DJN June 23, 2022

THE DETROIT

JEWISH NEWS 200 June 23-29, 2022 / 24-30 Sivan 5782

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A ‘Tree’ of Remembrance Shoah survivor’s family donates memorial sculpture to Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.

See pages 12 and 45

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T H E A G E N CY R E .C O M

contents June 23-29, 2022 / 24-30 Sivan 5782 | VOLUME CLXXI, ISSUE 19

22

36 28 PURELY COMMENTARY 4-11

Essays and viewpoints.

BUSINESS 30

OUR COMMUNITY 12

16 18

20

A ‘Tree’ of Remembrance

Shoah survivor’s family donates memorial sculpture to Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.

32

Social Action Is at Its Roots

Grand Rapids’ Temple Emanuel does its best to meet the needs of a diverse population.

From Student to Volunteer

Meet Lisa Keller, a dedicated Hillel Day School volunteer.

22

Hello, Country Radio Hall of Fame

24

Ziggy’s Playground

Huntington Woods resident will be honored June 30 in Nashville.

Family dedicates a playground in Rwanda in memory to their father, a Holocaust survivor.

The Candy Woman

Through colorful candy, Claudia Halpern makes stunningly sweet creations.

SPORTS 34

Best of Three

Frankel Jewish Academy baseball team wins its first Catholic League division title in 17 years.

ERETZ 36

An Enduring Partnership

The P2G program smoothly pivoted to virtual during the pandemic, continuing its success.

MAZEL TOV 39

Moments

SPIRIT

Torah Portion What Is Going On? Synagogue Directory

26

Puzzle Wiz

40 41 43

28

‘Open Space, Open Minds’

ARTS&LIFE

29

Teenager can solve a Rubik’s Cube in seconds using only his feet.

Hillel Day School starts capital campaign for outdoor athletic facilities.

Shoah Ambassadors Wins Three Michigan Emmy Awards

45

49

Letting Go of Hatred

51

Celebrity News

Business leaders assess Michigan’ longterm economic prospects.

NEXT DOR

A New Name

After merging last year, JVS + Kadima rebrands as Gesher.

Strengths & Challenges

32

A Conversation with Ariel Schlesinger

Artist of Ways to Say Goodbye shares his creative ideas and processes for Holocaust memorial.

New children’s novel tells a survivor’s story of tolerance and forgiveness.

EVENTS 52

Community Calendar

FACES&PLACES 54

A Shavuot Cheese Party

ETC.

The Exchange/Spotlight 55 Obituaries 57 Looking Back 62 Shabbat Lights

Shabbat starts: Friday, June 24, 8:56 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, June 25, 10:08 p.m.

* Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

ON THE COVER: Cover photo/credit: Ariel Schlesigner, Ways To Say Goodbye (c) Compton Verney, photo by Jamie Woodley Cover design: Michelle Sheridan

thejewishnews.com Follow Us on Social Media: Facebook @DetroitJewishNews Twitter @JewishNewsDet Instagram @detroitjewishnews JUNE 23 • 2022

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PURELY COMMENTARY for openers

‘Adon Olam’ Caper Takes the Cake

W

ell, if this happened, I know when it happened.

I was in that middle time frame between childhood and teens, after my bar mitzvah, before I learned to drive a car and was ready to look for a partJeff London time job. I was every parent’s nightmare … a teenager with time on his hands. And to up the ante, I had a best friend to help me concoct interesting things to do to fill that time.

I met Wally sometime after the end of sixth grade, when my family had moved from Pinehurst to Roselawn, from the neighborhood near MacDowell to one near Bagley Elementary. Though we had met earlier, we solidified our friendship in French class with a teacher Wally dubbed Miss McFoggy.

I loved Wally’s creative sense of humor, how he coined nicknames for everyone, including me. He often called me Lindy Lundy in those days. And we just clicked.

Though we would go on to experience high school, college and beyond as friends, this was a time when we were inseparable, joined at the hip.

We made up our own shared language. “Dion” (as in Dion DiMucci, our favorite singer) was our word for anything cool. We loved to make up crazy games, like Buddy

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Bomar basement bowling, when we slept over at each other’s houses (one block apart on Roselawn and Greenlawn, both on the corner of Pickford). And we both had July birthdays and Wally’s family had previously also lived in a house on Pinehurst, a few Jeff (L) and years before. So of Wally (R) in course, we were charter younger days. members of the “July Pinehurst Club.” Our he talked about it!) We best friendship was obviously had both had attended many “beshert” (even though I had Shabbat services nearby, never heard of that word at the mostly at the bar mitzvahs of time!). our respective friends.

I will spare you the details of We both had opted to cease most of our plans, but I vividly our formal Jewish education recall the summer when we post-bar mitzvah, although my would both turn 14. We were decision involved a deal with at the height of our collective my mom to continue my piano imaginations. When you have lessons (which I kept only for a best friend at that age, you the requisite six months). So, think anything you can dream we were both quite familiar up together is possible, even with the pattern of Saturday though an underdeveloped morning services at nearby part of your brain senses it synagogues. may not be the best idea. So, You might wonder why not surprisingly, we together two 14-year-old boys were developed what I now call the discussing religious services at Great Adon Olam Caper. that time. We were not longing We had not known each for spiritual awakening nor other at the time of our missing the davening and respective bar mitzvahs. I chanting from our pre-bar had attended Shaarey Zedek mitzvah days. Our needs were Hebrew School while Wally much more basic than that. went to the Chaim Greenberg We missed the seven-layer Hebrew-Yiddish School, cake served at the kiddush located in the Morris Schaver after services. And so, we Auditorium. (Really, that’s began to think of finding a what he called it every time way to have our cake and eat

Jeff and Wally now, still friends 60 years later

it too, which did not involve us sitting through a long religious service.

Obviously, the idea of going to a synagogue for a Saturday morning service, after which we would be eligible to eat a slice of seven-layer cake was much too simple a plan for the Dynamic Duo! We began to contemplate various options. We could play cards, one of our favorite past times, and have the loser go to services and sneak some cake out for the winner. Nah! We had to do this together to make it worthy of our partnership. We could go to Zeman’s and purchase a sliver of our favorite cake with our allowance money. Nah, that was no fun at all!

Gradually, over the next few weeks, we fleshed out a plan worthy of our partnership (with a dose of Mission Impossible): We would arrange a Friday night sleepover at Wally’s. I would sneak my bar mitzvah suit into my overnight bag. We’d sleep in the next morning, until Wally’s father and stepmother had left the house. Avoiding both of his sisters, we’d put on our bar mitzvah clothes, including a tie (oh the brilliance of our disguises), and sneak out of continued on page 7

JUNE 23 • 2022

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6/6/22 1:08 PM

PURELY COMMENTARY student’s corner

Reflections of My Israel Trip

O

nly positive things come to mind when I reflect on my 11th grade Israel trip with the Frankel Jewish Academy.

Regardless of the flight trouble and COVID-19 experience, I celebrate my whole trip with no regrets.

After hours of weather delays, our plane finally made it to Ben Ethan Grey Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. As I entered Israel, my Jewish homeland, for the fifth time, I appreciated the feeling of welcome that engulfed me. I remember thinking that all the obstacles along the way were complete-

ly worth it to be in Israel, where I strengthened bonds within my religion, culture and people.

Every time I travel, a trip to Israel truly becomes a unique experience. I have had the opportunity to be there for three bar mitzvah celebrations, including my own, and an eighth-grade trip with Hillel Day School. Each time, I learn something new about myself, my relationships with those around me, and my spiritual connection to both Israel and God. As I think back, I can remember a few highlights from the trip that impacted my outlook on my identity and spirituality going forward. Our first beautiful

Publisher The Detroit Jewish News Foundation

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

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

Ethan Grey volunteered at an archaeological dig site on his FJA trip to Israel.

sight of the trip was that of Makhtesh Ramon, known as the Ramon Crater. Its beauty tells an amazing story of history that realizes the evolution of the land.

We also visited the Ilan Ramon (Israeli astronaut) Visitors Center, which reminded me that anyone of any background can accomplish their goals as long as they put their mind to it.

The next day we experienced our first real hike, Ein Avdat, another fascinating example of historical erosion Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky

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JUNE 23 • 2022

in the land of Israel. After we hiked upward, we saw the beauty of the Negev, Israel’s desert section. Looking over the Negev, we took in the history that lies at David BenGurion’s gravesite and saw what was, in his mind, the future of Israel.

On our last day in the South, my favorite day of the entire trip, we woke up before dawn to hike Masada.

We reached the top and were amazed to view the most gorgeous sunrise we had ever seen. From there, we headed 1942 - 2022 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week

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to the Dead Sea, where we were able to cover ourselves in the special mud and float in the water. We then began our experience in Jerusalem with a lookover of the city including the Temple Mount.

We finished the night on Ben Yehuda Street, which had an amazing atmosphere and delicious food.

Many people will say that Jerusalem is their favorite place in Israel. Whether it is the somberness at Israel’s Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, the atmosphere of Machane Yehuda Shuk or the spirituality of Kabbalat Shabbat at the Western Wall, Jerusalem offered us many emotions and thoughts throughout our experience.

Shabbat in Jerusalem was like nothing else; all were there to enjoy everyone’s company, truly a day to relax and refresh. While in Jerusalem, we got the opportunity to volunteer in a pantry as well as at an archaeological dig site. During

our time in the Old City, we enjoyed the Jewish Quarter and even got the chance to walk through a water tunnel in the City of David, the same tunnel that was used to send water throughout the city thousands of years before.

After Jerusalem, we toured the north of Israel. During this section of the trip, we learned about many different religions and cultures aside from Judaism in Israel and how they are a part of the 9 million people living there today.

We visited Caesarea and then Tzfat, a city known for its art galleries and Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah.

As we approached the Sea of Galilee, we went rafting on the Jordan River. One of the most fun experiences of the trip was Aqua-Kef, literally translating to “water fun,” It was an outdoor obstacle course full of slides and jumps in the Galilee. I will definitely remember the memorable time that I had there.

Shabbat in the north was a whole different experience.

Everyone was outside either sitting by the pool, playing cards or throwing a ball or frisbee. We were all enjoying the day. That was until I started feeling ill and then tested positive for COVID 19.

Being sick is tough, but being sick outside of your home country is extremely difficult. However, in spite of being away from my family in America, I never really felt the horrible feeling of being away from home. That was because I knew that I truly was home. I know that forever and always Israel is a second home, but when I had to quarantine with friends, I experienced hospitality and comfort like nowhere else. In my previous visits to Israel, I have never felt the same feeling of Israel being such a casual home for me.

Now that I have returned to Michigan, I have taken the time to reflect on what Israel meant to me. One of the first

activities we did as a group in Israel was to write down two facts that you thought no one else would know about you.

My first fact was that Israel makes me feel the safest of any place in the world. Call it a coincidence, but without realizing it until my return to Michigan, I did not comprehend how true that statement came to be. I should mention that my second fact was that Israel feels like a second home to me.

Although there were some downsides to being delayed in my return, I now can understand the many unexpected benefits that came along with my experience. Without a doubt, I felt safe in my second home, and I know that I will continue to feel the same way, without hesitation, when I have the opportunity to return to my Jewish homeland.

we really follow through and do it? I honestly wasn’t sure.

So, of course, I went directly to the source. With some trepidation, I called my old friend Wally, now retired in Arizona. Did he remember the plan? Absolutely. Now the big ask: Did we actually pull it off?

He asked me why I needed to know. I explained that I was writing an article about that time and our relationship.

I could hear the smile in his voice. “It’ll make a better story if you write it as if it happened.”

And then, I remembered one of our favorite sayings from those days of intense

friendship. When one of our friends who had a higher risktolerance than either of us teenage wannabes suggested a dubious plan, Wally and I would turn to each other and together in unison say those words of wisdom that saved us from ourselves more times than we could count: “Let’s not and say we did!”

Looking back to those simpler times, I still remember how special it was to have a friend like Wally. Sixty years later, we are both older and perhaps wiser, but, as you can see, Wally also still remembers those times — and he’s still got my back!

Ethan Grey is a junior at Frankel Jewish Academy and a graduate of Hillel Day School.

THE GREAT ADON OLAM CAPER from page 4

his house and casually walk to Beth Abraham, the nearest synagogue.

One of us would walk up to the front door and check that the coast was clear. Waving the other guy in, we would grab two taleisim from the collection and hang them up near the bathroom, so that it would appear we had been present for services all morning. Checking ourselves in the mirror, we would make sure we looked presentable (sharing the comb one of us had strategically remembered to bring along). Then we would leave the rest room, put on our borrowed taleysm, and

enter the sanctuary together, greeted by those sweet words from the bimah: “Will the congregation please rise for our concluding prayer, Adon Olam!”

After joining the congregation in song, we would then casually join the queue and leave the sanctuary, heading over to the kiddush, waiting respectfully for the bracha before we each claimed our rightful slice of seven-layer cake.

What a plan! I still remember it in surprising detail. The story lives on, at least in my imagination. But the question haunts me … did

JUNE 23 • 2022

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PURELY COMMENTARY

Arriving in Israel

essay

An Inspiring Trip Bringing 3,000 Ethiopian Jews home to Israel.

Kalkidon and Jennifer Levine

T

his is Kalkidon. Her name, in Amharic, means “promise or covenant to God.” She is one of the many Ethiopian Jews who recently made aliyah.

I had the privilege of Jennifer accompanying Levine these olim from Ethiopia to Israel.

Our community helped make Kalkidon’s journey possible. The Detroit Jewish Federation’s Israel & Overseas Allocation Committee, under the leadership of Richard Broder and Leah Trosch, allocated $8,525,130 from the Detroit community for projects around the world. This allocation included $250,000 to the Jewish Agency for Israel to rescue 3,000 Jews from Ethiopia and bring them to Israel.

Shortly after those allocations were approved, I boarded a plane to Addis

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Ababa with Robert Hertzberg and George Roberts. We joined approximately 70 other Jewish lay leaders and professionals from around the world and spent three days learning and better understanding the Ethiopian Jewish community.

I finished Micha Feldman’s diary On the Wings of Eagles the day before we flew to Ethiopia. His book is a retelling of Operations Moses and Solomon, of which he played an integral part. Micha relayed personal accounts of people’s harrowing journey toward the promise of Israel. It gave me the foundation I needed for my trip, to see the land that he talked about in the book and to meet the next generations of those who told their stories. To be there with Micha was an incredible gift. His knowledge and familiarity with the landscape is unparalleled.

He knows everyone. And everyone knows him.

After those operations took place in the ’80s and ’90s, it was believed that all the “Beta Israel” Jews had been rescued. And they had … sort of. With those operations, everyone who was halachically Jewish (had at least one parent or grandparent who was Jewish) was eligible to make aliyah.

Those who were not eligible

under the guidelines were left behind.

Today, we are trying to reunite families that were separated. This latest effort began in 2020/2021 with Operation Tzur Yisrael (Rock of Israel), which brought 2,150 Ethiopians to Israel. Now the Operation continues following a government decision to bring at least 3,000 additional new olim from Ethiopia home to Israel in 2022.

Under Operation Tzur Yisrael, they need to have (or have had) either at least one parent, sibling or child living in Israel. Spouses and children under the age of 18 can accompany someone who gets approved for aliyah.

Children above age 18 can also accompany an approved parent, but only if they do not have children of their own.

On our first full day in Gondar, we participated in Shacharit services. More than 500 people packed the synagogue. There was a mechitzah. The women were shuckling and davening.

It was awe-inspiring. The service ended with everyone singing the most beautiful rendition of “Hatikvah”

I have ever heard. It was apparent they took this seriously and that it was very meaningful to them. They gathered in this space and held services every day.

After the service, we toured the building. It included a mikvah and a free food program for children ages 0-6. Someone asked about the children who were over the age of 6. The answer: “Well, many of them manage to survive.”

Next, we toured the village.

We stepped into a compound of a dozen or so “homes.”

We met an older woman who lived in a tiny room with her four grandchildren.

She would be making aliyah in the next two days. Her “apartment” (a room smaller than most closets I have seen with no kitchen nor bathroom) cost $32 a month.

To put this into perspective, a police officer in Gondar makes $62 a month.

Some of the people we met had left their villages 20 years ago. Some had left three years ago. Once they leave their villages, they give up their status. This means they cannot obtain a permit to work. They are now considered refugees, and

Micha Feldman and Jennifer Levine

More than 500 people packed the synagogue.

“WE LEFT GONDAR TODAY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO TEAR MYSELF AWAY FROM THESE BROTHERS, THE BEAUTIFUL, SUFFERING, BELIEVING BETA ISRAEL. NEVER HAVE I PACKED SO MANY EXPERIENCES INTO SUCH AN INCREDIBLY SHORT TIME. DURING THE BRIEF FLIGHT FROM GONDAR … THE PICTURE CROSSED MY MIND AGAIN OF … EACH SPECIAL PERSON I HAVE MET. I WANT TO PACK THEM ALL UP AND BRING THEM WITH ME TO ISRAEL, BUT INSTEAD, I HAVE TO LEAVE THEM ALL BEHIND.” — MICHA FELDMAN, ON THE WINGS OF EAGLES

they must wait. They cannot go back, even if they wanted to.

After a whirlwind visit to Gondar, it was time to accompany them to Israel.

Once the plane was in the air, someone stopped me as I was walking down the aisle and said, “She wants you.”

“She”was Kalkidon. She was about 5 years old. She launched herself at me and excitedly pointed at the seat for me to sit while holding onto her. She hugged me; she tried to kiss me. She put her forehead to mine and stared deep into my eyes. She wanted to feed me crackers.

I politely refused, and it became a laughing game. I pretended to eat, and she pretended not to mind that I

was pretending.

Kalkidon donned my name tag and proudly marched with it around the plane. She tried to take my phone, too, but I quickly hid it. She was no stranger to technology. These kids, like my own, have grown up with it. Their parents use phones to communicate with their loved ones in Israel. In many ways, phones are their lifelines as it’s also the means through which they receive money from their family in Israel. Since they can’t get jobs, they primarily live on the funds being sent from their family members in Israel. We landed in Israel to the most inspiring rendition of “Am Israeli Chai” I have ever heard.

Before our journey came to a close, we stopped at one of the Jewish Agency’s many Absorption Centers where these 180 new olim will spend the next couple of years learning Hebrew, receiving job training and settling into their new lives.

We met kids from Ethiopia who made aliyah just last year. Their Hebrew and English were both impressive. They were able to articulate so well how far they have come and, more importantly, how far they can dream to go.

I am so grateful to Federation and this community for giving Bob, George and me this incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I fall asleep wandering what Kalkidon is doing.

How is she settling in? What about the woman who was too scared and overwhelmed to open her eyes during the flight? Or the woman who couldn’t figure out how to use a fork? What about the people who are still sitting in the synagogue in Gondar singing “Hatikvah” with all their hearts? I know they are praying that they will be called for an interview next. That it will soon be their turn to be reunited with their families in Israel.

Praying, most of all, that we will not forget them.

Jennifer Levine is the senior director of the Israel and Overseas Department at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.

JUNE 23 • 2022

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PURELY COMMENTARY analysis

The Implications of Imminent Iran Deal on Abraham Accords SOPHIA WITTEMYER

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JUNE 23 • 2022

LENCHEVSKY IMAGES

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group of representatives from Middle Eastern nations, as well as the United States, met in the House of Representatives June 12 for a monumental roundtable discussion on the proposed JCPOA’s (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) repercussions on the Abraham Accords.

The roundtable was hosted and moderated by Robert (Bobby) Rechnitz, a prominent leader who was instrumental in the passage of the Iron Dome legislation.

Through his Bomel initiative, Rechnitz decided to take a preemptive strike and do all that can be done to influence every community, Democratic and Republican, about the importance of demanding transparency in this agreement in order to be fair and loyal to the members of the Abraham Accords.

Rechnitz traveled to Israel and the United Arab Emirates to conduct highlevel meetings regarding the JCPOA prior to this roundtable and flew back to the United Arab Emirates following it.

Prominent members and organizations were in attendance, including leaders from the Israel Policy Forum, the Zionist Organization of America, NORPAC, the International Organization of Lawyers of the United Nations, the Coalition for Jewish Values, Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce

International leaders gathered to discuss the JCPOA and implications for the Abraham Accords including Slovak Ambassador to Israel Radovan Javorcik, U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, Robert Rechnitz, U.S. Rep. David Trone, Brock Pierce, Tiffany McKever, Viktor Valla, Allah Tallal and U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

and Project Interchange.

The roundtable voiced concerns and apprehensions to the newly proposed JCPOA bill as a threat to the security of the Abraham Accords; this peace agreement, passed in 2020, encourages diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab states in the Middle East.

By overseeing this bipartisan agreement, the U.S. has agreed to support actors who agree to the Abraham Accords and to ensure continuous progress of peace by signing on more nation-states. The Abraham Accords’ member states currently include Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan.

The Abraham Accords aim to encourage diplomatic relations, rather than violence, between Israel and Arab nation-states, trailblazing

for a peaceful Middle East; representatives from member states including Bahrain and Morocco were present at the conference to vocalize their appreciation for the peace agreement and the progress they’ve witnessed occurring over the past few years. Under the previous administration, the United States demonstrated its support of Israel and the signed-on member states in achieving peace. Nations have found solace in the agreement, whose values and accomplishments could be unraveled by the JCPOA. “This dialogue is not about Israel, rather it centralizes on upholding the commitment to support the Abraham Accords member states and to discourage any policy which could abandon the nations

who rely on this agreement — such as Bahrain, Morocco, the UAE and Sudan,” Rechnitz says. Representatives of these nation-states elaborated on the ways in which they have found peace and democratic hope in this agreement. “The outcome [of the Abraham Accords] is absolutely vital for the security and well-being of Europe as well … I’m fully convinced the [Abraham] Accords can unleash huge potential for cooperation [in the Middle East],” Slovak Ambassador Radovan Javorcik said in his opening remarks. “These accords are showing the essence of dialogue,” or the foundation for communication and diplomacy amongst differing nations.

By passing the JCPOA as it currently stands, the United

States would be backing two sides of a conflict, incentivizing Iran’s lack of nuclear weapons, rather than encouraging two peaceful sides using agreements such as the Abraham Accords.

“My government ceased diplomatic relations with Iran because of its malign activities in Morocco … we would love to see peace happening but [Iran] has to change their attitude, they have to abandon the malign activities and the threat to peace, not only in the Middle East, but also in North Africa,” Ayoub Houchem of the Moroccan Embassy stated.

The threat of the JCPOA is that the U.S. would reward Iran for a lack of weaponry, rather than encouraging the prospect of peaceful interactions and diplomacy.

It is a flawed, contradictory approach to creating enduring peace.

By turning its back on these allies, the U.S. discourages new member states from signing onto the Abraham Accords moving forward. “It’s a great cooperation so far, we’re very proud of it … [but] the adherence to these accords is just the beginning of the peace process, you count on other countries to join,” said Hatin el Fethouni of Moroccan Embassy when asked how he views the threat of passing the JCPOA. “We need to encourage the legislators … to demand transparency, and really understand and analyze what this deal is about,” Rechnitz said.

All members present at this conference urge legislators to demonstrate

transparency and allow for national input on the implementation of the JCPOA. It is essential to not lose sight of the peace and progress built through the Abraham Accords in pursuit of suppressing Iran.

Radovan Javorcik, Slovakia’s Ambassador to Israel, makes a noteworthy point mentioning that “the Abraham Accords are about peace. The JCPOA is about … the nuclear weapon [policy]. If there is any agreement with Iran, it has to be about peace and the future, not about [nuclear weapons].”

The U.S. must support actors who sign onto peace agreements rather than through compromise and suppression. A lack of commitment to these peace agreements could harm the actors relying on them and the peace they actively create.

The United States must demonstrate its integrity and support in standing by its Middle Eastern allies.

“They have to back up their friendships and they have to back up their alliances …

By turning their back and making a deal with Iran, the historic Abraham Accords have a very distinct possibility of unraveling … We have an agreement between democratic alliances, not every country is democratic, and that is something that should be encouraged, because it’s a model for peacemaking,” Rechnitz said in his final remarks.

This analysis was distributed by the Friedlander Group, a NY-based organization that provides government and public relations counsel to nonprofit organizations as well as corporate and foreign entities.

Our STORY Hebrew Free Loan is excited to welcome Jeffrey Aronoff, Kevin Chupack, Amy Ersher, Julie Trepeck Harris, David Gach, Diane Goldstein and Carly Schiff to the Hebrew Free Loan Board of Directors.

Nominated and elected at our recent Annual Meeting, the members of this dynamic “freshman class” join one of the Michigan Jewish community’s longest-serving agencies in its mission to support Jewish families, individuals and businesses across Michigan with interest-free loans.

These great leaders will become part of a very active Board whose members interview potential borrowers; represent the agency at public events and to groups throughout our state; share the HFL story in the community; serve on active committees to steward Hebrew Free Loan into the future; act as cheerleaders and mentors for borrowers; help raise loan capital; and serve as guardians of our 127-year legacy.

Hebrew Free Loan supports Michigan Jews with interest-free loans for a wide variety of purposes that range from in-vitro fertilization and adoption to summer camp fees, college or job training, small business loans, home improvements, Simchas, health care, senior needs, and so much more. Learn more about our loan funds, or donate to help support the community at hfldetroit.org. Loan capital is raised entirely through donations from our community, and remains here in Michigan, helping support local Jews.

Pictured above, left to right: David Gach, Jeffrey Aronoff, Amy Ersher, Julie Trepeck Harris, Carly Schiff and Kevin Chupack.

Click. Call. Give. Apply. www.hfldetroit.org • 248.723.8184

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JUNE 23 • 2022

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OUR COMMUNITY ON THE COVER

A ‘Tree’ of Remembrance Shoah survivor’s family donates memorial sculpture to Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

Henry and Beatrice Pestka

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ay into his 93 years, Henry Pestka still did not reveal much about his experiences escaping Auschwitz and surviving the Holocaust; but his children, Steve and Linda, have taken on that messaging as a personal mission with expanded and far-reaching goals.

The siblings, raised in Grand Rapids where their father established a real estate development business, decided artistry would be a way to honor their dad, along with other area survivors, while keeping the messages of the Holocaust before the public.

Their specific means, with the associated commitment in time and energy of the Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids, became a relevant sculpture developed by an internationally known artist and placed in a memorial site with the advice and help of representatives at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

The chosen sculpture, Ariel Schlesinger’s Ways to Say Goodbye, will be dedicated at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 30, during an event open to the public and featuring remarks by the sculptor, Pestka family members and community leaders, and enhanced with music by Cantor Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz, who grew up in Grand Rapids and now serves at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township.

The monument, an aluminum fig tree with glass shards affixed to its branches, symbolizes the massacre and endurance of Jews during World War II. The sculpture will be placed, in the presence of the sculptor, along an

Details

The dedication of Ways to Say Goodbye will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 30, at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline Ave., Grand Rapids. There is no admission fee, but reservations are required by accessing jewishgrandrapids.org.

Information: (616) 942-5553, ext. 207.

intimate site between two small hills where visitors can reflect about the statue and the story. Although it can be seen from the pathway joining the statuary throughout the park, there will be a feeling that it is guarded. Earlier, it was placed in a site in England.

AN ENDURING LEGACY “After my father passed away in 2013, my sister and I decided that we wanted to use a portion of [his bequest] for projects dealing with antisemitism, racism and hatred,” said Steve Pestka, who was regularly reminded of the massive loss of paternal family whenever he saw the concentration camp number tattooed on his father’s arm.

“What happened to our father’s family left an impression on us that we lived with our whole lives. We wanted to see if there was something we could do about it because of Holocaust denial and revisionism that continues. We want to help make sure people don’t forget what

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continued on page JUNE 23 • 2022 13 14

OUR COMMUNITY ON THE COVER

continued from page 13

The sculpture symbolizes the massacre and endurance of Jews during World War II.

“OUR COMMUNITY WILL FOREVER BENEFIT FROM THIS EXTRAORDINARY GIFT, WHICH SERVES TO EDUCATE AND PROMOTE PEACE.” — DAVID HOOKER PRESIDENT AND CEO OF MEIJER GARDENS Steve and Linda Pestka

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happened.”

While sponsoring speakers, the Pestkas sought a more enduring project.

A discussion between Linda Pestka and Nicole Katzman, Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids executive director, generated the idea of a sculpture to be placed at the Meijer Gardens, where some 750,000 people visit annually. A committee was established with project leadership that included Dr. Rob Franciosi, English professor at Grand Valley State University, and Margaret Finkelstein, archivist for Federation, Temple Emanuel and Congregation Ahavas Israel.

“I want people to know that it’s true the Holocaust did happen,” said Linda Pestka, who has traveled to Poland with her daughters to view the town where her father had a happy life before the war.

“Most of the Holocaust survivors are dead, and soon there will be only the grandchildren to carry on this message. The most meaningful impact [of this sculpture], so that the Holocaust is not forgotten, is having it in a place that is as real and reputable and honorable as Meijer Gardens.”

Two Pestka grandchildren, Alissa VanderKooi and Nathan Pestka, will give their perspectives as family members representing the legacy carried by survivors’ grandchildren. They knew of their grandfather as a religious role model.

Henry Pestka served as building chairman of Congregation Ahavas Israel, where there is a mural depicting the 6 million victims of Nazi genocide. He was intent on attending the opening ceremony of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The Meijer Gardens sculpture was chosen by a group that

represented the Pestka family, Federation and the Meijer organization. Along the way, it was decided to have an associated website to provide the background of the sculpture and sculptor, pay tribute to survivors who settled and thrived in the Grand Rapids area, and explore the history of the Holocaust.

That website (jhwmi.com) goes live June 30.

“I’m incredibly proud that a community of our size has the spirit of philanthropy and the will to get large projects done,” said Grand Rapids Federation Board Chairman David Alfonso, whose mother’s family left Vienna because of the Nazis and lived in South America before being able to enter the United States.

“This has been a two-year process with the Pestka family, Federation and Meijer Gardens, and we hope it serves as a model for other communities to do something similar in regards to Holocaust education.”

The sculpture joins a 158-acre campus that includes works

by Alexander Calder, Marshall Fredericks, Michele Oka Doner, Auguste Rodin and many other world-famous artists.

“We are deeply grateful for this gift, adding such an important work of art to our permanent collection, which is dedicated in memory of Henry Pestka and the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust,” said David Hooker, president and CEO of Meijer Gardens, who will join the roster of speakers attending the dedication.

“Our community will forever benefit from this extraordinary gift that serves to educate and promote peace.”

See an interview with sculptor Ariel Schlesinger in Arts & Life, page 45.

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OUR COMMUNITY

A New Name After merging last year, JVS + Kadima rebrands as Gesher.

GESHER

KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Maddie, left, and Hern enjoy an outing to an arcade.

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VS Human Services + Kadima Mental Health Services unveiled the new name for their joint entity at the Strictly Business 25th anniversary luncheon this week.

They will now operate as a combined entity under the name Gesher, which means “bridge” in Hebrew.

Their merger, which was announced in August of last year, reduces operational and administrative costs and allows the organization to maximize its use of funds for programming to help its combined client base of thousands access vocational, residential and clinical services.

Janny Milton of Southfield has been involved with JVS since 2006. It’s been a place where her son Brian, 42, who is autistic, has been able to learn job skills and find work. He now holds a job cleaning in an apartment building with JVS’ support. “To me, it’s a big deal,” she says. “JVS is very dear to my heart because of that; they got him a job and people there are very nice to him — I feel that Brian is safe when he is at JVS.” She says she appreciates the organization and hopes the merger only enhances the seamless experience she’s known at JVS. “They might have more programs. I’m hoping that’s what will happen,” she says. “I hope they continue doing the good work they’re doing.”

Paul Blatt, CEO of Gesher, says that’s indeed the plan, and the new name is designed to let people know the essence of the new organization.

“We are still the place for our community, whether it’s work-related, residential services for Paul Blatt people with mental health issues — however we can help support the community,” he says.

The new name came as the result of the combination of

the organizations, he explains.

“Each of our names didn’t describe this larger organization.”

continued as its own organization, in a sense, this has been noted by some Kadima leadership as the agency “coming back home.”

“This has been a very good process for both JVS and Kadima. We’re really proud of the way in which this combination was rolled out,” Gross says.

“We have a fantastic group of professionals running the agency, and the new board of directors is a very impassioned group working on this new endeavor to serve the community.”

Sybil Offen, who has a loved one with schizophrenia who has found a living arrangement, a job and engagement through

GESHER

CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH SERVICES The name “Gesher” was chosen to reflect the work the organization does in connecting people with services and providing support to help people reach their goals. “We’re the bridge for so many of these different populations and, in essence, bridging people from where they are to where they want to be,” he says.

The almost three-year process of the two organizations coming together gave them a chance to delve deeply into how to best serve the community, Blatt says.

“We have grown a critical integration piece to serve all of the different populations we are a part of,” he explains, adding that 70% of the people with developmental needs they serve have mental health challenges as well.

For the past five months, the organization has been referred to as JVS + Kadima, but bringing it under one name, Gesher, and one identity solidifies the message, he says.

“It allows us to let the community know we are the place to come for people who are looking for support for work, who are looking for residential services, for people looking for mental health services, and any other way we can be involved in the community,” he says. “That message of one organization serving the community is really what I’m most excited about.”

Kristen R. Gross, chair of the board of directors for Gesher, says the combination allows the agencies to serve more people in one place. Whereas, historically, someone with a severe Kristen and persistent Gross

mental health issue might have been receiving vocational services from JVS and residing in a Kadima home, now all these services will be offered under one roof, which means more streamlined service for clients, she says.

“I know that the path to services can be very daunting, and the fact that a person could call us, and we could provide either the services or the direction that they need to go is a beautiful thing for someone who is very lost and can be overwhelmed by these processes.”

The organization isn’t taking on a new role in the community, Gross stresses, but rather com-

Michael and staff member Mo growing lettuce in the Clubhouse.

“WE HAVE GROWN A CRITICAL INTEGRATION PIECE TO SERVE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT POPULATIONS WE ARE A PART OF.” — GESHER CEO PAUL BLATT

bining to better serve clients.

“This way, a person makes one call. and we can assist that person in navigating so their needs are met at home, at work and in the community.”

JVS was formed in 1941, and the need for Kadima grew out of it, Gross says. Kadima was formed in 1984, and though it

Kadima, says she’s already been impressed by the combined entity and their collaboration.

Involved with Kadima since 1995, she says she’s seen more elaborate programming and more outreach from the joint organization.

“This last music fest was more elaborate — there were

more participants, and it just had a better flavor because they were working together with clients from JVS as well,” she says.

“I think everybody was just very happy.”

Offen’s seeing more excitement about their events as well, including from her older son, who heard about a speaker JVS + Kadima was having and commented that he wished he could come in for it. “In the past, he really hasn’t participated much in Kadima’s activities, so JVS’ merger with Kadima is bringing in some other things, which so far I see as positive, and I’m glad in that sense.”

Offen says she’s looking forward to this exciting new chapter for the organization, which in her first impressions is efficient and moving ahead full speed. “I think they’ll be able to expand and reach more individuals,” she says. “I just sense it’s a good collaboration.”

Gesher will be a Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit partner agency, supported by its Annual Campaign and benefitting from its network of other social service organizations.

Federation CEO Steven Ingber says the move is a strong one for the community. “We are incredibly grateful to the professional and lay Steven Ingber leadership of both JVS and Kadima for taking this bold step, recognizing that the underlying goal is always to better meet the needs of our community and, most importantly, to improve care for those served.

“Gesher Human Services is not only a bridge for its clients, it also represents a bridge to a stronger future for our community. We are proud to count Gesher among our local partner agencies and look forward to working closely with them.”

JUNE 23 • 2022

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OUR COMMUNITY SYNAGOGUE SPOTLIGHT

Watch “Ask the Rabbi” with Rabbi Schadick.

Social Action Is at Its Roots

Grand Rapids’ Temple Emanuel does its best to meet the needs of a diverse population.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

O

ur claim to fame is that the Union for Reform Judaism has told us we’re the fifth oldest Reform congregation in America. We’re very proud of that,” Rabbi Michael Schadick said.

“We’re as welcoming as we can be to all people.

We have a big tent Rabbi kind of congregaMichael Schadick tion, whether

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you’re Jewish and married to a non-Jew, whether you come from a more traditional background, whether you’re simply someone who is exploring Judaism, we have a diverse population here.”

Temple Emanuel, Grand Rapids’ Reform congregation, was founded in 1857 and occupied two rented structures until 1881 when the congregation built its first home on the corner of Fountain and Ransom streets.

Organized by five German families who fled the restrictive laws of Europe, its membership remained largely Germanic until the 1890s when Eastern European Jews began to move into the Grand Rapids area.

In 1952, the present Temple building was erected, designed by California architect Eric Mendelsohn. The 1,000-square-foot mural in the sanctuary is the creation

of painter Lucienne Bloch Dimitroff, daughter of the American composer Ernest Bloch and protege of Diego Rivera.

In 1992, the Congregation initiated Atid, which funded a major renovation of the sanctuary and public spaces. The second phase of Atid renovated and expanded the library and classrooms.

Schadick has been the rabbi of Temple Emanuel since July 2000. Cantor David Fair joined in 2021. Rabbi Emeritus is Rabbi Dr. Albert M. Lewis.

Schadick says social action is at the congregation’s roots,

and he is proud of the work they do, not just for the Jewish community, but for the greater community.

“We’re involved in all kinds of pursuits. We have this amazing food bank that was started at Temple Emanuel when some of the first Soviet Jews began emigrating to America,” Schadick said.

“Some of our members decided they would really step forward and collect food.

We’re serving about 50 families every single month that receive a week’s worth of food from us.”

A congregation of about 300 families, Temple Emanuel, Schadick says, believes in doing the best it can to meet the needs of its diverse population.

“I think the future of Jewish life in America has to include everyone who has interest because that’s how we grow,

Rabbi Schadick and Cantor Fair in front of the mural in the sanctuary

learn and respond to the change and realities of life, how we learn from each other and bring other people’s experiences into our community, and that’s how we expand our understanding of the world and humanity and how we can do a better job to serve it,” he said.

The congregation usually

features one highlighted event a week with a strong focus on connection.

“On a Thursday evening, we had 25 teenagers attend a game night at a local colleges.

Friday evening, we had our young adult community meet for a barbecue at someone’s house after services ended.

“We have a breakfast once a

Q

month to try to involve people. We have opportunities for people to connect with each other as best we can,” he said.

United Jewish School is a combined religious Sunday school serving Temple Emanuel and the Conservative congregation of Grand Rapids, Ahavas Israel.

Cantor Fair is the school director.

In general, Temple Emanuel has a close relationship with Ahavas Israel.

“When the opportunity is there for us to be together, we like to have events together,” Schadick said.

“I think that’s true of the Grand Rapids Jewish community as a whole. We’re a small Jewish community, so whether it’s with the Jewish Federation or the other synagogues, we tend to be friendly with each other. We’re all in this together.”

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JUNE 23 • 2022

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OUR COMMUNITY COURTESY OF HILLEL

VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK

LEFT: Keri Bernstein, Lauren Anchill and Lisa Keller make Shabbat bags for the new families at Hillel. ABOVE: The team for Hillel’s Fun Run.

From Student to Volunteer Meet Lisa Keller, a dedicated Hillel Day School volunteer.

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

H

illel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit nominated Lisa Keller of Farmington Hills to be our Volunteer of the Week because of her dedication to the school’s PTO volunteer organization.

“Lisa Keller is holiday chair and plans all of the students’ holiday treats from PTO, chairs the Fun Run, and helped plan and execute Teacher Appreciation Week,” said Amy Sapeika, communications coordinator at Hillel.

As an alumna of the school and a parent of three, Keller found herself back at the school for the past 12 years volunteering for multiple events.

“I just like to give back. It’s rewarding. It’s fun. There are not that many people who always volunteer. So, luckily, as I do not work, I have the chance to do it,” Keller explained.

Keller was also on the steering committee and chaired Bookstock for the school last month.Sapeika says they had a record number of Hillel teachers, parents and grandparents volunteer.

“She also helps the advancement office with the Gala and, whenever anyone needs any help at school, we know we can count on her,” Sapeika added.

Keller says she has so much love for the school and volunteers her time

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weekly or whenever they need an extra pair of hands.

“I don’t do it for any of the recognition. I do it because I genuinely love Hillel Day School, and they’ve done so much for my children and created a safe, fun, exciting learning environment for them. That is the only school my kids have ever been to,” Keller said.

Over the years, Keller says she has built relationships with the advancement office and enjoys supporting the school and its fundraising efforts for tuition assistance for students.

During the pandemic, the school showed its appreciation for Keller’s volunteer efforts by selecting her as Volunteer of the Year.

“The school made the announcement over Zoom and during the meeting someone actually came to my house and delivered Cookies by Design, which was really nice and totally unexpected,” she said.

Keller says she hopes to stay involved with Hillel Day School even after her kids graduate.

If you would like to nominate someone to be the next volunteer of the week, send a nomination with a short paragraph telling us why to socialmedia@ thejewishnews.com.

The Keller Family

Lisa Keller puts together Mishloach Manot for the staff for Purim.

JUNE 23 • 2022

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COURTESY OF HILLEL

OUR COMMUNITY

Hello, Country Radio Hall of Fame Huntington Woods resident will be honored June 30 in Nashville.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

C

harting hit records played on the radio was a preteen hobby that developed into an award-winning career direction for Barry Mardit, a Huntington Woods resident who has divided his professional commitments among hosting programs, administering programs and serving as a consultant for programs.

The next award will be preBarry sented June 30 in Nashville, Mardit where Mardit will be among six other broadcast personalities being inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame presented by Country Radio Broadcasters to individuals working in the industry for at least 20 years, 15 in country.

Mardit, who spent most of his career in the Detroit market, started out in New York focusing on rock, moved on to South Carolina with a transition into country and

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came to W4 in Detroit to transform the station focus from Howard Stern’s rock styling to Mardit’s approach to country.

“I am so excited to be getting one of two plaques — one for me and another that goes on display in Nashville,” said Mardit, who will be joined at the awards dinner by his wife, Paula (nee Schwartz), a mental health counselor raised in Oak Park, and two daughters, Molly and Rose.

“For years, plaques were kept on display at the Nashville Convention Center.

Currently, planners are looking for a new place.”

This honor joins Mardit’s awards earned during his Detroit tenure — Billboard, CMA (Country Music Association) Program Director, Station of the Year and an NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Marconi Award. Two current Detroit on-air personalities, the team of Rachael (Hunter) and (Steve) Grunwald,

COURTESY OF BARRY MARDIT

Barry Mardit and John Denver

also will be inducted along with representatives working in other states — program administrator-turned-consultant Becky Brenner and broadcasters Whitney Allen, Debbie Conner and Cathy Martindale.

While growing up in Brooklyn, Mardit starting charting his favorite rock records, including “Mr. Bass Man,” so he could listen at times when those songs likely would be played by a favorite DJ. Thinking this host would appreciate the information that he had tallied, Mardit mailed his charts to the broadcaster and was thrilled whenever the charts and his name were mentioned together.

“For about seven or eight years, they read my letters on the air,” Mardit recalled.

“I would rush home from Hebrew school to hear that, and I made a few friends that way because people with a similar hobby would get in touch with me.

“I didn’t get paid for this, but that’s what got me interested. I didn’t know yet that I wanted to be in radio or on the air. I just knew I wanted to be involved. Visiting the radio stations and meeting the disc jockeys gave me more of an interest in pursuing this career.”

While participating in the radio station at Brooklyn College, Mardit was offered his first job at a professional station — night doorman that allowed him to greet stars, such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Employment progression moved him into handling a request phone line before he was asked to maintain electronic controls learned in college.

Mardit’s first on-air job was in South Carolina. He remembers the popularity of one of the earliest country songs he came to know — Ronnie Milsap’s “What Goes On When the Sun Goes Down.”

Moving to Detroit in 1982, after working in Pittsburgh for three years, gave Mardit more insight into country music fans. He explained, “A lot of people came from the South to work in the steel and auto industries. They brought their families and their musical tastes with them.”

Working with celebrities as radio guests and guest DJs has been among the highlights of his experiences. Among the many he can recall meeting are Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, the Oakridge

Barry with Tammy Wynette, the Judds and Randy Travis

Barry plies his trade in Pittsburgh.

Barry and Paula Mardit flank Carrie Underwood.

COURTESY OF BARRY MARDIT

Barry Mardit and Garth Brooks

Boys, Randy Travis and Charlie Daniels.

Mardit was especially impressed by an experience with Loretta Lynn.

“I found country stars to be warm and family-oriented, and I met Loretta Lynn in Pittsburgh at a sad time in our family,” he explained. “During a conversation Loretta and I had, I mentioned that my mom was having health issues.

“Loretta was very sympathetic and asked for my mom’s phone number. Soon, I got a call from my mom, who expressed how thrilled she was to get an understanding hour’s call from Loretta, who later sent her an autographed album. I’ll never forget that.”

Mardit met his wife, a longtime country fan before meeting him, at a station event he hosted at the Michigan State Fair.

From the start, synagogue attendance was important to both of them, and the family maintains membership at Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park.

Mardit also established community interests through station fundraisers for organizations such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., a location in the heart of country music.

“Shortly after 12 years of tenure at W4, I became a consultant for country radio across many states,” said Mardit, whose firm is Barry Mardit Media Consulting.

“A Lansing station going from rock to country has been one of my clients.

“I find out what people at a station want to do and help them get there. One of the more fun things is coming up with ideas for contests and, other times, it’s fun paying attention to the latest hit charts for program planning.

“Occasionally, because of all the attention to the charts, I think I am doing what I was doing when I was in my preteens.”

JUNE 23 • 2022

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OUR COMMUNITY

Part of Ziggy’s Playground in Rwanda

Ziggy’s Playground Family dedicates a playground in Rwanda in memory of their father, a Holocaust survivor.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

F

urthering the legacy of their father, Fred “Ziggy” Findling (1930-2019), Darren Findling of Huntington Woods and his sister and brother-in-law, Debbie Findling and Steven Moss of San Francisco, are working with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) to fund the construction of “Ziggy’s Playground.”

The play area will be part of a new Rwandan affordable housing development that strives to create opportunities and a better quality of life to those who survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

“My father never had an opportunity to have a play-

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ground because his early childhood was spent in survival mode,” Findling said of how his father survived in Nazi Germany as an orphan on the run until he was brought to the United States, all before he turned 11.

“As a child, he was always in survival mode. The creation of Ziggy’s Playground is an opportunity to give back to a community to which I deeply connect with their struggles.

The pain that was caused in Rwanda in such a massive, horrific way deeply resonated with my family.” he said.

“Most of the world watched but then looked away during the Holocaust. So, when we observed when other

genocides took place in our lifetime, we felt deeply connected.”

Ziggy’s Playground is located at See Far Housing in the Rwandan capital of Kigali and is a project of AgahozoShalom Youth Village (ASYV), a project of the JDC and other nonprofit organizations.

8

ASYV is the brainchild of the late philanthropist Anne Heyman, who believed the 1.2 million Rwandans orphaned during the genocide could benefit from the creation of a kibbutz-styled youth village modeled after those created in Israel to care for orphaned Holocaust survivors.

ASYV opened to its first class in 2008. This summer, Findling and family members will travel to Rwanda for the opening of Ziggy’s Playground and celebrate the graduation of the ASYV class of 2022.

So far, $47,000 has been

An aerial view of a secton of Ziggy’s Playground

raised for the $60,000 project, and additional sponsorship donor opportunities are available. For more information or to donate, contact Steven Moss, See Far’s board chair, at steven@moss.net.

ZIGGY’S STORY Fred “Ziggy” Findling was born in 1930 as Siegfrieg Findling in Cologne, Germany.

During WWII, he and five of his siblings survived the war by being placed in orphanages and convents throughout Belgium, France and Spain.

His mother was murdered in Auschwitz and his father killed in a massacre near Frystag, Poland. His entire story was documented in 2012 at the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills.

It was first reported that the 1941 safe passage to the United States of Ziggy, his brothers and about 50 other orphans was sponsored by

Ziggy (wearing glasses) and other children arriving in the U.S. in 1941

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Quakers. On the day the SS Serpa Pinto docked at Ellis Island, an Associated Press photographer caught Ziggy’s exuberant smile as he leaned over the boat’s deck to catch his first sight of the Statue of Liberty. A cutout of Ziggy from that historic photo was made part of the playground project’s logo and, according to his son, captures the spirit and the mission of the project of returning the spark of life to children who suffered from trauma with the joy of play.

About eight years ago, Darren Findling became a JDC Interfaith Fellow. In this two-year position, he visited humanitarian projects in Haiti, Ukraine and Hungary that impacted both Jewish and non-Jewish populations.

Meanwhile, in California, his brother-in-law worked with JDC to perpetuate and further efforts in Rwanda.

It was during this time that

Findling and Moss made a startling discovery. While poring through JDC archives, they learned the JDC played a crucial financial role in rescuing the orphans from Nazi-occupied Germany to the tune of $250,000 per child.

Calculated to today’s dollar, that would amount to $5 million per child.

“There must have been a reason why we were drawn to getting involved with the JDC,” Findling said. “Behind

the scenes, the JDC raised the money to purchase the boat on which my father and the other orphans traveled to the United States. We learned that American Jews who never met my father supported the rescue of him and many others.

“My father had a deep faith in people and sympathy for the underdog. He welcomed into our home neighbors or children who were struggling.

This was a constant part of his adult life.”

JUNE 23 • 2022

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6

OUR COMMUNITY Daniel Rose-Levine

Puzzle Wiz Teen can solve a Rubik’s Cube in seconds — using his feet.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

L

auren Rose brings star power into a Bard College class she teaches to link mathematics and fun puzzles — her 19-year-old son.

Daniel Rose-Levine, an international Rubik’s Cube champion lauded for solving the puzzles in record times using his feet instead of his hands, has been featured on the national TV shows CBS Sunday Morning and To Tell the Truth and is profiled in A.J. Jacobs’ popular book The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life.

For his mom’s class in New York state, the Mathematics of Puzzles and Games, Rose-Levine regularly demonstrates his skills. A math and physics major at Bard, he also tutors students and shares experiences with

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members of a Rubik’s Cube club on campus. Ultimately, he is letting others know what YouTube videos can teach them about connecting the cubes to algorithms.

When Rose showed the recent CBS video to her class, it brought resounding applause honoring the teen who has spoken at the National Museum of Mathematics and enjoys appearances that make people more aware of solving cube puzzles.

“I went to the Bard Math Camp when I was 11, saw this kid solving a Rubik’s Cube and wanted to do it,” Rose-Levine said. “That’s what made me learn how to do it. I learned the World Cube Association is the official organization that has competition events, and one of the events they have had involved solving with feet.

“When I first started doing it with my feet, it took me 10 minutes. After many hours of practice, I was able to do one turn every two seconds and then went on to faster times, breaking the world record six times. When I won with a cube manufactured by MoYu, the company awarded me $750.”

This mother’s, and eventually her son’s, interest in the art of puzzles and games can be traced back to the Huntington Woods household of her parents, Arthur and the late Joan Rose. While Arthur Rose began by doing jigsaw puzzles, he moved on to the crossword puzzles his wife preferred. The couple became role models as family activities included card and word games using different strategies.

“When Daniel decides to do something, he spends a lot of time working at it, and what comes out is just amazing,” said Arthur Rose, whose family also has participated in programs at the Birmingham Temple, now the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit.

“Last year, he taught himself

how to play the guitar and learned Bob Dylan songs.

When he was visiting us, he entertained the family. During COVID, he also started to teach himself quantum mechanics and physics.”

Approaches to conquering various puzzle forms captivate Rose-Levine, active with the Jewish Student Organization at Bard and a member of a violin performance group before the pandemic.

“Once you know how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, you can always solve them,” said RoseLevine, who has participated in about 85 competitions.

“I didn’t figure it out on my own. I used YouTube. When Rubik’s Cubes were popular in the 1980s, it was common for people to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out on their own, partly because there weren’t any resources for solving them.

“Now, almost no one figures it out independently. It’s about understanding algorithms while having fun. After I learned how to solve them, I really liked trying to get my time faster and faster, and that was sort of addicting.

“When you go to school for math, you learn algebra,

Rose-Levine can solve a Rubik’s Cube in seconds using only his feet.

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calculus and all the things that have already been figured out for hundreds of years. If you keep going in math, at some point you start doing your own research and contributing, but you wouldn’t be able to get there if you had tried to figure out everything on your own.”

While Rose-Levine believes it’s fun to try to figure things out on your own, he also believes that if you learn from others first, it propels you further. He thinks of math problems as other puzzles to solve.

“Recently, I have been doing a lot of the 15 Puzzle,” he revealed. “It’s this twodimensional grid, and you’re sliding tiles around trying to get them in order. It’s a grid of the numbers 1 through 15, but it’s similar to the Rubik’s Cube because you’re moving things around.”

As Arthur Rose currently reads about his grandson in The Puzzler, the author maintains communication with Rose-Levine, who has attended a special event in honor of the book.

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“I was super-impressed with Daniel,” author A.J. Jacobs said. “It’s hard enough for me to solve a Rubik’s Cube, and he can do it with his feet — in a matter of seconds!

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JUNE 23 • 2022

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COURTESY OF HILLEL

OUR COMMUNITY

‘Open Space, Open Minds’’ Hillel Day School starts capital campaign for outdoor athletic facilities.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

H

illel Day School has begun an “Open Space, Open Minds” athletic capital campaign to help fund the expansion and enhancement of Hillel’s outdoor athletic facilities.

Currently, Hillel lacks a quality field that students can use year-round and after inclement weather, said Amy Schlussel, Hillel’s Director of Advancement-Admission & Giving. The current field is also uneven, and Hillel students need a safe playing surface for athletes of all ages.

The project includes replacing the current grass with synthetic turf and enlarging the size of the current field to accommodate 11 versus 11 soccer play. The all-season field will be 107 yards long and 72 yards wide, large enough to accommodate Hillel’s sports teams, yet flexible enough to host youth sports teams. These upgrades will improve safety, extend usage, enhance competitiveness and engage community use.

The field will be multi-use, which means it can accommodate soccer, lacrosse, football and field hockey, just to name a few.

The field will be funded by the Sue and Alan Jay Kaufman family.

Another major feature of the campaign

will be the addition of two multi-purpose courts. These courts will provide the opportunity for students to play basketball, volleyball, pickleball, floor hockey, four-square and other gross-motor sports. These multipurpose courts will be funded by Lori and Maurice Pogoda.

“That will be fenced in so that it also allows our youngest learners to be out in the front playing without fear of the ball or kids going into the parking lot,” Schlussel said.

A major feature of the campaign is the installation of a new track. Currently, Hillel does not have a standard running track.

Once completed, Hillel will have a two-lane track surrounding the athletic field.

The Little Red Schoolhouse, a historical landmark, is synonymous with Hillel Day School, once housing kindergarten. After a recent flood, the schoolhouse has sat dormant. Included in the athletic campaign is the plan to convert the Little Red Schoolhouse into a hub for athletic support and activity. The kitchen and bathrooms will be updated to allow for student-led concessions and spirit wear sales and to also serve as a renovated meeting place for students, parents and staff.

A goal has been set to raise $3 million by Sept. 1. All donations will be matched by the Kaufman family. The campaign went public June 1 and has already raised $2 million.

Schlussel believes the project is a game-changer and something that’s been on the minds of school leaders for a while.

“Since 2014, we’ve renovated every inch of the school on the inside to make it a tool for 21st-century learning with our vision to be innovative and creative; the outside should be the same,” Schlussel said.

“With the pandemic, we’ve seen how important it is for kids to be outside and active and the benefit it has for mental health,” she added. “Our tagline is ‘Mind and soul. Better together’ and this is why the athletic campaign is ‘Open Space, Open Minds.’ We want the kids to be outside much more and have usable space.”

Hillel is inviting the community to make a meaningful gift at any of the giving levels, with numerous naming opportunities and all donors recognized on an outdoor donor installation. To give, visit www.hillelday.org/ giving/open-space-open-minds-athleticcapital-campaign or contact Amy Schlussel at (248) 539-1484.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Renderings of the track, Kaufman Family Athletic Field and Pogoda Family Multi-Purpose Courts.

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Shoah Ambassadors Wins Three Michigan Emmy Awards DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

S

about it was being able to explain hoah Ambassadors, the Holocaust documentary the importance of the film shedding an educational light on a film directed and produced by Keith Famie, won three subject that can easily be forgotten by future generations and the Michigan Emmys at the award educational system,” Famie said. ceremony at the MotorCity “We’re celebrating every time Casino Hotel in Detroit on June somebody new sees it and gains 11. a newfound understanding of Famie won an award for the Holocaust. That’s an award in his directing of the film; his and of itself.”

Visionalist Entertainment The film is a new take on tellProduction crew members ing the Holocaust story, focused Brendan Martin and J.R. Grant won for editing; and Martin won on educating youth about the horrors and atrocities of the for lighting. The film itself was genocide through ambassadors also nominated for a documenCurtis Bates, a singer-songtary category. writer from Detroit, and Hailey “As I gave my acceptance Combined 2022 Half PageCallahan Horizontal 06.09.22.pdf 1 5/31/2022 of Rochester, an 4:05:41 PM speech, theJewishNews most important part

Keith Famie accepts an Emmy award.

artist/sculptor and graduate from Detroit-based College of Creative Studies (CCS), who tell the story through their own unique artistic expression.

The film aired on DPTV/PBS in November and December 2021.

On the same day of the award ceremony, Famie and his crew found out the film was an award winner for the Toronto Indie Filmmakers Festival for 2022.

Shoah Ambassadors continues to be on the film festival circuit, being an Official Selection for

the Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival, Miami Jewish Film Festival, Santa Monica International Film Festival, Austin Lift-Off Film Festival and Malibu Film Festival.

It also received an Honorable Mention from the Tokyo International Short Film Festival and Jury Special Mention in the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York.

To learn more about Shoah Ambassadors, visit https:// shoahambassadors.com.

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BUSINESS

Strengths & Challenges N ews coverage of economic issues often concentrates on the immediate future: Experts try to tell us what factors will influence the bottom line in the next quarter.

Sustained trends can make more difference in our lives, so we asked Michigan’s business leaders to tell us what they foresee about Michigan’s economy in the long run.

STRENGTHS 1. Diversifying Economy Not long ago, people said “Detroit” as a shorthand for automobile manufacturing. Now, our economy includes a wider variety of products and services. According to Matt Lester, president and founder of Princeton Matt Lester, Enterprises, and president president and Founder of the Jewish Federation of Princeton of Metropolitan Detroit, Enterprises and president “We have shed, to a of the Jewish large degree, the tag of Federation of Rust Belt by diversifying Metropolitan from manufacturing Detroit and by improving the manufacturing in terms of technology, in terms of green and growing sustainability.” In short, Lester says, “We have turned the corner.”

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Business leaders assess Michigan’s long-term economic prospects.

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

2. Government-Business Cooperation Lester identifies a strength of our state: We enjoy “a good partnership between government and business — that should foster economic development and hopefully serve as an example to other states.”

Jeff Donofrio, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, offers a similar positive assessment of government and business relations in Michigan.

3. Experienced Workforce Maureen Krauss, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership, emphasizes that an experienced workforce can attract employers to Michigan. For example, Krauss notes, we have a high concentration of engineers in Michigan, second only to those in Northern California.

Steve Tobocman, executive director of Global Detroit, agrees about the central importance of our workforce. “Talent,” he says, “is the single biggest driver of economic prosperity in the 21st century.”

Steve Tobocman, executive director of Global Detroit

4. Access to Water Access to the Great Lakes promises to become

increasingly important in the coming years as other regions of the world experience drought and problems accessing clean water.

5. Quality of Life “We are a geographically friendly spot,” according to Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber. As he notes, we are “not visited by earthquakes or hurricanes in any great degree.”

We also have positive attractions.

Lester lists “affordable home ownership and safe, clean neighborhoods.” He adds that Michigan offers opportunities for recreation, for families to enjoy time together, “away from work.”

CHALLENGES 1. Education Tobocman assesses education as “the single biggest driver” of Michigan’s economy. Krauss lauds the international reputation of Michigan’s universities.

Krauss expresses concern, however, that “we have lagged in the past few years on educational attainment, and that is troubling for the long term.”

Baruah detects the same problem, characterizing education in Michigan as “under resourced.” Recognizing the problem, the Detroit Regional

Chamber sponsors programs to assist underserved communities in K-12 schools, to help students achieve success in two-year and four-year degree programs and also to attract highly skilled workers to relocate to Michigan.

Baruah notes that just over 40% of Michigan’s adult population hold college degrees, lagging behind the nearly 50% in other states. The Chamber sets 60% as a goal, and Baruah lauds Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for adopting the 60% goal. To achieve that goal, Baruah believes, Michigan will have to overcome racial disparities in education.

Lester suggests we need to increase teachers’ salaries and improve their working conditions. “We need to attract talent, and pay them, and treat them as important.”

How important is the goal of improving education in Michigan? Jeff Donofrio says, “It’s key. No state can be successful without a best-in-class K-12 and post-secondary education system.”

2. Population Baruah points to a serious economic problem in Michigan: “We had a big decline in population.”

Population decline leads to labor shortages and other bad consequences.

As Tobocman observes, “The Midwest faces dire Sandy demographics — aging Baruah, population, lower birth president and CEO of rates, lower numbers the Detroit graduating high school. The Regional implications are huge and Chamber profound. Think of how disinvestment and flight devastated the local economy in Detroit.”

Exacerbating the problem, as Donofrio notes, “Michigan has a lower percentage of people in the labor force compared to Great Lakes states (on average), even when comparing people with the same level of education.”

It does not look like the solution can come from natural growth. Krauss laughingly challenges audiences, “How would you feel about having five more children?”

From where can demographic growth come? Tobocman says, “Immigration accounts for all of the population growth in Michigan over the last 25 years. Without immigration, we would not have grown our population since 2000.”

Donofrio agrees: “We firmly believe Michigan must work harder to increase migration and immigration to the state, which would help us bring in more talent to our labor force.”

Krauss observes that “the past few years of opposition to immigration was just exacerbating the problem.”

Baruah would welcome increased immigration, Jeff especially from high-skilled, Donofrio, educated foreigners. He president and CEO, lists leading companies Business Leaders for that “are looking for new high-tech talented people.

Michigan.

And frankly, we just don’t produce enough in the United States.”

Krauss, though, says we need all sorts of immigrants. “We need both. It is not either/or; it is both/and.”

3. Infrastructure Baruah notes that the Detroit Regional Council has been trying to bring stakeholders together to upgrade mass transit. “There really aren’t prosperous cities across the country, or frankly,

even across the world, that don’t have a robust regional public transit system,” he said.

We need sustained attention to other infrastructure needs: the classic repair challenges of aging dams, bridges, roads and water treatment facilities, along with new challenges of internet access.

4. Competition for Business Incentives When businesses decide where to locate new projects, they often ask governments to compete in offering incentives such as tax breaks and relaxed regulation. “In a perfect world,” according to Krauss, “none of us would offer incentives.” But state and municipal governments do offer incentives to businesses to encourage them to build projects, and so Michigan must compete. She says, “If we take that [incentives] off the table, and the competition still offers incentives …” She does not need to finish the sentence.

Donofrio explains the Maureen difficult balance: “While we Krauss, don’t want to win a project president and CEO of only because of incentives, the Detroit we also don’t want to lose Regional Partnership projects because we weren’t willing to offer them.”

Because we do need to offer balanced incentives, Donofrio praises “the recent bipartisan economic continued on page 33

JUNE 23 • 2022

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31

NEXT DOR

VOICE OF THE NEW JEWISH GENERATION

The

Candy Woman

Through colorful candy, Claudia Halpern makes stunningly sweet creations.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hen her younger sister, Amanda, was gearing up for her 21st birthday in November 2020, Claudia Halpern knew she had to do something special to help Amanda have a memorable celebration despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We couldn’t go to bars,” Halpern, 27, of Farmington Hills, recalls. Instead, she brainstormed with Amanda’s boyfriend on how to throw a party for her sister, despite the

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JUNE 23 • 2022

MARLEE JADE PHOTOGRAPHY

Claudia Halpern

restrictions that prevented them from celebrating in traditional 21st birthday fashion.

They decided to throw a small house party for Amanda’s birthday, but Claudia knew proper decorations were in order. “I started thinking about things that we can do,” she says. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to make a balloon arch.’ How cool would that be?’”

With a history of working for event planners, planning her sister’s birthday party

came naturally to Halpern. Seeing the custom balloon arch turning into a success and the process of bringing it to life gave her an idea to start making party decorations on the side.

It was the beginning of Party Sistas, a business in which Halpern could specialize in party design, college bed parties, bar cart styling, balloon arches and balloon backdrop kits. She worked with her sister in launching the idea, but when Amanda moved to Florida, Claudia Halpern was in charge of the business on her own and had to pivot.

CREATING JOY WITH CANDY “In February 2021, I was browsing online, and I saw someone made a box for someone with candy in it,” she recalls. Deciding to make a similar box for kids she babysat, Halpern posted her colorful creation on Facebook and received numerous requests to make more.

Could she make candy boxes for birthdays and bat mitzvahs, people asked? From there, Halpern realized candy boxes could be the focal point of her business.

“It happened by accident, in a way,” she says. Her style — which Halpern explains is positive and happy, something that puts smiles on people’s faces — became more and more in-demand, transforming Party Sistas

NEXT DOR

from a hobby to a full-blown business.

For Halpern, however, starting a business was a no-brainer. Hailing from generations of entrepreneurs — a trait she says is in her blood — she manages Party Sistas alongside working at her day job at OneTable, a national nonprofit that helps make Shabbat dinners accessible to the younger Jewish community.

It’s not Halpern’s first foray into Jewish outreach. Since childhood, she’s been involved in Metro Detroit’s Jewish community, from attending Tamarack Camps as a teenager to events through BBYO. Later, as an adult, she worked at BBYO and Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, and completed various internships at Jewish organizations.

FINDING INSPIRATION IN COMMUNITY Being so connected to the Jewish community, Halpern says, helped her bring Party Sistas to life and build clientele.

“I don’t think I would have been as successful so quickly if it wasn’t for my connections and my past relationships in the community.”

One of the main inspirations for Party Sistas, she says, is the Jewish community that helped bring the idea to fruition. “I love the Jewish community and everything it does for people,” says Halpern, who is able

to bridge her day job in Jewish outreach with her creative endeavors. “It gives you lifelong friends and a place that you can call home.”

Now, a year-and-a-half after her sister’s birthday, Halpern is creating everything from gummy candy arrangements to candy snack boxes, and the possibilities are wide open when it comes to different arrangements that can be made from candy and balloons.

In addition to arrangements, Party Sistas also offers a candy sushi-making party that Halpern says is equally fun for kids and adults. Through her business, she gets an opportunity to work on everything from traditional gifts to wedding showers to bachelorette parties and, most recently, Bloomfield Hills High School’s prom.

“I just like to make people happy,” she says of her colorful creations.

Eventually, Halpern wants to pursue big goals for Party Sistas. Her dream, she says, is to make a candy or snack table at the Grammys, but, in the meantime, she simply wants to continue working with candy.

“I want to keep getting creative and finding different ways to do candy and bring candy to people’s lives,” Halpern says, “and to make people happy.”

BUSINESS continued from page 31 “TALENT IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST DRIVER OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.” — STEVE TOBOCMAN

development legislation in Lansing.”

Sandy Baruah, on the other hand, says, “We have not been as consistent or as aggressive as other states in attracting investment from other parts of the country or other parts of the world.”

Simply cutting business taxes across the board does not strike Krauss as an effective strategy: “When we talk about upcoming projects, we talk to corporate decision makers every day, and … We usually do not get asked about taxes.”

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER “Michigan is at a real crossroads. Are we going to invest in the education and immigration strategies that we need?” Tobocman asks. And he feels uncertain.

“Simply put, I’m pretty nervous. I am not confident that our legislators and leaders grasp the realities of these issues. It’s too easy to get distracted by culture wars and partisan politics.”

Baruah assesses the future of Michigan positively: “It is very solid, very, very solid.”

He cites a positive metric in Michigan’s impressive number of business starts.

He sees Michigan as prepared to benefit from the coming revolutionary change to electric vehicles.

Donofrio, surveying the business community, says, “We’re optimistic.

That’s especially if we take advantage of a once-in-ageneration opportunity to invest in our state’s future provided to us by state budget surpluses and federal funds.”

JUNE 23 • 2022

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PHOTOS BY LEAH BERNSTEIN

SPORTS

Best of Three

Frankel Jewish Academy baseball team wins its first Catholic League division title in 17 years.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

he Frankel Jewish Academy baseball team put an accomplishment on its resume this season that it hadn’t been able to do since 2005.

The Jaguars won a Catholic League division championship.

The Intersectional 2 division had just three teams in it and each of the teams played only four division games, but Frankel coach Joe Bernstein said that doesn’t take the luster off the Jaguars’ title.

“No one can take championship away from us,” he said.

The Jaguars went 4-0 in division games, sweeping two

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games from Detroit Cristo Rey (2-2) and Detroit Loyola (0-4).

Frankel’s short path to the division championship isn’t unusual for the Catholic League.

“The Catholic League has several three-team divisions, and they’re in many sports,” said Frankel athletic director Rick Dorn.

There’s more to the baseball Jaguars’ 2022 story than winning the division title.

After starting the season 0-4 and 1-5, they finished 6-8-1.

“We were playing our best baseball as we headed toward the end of the season,” Bernstein said.

The season stopped May

13 after a tie with Bloomfield Hills Roeper because Frankel juniors and seniors went on the school’s annual spring trip to Israel.

The Jaguars didn’t play again until June 3, exactly three weeks after the Roeper tie, when they lost 15-0 to Lutheran Westland in a Division 4 district semifinal game at Plymouth Christian Academy.

“We looked like a team that hadn’t played in three weeks,” Bernstein said. “We only had two practices before that game.

“The trip to Israel was fabulous, of course, but if we had played a few games during the time we were off, I think we would have gotten

ABOVE LEFT: The Frankel Jewish Academy baseball team celebrates its Catholic League Intersectional 2 division championship following a May 10 win at Detroit Cristo Rey. ABOVE RIGHT: Daniel Bernstein (left) and Joe Bernstein chat before Daniel’s final at-bat for the Frankel Jewish Academy baseball team.

to 10 wins for the season.”

Bernstein said his team faced more than its share of adversity this season, but persevered.

“Injuries and illness always hit you during a season, but they hit us the worst times this season,” he said.

Through it all, Bernstein said, the Jaguars had a “never-say-die” attitude, never complained, refused to give up and showed great mental toughness.

Perhaps the grittiest of what Bernstein called a gritty bunch was junior catcher Ethan Gray.

“The weather this season was terrible. It went from 20 to 80 degrees. But Ethan never asked out,” Bernstein

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After not playing for two seasons, Charlie Tobias finally got to swing the bat this season for the Frankel Jewish Academy baseball team.

said. “And he was our best hitter at the end of the season. He has the heart of a champion.”

Senior Charlie Tobias was happy to play this season.

He missed his sophomore season because the Michigan High School Athletic Association shut down spring sports after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then he missed his junior season because of an elbow injury.

“There was no way I was going to miss this season,” Tobias said. “I wanted to spend my last season of organized baseball with my friends.”

Tobias hit .367 this season. He pitched in four games and had a 4.30 ERA. He’s headed to Michigan State University to study social work.

Senior Benji Schmeltz (.457), sophomore Ryan Schmeltz (.429), senior Daniel Bernstein (.395), Tobias (.367), junior Merrick Michaelson (.366) and Gray (.353) were Frankel’s leading hitters.

Benji Schmeltz also led

the team in hits (16) and runs (16) and tied for the top spot with Daniel Bernstein in doubles (four) and RBIs (16).

Daniel Bernstein is the son of the coach. Son and father shared an emotional moment at the district semifinal game just before Daniel’s final at-bat for Frankel.

“I talked about how this is something we’ve done every spring and summer together for 13-14 years. Spend time on the baseball diamond.

And now it’s coming to an end,” Joe Bernstein said.

Daniel Bernstein will be attending the University of Michigan.

Also on the Frankel baseball roster this season were senior Matthew Kay, juniors Coby Robbins and Ethan Baker, sophomores Noah Hack, Elliot Salama, Ryan Rubin and Harry Shavesky, and freshman Caleb Starr.

Joel Fealk was the team’s assistant coach.

Please send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

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JUNE 23 • 2022

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35

ERETZ

FROM OUR PARTNERSHIP REGION IN ISRAEL

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FEDERATION

This year, Israeli campers are returning to Camp Tamarack after a two-year hiatus.

An Enduring Partnership The P2G program smoothly pivoted to virtual during the pandemic, continuing its success.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Editor’s Note: The JN will begin a regular series of stories from Detroit’s Partnership2Gether region.

Here is an overview of the program to get it started.

S

ince 1994, three Michigan communities: Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, have partnered with three municipalities in Israel: Migdal HaEmek, Nof Hagalil (formerly Nazareth Illit) and the Jezreel Valley — a region referred to as the “Central Galilee.”

This partnership, backed

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by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, is the Partnership2Gether (P2G) program.

A program of the Jewish Agency for Israel, with 46 partnerships connecting 400 Jewish communities around the world, the program was originally designed to address needs in Israel.

Today, the Partnership strives to build significant opportunities and sustain long-lasting relationships through a variety of collaborative programs and shared resources, strengthening both communities. As an

example, the partnership has continued moving forward during the pandemic when travel was massively limited.

THE PARTNERSHIP IN THE BEGINNING P2G had simple intentions in the beginning — with Federation taking care of the Israeli region, usually sending money there, but nothing like the two-way interaction the program sees today.

“Initially, it was a pipeline of funding resources for these communities that had certain needs,” said Dona Stillman, director of the P2G

program. “And over time, a lot of very strong relationships started to form between the folks Dona over there and Stillman people here in our community.

“It’s sort of been a progression over time of strengthening and focusing in on those relationships rather than just the projects we do, which, of course, are important, but I think today most people would say the projects are just a means to connection and relationships between people.”

Stillman has been in her current role for more than three years but began her relationship with P2G around 2005. In that time, she has seen the partnership evolve in a major way, starting with the creation of the Israeli camper program about 20 years ago. The program sees kids from the partnership region attending Tamarack Camps in Ortonville during the summer.

“I think that was the first big shift. It was a real sea change in the partnership because it was created from something that was strictly happening over there. If you knew about it, you knew about it, but if you didn’t know, you had no way of knowing. It was insidersonly in terms of the Detroit Jewish community,” Stillman said.

“When the Israeli Camper Program started, that really brought this partnership to our community, started making it more available

The P2G program includes English language instruction for Israeli young people.

to people here, made it more tangible and started creating a broader spectrum of relationships between the communities here and there.”

Another key initiative the partnership has invested in for many years is the support of English language instruction in the region.

“English language in the periphery is often lacking, and it’s a really important part of success to Israelis,” Stillman said. “It’s also tangentially an important part of the success of our programs because if the kids are not competent English speakers, it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to bring them here for camp, and it’s impossible for them to come here for other things.”

While they can’t say it’s all because of their program, Stillman believes it’s definitely a huge contributing factor to the success of English language instruction in the

region with the younger generations oftentimes much more proficient English speakers than those who weren’t beneficiaries of the instruction.

“The camper program and English language program were two huge landmark things over the years that propelled us to where we are today, which is creating a continuum of connection for folks to have relationships from the age of 12 or 13 at camp and then continuing through, coming back for Teen Leadership Village, counselor-in-training, Birthright trips, to our young leadership and more,” Stillman said.

“All these things build upon each other and are programs that foster this continuation of relationship throughout the years.”

THE PARTNERSHIP TODAY On a daily basis, Stillman juggles a handful of continued on page 38

The Shared Society program’s goal is to break down the walls between Jews and Muslims.

Israeli high school graduates come to Metro Detroit for a gap year.

JUNE 23 • 2022

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37

ERETZ

FROM OUR PARTNERSHIP REGION IN ISRAEL

continued from page 37

different tasks related to the partnership region. These items include the English language programs, teen leadership development (which includes the camper program, Birthright trips and Teen Mission), a program where young adults in Michigan are paired with young adults in the partnership region, helping launch a young adult initiative in the region similar to NEXTGen Detroit, and more.

The ShinShinim program, where Israeli high school graduates from the partnership region take a gap year in Detroit, stay with a host family and take part in the community, is among the biggest day-to-day efforts Stillman is dedicated to.

The P2G program has two chairs in Michigan, Randi Sakwa and Ron Sollish, and two in Israel, Rachel Shechori and Avi Aviram.

The P2G director in Israel is Einat Adir-Sappire.

“What keeps the machine running is the committee here and in Israel and the relationships we form together because during normal times we travel regularly. Either their committee comes to Detroit or we go to Israel, at least once every nine months,” Stillman said.

“Those trips are important to the work we do in creating these strong bonds between our committee members, and I think those relationships are at the heart of everything we do.”

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The P2G Steering Committee

DEALING WITH THE PANDEMIC For the past two or so years during the pandemic, it certainly hasn’t been normal times, and those trips weren’t able to be taken. Regardless, the two sides found ways to keep the partnership moving forward.

“Obviously, at the beginning, our heads were spinning and we didn’t know which way was up for a little bit, but of all the things Federation is doing, I think P2G had a somewhat easier time pivoting,” said Jennifer Levine, director of Federation’s Israel & Overseas Department. “We already were used to operating [that Jennifer way]. Half of my Levine staff has always been in Israel, so since forever we’ve had to meet online.”

P2G’s pivot saw many programs move to virtual without much problem, including the teen leadership program and a continuation of its counselor-in-training program. New, innovative programming also came about during this time, including virtual cooking and improv comedy events.

“I think we discovered the silver lining, the capacity of what we could do online that we never knew before,” Stillman said. “There’s components of the online element we’ll keep long beyond COVID because when you’re working across the ocean, it just makes sense.”

The Israeli camper program was paused during the height of the pandemic, but Israeli campers are now returning to Camp Tamarack this summer after a two-year COVID-induced hiatus.

Stillman and Levine look forward to returning to some type of normalcy on all fronts, getting back to traveling, getting programs back in-person and continuing to move forward.

“P2G is one of the best tools we have as a community to turn the abstract concept of a global Jewish family into a reality, and that’s really what we try to do,” Levine said.

“Federation exists to take care of the needs of the Jewish people and to build a vibrant Jewish future here, in Israel and around the world.

“And I feel P2G is the best tool we have to focus on building a stronger Jewish community.”

For more about Partnership2Gether and how to get involved, contact Dona Stillman at stillman@jfmd.org or (248) 943-1553.

MAZEL TOV! APRIL 29, 2022 Katherine (Potash) and Ryan Connor are overjoyed to announce the birth of their daughter, Sloane Brooklyn. Proud grandparents are Morris and Reesa Potash, John Connor, and Kathleen and Kevin Mixer. Sloane is named in loving memory of her maternal great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Sadie and Bernard Pesick.

APRIL 27, 2022 Martin Ceresnie and Jenna Jassie of Novi are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Briar Sue Ceresnie. Briar is named after her paternal grandmother Beverly Ann Ceresnie.

MARCH 24, 2022 Bradley and Hayley (Niederquell) Hantler of Bloomfield Hills are thrilled to announcement the birth of their daughter, Vivian Jeanne Hantler. Vivian was lovingly welcomed by proud big brother Jason, and adoring grandparents Steve and Saree Hantler, and Brad and Leslie Niederquell.

Zoe Schechter (Sima Chaya) celebrated her bat mitzvah on April 30, 2022, at the Daxton Hotel in Birmingham. Rabbi Tamara Kolton officiated. Zoe is the daughter of Kelly Snapp and Bernard Boisten of Grosse Pointe Shores and Dr Steven Schechter of Franklin. Proud grandparents include Dave and Angie Snapp, Kathy Snapp of Colombus, Ohio, and Ronald and Sheila Schechter of Bloomfield Hills.

Zoe is finishing seventh grade at Parcells Middle School in Grosse Pointe.

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.

Grossman-Dainas

C

heryl and Dennis Yashinsky are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter Rebecca Lindsay Grossman, to Adam Jacob Dainas, son of Tobey and Scott Dainas of Highland Park, Ill. Rebecca received her bachelor’s degree in biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience at the University of Michigan. She earned two master’s degrees in clinical psychology from Madonna University and University of Windsor and is working on her Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology at University of Windsor.

Adam received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan.

He is an aerospace engineer at a jet engine company.

A July wedding is planned in Detroit.

Jarvis-Marx

S

ally Marx of Bloomfield Hills is thrilled to announce the engagement of her daughter Julie Sloman Marx to David Howard Jarvis. Julie is also the daughter of the late Frederick H. Marx. David is the son of the late Walter and late Sallie Jarvis.

Julie earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the University of Michigan. After working in the TV industry in Los Angeles and New York, Julie is a public relations media consultant, specializing in event publicity and marketing.

David graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He earned his juris doctor from the University of Detroit. He is an attorney, specializing in securities law with Vision Financial Markets based in Stamford, Conn.

An August wedding is planned at Franklin Hills Country Club. The couple will reside in Bloomfield Hills.

JUNE 23 • 2022

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SPIRIT

nd God said, “I moment. A wise person pardon, as you have commented afterwards asked.” that perhaps it was an Though we are months opportunity for growth. The from the High Holidays, group needed direction; these words bring to mind they needed to learn how our prayers during the a group conversation months of Elul and can be shaped and Tishrei. We confess moved forward in a our sin; we share our compassionate way. sorrow; we ask for Getting angry forgiveness, and God would have been grants us pardon. In counterproductive, Rabbi Simone this week’s portion, but the group leader Schicker we find God offering knowing how to pardon to the people refocus and redirect the Parshat who have cried out in conversation at hand Shelach fear and anger after would have allowed for Lecha: hearing the reports of the group to move past Numbers 13:1-15:41; the spies. the conflict and arrive Joshua Ten spies return and at consensus.

2:1-24. declare that the land is Too often in our not fit for the people, lives, we feel anger, that the land is full of giants. and rather than addressing Only Caleb and Joshua its root cause we lash out. believe that God will protect God plans to lash out at the the people — that God people until Moses steps in will provide. In anger, God and says, “Wait a minute appears to the people in the — this is not who You are.”

Mishkan, in the Tabernacle, In this moment, Moses is and threatens to destroy the mediator between God’s them all. Moses pleads with anger and the people.

God and God changes God’s While we know that mind.

Moses will ultimately lose Because the spies are so his opportunity to enter overwrought, people often the Promised Land because miss the lesson here: the of his own anger, showing importance of communication, that our ancestors were only the importance of hearing human, in this moment he is distress and knowing how the calm one. The one who to help another reduce their knows that God is better anger in the moment. than God is acting in this Recently, I found myself moment — that God is “slow in a group of people to anger and abounding in complaining about a number kindness; forgiving iniquity of things; and I found myself and transgression …” getting angry. Instead of May we all be too slow to speaking up and expressing anger. anger, I stayed quiet and contemplated what I could Rabbi Simone Schicker is rabbi at Temple B’nai Israel in Kalamazoo. do to change myself in the

SPIRIT

A WORD OF TORAH

foreign policy disasters from Vietnam to Iraq because policy-makers did not comprehend tribal societies. You cannot use war to turn them into liberal democracies. Fail to understand this and you will waste many years, trillions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives.

It might seem odd to suggest that a book by two contemporary economists holds the clue to unraveling the mystery of the spies in our parshah. But it does.

RABBISACKS.ORG

What Is Going On?

I

n March 2020, whilst launching a new book, I took part in a BBC radio program along with Mervyn King, who had been governor of the Bank of England at the time of the financial crash of 2008. He, together with the economist John Kay, had also brought out a new book, Radical Uncertainty: decision-making for an unknowable future.

Rabbi Lord The coronavirus Jonathan pandemic was just Sacks beginning to make itself felt in Britain, and it had the effect of making both of our books relevant in a way that neither of us could have predicted. Mine is about the precarious balance between the “I” and the “we”: individualism versus the common good.

Theirs is about how to make decisions when you cannot tell what the future holds.

The modern response to this latter question has been to hone and refine predictive techniques using mathematical modeling. The trouble

is that mathematical models work in a relatively abstract, delimited, quantifiable world and cannot deal with the messy, unpredictable character of reality. They don’t and cannot consider what Donald Rumsfeld called the “unknown unknowns” and Nicholas Taleb termed “black swans” — things that no one expected but that change the environment. We live in a world of radical uncertainty.

Accordingly, they propose a different approach. In any critical situation, ask: “What is happening?” They quote Richard Rumelt: “A great deal of strategy work is trying to figure out what is going on. Not just deciding what to do, but the more fundamental problem of comprehending the situation.” Narrative plays a major role in making good decisions in an uncertain world. We need to ask: of what story is this a part?

Neither Rumelt nor King and Kay quote Amy Chua, but her book Political Tribes is a classic account of failing to understand the situation. Chapter by chapter, she documents American

UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION We think we know the story. Moses sent 12 spies to spy out the land. Ten of them came back with a negative report.

The land is good, but unconquerable.

The people are strong, the cities impregnable, the inhabitants are giants, and we are grasshoppers. Only two of the men, Joshua and Caleb, took a different view. We can win. The land is good. God is on our side. With His help, we cannot fail.

On this reading, Joshua and Caleb had faith, courage and confidence, while the other 10 did not. But this is hard to understand. The 10 — not just Joshua and Caleb — knew that God was with them. He had crushed Egypt. The Israelites had just defeated the Amalekites. How could these 10 — leaders, princes — not know that they could defeat the inhabitants of the land?

What if the story were not this at all? What if it was not about faith, confidence or courage? What if it was about “What is going on?” — understanding the situation and what happens when you don’t. The Torah tells us that this is the correct reading, and it signals it in a most striking way.

Biblical Hebrew has two verbs that mean “to spy”: lachpor and leragel (from which we get the word meraglim, “spies”). Neither of these words appear in our parshah. That is the point. Instead, no less than 12 times, we encounter the rare verb, latur. It was revived in modern Hebrew and means (and sounds like) “to tour.” Tayar is a tourist. There is all the difference in the world between a tourist and a spy. continued on page 42

JUNE 23 • 2022

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SPIRIT

A WORD OF TORAH

continued from page 41

Malbim explains the difference simply. Latur means to seek out the good. That is what tourists do. They go to the beautiful, the majestic, the inspiring. They don’t spend their time trying to find out what is bad. Lachpor and leragel are the opposite. They are about searching out a place’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. That is what spying is about. The exclusive use of the verb latur in our parshah — repeated 12 times — is there to tell us that the 12 men were not sent to spy. But only two of them understood this.

Almost 40 years later, when Moses retells the episode in Devarim 1:22-24, he does use the verbs lachpor and leragel.

In Genesis 42, when the brothers come before Joseph in Egypt to buy food, he accuses them of being meraglim, “spies,” a word that appears seven times in that one chapter. He also defines what it is to be a spy: “You have come to see the nakedness of the land” (i.e., where it is undefended).

The reason 10 of the 12 men came back with a negative report is not because they lacked courage or confidence or faith. It was because they completely misunderstood their mission.

They thought they had been sent to be spies. But the Torah never uses the word “spy” in our chapter. The 10 simply did not understand what was going on.

They believed it was their role to find out the “nakedness” of the land, where it was vulnerable, where its defenses could be overcome. They looked and could not find. The people were strong, and the cities impregnable. The bad news about the land was that there was not enough bad news to make it weak and thus conquerable. They thought their task was to be spies and they did their job. They were honest and open. They reported what they had seen. Based on the intelligence they had gathered, they advised the people not to attack — not now and not from here.

Their mistake was that they were not meant to be spies. They were told latur, not lachpor or leragel. Their job was to

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tour, explore, travel, see what the land was like and report back. They were to see what was good about the land, not what was bad. So, if they were not meant to be spies, what was the purpose of this mission?

I suggest that the answer is to be found in a passage in the Talmud that states: It is forbidden for a man to marry a woman without seeing her first.

The reason? Were he to marry without having seen her first, he might, when he does see her, find he is not attracted to her. Tensions will inevitably arise.

Hence the idea: first see, then love.

The same applies to a marriage between a people and its land. The Israelites were traveling to the country promised to their ancestors. But none of them had ever seen it. How then could they be expected to muster the energies necessary to fight the battles involved in conquering the land? They were about to marry a land they had not seen. They had no idea what they were fighting for.

The 12 were sent to latur: to explore and report on the good things of the land so that the people would know it was worth fighting for. Their task was to tour and explore, not spy and decry.

But only two of them, Joshua and Caleb, listened carefully and understood what their mission was: to be the eyes of the congregation, letting them know the beauty and goodness of what lay ahead, the land that had been their destiny since the days of their ancestor Abraham.

The Israelites at that stage did not need spies. As Moses said many years later: “You did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go” (Deut. 1:32-33). God was going to show them where to go and where to attack.

The people needed something else entirely. Moses had told them that the land was good. It was “flowing with

milk and honey.” But Moses had never seen the land. Why should they believe him? They needed the independent testimony of eyewitnesses. That was the mission of the 12 And, in fact, all 12 fulfilled that mission. When they returned, the first thing they said was: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit” (Num. 13:27). But because 10 of them thought their task was to be spies, they went on to say that the conquest was impossible, and from then on, tragedy was inevitable.

The difference between the 10 and Joshua and Caleb is not that the latter had the faith, courage and confidence the former did not. It is that they understood the story; the 10 did not.

I find it fascinating that a leading economist and a former governor of the Bank of England should argue for the importance of narrative when it comes to decision-making under conditions of radical uncertainty. Yet, that is the profound truth in our parshah.

Ten of the 12 men thought they were part of a story of espionage. The result was that they looked for the wrong things, came to the wrong conclusion, demoralized the people, destroyed the hope of an entire generation, and will eternally be remembered as responsible for one of the worst failures in Jewish history.

Read Amy Chua’s Political Tribes, mentioned earlier, and you will discover a very similar analysis of America’s devastating failures in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.

I believe that the story we tell affects the decisions we make. Get the story wrong and we can rob an entire generation of their future. Get it right, as did Joshua and Caleb, and we can achieve greatness.

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

SPIRIT

Synagogue Directory METRO DETROIT CONSERVATIVE Adat Shalom Synagogue Farmington Hills (248) 851-5100 adatshalom.org Congregation Beth Ahm West Bloomfield (248) 851-6880 cbahm.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 Shaarey Zedek Southfield (248) 357-5544 shaareyzedek.org

ORTHODOX Agudas Israel Mogen Abraham Southfield (248) 552-5711 aymadetroit.org Ahavas Olam Southfield (248) 569-1821 Ahavasolam.com Ahavas Yisroel Oak Park (248) 298-2896 Learntorah.info Aish Hatorah in the Woods Oak Park (248) 327-3579 Aishdetroit.com Bais Chabad of Farmington Hills (248) 855-2910 chabad.org Bais Chabad of North Oak Park (248) 872-8878 chabad.org Bais Haknesses Hagrah Oak Park (248) 542-8737 Balfour Shul – K’Hal Rina U’Tefila Oak Park (732) 693-8457 Beth Tefilo Emanuel Tikvah Southfield (248) 559-5022

INDEPENDENT

Birmingham-Bloomfield Shul Birmingham (248) 996-5818 bbchai.org

Grosse Pointe Jewish Council Grosse Pointe Woods (313) 882-6700 thegpjc.com

B’nai Israel-Beth Yehudah Oak Park (248) 967-3969 bi-by.org

B’nai Zion Oak Park (248) 968-2414 Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce-Walled Lake Commerce Township (248) 363-3644 jewishcommerce.org Chabad Jewish Center of Novi-Northville (248) 790-6075 novijewishcenter.com Chabad Jewish Center of Troy Troy/Rochester Hills (248) 873-5851 jewishtroy.com Chabad-Lubavitch of Bingham Farms Bloomfield Hills (248) 688-6796 chabadbinghamfarms.com Dovid Ben Nuchim-Aish Kodesh Oak Park (313) 320-9400 dbndetroit.org Kehillat Etz Chayim Huntington Woods etzchayim-detroit.org Kollel Institute of Greater Detroit Oak Park (248) 968-1891 kollel@kolleldetroit.org

Sara & Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center of West Bloomfield (248) 855-6170 baischabad.com Shomer Israel Oak Park (248) 542-4014 godaven.com Shomrey Emunah Southfield (248) 559-1533 congregation-shomreyemunah-105705.square.site The Shul-Chabad Lubavitch West Bloomfield (248) 788-4000 theshul.net 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 T’chiyah Ferndale (248) 823-7115 tchiyah.org

Mishkan Israel, Nusach H’ari, Lubavitch Center Oak Park (248) 542-4844 theyeshiva.org

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

Ohel Moed Shomrey Emunah West Bloomfield (248) 737-2626 ohelmoed.org

REFORM

Or Chadash Oak Park (248) 819-1721 or-chadash.org

Temple Beth El Bloomfield Township (248) 851-1100 tbeonline.org continued on page 44 JUNE 23 • 2022

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Temple Emanu-El Oak Park (248) 967-4020 emanuel-mich.org Temple Israel West Bloomfield (248) 661-5700 temple-israel.org Temple Kol Ami West Bloomfield (248) 661-0040 tkolami.org Temple Shir Shalom West Bloomfield (248) 737-8700 shirshalom.org REFORM/RENEWAL Congregation Shir Tikvah Troy (248) 649-4418 shirtikvah.org SECULAR/HUMANISTIC Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit Farmington Hills (248) 477-1410 chj-detroit.org Sholem Aleichem Institute West Bloomfield (248) 865-0117 secularsaimichigan.org SEPHARDIC Keter Torah Synagogue West Bloomfield (248) 681-3665 rabbisasson.wixsite.com/ keter Ohr Hatorah Oak Park (248) 294-0613 Ohrhatorah.us TRADITIONAL Woodward Avenue Shul Royal Oak (248) 414-7485 thewas.net

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MINYANS Fleischman Residence West Bloomfield (248) 661-2999

OUTSTATE Battle Creek (Reform) Temple Beth El (269) 963-4921

Yeshivat Akivah Southfield (248) 386-1625 farberhds.org

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

ANN ARBOR

Benton Harbor (Conservative) Temple B’nai Shalom (269) 925-8021 tbnaishalom.org

CONSERVATIVE Beth Israel Congregation (734) 665-9897 @BethIsraelCongregation ORTHODOX Ann Arbor Chabad House (734) 995-3276 jewmich.com Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan annarborminyan.org RECONSTRUCTIONIST Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (734) 445-1910 aarecon.org REFORM Temple Beth Emeth (734) 665-4744 templebethemeth.org RENEWAL Pardes Hanah pardeshanah.org SECULAR HUMANISTIC Jewish Cultural Society (734) 975-9872 jewishculturalsociety.org

WINDSOR Shaar Hashomayim (Orthodox) Windsor (519) 256-3123 Congregation Beth El (Reform) Windsor (519) 969-2422 bethelwindsor.ca

East Lansing (Reform) Congregation Shaarey Zedek (517) 351-3570 shaareyzedek.com Flint (Orthodox) Chabad House-Lubavitch of Eastern Michigan (810) 230-0770 chabad.org

Kalamazoo (Conservative) Congregation of Moses congregationofmoses.org Kalamazoo (Reform) Temple B’nai Israel (269) 342-9170 Templebnaiisrael.com Lansing (Reconstructionist) Congregation Kehillat Israel (517) 882-0049 kehillatisrael.net Mackinac Island (Independent) Kehillat Hatzhav Hagadol (906) 202-9959 mackinacsynagogue.org Marquette (Reform) Temple Beth Sholom tbsmqt.org Midland (Reform) Temple Beth E (989) 496-3720 tbe_midland@yahoo.com

Flint (Conservative) Congregation Beth Israel (810) 732-6310 cbiflint.org

Mt. Pleasant (Reform) Temple Benjamin (989) 773-5086 templebenjamin.com

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

Muskegon (Reform) Congregation B’nai Israel (231) 722-2702 cbimkg@gmail.com

Grand Rapids (Conservative) Ahavas Israel (616) 949-2840 ahavasisraelgr.org

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

Grand Rapids (Orthodox) Chabad of Western Michigan (616) 957-0770 chabadwestmichigan.com

South Haven (Orthodox) First Hebrew Congregation (269) 637-1603 firsthebrewcongregation.org

Grand Rapids (Reform) Temple Emanuel (616) 459-5976 grtemple.org

Traverse City (Reform) Congregation Beth Shalom 231-946-1913 beth-shalom-tc.org

Hancock (Reform) Temple Jacob templejacobhancock.org

OHIO

Jackson (Reform) Temple Beth Israel (517) 784-3862 tbijackson.org

Toledo (Orthodox) Etz Chayim of Toledo (419) 473-2401 Etzchayimtoledo.org Email factual corrections or additional synagogues to list to: smanello@thejewishnews.com.

ARTS&LIFE SCULPTURE

A Conversation with Ariel Schlesinger Artist of Ways to Say Goodbye shares his creative ideas and processes for Holocaust memorial.

ROB FRANCIOSI SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Sculptures by Ariel Schlesinger at the entrance to the Frankfurt Jewish Museum

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A

pril is the cruelest month,” T.S. Eliot famously wrote.

The line came to me on a cold, rainy Friday when I walked the site where Ariel Schlesinger’s sculpture, Ways to Say Goodbye, is to be situated. The achingly slow Michigan spring presented a landscape that was muddy and colorless, which seemed appropriate to the disaster Ways to Say Goodbye would commemorate.

These morose thoughts, however, soon yielded to others fueled by the stilllingering warmth of my encounter with the artist.

Clad in a bright crimson coat — far too thin, I thought, for tromping the site at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids — Ariel Schlesinger seemed, at first glance, the typical New York artist. He had even just moved to Brooklyn to live among other artists and writers, which I told him seemed like requiring new college students to live on campus.

These surface impressions soon gave way, revealing a man both engaging and gentle, interested in talking about his work, but not in a

way that sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

I so enjoyed our conversation it seemed worthwhile to continue it. We started with a back-and-forth email exchange, but finally settled on a Zoom discussion. What follows draws on the two exchanges and, I hope, offers an interesting prelude to the upcoming dedication of Ways to Say Goodbye on June 30.

RF: Your work for Meijer Gardens evokes your trees at the entrance to the Frankfurt Jewish Museum.

Why trees? And why trees without leaves?

AS: Trees are people, and people are trees. We all live in a forest and socialize; it’s part of our nature. It was only obvious to me that a natural element like a tree will be a center that draws people together and starts a discussion around our past and future, together.

The reason not to sculpt the leaves is a choice both visual and practical, keeping the overall elements in the object as minimal as possible.

RF: What kinds of discussion do you envision Ways to Say Goodbye continued on page 46 JUNE 23 • 2022

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SCULPTURE

Trees grow tall in the ruins of many Jewish synagogues in Eastern Europe.

Ways to Say Goodbye at Meijer Gardens

ROB FRANCIOSI

ARTS&LIFE

continued from page 45

fostering at the gardens?

AS: I see a discussion as open-ended, a start of a journey really. I can say something about how it stands straight and tall but holds in its hands and fingers sharp shattered glass, memories and ideas that seem to reflect pain on it.

Another person can respond with their interpretation. I can’t control what they see in it. I think that’s the beauty of it. But I might learn something from them and maybe see it as well. We might even change each other’s perspective and hopefully learn something from the other. I think that’s the great power of looking and hearing.

RF: Just as your joining of two trees outside the Frankfurt Jewish Museum was a provocative gesture, the entangling of glass in the Meijer Gardens tree seems equally compelling, particularly in a lush outdoor setting.

AS: That’s very much a sculptural kind of decision.

I always approach my work from two directions: one is the conceptual, but the other is very much about the material. I put as much

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importance into each of them. I’m not somebody whose ideas overcome the form because I also very much enjoy experiencing art through the materials, through the human, physical connection that it makes.

A lot of times I feel that one can say the material overtakes the concept; but sometimes those two worlds come together and actually help each other and make the experience of the sculpture stronger and bigger.

I feel that happens with the combination of the glass and the tree. The tree is made out of aluminum and, therefore, nothing is actually alive or flexible or dynamic about it, other than the shape. And since it took almost the exact shape of the fig tree, with the surface and shape, maybe that’s when the movement happens.

It’s so similar to a real tree one almost loses the recognition that it’s a dead object. The glass, then, the way it is trapped in the branches, also brings questions: What came first, was it in the tree from the start? Or was it glass that fell into the tree?

Once you see this tree

up close, you will find that the joints between the glass and the aluminum cast are perfectly made. It almost feels as if the glass is cut into the branches. Or that over the years the tree grew around it, the way trees surround obstacles, such as a fence.

RF: We have a tree in our yard that has grown around a metal post. I’ve thought about trying to pull it out but realize I can’t. The two have become one object.

AS: That’s the reason, maybe, why this piece makes me think about memories and about experiences, and about catastrophes or even intentionally inflicted harm the tree may have felt in the past. And, as we discussed earlier, those human pasts.

That’s why I think this sculpture can function as a memorial very well because it’s a tree that is there, it’s standing, but it doesn’t try to hide. It tries to live together with the catastrophe that it went through or the problem that it encountered.

Even though it’s very intimidating, because the glass is suspended in a very fragile way over our heads, it can also be optimistic because the tree stands with a lot of

pride.

RF: Trees also figure prominently in certain Holocaust memorials where a lost community is represented by one that has been cut down. I have also seen photographs of trees growing through ruins of synagogues in Eastern Europe, images that temper the optimism of growth with an abject sense of loss and abandonment. And I have already heard some comments regarding the glass in Ways to Say Goodbye as perhaps representing Kristallnacht.

AS: Yes, working with glass actually started with me, interestingly enough, through a series of works based on Kristallnacht. I think that’s why I arrived at using glass a few years earlier before making this particular sculpture.

I was working a lot with shattered windows, breaking them, gluing them together and then photographing them. This was a response to art history in a way, being about the object and then the representation of the object. The way I worked was that after breaking the glass, putting it back together,

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DVIR GALLERY

LEFT: In this work, Schlesinger broke the windows of the gallery space, reframed them and then sold them. RIGHT: Schlesinger’s pieces on Krystallnacht.

In that series, I introduced another element, which was the mirror. In some of those shattered pieces you could actually see the reflection of yourself. So, it was not any more the object and the representation of the object, but more involving the viewer in the work, to become part of the work. You see your reflection, as well as the mess of the Kristallnacht in a very blurry, black and white snapshot.

By working with shattered glass, I discovered how to work with it — and that’s how I could use it in the tree.

RF: Because I have an interest in the Stolpersteine project in Europe, I was

Stolpersteine in Europe

intrigued to discover your work with the form.

The whole point of a stolpersteine [a brass nameplate set in pavement marking the last known address for a Nazi victim — there are more than 45,000 so far] is to inscribe a person’s name and tie it to a specific place, yet you do something quite different, using blank stones and moving them to various sites, including an art museum in Münster, Germany. Why? AS: It started because I had been to Berlin and I’m Jewish, so my attention was naturally drawn to that memorial.

And I immediately liked it

ROB FRANCIOSI

and then installing it back in the window, I photographed the window — but the focus was not on what the window showed, inside or outside, but on the glass. Then, when I printed the photograph, I framed it using the broken glass. Finally, you have the object, and you are viewing the documentation of the object through that object.

This was also a reference to the Charlie Chaplin movie, The Kid, in which he teams up with an orphan kid who runs who around the neighborhood throwing rocks at windows. Chaplin then shows up to repair the glass.

That was another reference to the gallery or art world, where we are selling these broken windows. So, I was breaking the windows of the gallery space, reframing them and then selling them.

But through that fascination with the broken, shattered glass, I actually did a series on Kristallnacht.

Very similar, as I broke a mirror and then re-glued and reframed it, but I used found photos from Kristallnacht.

very much because I found it in a way very nonintrusive, but at the same time very present. I like things in the street because as an artist I was always collecting things in the street, so I was very aware of the public environment. I also liked that it was kind of an empty space memorial, comparable to the one dedicated to the burned books in Berlin, a sort of antispace.

Since that was in my mind, after a few years I began to become very curious about what was underneath in the ground. I did more research and discovered it is actually a cobblestone, a cube. I found that cube to be beautiful in itself, at least the combination of the material, and it led me to the idea of reproducing that block.

What I wanted to show was that this can happen anywhere, this can happen to anybody, especially in thinking about living in Europe, thinking about migration and the forced displacement of people. continued on page 48 JUNE 23 • 2022

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ARTS&LIFE

An empty space memorial

continued from page 47

RF: Your piece outside the Frankfurt museum is in a city where Jews are less than 1% of the population, much like Grand Rapids. Most who visit Meijer Gardens and see your piece will not be Jewish. What do you hope they take away from the encounter?

AS: I hope they will see a work of art by the grandchild of a survivor and perhaps through accompanying text will see how that person experienced and translated the stories of his family and of his community. Of how he created his art and lived his life with those memories and with those stories. For me, it’s a very personal process and maybe they can read it through me. I cannot teach them or say “this is how it happened” because I was not there, and they weren’t, but I hope the sculpture will open a sort of dialogue to enrich their knowledge and their opinions.

RF: The title Ways to Say

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Goodbye raises all sorts of questions about the idea of saying goodbye to the past. Mourning is not about being focused strictly on the past, but on being able to move beyond it; not to forget, but not to be trapped by it. In that respect, a tree, though wounded in the past, promises growth in the future.

AS: Just like the stolpersteine, we are offering an idea, a way of thought.

I think it is much more effective to offer it rather than to point it out. I feel there are so many references within the piece: what trees represent in Judaism, the shattered glass of Kristallnacht, those memories, the title, who I am as an artist, the story of the Pestka family who sponsored the work. There are so many elements I hope will create a space for discussion.

RF: The Meijer Gardens site also brings the advantage of the four seasons. How did you use

the site?

AS: We tried to define that space using a concrete path, but the hilltop still encloses the piece, allowing it to blend in. While the plaza provides a place to sit down, to hang out, so you are close to it, under it, you are also away from it at the same time. I think it’s true the tree will live there among nature more than if it had been situated on cement, as in Frankfurt.

RF: Tell us more about the sculpture.

AS: The piece weighs 2 to 3 tons, but that’s because of the inside structure of the stainless steel, a very massive pipe. The aluminum itself is very light. And the glass weighs a lot as well.

Structurally, aluminum cannot bear much weight, so they have to use proper steel piping for which they know the strength exactly, because the aluminum enclosure has no structural properties.

Prepping the sculpture for installation

RF: Are sculptors also engineers?

AS: These days an artist just outsources that work. There are very good fabricators, but, of course, you need to know what you ask of them and how to ask it. Sometimes what I’m interested in is maybe extending the possibilities, stretching what’s possible.

Often it’s those companies that take drawings from artists to build the piece.

Today the artist’s life can be more one of directing, but I am really interested in the construction of things. For a lot of my more complicated works, I start by doing prototypes to try to see if they work, and then maybe outsourcing them to a fabricator. In this case, we did a lot of testing with a combination of aluminum and glass so that it felt right with the material and how it is held together.

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ROB FRANCIOSI

SCULPTURE

ARTS&LIFE BOOKS

Danica Davidson

Letting Go of Hatred

C

hildren’s author Danica Davidson had authored more than a dozen books when she experienced hatred as a journalist for a major cable media outlet in 2015 because she was Jewish.

“I had an editor who lectured to me that it was no big deal to refer to Jewish people as Nazis,” said Davidson, who lives in Kalamazoo. “I was told that, overall, the Jews didn’t have it that bad and only suffered a few bad years in the 1940s. It was then I realized the gravity of the Holocaust was becoming trivialized, and there was a widespread ignorance about the history of the events leading up to and during the Holocaust.”

New children’s novel tells a survivor’s story of tolerance and forgiveness.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Davidson is author of the new children’s novel I Will Protect You: A True Story of Twins Who Survived Auschwitz (Little, Brown, April 5, 2022). It is the account of co-writer, Holocaust survivor and educator Eva Moses Kor, who died in 2019 at age 85.

A native of Burbank, Calif., Davidson remembers hearing stories of hatred toward Jews from her own family stories; her great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe to escape pogroms.

Growing up, her father provided her with books about the Holocaust, she attended an eighth-grade public school field

trip to the museum of tolerance and read the play based on The Diary of Anne Frank.

By high school, Davidson’s family moved to Sturgis, Mich., where she discovered she was one of the only Jewish students in her school.

“I went to school and used Yiddish phrases I just assumed everyone knew,” Davidson recalled. “I remember bringing matzah to school for lunch during Passover and the kids around me did not understand why I was eating it.”

Davidson also assumed everyone around her was well read about the Holocaust. Now, well into her adulthood in her 30s, she is alarmed at statistics

Eva Mozes Kor

that reveal a growing number of adults under 40 had never even heard of the term “Holocaust.”

After her unpleasant brush with antisemitism in the workplace, Davidson delved further into learning about the history of discrimination and persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust when, in 2018, she met Kor, who was giving a talk at Western Michigan University.

It was right there when Davidson presented turning Kor’s story into a children’s book; Kor met the idea with great enthusiasm. They got to work, through a series of in-person and telephone interviews, developing the manuscript.

continued on page 50

JUNE 23 • 2022

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ARTS&LIFE

“She told me she wanted her story to be accessible to elementary school students but not to sugarcoat the facts,” Davidson said. “Seeing how little facts adults have about the Holocaust, it is evident we are not doing enough for Holocaust education, and it must begin at a younger age than high school.

“This book addresses that challenge because it’s accessible for upper elementary school and middle school, and it is something children and adults can read together.”

The 240-page book chronicles Kor’s life: her birth in 1934 in the village of Portz, Romania, the siege of the town under Nazi occupation and her eventual deportation to Auschwitz at age 10. Like thousands of other twins who arrived at Auschwitz, she and her twin sister, Miriam, were subject to inhumane experiments by the infamous Josef Mengele.

Of the 3,000 twins who Mengele experimented on, only 160 children survived and were liberated when the camp was liberated in 1945.

Kor survived with Miriam.

After the Soviets liberated the camp, they eventually made it back to Portz to their empty home to learn their parents, two other sisters and extended family did not survive.

The book continues Kor’s life journey from being a refugee, to settling in Indiana, and to learning how to overcome her childhood trauma and unshackling herself from victimhood status by practicing the act of forgiveness.

In 1995, Eva Mozes Kor opened the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre

Haute, Ind., with a mission to prevent prejudice and hatred through education about the Holocaust. In 2007, Kor worked with Indiana state legislators to pass a law mandating Holocaust education at the high school level.

Many times, she traveled with groups back to Auschwitz to bear witness. She died on one of those last trips in the summer of 2019.

Davidson said the book, a legacy to Kor’s life, is meant to teach children in upper elementary school grades the lessons of tolerance and the consequences of what happens when hatred goes unchecked.

Davidson said Kor was known to use forgiveness — even, controversially, to the Nazis who tormented her and her sister and murdered her family — as a way to heal and move forward with a life where she refused to forever be looked upon as a victim.

Offering her forgiveness healed Eva, but it did not mean she would forget what happened.

“In the later chapters of the book, we discussed Eva’s forgiveness process,” Davidson said. “Forgiveness meant letting go of hatred. It did not mean Eva believed the Nazis should not have been punished or should have been excused for what they did.

“For her, if she still found herself hating the Nazis long after they physically hurt her, all it did was cause her further pain. Only after the trauma was over could she bring herself to forgiveness.

“For Eva, forgiveness meant finding the self-confidence in oneself that no one could ever bring her down again.”

CELEBRITY NEWS

A MYSTERY ON THE RESERVATION, CHARITY SAVES A RICH LADY, AN ARTY BIO-PIC Dark Winds is an eight-episode psychological thriller that began streaming on AMC and AMC+ on June 12. It is based on a series of bestselling and critically acclaimed novels written by the late Tony Hillerman.

The books, and the AMC series, center on two Native American reservation police officers.

Noah Emmerich, 57, has a major supporting role in Dark Winds as Whitover, a burned-out FBI agent whose career is dying.

It’s nice to note that Dark Winds is a big hit with critics.

Earlier this year, Emmerich played another FBI agent in the Apple TV+ mystery/ thriller series Suspicion.

The first episode was interesting, and the acting was fine. However, I joined most critics in thinking it didn’t provide enough clever twists to justify watching eight onehour episodes.

Loot is a 10-episode comedy that begins streaming on Apple TV+ on June 24.

GREG2600

Noah Emmerich

Maya Rudolph

Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph, 47) lives a dream-like, luxurious life. She is married to a super-duper-rich high-tech billionaire (played by Adam Scott). Then, suddenly, her whole life crashes when she discovers her husband has been cheating on her. She goes into a major depression that is not relieved when she snares a world-record $87 billion divorce settlement.

Molly is brought out of her blues when she gets a call from Sofia, an employee of Molly’s charitable foundation — a foundation Molly didn’t even know she had. Molly latches on to Sofia, and the foundation staff, as a lifeline out of her depression.

Molly’s new life purpose is to help others with her riches. Of course, there’s a lot of humor contrasting the rich cocoon that Molly has long lived-in with “the real world.”

Nat Faxon, 46, has a co-starring, “main cast” role.

He plays Arthur, an accountant. Faxon has many comedy series acting credits and he was the co-winner of a best screenplay Oscar (The Descendants, 2011).

His mother is Jewish, and he’s secular. Faxon’s maternal grandfather fled Nazi Germany in 1938.

MINGLEMEDIATVNETWORK

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

THE AMAZING BILLY WILDER Another refugee from the Nazis, the truly amazing director/writer Billy Wilder (1906-2002), is going to be the subject of an upcoming “sort-of” bio-pic. I was excited when the film was announced a couple of weeks ago. Then details about the film came out, and I’m not so happy. I think the planned film probably won’t be of interest to anyone except the “really arty.”

Who was Wilder? Well, many say he was the greatest “all-around” film creator of the 20th century — the depth and breadth of his talents is astonishing. There is really no way to briefly convey his incredible life and his works. But I’ll try to make you curious enough to read a long bio online.

He was born Shmuel Vild to middle-class Polish Jewish parents. The whole family moved to Vienna around 1920. Wilder was a journalist in Vienna, before moving to Berlin in 1926. By 1929, he was a screenwriter. The hit films he wrote or co-write ushered in a new era of realism in the German cinema.

He fled from the Nazis in 1933 and settled in America.

He learned English by listening to the radio hour after hour for several months.

Months after he learned English, he began writing really good American (English) movie scripts for Hollywood studios. His first big hit (as a writer) was the great comedy Ninotchka (1939). He co-wrote more hits and was given a chance to direct in 1942. The third film he directed (and co-wrote) was the classic film-noir Double Indemnity (1944).

He went on to direct and

GALERIE POLL, BERLIN

ARTS&LIFE

Billy Wilder in 1989

co-write classic after classic.

Some were dramas and many were comedies. Here are the biggest hits: Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Lost Weekend, Sabrina, Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment and The Fortune Cookie.

He won six Oscars (two for directing, four for screenplays).

The film about Wilder is based on a novel by Brit writer Jonathan Coe about the making of Fedora (1978), a Wilder film that got mostly bad reviews when it opened and flopped at the box office. Its reputation has really risen over the years.

Stephen Frears, 80, a top British director, will helm the bio-pic. Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz, a Vienna native, will play Wilder. Both have Jewish ties — Frears’ mother was Jewish, and his wife is Jewish. Waltz’s first wife was Jewish, and their three children were raised Jewish.

In interviews, Wilder was a funny, smart man with an infectious joy-of-life personality. I think a film about Wilder making a very hardto-make film that flopped almost can’t help but “bury” the “delightful” Wilder I’ve seen myself. I hope I am wrong.

JUNE 23 • 2022

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ON THE GO

PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS

BIM BOM BABY 10-11 AM, JUNE 24 Bim Bom Baby is a Shabbat celebration at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills for babies to 4-yearolds. Join Rabbis Michael Moskowitz and Daniel Schwartz in singing with Cantor Penny Steyer, braiding challah, playing and making new friends. There is no charge. This will take place in person at the Learning Center Preschool at Adat Shalom.

ONE-ACT FESTIVAL JUNE 24-26 The Farmington Players are hosting a festival of short one-act plays written by playwrights with Michigan connections. The eight finalists were selected from over 70 entries in a blind submission process, and audiences will vote for their favorite play, with the winning playwright taking home a $100 prize and the coveted People’s Choice award. The festival will run at 32332 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills in the big white barn on the north side of 12 mile between Orchard Lake and Farmington Road. Tickets ($12) are available at farmingtonplayers.org or at the

A DAY IN THE D JUNE 26, 10:30 AM- 1:30 PM

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JUNE 23 • 2022

box office: (248) 553-2955.

PRIDE SHABBAT 6:30- 8:30 PM, JUNE 24 At Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield. In recognition and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, folks who identify as LGBTQ+ will share their personal stories in a Moth-style format.

Speakers include Ron Elkus and Hannah and Nicole Figueroa.

MUSIC IN THE AIR 7 PM, JUNE 25 Palmer Woods Music in Homes resumes with outdoor concerts showcasing jazz, blues, classical and world music in various beautiful gardens and private spaces of historic Palmer Woods homes — and one in the Palmer Park Log Cabin. Tickets must be purchased in advance ($50-60, including dinner) at palmerwoods.org or palmerwoodsmusicinhomes2022.eventbrite. com. During intermission, delicious cuisine, included in the ticket price, will be served at all concerts in individually covered containers that will be filled in advance by our food committee, who will be masked, vaccinated and taking safe-

SHARE WITH SENIORS JUNE 29, 6-9 PM ty precautions as directed by our professional caterer.

A DAY IN THE D 10:30 AM- 1:30 PM JUNE 26 Get ready to enjoy a summer day with Congregation Beth Ahm friends. Meet at Milliken State Park, 1900 Atwater St., part of the Detroit Riverwalk. Arrive at 10:30 am to experience the city from a Jewish perspective. On this optional, free walking tour, Risha Ring will highlight the Jewish impact on the history of Detroit.

Everyone is invited to join at noon for a BBQ lunch and picnic activities in the park: $10 for lunch and children under 5 are free. After lunch, at 1:30 pm, join the group for an optional bike ride to Belle Isle. See the development of the island and the attractions that make it a treasure of the city. We’ll explore the conservatory, tour the garden and visit the aquarium. Info: jlive.app/events/2290.

PARK PICNIC 1-3 PM, JUNE 26 The first live Well event of the summer will be at VFW Park, 700 S. Campbell, Royal Oak. Classic park favorites like tie-dye, sidewalk chalk, cornhole and more. Keep cool with popsicles from the Detroit

Food Academy; there will be other snacks on hand, but you’re welcome to BYO picnic lunch, too. Due to the generosity of donors, subsidized tickets are available for $5 per person. Register: jlive.app/events/2389.

Questions? Contact Erica at erica@meetyouatthewell. org.

Howard Lupovitch

‘SPIES LIKE US’ 7: 30 PM, JUNE 28 Also July 5, 12, 19 at Congregation Beth Ahm. Free. Historical episodes involving Jewish spies, whether famous or infamous, intrigue us because of the heroism associated with them. Yet these episodes also reveal larger aspects of the relationship between Jews, the Jewish community, and the state and society in which they are situated, bringing to the foreground issues of Jewish patriotism, politics and solidarity. The community is invited to learn with Professor Howard

RETRO BOWLING NIGHT JUNE 30

Lupovitch as he shares stories and perspectives on infamous Jewish spies from the 20th century. June 28: Jew, American, Athlete, Spy — The Many Sides of Moe Berg; July 5: Soviet Spies in the Shadow of McCarthyism — Julius and Ethel Rosenberg; July 12: Our Man in Damascus — Eli Cohen and the Mystique of the Mossad; July 19: The Controversial Career and Capture of Jonathan Pollard.

Register: cbahm.org/event/ spieslikeus.

MUSIC & THE BRAIN 1-2:30 PM, JUNE 29 Music is pervasive in our society, affecting the physical, emotional, cognitive,

social and spiritual aspects of our lives. This presentation will provide insight into the ways music influences our brains and behavior. Jody Conradi Stark, music therapist, and Jing Zhang, violinist, both with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, will share expertise and perform pieces demonstrating how music can “move” us physically and emotionally. Registration info: MINDU@jfsdetroit.org or 248-788-6463.

at the apartments. Free. Info: jlive.app/events/2284.

SHARE WITH SENIORS 6-9 PM, JUNE 29 JFamily is excited to share Pop Ups with a Purpose.

These programs will provide children and families ages 3-9 with opportunities to engage in social action.

Each Pop Up will correspond to a Jewish value and/or theme from a PJ Library book. Join us at the Jewish Senior Life Prentis Apartments in Oak Park where we will chalk the walkways for the residents and enjoy some “bedtime stories” with honorary bubbies and zaydies who reside

RETRO BOWLING NIGHT 6:30-9:30 PM, JUNE 30 Sponsored by NEXTGen Detroit at Bowlero Lanes, 4200 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak. A ’70s-themed night.

Have a drink and some era-inspired finger food in the retro cocktail lounge from 6:30 to 7:30 before hitting the lanes from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. ’70s outfits encouraged (but totally optional). $20 per person includes bowling, shoe rental, food and first drink.

Kosher options are available. Don’t forget to bring socks for bowling. Register

CAREGIVER SUPPORT 1:30-2:30 PM, JUNE 30 Virtual Caregiver Support Groups 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. 248-233-4392 dmoon@ jvshumanservices.org.

in advance by June 26: jlive.app/events/2270. This event is intended for young adults ages 21 to 45.

PARENTS’ BOOK CLUB 8-9 PM, JULY 11 The Reading to Recharge virtual series is offering books and conversations to inspire parenting on and off the page. Each session will provide a thoughtfully selected book and plenty of time to read it. Then we come together on Zoom to chat about our recent read, share wins, discuss challenges and just enjoy the company of other young adults who are in the same parenting boat.

This month’s book is Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron.

Books will be shipped directly to you once you register, so please be sure to register with your shipping address.

The cost of this program is subsidized by We Need to Talk. Please register by June 30: jlive.app/events/2403.

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

New Exhibit at Zekelman Holocaust Center To Paint is to Live: The Artwork of Erich Lichtblau-Leskly is a new exhibit at the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills that explores the life of a Czech Jewish artist who used art and satire as tools of adaptation and resistance while imprisoned in Theresienstadt. His cartoonish representations of daily life in Theresienstadt juxtapose shocking scenes of brutality with a light, ironic style, exposing the absurdity of his and others’ experiences while remaining jarringly human.

Fearing for his life after oth-

ers in the camp were deported, Erich cut most of his artwork into pieces. His wife, Elsa, hid them underneath the floorboards of her barracks and they miraculously survived.

Erich used these fragments to recreate bigger, brighter, more fleshed-out versions with writings and captions to give further insight into what he was attempting to convey.

Experience Erich’s story of survival through 134 of his original sketches and reworked paintings. The museum is open Sunday to Friday. The exhibit, on

Artwork of Erich Lichtblau-Leskly

loan from Holocaust Museum LA, runs through the end of the year and is free with admission or membership.

JUNE 23 • 2022

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faces&places

1

A Shavuot Cheese Party The community came out for a fun night celebrating cheese for Shavuot, our dairythemed holiday, on Saturday, June 4, at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township.

The night started with a private cheese tasting with Mongers’ Provisions, followed by a delicious strolling cheese-themed dinner with Temple Beth El’s caterer, Platinum Dish Catering. A special shout out to TBE’s Sisterhood and event organizers, Judy Roberts and Nancy Fortier, for making this event a huge success.

2 1. Sue Goldsmith, Denny Brown and Jeff Goldsmith.

2. Ted and Meredith Williamson.

3. Cathy and Mark Segel, and Rochelle Nelson.

4. Nancy and Doug Fortier, Mearyl and Max Roberts, and Judy and Scott Roberts.

5. Rae and Scott Monchnik.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TBE

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SPOTLIGHT Courts Matter Michigan: A New Educational Presentation Courts Matter Michigan, a nonpartisan coalition of diverse organizations working toward a well-functioning federal judiciary composed of qualified and impartial judges, is launching an educational program for Michigan voters.

Courts Matter Michigan and members of the National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan (NCJW|MI) have produced an informative PowerPoint presentation with accompanying script, handouts and facilitation guide, to increase awareness and understanding of the fundamental right to vote and how it relates to the judicial system, and to inform the public on the importance of electing political officials committed to a fair and independent judiciary.

While federal judges are nominated by the president, the Senate votes to confirm a nominee to a lifetime appointment. Courts Matter is mobilizing Michiganders to act, by contacting their senators to support well-qualified and diverse nominees dedicated to fairness and impartiality.

On June 22, Courts Matter Michigan will hold a virtual meeting to present the

new educational program to its members.

The presentation will subsequently be offered free to organizations, interest groups, school colleges and other interested audiences.

“When people cast their vote at the ballot box, it is essential that they understand the power that a senator can have,” said Susan Marwil, co-chair of Courts Matter Michigan, and a past president of NCJW|MI. “Recent decisions by the Supreme Court have highlighted the need for judges who uphold core constitutional values and who are fair and independent. Their decisions on court cases impact all our lives.

“Our new educational presentation will help Michiganders understand the process and lead to the election of politicians who are committed to upholding our core constitutional values, such as equality, freedom and justice for all,” Marwil added.

For more information, email courtsmattermichigan@gmail.com or leave a phone message at NCJW|MI at (248)355-3300, Ext. 8.

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“Exploring Israel through the Lens of the Six-Day War” is a new summer learning course from the Chabad Jewish Center of Bloomfield Hills.

On June 10, 55 years ago, Israel won the Six-Day War against its enemies seeking its destruction, a decisive victory against all odds that expanded the Holy Land and inspired a nation.

But it was a difficult time. Israel faced many complex dilemmas about its ethical decisions, moral obligations and ultimate survival.

And today, over half a century later, these questions are as relevant and pressing as ever.

In this special course, relive the war and the miracles, and stop at six critical junctures to explore 3,000 years of Jewish wisdom on the fascinating and impossible questions at the heart of our nation’s survival.

The six-week course, taught by Rabbi Levi Dubov, begins July 20, both in-person and virtually. Visit https://www.bhchabad.org/survival for class options and to register.

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

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OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

SALLY ANN BERGMAN, 81, of West Bloomfield, died June 16, 2022.

She is survived by her sons and daughter-inlaw, Rabbi Aaron and Ruth Bergman, and Laurence Bergman; grandchildren, Rina Bergman and Peter Traunmuller, Shira Bergman and her fiancé, Nathan Shi, Ariel Bergman and Rikki Bergman; brother and sister-in-law, Yehuda and Shulamith Berman; sisterin-law, Janet Berman; nieces, nephews and friends.

Mrs. Bergman was the beloved wife of the late David Bergman; the dear sister of the late Joe Berman and the late David Berman.

The funeral was a private graveside service at Adat Shalom Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to Adat Shalom Synagogue, 29901 Middlebelt, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, (248) 851-5100, adatshalom. org/tributes. Arrangements

by Kaufman Chapel DIANA “D.D.” FISHER, 74, of Oak Park, died June 14, 2022.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Stephen Fisher; son and daughter-inlaw, Jeremy and Isis Fisher; grandchildren, Meagan, Shayna and Carys Welsh; brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Lori Desmon; brother-in-law, Norman Benjamin; other loving relatives and friends.

Mrs. Fisher was the cherished mother of the late Heather Welsh; the dear

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27 Sivan June 26 Mollie Alpert Ruth Alter Sadie Aronowitz Max Blotner Charles Cohen Jacob Faigenbaum Dora Halpert Jacob W. Henock Joachim Koenigsberg Leon Kohn Clara Levy Harold J Sansky Joseph Scheiner Shirley Shoenig Benjamin Steele Shellie Stoffer 28 Sivan June 27 Feige Ackerman Zelda Blackman Morris Goldman Pearl Goldman Yeshayah Kerzner Sarah Portnoy Sally Shorr 29 Sivan June 28 Leonard Bennett

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JUNE 23 • 2022

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 57

sister of the late Barbara Benjamin.

Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, 20450 Civic Center Drive, Southfield, MI 48076, cancer. org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

of West Hollywood. Kol Ami gave him a home away from home and by doing so, they warmed the hearts of Ricky’s large family and many friends.

Contributions may be made to Kol Ami Synagogue in West Hollywood, Calif., or AIDS/Lifecycle-LA.

RICHARD FRANK, 61, died on May 30, 2022, in Los Angeles, Calif., but always had a special place in his heart for his native Detroit.

Through Kol Ami and the annual AIDS/Lifecycle LA fundraiser, to battle that horrific disease, and other outlets, Ricky served his community and left this world better than he found it.

Ricky was a man of many hats, both literally and figuratively. He knew how to put smiles on people’s faces, often with the silliest hat he could lay his hands on. If he could talk to us now, he would tell us to hug more, argue less and love more.

Ricky will live on in the hearts of so many people.

Still, we will all miss him just the same.

Ricky was the proud son of the late Leonard and the late Patricia Frank. He was also the proud brother of Sharon (Doug) Roeseler, Annie Frank, the late Charlie Frank, Jimmy (Abby) Frank, Simcha Freedman, Jonny (Pam) Frank, Vicky (Steve) McBrayer, Paula (John) Harris and Bill Frank. He was loved by many, many nieces and nephews, but his family knew they had to share him with the Kol Ami Synagogue

MARTIN DAVID HARON, of Farmington Hills, passed away on June 11, 2022.

Born in Detroit on June 15, 1940, Martin spent his early years participating in clubs such as AZA and working at Lupi Drug Store.

He graduated from Mumford High School in 1958 and continued his education at Wayne State University. While there, he flourished in his studies and was an extremely avid reader. One time, during finals week, Marty was able to read War and Peace while at the same time preparing for his exams. He enjoyed reading nonfiction books, especially those about World War II and American history.

Marty graduated in 1962 with a bachelor of arts with a major in accounting, leading to his successful career as a certified public accountant.

Lois and Marty Haron were married on Sept. 11, 1962. The two met at the age of 16 and were high school sweethearts. They were joined in their celebration by many guests at the Mayfair in Detroit, including Marty’s parents, Harry and Geraldine Haron.

Marty was a generous contributor to many charities.

He enjoyed giving back to

the community and donating to those in need. In addition to being extremely generous, Marty was honest in his work as an accountant. He was always enthusiastic about going to work and refused to retire.

He worked all the way up to two days before he passed away.

Along with his passion for his work, Marty enjoyed traveling the world with his wife, Lois. Together, they visited all seven continents and more than 80 countries. He traveled everywhere he had dreamed of going, along with places he had never thought of before; his favorite destination was Antarctica.

Mr. Haron is survived by his wife of 59+ years,

Lois Haron; children, Dr. Stacey O’Connor and Jayson Haron; grandchildren, Alison O’Connor and Emily O’Connor; his sister Laurie Jo Haron.

Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to Kadima,15999 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48076, kadimacenter.org; or to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

MARILYN HERTZBERG, 90, of Novi, died June 12, 2022.

She is survived by her children, Cathy Hertzberg

and Ronald Lindsay, Robert and Julie Hertzberg, and John and Galena Hertzberg; grandchildren, Jacob Hertzberg, Jameson Hertzberg and Jayden Hertzberg.

Mrs. Hertzberg was the beloved wife of the late Stuart Hertzberg; the loving sister of the late Barbara and the late Gerald Manko.

Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Jewish Family Service, 6555 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jfsdetroit.org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

HELENE HOPE LEVITSKY, 83, of West Bloomfield, died June 11, 2022.

She is survived by her

brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Nicole Kallush of Las Vegas, Nev.; many other loving family members; friends, including Anna Ehrlich and Jan Clark.

Contributions may be made to Agoraphobics in Motion, aimforrecovery.com.

A graveside service was held at Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

ARTHUR “SHELDON” ROCKLIN, 76, of Orchard Lake, died June 9, 2022.

He is survived by his daughter, Amy Rocklin; grandchild, Henry Rocklin Lomax; brother and sister-incontinued on page 60

Jews believe that death is not a tragic end, but a transition.

Let us assist your loved one in that journey.

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law, Steven and Leah Rocklin; many other loving family members and friends.

Mr. Rocklin was the brother of the late Arvin Rocklin.

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

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

LISA RENEE SHAPIRO, 59, of Farmington Hills, died peacefully in her home on June 14, 2022, surrounded by her loving family.

Lisa loved life to the fullest.

She was president of the Lakes

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Area Optimist Club, active in the Southfield Chamber of Commerce, a motivational speaker for the American Cancer Society, head cheerleader of the Uptown Grill crew and a marketing director at Hampton Inn. She never turned down a day in the sunshine. Her smile would light up a room, and Lisa would do her absolute best to make sure everyone she met felt special.

Ms. Shapiro was the loving daughter of Lillian (Jimm) White, the late Mel Shapiro and Jackie Lyons; beloved mother of Sydney (David) Loyd; devoted sister of Juli Shapiro; loving partner for eight years of Gordon Wells; “bonus mother” of Macallister

Wells, Jenna Kennedy and Joel Boettcher; stepsibling of Mark (Linda) Jacobs, Mitch Jacobs, Debi (Dr. Sean) Malone, Elisheva (Laurent) Blum.

She will be remembered by hundreds of friends and other relatives. The family is grateful to cousin Dr. Steve Rankin for his love and support.

Lisa was also the loving granddaughter of the late Goldie and the late Sam Wasserman, and the late Ruth and the late Hyman Shapiro.

Interment was at Hebrew Memorial Park Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network, COVID-19 Fund, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield,

MI 48322, jewishhospice. org; American Cancer Society, 20450 Civic Center Drive, Southfield, MI 48076, cancer.org; or Temple Israel, 5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48323, temple-israel.org/ tributes. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

CYNTHIA STEINBERG, 87, of Bloomfield Hills, died June 12, 2022.

She is survived by her children, Dr. David and Charlotte Steinberg, Jonathan and Susan Steinberg, and Miriam and Lou Spezio; grandchildren, Erin and Michael Priebe, Jane and

Josh Haskell, Samuel and Katie Steinberg, Mel Caroline Steinberg, Rachel Spezio, and Jacob Spezio; greatgrandchildren, Ella and Clara Steinberg, Max and Justin Priebe, and Lev Haskell; brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Janet Malerman.

She is also survived by Stephen and Janet’s children and grandchildren.

Mrs. Steinberg was the beloved wife for 66 years of the late Robert “Bob” Steinberg.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to JARC, 6735 Telegraph, Suite 100, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, jarc.org, or a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Correction

The obituary for Veronica Leydesdorf (June 9) incorrectly spelled the names of two surviving grandchildren; they are Tanya Safier and Raphael BenHaim.

OBITUARY CHARGES The processing fee for obituaries is: $125 for up to 100 words; $1 per word thereafter. A photo counts as 15 words. There is no charge for a Holocaust survivor icon.

The JN reserves the right to edit wording to conform to its style considerations. For information, have your funeral director call the JN or you may call Sy Manello, editorial assistant, at (248) 351-5147 or email him at smanello@ thejewishnews.com.

She Impacted Many Lives

V

icky Buckfire, 85, of Farmington Hills, a child Holocaust survivor, admired teacher and a respected attorney, passed away peacefully on June 16, 2022, after a fiveyear battle with ovarian cancer.

Throughout her life, Vicky displayed incredible kindness, resilience and strength.

Born in 1937 in Beregszász (Berehove), Czechoslovakia (which became Hungary two years later), to Layos and Böszi (Bertha) Weisberger, Vicky escaped the German invasion of Hungary in 1944 with the assistance of the Swiss embassy. She and her mother and aunt hid in a small room inside a safe house in Budapest for 11 months until the Russian Army liberated Budapest.

Her father did not survive the war.

After they were liberated, Vicky and her mother moved to Omaha, Neb., where she lived for five years before moving to Detroit in 1952. Vicky attended Central High School and graduated from Mumford High School.

She received a bachelor’s degree in economics and a teaching certificate and later a master’s degree in counseling and guidance from Wayne State University and a law

Vicky Buckfire

degree from the Detroit College of Law. Vicky met her husband, David Buckfire, through mutual friends while at the beach. They spent 51 years together in a wonderful, happy marriage where they were each other’s best friends. They were true partners, in love and in business and in raising three children.

Before starting a family, Vicky was a beloved junior high school teacher in Oak Park, still fondly remembered by many of her former students. She later taught economics part time at Oakland Community College.

With the encouragement of her husband, Vicky attended law school in her late 30s and became licensed to practice law at the age of 41. She practiced law for more than 30 years with her husband and was later joined by their two sons in their practice.

Vicky’s children and grandchildren said she led

by example, calling her their personal hero; they said she was an intelligent, hardworking, selfless and humble woman who had a tremendous impact on them and many others throughout her life.

Mrs. Buckfire was the beloved wife of the late David Buckfire; cherished mother of Dr. Lisa (Joel) Elconin, Larry (Dr. Kelly Krueger) Buckfire and Daniel Buckfire (companion, Marla Worthing); mother-in-law of the late Lori Haber Buckfire. She is also survived by grandchildren, Dayna (Garet Zatz) Elconin, Emily Elconin, Kylie, Jack and Toby Buckfire, and Hayden Buckfire.

She was the loving sister of the late Eva (the late Irv) Simons devoted daughter of the late Layos Weisberger and the late Boszi (the late Zoltan) Kreisman.

Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to the Lori Haber Buckfire Foundation, planetlori.com; AntiDefamation League, P.O. Box 252166, West Bloomfield, MI 48325, (248)353-7553, michigan. adl.org; Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, (248)592-2687, jewishhospice.org; or to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

JUNE 23 • 2022

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61

Looking Back

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

Top Gun!

M

y brother gave me some inside information a few months ago.

He’s an executive vice president at Paramount Films, and he said: “Top Gun: Maverick [the sequel to Top Gun] is going to be a major box-office hit. It’s the first old-fashioned, got-to-see-it-at-the-theater production released by Hollywood in a long, long time.”

Indeed, the film made a Memorial Day weekend record $156 million in America and $320 million worldwide.

Mike Smith The original Top Gun is Alene and Graham Landau one of those movies that Archivist Chair had a major impact upon American cultural. Of course, I wondered — what would I find about the film in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History?

First, there 53 mentions using the term “Top Gun.” All but one occurs after the movie’s release in 1988. Before then, there was only one sad mention that Sgt. Charles Shapiro, a “top gunner” in a bomber, was reported missing over Europe (April 23, 1943, JN).

After 1988, “Top Gun” becomes a colloquial, common-use term to denote a person of high-skill and/or standing.

For example, see an article in the July 14, 1989, issue of the JN about an attempt to resuscitate peace plans in the Middle East. It began by stating that the Bush administration was sending the State Department’s “Top Guns” to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.

Likewise, a story on Dec. 8, 1994, was titled “U.S. Top Gun Scouts Israel.” It was about the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visiting Israel to talk with IDF officers.

I also found interesting “Top Gun” advertisements. Shortly after the movie debuted, Mark Shindler, owner of Brody’s Boys & Men’s Wear, predicted that the leather “Top Gun” Air Force jacket would

62

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JUNE 23 • 2022

be a very big seller for children up to 11 years old (March 26, 1988). A Rock Financial ad touted a team of brokers as its “Top Guns” (March 3, 2011).

The cover story for the Dec. 22, 1995, JN issue, “Double Takes,” is about local celebrity lookalikes, including the star of Top Gun. Eric Chupack was the Tom Cruise doppelganger. By the way, our JN columnist, Al Muskovitz, did not make the cut for the Tom Cruise lookalike, but he was cited as a twin of Jason Alexander. To this day, Al insists he was robbed.

Maverick Levy from Detroit shares the name of Top Gun’s hero. The story about him also cites his — and his dad’s — very nice community mitzvah (Feb. 23, 2017).

Most important are Detroit Jewish connections to the movie itself. An article in the May 26, 2005, JN is about former Detroiter Jack Epps Jr. At that time, Epps had 25 movie scripts to his credit, including Legal Eagles and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. However, Epps noted that “my most popular character would be Maverick (Tom Cruise) in Top Gun.” Indeed, one could say that Epps created a cultural icon.

Another Hollywood star with Detroit roots (1961 Mumford High graduate) is the co-producer of Tom Gun, Jerry Bruckheimer (See “Big Picture Man,” Nov. 10, 2005). Among his many productions are the blockbuster movies Beverly Hills Cop and Armageddon, but Top Gun may have been his best of all.

Of course, I can tell you that the real “Top Gun” around here is the JN editorial director!

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

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Todah Morim!

Thank you, teachers!

An appreciation of our day school educators during this pandemic.

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