedicated staff, Zeba Kuhl and Ken Smith. Interment was at Clover Hill Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Jewish Family Service, The Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Older Adult Enrichment Fund, 6555 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, (248) 592-2300, jfsdetroit. org; or American Friends of Magen David Adom, 3175 Commercial Ave., Suite 101, Northbrook, IL 60062, (888) 674-4871, afmda.org. Arrangements were by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

for 10 years of the late Dr. Sol Lesnick; the cherished mother of the late Ronald Wolock; the dear sister-in-law of the late Bill Berghoff, the late Bernie Friedman, the late Jeanette (the late Harry) Schwartz, the late Dorothy (the late Harry) Eichenhorn and the late Eva (the late David) Eisman; the devoted daughter of the late Sara and the late Sol Robins. Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit, 6710 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, attn: Beth Tryon; or Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Michigan, P.O. Box 772374, Detroit, MI 48277, lls.org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

For the peace you need . . . for the respect of the life you treasured.

JULY 8 • 2021

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

A Life of Fulfillment

leanor Korn, 92, of West Bloomfield, stood, “There is no place like home.” Eleanor wore many hats in life: She was a died June 26, 2021. daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandShe was born Sept. 8, 1928, and mother, a great-grandmother, volunteer came home to Utica, Mich., where she and still had time for more hats. spent her earliest years. Her Her professional world included family moved to Detroit when property management, education she was young. and financial planning. She was a Eleanor graduated from certified financial planner for the Central High School in the last 25 years of her professional class of 1946. She went on to life. Eleanor lived a full life, findthe University of Michigan ing joy and fulfillment in each and then earned her bacheday. lor’s degree from Wayne State Mrs. Korn is survived by her University in 1965. Eleanor Korn sons and daughter-in-law, Larry In 1948, Eleanor Karbal marKorn, Dr. Howard and Lynne Brooks-Korn, ried Monte Korn. Fast forward 16 years, Stephen Korn, Rabbi R. and Shuli Korn; and the family grew with seven children. daughters and son-in-law, Linee Diem, Eleanor and Monte enjoyed 64 years of Joanne and Dr. Michael Rowe, Nancy Korn their “love story.” Over time, the family of Zelch; grandchildren, Jeff Diem (fiancee, seven grew two more generations. Eleanor Sarah Krivel), Melissa Rowe, Jeremy Rowe, and Monte were blessed with 14 grandchilShalom Korn, Yisroel and Shiffi Korn, dren and 11 great-grandchildren. Sarah and Aleyahu Wilner, Yakov and They enjoyed their life together in Nomi Korn, Rachel Korn, Brittany Zelch, Detroit, Southfield and West Bloomfield as Jared Zelch, Jordan Zelch, Amy Diem, Shira well as many decades in Charlevoix. They Diem and Rena Diem; great-grandchildren, also traveled the world but always under-

JULY 8 • 2021

Ephraim Korn, Chaya Korn, Uriel Korn, Hadassah Korn, Nachama Korn, Ben Tzion Korn, Chana Korn, Moshe Wilner, Penina Wilner, Taeva Diem Schroeder and Elan Diem Schroeder. She is also survived by her sister, Beverly Mitz; sister-in-law, Phyllis Zatzick; extended family, including Lizzie Williams and friends, She was the beloved wife for 64 years of Monte Korn; the loving sister of the late Arlene Mehler Levenson; and the dear sister-in-law of the late Dr. Robert Korn, the late Annette Korn, the late Beulah Moss, the late David Moss, the late Leonard Mitz, the late Albert Levenson and the late Morton Mehler. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield, MI 48034, shaareyzedek. shulcloud.com, Jewish War Veterans, P.O. Box 725066, Berkley, MI 48072-999; or Friendship Circle, 6892 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, friendshipcircle. org. Arrangements were by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

RASKIN

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING

Serving Up Questions

hile the JN’s premier columnist, Danny Raskin, is speedily recovering from rib injuries suffered in a fall, we’ll be offering highlights of Danny’s columns until his return. If you’d like to send him greetings, email Danny at dannyraskin 2132@gmail.com or send mail to Danny Raskin c/o The Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Danny Raskin Hwy., Suite 205, Senior Columnist Farmington Hills, MI 48334. Here are some of Danny’s classic “Question & Answer” exchanges with readers from 2014: QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. … “Is it true that you used to own a delicatessen? Where was it located, and when did you have it?” … Sylvia Soloman. [No, I never owned a deli. The closest was back in the '60s. There was a Danny’s Delicatessen on Greenfield and 10 Mile Road

co-owned by George Fink, former owner with Ben Epstein of Ben & George’s years ago on Dexter Boulevard. Also, I understand, that in Chicago, one of the owners or sons working at Manny’s Deli there is also named Danny Raskin. These are the full extent of my delicatessen connections other than chewing on a good corned beef or whatever sandwich.] QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. … “My husband says that he was told that fine dining is on the way out. And no more dress codes. I can’t believe this. Have you heard anything about this?” … Selma Goodstein. [No, and I do not believe it to be true, either. There will always be upscale dining. It is definitely a way of life. Too many people still enjoy dressing with shirt and tie for the men, and smart hairstyle and dresses for the women.] QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. … “I have a bet with Alvin Selegman. He says he remembers when Sonny Eliot was in the restaurant business. Where

should he take me for a good Greek dinner in Greektown?” … Sam Tuchman. [You’re taking him, Sam. Sonny used to have Sonny’s Weather Station Lounge & Restaurant at Detroit’s City Airport. Pegasus and Santorini, both on Monroe, are a couple of Greektown favorites of many.] QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. … “Where can we get lake perch without skin?” … Eleanor Mendler. [Off hand, I can’t think of anyplace that skins the beautiful little devils. Last person that I know of who made a specialty of it was Chef Dennis Lindiger at the former Kingsley Inn in Bloomfield Hills. Others have also asked, and I sure wish I could have the answer for you as well as them. If I find out, I’ll let you know. Seems like chefs today just don’t want to go through the trouble of skinning perch when it is requested.] QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. … “Where did the name Darbys come from? My wife, Lil, says it is a place in England.”

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… Jack Sedgeman. [According to owner Sam Boesky’s stepson and general manager, Bernie Kerner, five names were put into a hat and this is the one picked. Other stories said it was taken from the Darbys in England or the Darbys in Florida.] QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. … “Years ago, our dad used to tell me and my sister about a delicatessen in Detroit where people ate for free. Did you ever hear about it?” … Solomon Emmers [Can’t say that I have. The only one that he might have been jokingly talking about could be Modern Delicatessen on Fenkell, where owner Max Kruegel’s mother was cashier and used the honor system. Nobody got a check, just told her what they ate.]

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888-247-5701 www.hom.org Caring for Detroit's Jewish community since 1980

248-644-8565 PROUD TO PARTNER WITH THE JEWISH HOSPICE & CHAPLAINCY NETWORK JULY 8 • 2021

Looking Back

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

45 Years Since Daring Raid

round 11:00 on the night of July 3, 1976, six airplanes carrying 100 commandos and medical equipment approached Entebbe, Uganda. Less than 90 minutes later, the aircraft were back in the air. Israeli special forces had just carried out one of the most spectacular rescue missions in history, saving 102 hostages held at the Entebbe Airport by Palestinian terrorists and their two radical German accomplices. It began on June 27, 1976, when the terrorists hijacked Air France Flight Mike Smith 139 with 246 passengers, Alene and Graham Landau largely Jewish or Israeli, Archivist Chair and 12 crew members. The flight was diverted to the Entebbe airport. Once in Uganda, the hijackers demanded the release of Palestinian militants imprisoned in Israel and elsewhere. The infamous Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin, abetted the hijackers. Negotiations led to the release of some non-Jewish hostages over the next few days, but 94 Jewish hostages remained under the threat of death, along with the Air France crew that heroically would not abandon their passengers. The Israeli military began planning Operation Jonathan shortly after the hijacking, but the risks were extremely high; the objective was 4,000 miles away. After several days of failed negotiations, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin made the tough decision to act. Operation Jonathan was a huge success. Sadly, three hostages were killed; a fourth, Dora Bloch, who had been moved to a hospital was subsequently slain. The leader of the raid, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of the future longtime prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was also killed. But, 102 people were saved. As a military operation, the Entebbe Raid was one of the most successful in

JULY 8 • 2021

history. It was an extension of power from a very small nation that demonstrated the courage, skill and planning abilities of Israelis. It sent a strong statement about not giving in to terrorism. Ian Fleming or Tom Clancy could not have written a more thrilling saga. The William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History holds 433 pages that mention Entebbe. Soon after news of Operation Jonathon reached Detroit, Entebbe became a topic of discussion in the Jewish community. Rabbi Harold Loss lectured on the Entebbe Raid at Temple Israel (Aug. 13, 1976, JN). At Congregation Beth Abraham, Yael Rom spoke about the “Entebbe Escape.” (Oct. 29, 1976). And this says nothing about conversations between friends and neighbors, or the extensive reporting in media from around the world. The Entebbe Raid also inspired several movies and books. Within a month, Uri Dan, military affairs correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Maariv published the first book: Ninety Minutes at Entebbe. Many others soon followed. There have been five movies about the raid, most recently 2018’s Seven Days at Entebbe. And one can find hundreds of entries on the internet. Perhaps the best story in the Archive is “Entebbe Memories” by Don Cohen in the June 30, 2016, JN. It is about Arie Smargon, from Huntington Woods, the neighbor next door, who happened to be a veteran of special forces in both the U.S. Army and IDF. Smargon was a commando on the Entebbe Raid, where he lost his best friend, Yonatan Netanyahu. Simply stated, the Entebbe Raid is legendary and deservedly so. Forty-five years later, it is a still a thrilling story of derring-do. Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation. org.

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 Feb. 11-17, 2021 / 29 Shevat-5 Adar 5781

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36 36

Meet the cohort of 2021 — young Jews making a difference in our community. See page 8

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS

200 Feb. 18-24, 2021 / 6-12 Adar 5781

thejewishnews.com

Sense of

Duty Young Detroiters serve in the IDF to “give back” to Israel. See page 12

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 Feb. 25-March 3, 2021 / 13-19 Adar 5781

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THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS

200 March 4-10, 2021 / 20-26 Adar 5781

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Floating Cloud ON A

With Detroit’s help, Israeli firm creates app to give your car a smoother, more efficient ride. See page 12

Todah Morim! Thank you, teachers! An appreciation of our day school educators during this pandemic. See page 13

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DJN July 8, 2021

Articles inside

Raskin

Twin Destinations on the RiverWalk

Here’s To

New Kind of Collaboration

Building Upon Success

Celebrity News

Community Calendar

Bloomin’ Good

The ‘Center’ of It All

A Midtown Success Story

Dramatic Victories on the Courts

The Best-Laid Plans

Helping Hand for Detroit Kids

Essays and viewpoints

Meet Polina Fradkin

Moments

Travel Tips

Torah portion

The Well’s Staycation