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200 Dec. 24-30, 2020 / 9-15 Tevet 5781

An Unknown

Mishpachah Longtime Detroit Jewish fertility doctor used his own sperm to inseminate patients, new DNA tests show. His offspring speak out. See page 14

NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

s Season'reetings G

contents Dec. 24-30, 2020 / 9-15 Tevet 5781 | VOLUME CLVIII, ISSUE 21

Detroit Jews for Justice Celebrates Detroit Moratorium on Water Shutoffs

My (Big, Fat) Joyful, Tearful Polish Wedding

More Chanukah Art Winners

Business

35 VIEWS 6-13

36 31

Tikun Olam, Pincanna team up amid a boom in Michigan’s cannabis industry.

An Unknown Mishpachah

MOMENTS

New WSU Press Director Sees “Position to Succeed”

Balance Boxes Local teen starts Michigan chapter to help kids in need.

Faces & Places

Local Rabbi Goes Viral on TikTok A Crafty Way to Relieve Stress

NCJW’s Re|Sale store offers “craft jars” of broken vintage jewelry to spur creativity.

Huntington Bank, Torgow’s TCF Bank Announce Merger Moments

Celebrity Jews

ONLINE EVENTS 37

ETC.

The Exchange Soul Raskin Looking Back

38 40 45 46

SPIRIT 33

Torah portion

Eretz 33

Stephanie Williams discusses staff upheavals and Jewish publishing.

“A Perfect Fit”

Oak Park Couple Make Aliyah, Join Children and Grandkids.

Longtime fertility doctor in the Jewish community used his own sperm to inseminate patients, new DNA tests show.

As pause continues, restaurants are given a lifeline — or ‘Band-Aid.’

JEWS INTHED 13

Oakland County Provides Grants to Restaurants

Full Diplomatic Ties Israel formalizes ties with Bhutan, the nation seeking ‘gross national happiness.’

Shabbat starts: Friday, Dec. 25, 4:47 p.m. Shabbat ends: Saturday, Dec. 26, 5:54 p.m. * Times according to Yeshiva Beth Yehuda

Ann Arbor Writer Highlighted on NPR Chanukah Series

ON THE COVER: Cover photo/credit: Jaime Hall/ Photo by Gary Howe Cover design: Michelle Sheridan

Anna Megdell’s short story was chosen for the program’s 30th anniversary show.

thejewishnews.com

ARTS&LIFE 34

Shabbat Lights

Dancing Forward Recent University of Michigan graduate uses dance to inspire social change.

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DECEMBER 24 • 2020

for openers

The Confessions of a Lockdowned Shopper Impulsive purchases produce only buyer’s remorse during COVID.

etween boredom from spending so much time at home and fear of getting COVID-19, I, like many Americans, have taken to excessive online ordering. Not socializing with anyone except my husband, not being able to see my family or friends, not Alice Burdick eating in restauSchweiger rants or shopContributing Writer ping in stores, I have resorted to COVID compulsive online buying. (Could this be a new syndrome?!) While some of my purchases have been practical, some are things I never would have considered paying for in the past. Last week, I ordered an electric vegetable steamer. It arrived with multiple parts — not only

will I never be able to assemble or use it, I hate steamed vegetables! It seems I am not the only one with a houseload of outrageous, impractical items getting delivered to the door. Here is what seven Michiganders impulsively bought during COVID: Judy Federbush, psychologist, Ann Arbor: Indoor humidity monitor. “It sounded essential, but I can’t find any use for it. What will I do with the information? I haven’t looked at it since I took it out of the box a month ago!” Karen Lindenberg, retired professor, Ann Arbor: Electronic egg cooker that poaches eggs in triangular shapes “Do I need it? No. Can I boil an egg by myself? Of course. When I begin entertaining again for brunch, will my guests request triangular eggs?

lockdown. We only used them once and never picked them up again — and I am not even sure where I put mine!” John Shultz, photographer, Ann Arbor: Swimming hand fins. “They looked really glamourous in the photo. They slip over your hands like an amphibious, webbed hand. Unfortunately, they were rather useless in the water — $20 out the window!” Linda Bennett, art museum Alice’s vegetable docent, Ann Arbor: Inverted steamer umbrella/cape to catch hair during a haircut. “I thought it would be a clever way to keep Highly doubtful!” my hair from falling everyEmilie (EJ) Martin Palef, where during a home haircut. who lives in New York City but Not only didn’t it fit around me, is from Detroit: A riding coat. but it also didn’t fit around my “I bought a riding coat from 5-year-old grandson. It might Portugal. I had been eyeing it online and when it went on sale, have been better turned around used as an umbrella!” I could not resist. Thankfully, it Fran Becket-Shell, busididn’t fit because a riding coat ness owner, Royal Oak: Weird without a horse doesn’t work. humorous T-shirts. “I found Had the coat fit, my next step would have been looking online a website that sells unusual T-shirts with sayings. Normally, for a horse!” I would not have bought any, Lizzie Kompus, student but I wound up buying a bunch at Michigan State University, for myself and my family. The Beverly Hills, Mich.: Adult one for my husband reads, coloring books. “My room‘Being a trophy husband is mates and I all bought coloring exhausting.’ Don’t know when books, Crayola markers and or if we will be wearing them in colored pencils. It was a spur of public!” the moment purchase during

ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER

VIEWS

essay

Moving from Darkness to Light A Chanukah miracle, 2020-style.

hen the pandemic began, a very close friend of mine suggested I keep a COVID19 journal to reflect my feelings, fears and numerous concerns as to how, as the Lea Luger leader of Yad Ezra kosher

food pantry, I was going to navigate through these dark and unprecedented times. On March 11, I wrote: “We have to rethink everything! How are we going to serve our client families who depend on us? How will we stay safe? If one of us gets sick, our client families go without food — that is not an option. We have to completely pivot from the status quo.”

On March 12: “We decided to change procedures and not allow clients to enter the building. We were going use the parking lot for curbside pick-up. We worked through traffic flow with police department and figured out how to organize the warehouse with a small corps of volunteers and staff to implement. Got notification out to board, clients, website, and volunteers of the new procedure.”

Gov. Whitmer’s stayat-home mandate further crystallized the fact that for our clients to continue receiving groceries, we, as essential workers, had to do whatever it would take to keep us operating, even if it meant long and nervewracking days, not going anywhere except home and work, and relying on each continued on page 11

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

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VIEWS Editor’s Note

A Polarizing Panel

t the Jewish News, we have used this year’s Antisemitism Project to attempt to address the big questions of this “ancient evil” in 2020: what constitutes it, how we talk about it and what we can do to end it. This year, we also published an interview with Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib Andrew of Detroit — by Lapin far our most controversial article of the year, largely because many of our readers believe Tlaib has expressed antisemitic views through her criticism of Israel and support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. “So much for your series on antisemitism,” one reader wrote afterwards — as in, they believed we had sacrificed our credibility on the subject by sitting down with the congresswoman. Maybe it was fitting, then, that 2020 ended with an event tying these two narratives together. On Dec. 15, the sixth night of Chanukah, Tlaib appeared on a virtual panel entitled “Dismantling Antisemitism, Winning Justice” — a panel heavily criticized by many Jews. It seems we have a responsibility to talk about this again. Once more unto the breach, dear friends. The panel was cosponsored by several Jewish groups including JVP Action (an arm of Jewish Voice for Peace) and IfNotNow, as well as Jewish Currents magazine (where, full

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

disclosure, I have contributed freelance pieces in the past and was interviewed myself). Tlaib was the attention-grabber, but she was just one of four panelists, including Barbara Ransby, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and fellow Detroit native; and author and New York Times columnist Peter Beinart, the only Jew on the panel (save moderator Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy director of JVP). A fourth panelist, Temple University professor and former CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill, did not appear “in-person” owing to a family tragedy, but submitted prerecorded video messages. The panel attracted attention far beyond the groups’ usual circles. Many folks watching and commenting were angry that a panel with that title and lineup was even taking place. So, what was the goal here? Yes, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was discussed, as were objections to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which includes engaging in certain anti-Israel dialogue in its definition and is in the process of becoming adopted on a global scale. But this wasn’t the main thrust. And in fact, for all the criticism the IHRA’s definition faced on the panel, participants did not come up with a coherent alternate one. During the panel, Wise summed up what actually became the focus: “All struggles are interconnected. We can’t fight antisemitism without

A panel on antisemitism hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace Action featured (clockwise from left): historian Barbara Ransby, commentator Peter Beinart, media studies professor Marc Lamont Hill and Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib. It was moderated by Rabbi Alissa Wise, a Jewish Voice for Peace activist.

fighting anti-Black racism or Islamophobia or antiPalestinian racism.” And so, a panel purportedly about antisemitism largely shied away from discussing the particulars of antisemitism. Panelists instead highlighted moments in history, and in their personal lives, when Jews have linked arms with other oppressed people. Ransby, for example, discussed what she’s learned about activism from her Jewish husband. For her part, Tlaib, addressing Jews, said, “I don’t hate you. I absolutely love you.” She added that she takes inspiration from “my Jewish neighbors,” highlighting Detroit Jews for Justice’s activism work. But she said little about what she specifically understands antisemitism to be. Afterwards, IfNotNow Detroit said in a statement that the discussion was “highly successful.” HOW DO YOU DEFINE ANTISEMITISM? Certainly, many Jews would agree that we are engaged in a very similar struggle to other minority groups, and that erasing bigotry anywhere will help us, too. But is that really the end of it? Surely it’s not minimizing these other struggles to at least

acknowledge that antisemitism itself is unique and operates according to different rules and different histories — including within Israel discourse? Also: can we say that, even though these struggles are linked, sometimes they are also in conflict because sometimes other marginalized people also believe that attacking Jews is a form of liberation? Late in the panel, there were overtures to this. First, in one of his prerecorded messages, Hill said that people must be vigilant about antisemitism from within their own communities. “I can’t imagine a vision of freedom that doesn’t include Jewish people. How are Black folk going to be free and Jewish people not?” he said, specifically criticizing rapper and actor Ice Cube for posting antisemitic messages on Twitter. (Cube has since struck up a friendship with Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, and even spoke at a ZOA virtual gala.) Then, Beinart made two bold points. First, he noted, “There is antisemitism on the left … Antisemitism has shown its ability to morph and find its way into all different manners of movements, even in movements that might in other ways be speaking on behalf of justice.” He further

expressed a desire to “make sure that progressive movements are never tainted by antisemitism.” Second, Beinart added, “Zionist Jews should not be excluded from progressive spaces.” He then parsed the ways different Jews define Zionism and debate it amongst themselves. The JN is just such an organization: we are a Zionist publication, but that doesn’t prevent us from having honest conversations about the term. No one else elaborated on this point (JVP defines itself as anti-Zionist). But if you wanted a productive topic to explore in a left-leaning dialogue about “dismantling antisemitism,” that seems like a pretty good one. In her concluding remarks,

Tlaib also acknowledged antisemitism on the left. “It’s a problem in our country,” she said. “If anybody comes through my doors or through any forum to try to push antisemitism forward, you will hear me being loud with my bullhorn to the tell them to get the hell out.” So how do we know when that bullhorn comes out? By way of explanation for why the panel was titled “Dismantling Antisemitism,” JVP’s Tallie Ben Daniel said that antisemitism is “used as a political tool and used to divide

people … Humans have made it. Humans can undo it.” But how, and who will dismantle it? Everyone has different ideas. On Dec. 16, an oppositional panel with the similar title “Dismantling AntiSemitism: Jews Talk Justice” was held by Combat Anti-Semitism, a coalition of many Jewish and Zionist groups including AJC, Hadassah and the Jewish Federations of North America. This event heavily featured Jewish and pro-Israel voices, and was largely devoted to defending the IHRA’s definition. Ethiopian

AntiSemitism Project

Israeli activist Ashager Araro introduced some nuance when she noted that she still criticizes Israel often, but that she believes a line does exist between that and outright antisemitism. For now, the debate over antisemitism remains stuck. Before we can dismantle it, we must get better at defining it. And that’s something not even Jews can agree on right now. For us, the Antisemitism Project is not over. The JN will continue to pursue stories about this topic beyond 2020. And we will continue to engage figures from all sides of the debate about this singularly important topic. We hope that we can continue to find responsible ways to do so.

DARKNESS TO LIGHT continued from page 8

other to take the place of our large corps of volunteers who could no longer come to the warehouse to work. March 30: “With every call and email there is a new challenge, a new issue that needs attention … It’s truly energyzapping and taking an emotional toll on all of us …” From the early days of the pandemic, our board, led by our president, Alan Reiter, was extremely supportive and helpful as we grappled with many unanswered questions: How would we reassure our clients that they would continue to receive groceries? Would our client numbers increase significantly? How much more would food costs rise? Would we find new sources for groceries since some vendors cut us off? How to accomplish the tasks of our volunteer work force who couldn’t come to the warehouse? How long would this last?

From Yad Ezra’s annual event in September. Front Row: Daniella HarPaz Mechnikov, Lea Luger, Lucinda Rosen (2020 honoree), Darlene Rothman, Jody Kaplan, Detroit Circus Performer. Back Row: Detroit Circus Performer, Alan Reiter (Yad Ezra president), Sandy Rosen (2020 honoree), Stathis Pauls, Josh Gordon, David Jaffee, Heather Axe, Detroit Circus Performer.

While these questions constantly swarmed in my head, I was confident about a few things: In addition to board support, our sister agencies, donors and volunteers would come to our assistance wherever and whenever it was needed. Federation immediately generously provided us with additional funds to purchase food for client families for

Passover. Jewish Family Service provided us with drivers and vans to help make grocery deliveries five days a week (and continues to do so), donations started coming in from a variety of sources, and volunteers adopted to our new way of distributing groceries by signing up to do deliveries to clients’ homes. And, throughout these nine months, our board continues

to make themselves available to our team with their partnership, encouragement and trust. I continued to write in my journal through the end of April, when COVID19 became the new norm, and I didn’t feel the need to document my angst and how we were managing. I attribute this mostly to our small team who truly stepped up during these turbulent times: David Jaffee, our Warehouse Manager, who found other sources for grocery purchases and made a quick and decisive switch to a totally new operating model, Darlene Rothman, our Client/Volunteer Manager, who dealt with clients’ and volunteers’ scheduling, a mountain of new client applications and other concerns, Daniella HarPaz Mechnikov, who took the lead in coordinating the logistics of grocery continued on page 12 DECEMBER 24 • 2020

VIEWS distribution for 1,250 families a month, Heather Axe, our Accounting Manager who assisted Daniella in the scheduling and the intricacies of Excel spreadsheets, Jody Kaplan, our Administrative Assistant who answered the constantly ringing phone to reassure and update clients and volunteers, and Josh Gordon, our Giving Gardens Manager, who, along with Stathis Pauls, our Giving Gardens Club Coordinator, were a great help to David in the warehouse, packing and distributing groceries in addition to growing and harvesting thousands of pounds of a variety of produce for our client families to enjoy.

As I write this on this fourth day of Chanukah, I reflect back to those early weeks of the pandemic and how much has changed in how we live our daily lives. However, some things haven’t changed: Thanks to the continued efforts of a dedicated corps of volunteers, board members, donors, community partners and a small but mighty team, Yad Ezra has kept its commitment to all our client families. And, there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, a vaccine that will hopefully end the pandemic allowing us once again to join together to celebrate this festival of light and hope. A 2020 miracle, if you will …

Corrections The Dec. 17 cover story (“The Well Digs Deeper”) should have identified Gyro Creative a strategic brand identity and design studio, not a PR agency. Also, the article should have stated that Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh and Stephanie Belsky had been dating for several months when he was offered the rabbinical fellow role at Mishkan Chicago.

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

The feature on The Marblespoon Cookbook (Dec. 10, page 33) should have stated that author Vera Newman has 11,550 Instagram followers, and incorrectly indicated her book’s release party would be with a small group of friends in her garage. Also, the article said one of Newman’s grandmothers was an artist as well as a cook; in fact, one of her grandmothers was the artist and the other was the cook.

Online Reactions: Menorah in the D

On Dec. 10, the first night of Chanukah, the JN partnered with Chabad in the D, The Shul and other local Jewish organizations to livestream the annual Menorah in the D lighting from Downtown Detroit. Because of the pandemic, people were advised to watch from home this year — and tens of thousands of you did, from all over the world. Here is a selection of reader responses from Zoom and Facebook.

Great celebration without feeling of distance but with feeling of much lightness and happiness! Thanks from city of Budweise in Czech Republic. — Lidia Nastashinska

As a newcomer to Detroit, I am so very excited to be celebrating with you all. Chag sameach, and thank you for having me. This is INCREDIBLY well done. I am just so blown away! And happy Chanukah to all from the Detroit Free Press! — Duane Beddingfield Arts and Culture Reporter Detroit Free Press

Shalom from Puerto Rico. — Felix Velez

Television stations in the Great Lakes Bay announced this, and I wanted to join in. It is so joyous. It brings me to tears. Let the lights shine! From a non-Jew in Linwood, MI. — Jennifer Warren I’ve always wanted to go to the Menorah lighting since moving here 4 years ago. But just never made it. Thank you so much for still making it possible for us to help celebrate. This has been beautiful, and I’m glad to have joined in. — Jennifer Bell

May the lights of each chanukiah bring light, positive energy, warmth, understanding, healing and peace to us, our community and our world. — Lori Serbin Lasday

Happy Hanukkah from the UK! — Stephanie Bellingan McCarroll Happy Hanukkah from Manhattan. — Nahid Noorani Hag Hanuka Sameach! From ClujNapoca, Romania. — Alexandru Virgil Voicu Happy Chanuca from São Paulo, Brazil! — Fani Beck Rascovschi Chag Samayach from Port St. Lucie to the entire world! — Frances Sekela Feliz Januca desda Ciudad de Mexico! — Erika Pim Hanukkah Sameach from Amsterdam! — Chaya Brown

DANNY SCHWARTZ

DARKNESS TO LIGHT continued from page 11

JEWSINTHED

Badonna and Mark Berkman

Living in

Israel

COVID pandemic doesn’t stop Oak Park natives from making aliyah. STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

pon their permanent arrival to Israel as this summer ended, Mark and Badonna Berkman, formerly of Oak Park, added a new Hebrew word to their vocabulary: bedood. The coronavirus bedood, or lockdown, was not the start of an aliyah the Berkmans may have chosen when they discussed the idea of becoming Israelis as far back as their first dates while in their 20s. The Modern Orthodox couple spent the decades of their marriage keeping the aliyah dream alive while raising a family of four children in an Oak Park four-bedroom colonial. Mark, 59, worked for 30 years as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Genesee and Oakland counties. The students in Detroit’s Jewish day schools knew Badonna, 63, for years as a JARC School Inclusion special needs teacher. Now that three of their grown children are liv-

ing in Israel, the Berkmans in 2019 knew the time was right to make aliyah a reality. Studying in a Tzfat seminary in the late 1970s and early ’80s sparked Badonna’s yearning to make aliyah. She remembered sharing living quarters with other young Detroit women, including Chabad’s Jewish Ferndale co-director, Chana Finman. “I have Aish HaTorah to thank for instilling my love for Jewish learning and a desire to live in Israel,” Badonna said. “I’ve spent 40 years trying to get back to living there for good.” Beyond the emotional and spiritual pull of Israel, the Berkmans knew they’d have to work out the practical logistics such as supporting themselves and acclimating to a new language, smaller living quarters and a hotter climate. Making aliyah was a 10-month process that began long before the pandemic.

The couple worked with the nonprofit organization Nefesh B’Nefesh to help with all the logistics. When all arrangements had been finalized, the Oak Park house sold and their most essential belongings packed into a 20-foot shipping container, it was time for the Berkmans to say a departing shalom to America and book their one-way flight to Israel by late summer. The Berkmans adhered to the strict guidelines set by the Israeli Ministry of Health before, during and after flying. Unlike pre-pandemic Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah arrivals, there were no large crowds at Ben Gurion Airport to greet them. But as the wheels touched down in Israel, the Berkmans, along with 60 olim, or immigrant, families still clapped and shed tears of joy. “The first moments of aliyah were not what we dreamed of, but still, there were no dry eyes on that plane when it landed,” Mark said.

in Israel may be spiritually moving, but there remains a steep language barrier in navigating life’s practicalities such as buying a car, setting up bank accounts, figuring out electric bills and figuring out parking space mobile apps. They are ever grateful for their children who are helping them in all things Hebrew. The Berkmans looked forward to spending their first High Holiday season with their children and grandchildren. In September, shortly after their arrival and 14-day required quarantine, there were joyous outdoor reunions with their three children and two grandchildren. But just as the Jewish New Year began, the Israeli government enforced a mandatory shutdown. There were no large family meals in a sukkah or travels around the country, but since moving to Israel, they are grateful for finally being near their children and grandchildren and the “little miracles”

“THERE WERE NO DRY EYES ON THAT PLANE WHEN IT LANDED.” — MARK BERKMAN LEARNING THE LANGUAGE The pandemic continues to unexpectedly shape these first few months of being Israelis. They hope to eventually work in their professions, but for now, they are getting to know their mostly French olim neighbors, keeping in touch with friends and family over social media apps, and taking on the biggest cultural change — learning a new language. While staying put in their Ranana apartment — found by their oldest son Avraham, 32, before their arrival — they take online ulpan classes nine hours each week. Fulfilling the dream to live

that seem to happen daily. This includes procuring schach — or roof material for a sukkah — from a group of religious men who they randomly passed while cutting down some branches in the neighborhood. “Where else in the world can you have a conversation about needing schach and a stranger will know exactly what you mean, even with a bit of a language barrier,” exclaimed Mark. “Being in Israel, a Jewish person no longer has to explain themselves. The familiarity of it all makes you feel like you are surrounded by one large extended family.” DECEMBER 24 • 2020

JEWSINTHED ON THE COVER

An Unknown

Mishpachah Longtime Jewish Detroit fertility doctor used his own sperm to inseminate patients, new DNA tests show.

MAYA GOLDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

hen sisters Lynn Neher and Jaime Hall, then Lynn and Jaime Brown, were growing up in a non-Jewish household in Bloomfield Hills in the 1960s, they thought of themselves as polar opposites. Jaime had dark hair, pale skin and blue eyes. Lynn had blond hair, olive skin and green eyes. They had a running joke in the family that Jaime was the mailman’s daughter, Lynn told the Jewish News. Jaime, of course, wasn’t the mailman’s daughter. But decades later, she and Lynn found out that they were, indeed, half-sisters. They’d both been conceived via artificial insemination at the Detroit practice of Dr. Philip Peven. Lynn’s sperm donor was then an intern at Grace Hospital. And Jaime’s biological father, as now suggested by DNA tests, was Dr. Peven himself. “A BIT OF A SHOCK” Jaime, 61, and Lynn, 63, began to question their true parentage in 2008, when their stepfather passed away and their stepsister decided to spill the family secret she’d promised to tell upon his death: Their dad wasn’t their biological father. “I just said, ‘Yeah, right. Like, I believe that.’ I mean, just talk about utter shock after utter shock,” Lynn said. A few weeks later, Jaime got in touch with Dr. Peven, who she said confirmed he’d helped their parents with fertility treatments. (Dr. Peven did not respond to multiple interview requests from the JN

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

for this story, and his son Roger Peven declined to comment on his behalf.) Dr. Peven told her that he didn’t have records of their births, but that he thought Lynn’s biological father had been a resident at the hospital. They often used interns or residents who looked like the dads as donors, Jaime says he told her on that first call. Jaime eventually got her mother to admit that Jaime’s donor had been a close family friend. In 2015, Jaime and Lynn’s mother passed away. Lynn ordered an AncestryDNA testing kit, but it didn’t lead her to any information about her biological father. In 2018, she decided to provide a sample to 23andMe as well — soon, she learned of a half-sister. She connected with the sister, who’d been raised by their shared father. The sister told Lynn that her dad had, in fact, worked as an intern at Grace Hospital around the time Lynn was born. At this point, Jaime decided to do a DNA test as well. She’d already connected with the family of her supposed donor. She’d assumed her results would tell her she was nearly 100% Scottish. But that wasn’t what she found. “To see that I was 50% Ashkenazi Jew was a bit of a shock!” Jaime said. Through the other relatives who came up as close DNA matches on AncestryDNA and 23andMe, Jaime deduced that she was related to Dr. Peven in some way. When Dr. Peven’s grandson showed up on her platform as her nephew, she became more certain the doctor was her biological father. (Jaime shared her 23andMe results with the JN.) Eventually, Jaime connected with Dr. Peven again. She said he told her that her mom had brought in her own donor sample, but that he threw it away and used his own because he knew it was “pure and viable.” In her conversations with Dr. Peven, Jaime has come to think of him as a scientific man who was just trying to help families become whole. But she still wonders about the ethics of his actions.

GARY HOWE

“My mom would roll in her grave if she knew he was my father,” Jaime told JN. “She did not pick that.” Jaime, who now lives in Traverse City, has so far connected with five other half-siblings assumed to be the biological children of Dr. Peven through artificial insemination. They’re spread out across the country, from Michigan to Oregon. Dr. Peven, 104, delivered more than 9,000 babies during his career, some through artificial insemination. But according to his son, Roger Peven, he has not taken a DNA test himself to help verify how many biological children he has. Detroit Medical Center, which today runs Sinai-Grace Hospital, declined to comment for this article.

“TO SEE THAT I WAS 50% ASHKENAZI JEW WAS A BIT OF A SHOCK!” — JAIME HALL

A WELL-RESPECTED DOCTOR Philip Peven was born in Detroit in 1916. He attended Central High School and Wayne State University, and later studied medicine at the University of Michigan. He graduated in 1941; at 104, he is the oldest living alumnus of U-M’s medical school. After finishing medical school, Dr. Peven joined the U.S. Army Reserve in the medical corps. He met a woman named Kay in England before leaving for the World War II invasion of North Africa, where he served as a surgeon. The two married in 1945 and had two children together — Roger, who now lives in Washington state and runs a law firm in Spokane, and Kari, who lives in Michigan. Dr. Peven and Kay were together until Kay’s passing in 2013. Dr. Peven, who now lives in Southfield, went on to serve as chief of obstetrics at Grace Hospital (now DMC Sinai-Grace), and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Wayne State University

School of Medicine. He was also affiliated with Sinai Hospital. He retired in 1987. He was well known for assisting women in Metro Detroit with their pregnancies and personally

Traverse City resident Jaime Hall says Dr. Philip Peven admitted she was his biological daughter after she showed him her DNA test.

continued on page 16 DECEMBER 24 • 2020

JEWSINTHED ON THE COVER

COURTESY OF JEAN LANDES

continued from page 15

“I FEEL LIKE A PART OF ME ... THAT WAS MISSING IS NOW FOUND.” — JEAN LANDES

FROM TOP: Jean Landes and her dad, Oleh Kostetsky. Landes with “donor dad” Peven earlier this year. Landes’ hands side-by-side with Dr. Peven’s.

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

delivered many Detroit Jews. Sy Ziegelman, also a retired OB-GYN in the Detroit area, remembers Dr. Peven as a respected doctor in the community, who liked to fish in his spare time. Ziegelman first met Dr. Peven as an intern at Sinai Hospital in 1963. He was “rather well-thought of, kind of a gentleman,” Ziegelman said. “He was considered to be a very competent obstetrician-gynecologist.” It wasn’t unusual for medical students to sell sperm as a way of making extra money back in the day, Ziegelman said. In fact, Dr. Peven has mentioned to some of his donor children that he did just that, they told JN. But Ziegelman said he’d never heard of Dr. Peven using his own samples to inseminate his infertility patients without their knowledge. “I would be rather surprised — that doesn’t really sound like him,” Ziegelman said. Roger Peven, the doctor’s son, said in a statement that his dad “has lived a remarkable life,” as a first-generation American and Army MASH surgeon. Roger also said he knew nothing of artificial insemination or his dad’s role in the practice. “Learning about it now does not in any way affect how I feel personally about my dad,” he said. “Regardless of the appeal of this story, the bottom line to me is that if women unable to conceive in their marriage came to my dad for his professional expertise and conceived a healthy child through artificial insemination, that’s good, regardless of the donor’s identity.” “I don’t know the number of biologically related folks my dad has through artificial insemination. I respect their privacy and wish them, and their families, all well,” he said.

FERTILITY FRAUD In the 1950s, artificial insemination was viewed by the public as a form of adultery, said Indiana University law professor Jody Madeira. But as the practice became more widely accepted, an actual form of deception in the field began to take hold: swapping out one sperm sample for another, a practice known as fertility fraud. According to Madeira, a fertility fraud expert, there are between 20 and 30 known U.S. cases of doctors using their own sperm to artificially inseminate a patient. But prior to now, Madeira had only heard of two such cases dating back to the 1940s and 50s. That would make Dr. Peven — whose earliest known use of his own sperm was in 1959 with Jaime’s birth — one of the first to engage in such practices. It’s “interesting when one of these earlier cases breaks through, because then I think you get a complicated generational comparison of what was viewed as a harm and when,” Madeira said. Though she personally believes these practices were just as unethical in the 1940s as they are today, doctors in the mid-20th century operated under different social norms, she said. Many people who later find out their fertility doctor was their donor had been told the donor would be a resident or intern from the hospital, Madeira said. This was the case in at least one of the families treated by Dr. Peven who the JN spoke to for the article. Madeira said there’s no known connection between doctors who’ve used their own samples. “This is an idea that can occur, I think, to many smart people at one time,” she said. Some do it for convenience, or because they’d begun

to donate sperm as young doctors, as Dr. Peven supposedly had. The world of fertility fraud came under additional public scrutiny this month with the release of the new HBO documentary Baby God, which details the story of a Las Vegas fertility doctor who also used his own sperm to inseminate his patients. Jaime decided to go public with her story to the JN after reading about the documentary. Even though Jaime and her half-siblings don’t think Dr. Peven meant to cause harm by using his own sperm to inseminate their mothers, they still question the morality of his actions — after all, they assume their mothers didn’t know. But Dr. Peven believed himself to be on the cutting edge of fertility and obstetric advances, he reportedly told his donor children. Jaime said he told her he never thought it would be possible for donor-conceived children to figure out who their donors were via at-home DNA tests. “I think sometimes he may have just looked at it as, he’s more of a scientist, doing what he did, than the fact that what he was doing was just absolutely Wild West,” Jaime said. At the height of Dr. Peven’s practice, the ethics surrounding fertility treatments were indeed different. But according to Madeira, a doctor using his own sperm for artificial insemination without informing the patient is “a violation of informed consent,” she said. “You can’t tell patients that you’re doing one thing … and then do another.” GRATEFUL TO BE HERE Jean Landes, 55, of Beaverton, Ore., learned that Dr. Peven was her biological father in September 2019 (though she prefers the term “donor dad”).

She’d learned in her 20s that there was “something unique about [her] conception,” she said. After her brother got a DNA test, she decided to get one, too. “I think it’s really great,” Landes said. “It answers a lot of questions because I’ve never resembled any of my current siblings at all. When I’ve spoken with my DNA matches, close matches, I feel like a part of me … that was missing is now found.” Her father, Oleh Kostetsky, 85, is the only surviving parent among the siblings who were interviewed by the JN. Kostetsky and his late wife knew Dr. Peven used a donor to help them conceive a child, he said, but they never knew the identity of the donor. They were told it would be a resident or intern at the hospital. “I just found out about it very recently, what went on behind the scenes. And I don’t object to any of that,” he said. The Kostetskys had three children conceived via donors. Landes is the only one who is the donor child of Dr. Peven, though her older sister was also delivered by the doctor. “I was very happy about the whole thing,” Kostetsky said of Dr. Peven’s effort to help him and his wife have children. “And as far as I was concerned, I was their father.” Landes met Dr. Peven in person at his Southfield apartment earlier this year. Her timing was perfect, she said — had she waited just a few more weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic would have derailed her plans. Dr. Peven discussed his fertility treatments with a scientific passion, she told JN. She said she didn’t sense any emotion behind his words except for that he truly wanted to help parents start their families.

Jean Landes’s results from AncestryDNA showing various relatives.

As for herself, Landes is happy to have been brought into the world. “I’m just grateful that my mom wanted a baby so bad that she did something so radical at the time,” she said. “I’M NOT JUMPING AROUND FOR JOY” For some, the revelation that Dr. Peven is their biological father has been more difficult. A biological child living in

for joy. Yeah, I do realize that it is why I’m here. But even at that, I do somewhat feel hijacked.” He parents have both passed away, and he isn’t sure whether they knew Dr. Peven used his own sample to help them conceive, though he did know they had trouble getting pregnant. However, the anonymous biological child, like his half-siblings, doesn’t believe

“LEARNING ABOUT IT NOW DOES NOT IN ANY WAY AFFECT HOW I FEEL PERSONALLY ABOUT MY DAD.” — ROGER PEVEN Colorado found out he was related to the doctor in 2015. He was one of the first to make the discovery. The man, who was born in the 1960s, had previously tracked his genealogy on his dad’s side back to the 1400s. His dad had died when he was young, making the genealogical connection even more important to the man, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect his privacy. Learning that his dad didn’t biologically father him after tracking his heritage back so far wasn’t easy, he said. “I am still getting my mind around that stuff,” he told the JN. “I’m not jumping around

Dr. Peven acted out of malice in using his own samples. He went to visit Dr. Peven in 2017, and during their conversation, he told the doctor he believed he was his biological child. Dr. Peven denied it. “He was a gentle man, and I definitely think he was caring about what was going on,” the man said of their 2017 encounter. “I don’t think he was a malicious fellow.” The man has connected with Jaime and another sibling, whose sister is also the biological child of Dr. Peven. Through the anonymous biological child, the other two siblings declined to speak to the JN for this article.

A REVELATION Jaime, too, continues to grapple with what it means to be Dr. Peven’s biological child and to come forward with her story. “We owe it to the people who don’t know so they can know. But then do you owe it to hurt somebody?” she said, thinking of the 104-year-old doctor. “How do you [morally] deal with this?” Jaime ultimately decided to speak out to give other people delivered by Dr. Peven the option of looking into their own DNA. It’s especially important to give people a chance to find out their health history, she said. When 50% of someone’s genes come from an Ashkenazi Jew, they are considerably more likely to develop certain genetic conditions, including Gaucher disease, Tay-Sachs disease and cystic fibrosis. While none of the biological children of Dr. Peven who spoke to the JN for this article grew up Jewish, Jaime said she knows of at least one other who did. With Dr. Peven having delivered many Jewish babies from the Detroit area, Jaime worries how this story could affect the community. This could be “a revelation and a giant shake up,” she said. But as far as joining the Jewish community themselves, Jaime and Jean both said they’re thrilled to learn they had Jewish genes. This year, Jean decided to learn the Chanukah prayers. And Jaime purchased a menorah ornament for her Christmas tree. “I certainly have always loved and respected the Jewish community, so that part makes me happy,” Jaime said. Do you have information you would like to share with the JN about Dr. Peven and your family? Please get in touch: alapin@thejewishnews.com.

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

JEWSINTHED

The staff of WSU Press. FRONT ROW: DeLisa Gaye Fields, Administrative Assistant II; Emily Nowak, Marketing and Sales Manager; Kristina Stonehill, Promotions Manager SECOND ROW: Stephanie Williams, Director; Aaron Hearn, Assistant Storekeeper; Tyeresa Stevenson, Business Manager LAST ROW: Kristin Harpster, Editorial, Design, and Production Manager; Marie Sweetman, Acquisitions Editor; Jamie Jones, Advertising and Exhibits Manager; Todd Richards, Warehouse Manager; Annie Martin, Editor-in-Chief; Julie Warheit, Journals Manager; Theresa Martinelli, Order Fulfillment Manager MISSING FROM PHOTO: Carrie Downes Teefey, Senior Production Editor and Reprints Manager.

New WSU Press Director Sees ‘Position to Succeed’ Stephanie Williams discusses staff upheavals and Jewish publishing. ANDREW LAPIN EDITOR

he annual Association for Jewish Studies Conference for academic publishers took place Dec. 13-17. For Wayne State University Press, one of the biggest national publishers of Jewish Studies academic books, quite a lot has changed since last year’s display. Most significantly, the Press has Stephanie welcomed a new Williams director, Stephanie Williams, who started her job in August and moved to Detroit at the end of October. Williams comes to the role from her previous position as director of Ohio University Press in Athens, Ohio, and has more than two decades of experience in mul-

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

tiple directing and marketing/ promotions roles across both academic and mass-market publishing. Williams is planning to stick with WSU Press for quite a while — she even bought her first house, in Ferndale. “I love it here,” she said. “This is a staff that is very unique in its gender, in its diversity, in its longevity.” But her tenure follows a brief span of public turmoil at the Press. In February, several senior staff including Editorin-Chief Annie Martin were abruptly fired, then rehired less than two weeks later following a groundswell of outrage from the academic publishing community and the Press’ own editorial board. During this time, the Press’

previous interim director Kathryn Wildfong came out of retirement to become interim director once more and rehired the fired staff. Wildfong remained in the role until Williams was hired in August. Little public explanation was given for the actions, and the university declined to comment to the JN about them. But the chain of command at the Press did change during this time. Before the firings, the Press reported to the dean of the University Library System and School of Information Sciences. Since then, the Press has reported to Michael Wright, chief of staff for WSU President M. Roy Wilson. These incidents were previously covered in the Jewish News

in February; our past coverage is accessible on our website, thejewishnews.com. Speaking to the Jewish News shortly before the Jewish Studies conference began, Williams reiterated the Press’ commitment to Jewish Studies publishing and addressed the behind-the-scenes struggles. She said she was initially in the running for the director job in 2019, but that “I had seen and heard some things that had kind of indicated there was a problem” in the workplace. She withdrew her name from the running, but re-applied to the job in summer 2020, once the dust had cleared around the staffing upheavals. Williams said the earlier debacle was due to “people who

either did not have a vigorous understanding of publishing, of university press publishing or of management making major decisions for the Press.” She declined to elaborate further. Now, though, Williams is “very pleased” with the administration’s current level of support for the Press. “I would not have taken the job, and I certainly would not have moved to Detroit, I definitely would not have bought a house … if I did not believe that the Press was in a position to succeed,” she said. JEWISH STUDIES CONTINUE The Press published around a dozen titles last year in the field of Jewish Studies, Williams said. Its relationship to the field is historic: Leonard M. Simons, an early donor to the Press in the 1950s, helped support its early publishing efforts in Jewish topics.

At this year’s Association for Jewish Studies Conference, the Press is showing off recent publications including Nancy Sinkoff ’s award-winning From Left to Right: Lucy S. Dawidowicz, The New York Intellectuals, and Politics of Jewish History; and a reprinting of Emma Wolf ’s novel Heirs of Yesterday. Its upcoming titles for 2021 include a book by Erin McGlothlin about depictions of Holocaust perpetrators in fiction and nonfiction, and a compre-

hensive Jewish Cultural Studies research book from Simon J. Bronner. Going forward, Williams said, the Press hopes to find further ways to intersect its Jewish Studies arm with a larger publishing focus on social justice issues. “We’re looking for areas where we can be more inclusive,” she said. Williams further credits Elaine Driker, chair of the WSU Press board, for being “absolutely invaluable in helping me under-

stand people, places and things I need to know about” within the Detroit Jewish community. The pandemic has forced the Press to push many of its high-profile book launch events into the digital realm. Shortly after Williams joined, the Press was launching just such a big-ticket Jewish Studies book: Invisible Ink, the highly anticipated memoir by Guy Stern, a former Ritchie Boy, WSU distinguished professor emeritus and director of the Institute for the Righteous at the Holocaust Memorial Center. “We have a tremendous number of people who love him,” Williams said about the experience of promoting the book online. Students and faculty alike, she said, were desperate to shake the nearly 99-year-old author’s hand. The Press is hopeful they can have a makeup event featuring Stern once COVID restrictions lift.

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Balance Boxes Local teen starts Michigan chapter to help kids in need. JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF ETHAN ENDELMAN

JEWSINTHED

Teen volunteers work to distribute the boxes to those in need.

than Endelman’s summer should have included camp and hanging out with friends. But COVID severely limited his options. Of course, he wasn’t alone. Students everywhere faced disappointments over canceled plans and social restrictions, but Endelman, a Bloomfield Hills High School freshman, found a very productive and charitable way to fill his schedule. In June, he started a Detroit chapter of Balance Boxes. This youth-led nonprofit organization provides students in low-income communities with age-appropriate fun and academic activities, nonperishable food items, coupons that can be redeemed for food and free access to one-on-one online tutoring. “We’re living in really hard times right now, and I thought this was a good opportunity to help other people who aren’t as fortunate as we are,” said Endelman, who enjoys playing baseball and tennis. Balance Boxes was started in a Chicago suburb by two Jewish teens in March and now has more than 20 chapters in the United States and a similar number of international branches including ones in Israel, the U.K. and India. The Michigan chapter was one of the first outside Chicago. Endelman, 14, heard about Balance Boxes through his mom, Alyssa Endelman. She is friends with the mother of one

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

of the Chicago co-founders. Early on, Endelman recruited his longtime friend Rebecca Rabin to join him as a co-chapter head. Together, the pair spent the last several months getting volunteers and securing nonperishable food items, books, games, activities and monetary donations. So far, they’ve held two fundraisers, a cheesecake sale and a fundraiser in conjunction with a local restaurant. Through these events and other contributions, they’ve raised approximately $1,400. With help from their parents and other teen volunteers, Endelman and Rabin have assembled and delivered around 300 boxes to various groups

of Detroit students. Donations were solicited mostly through social media and word of mouth. Ethan’s mom said that because Bookstock wasn’t collecting books this year, many families were looking to donate their gently used children’s books. “We would like to distribute more donations, but it’s hard logistically because of COVID,” said Alyssa Endelman. “It’s ironic that it’s such a challenge because the need is even greater now.” TEEN VOLUNTEERS The Endelman’s garage at their West Bloomfield home is often filled with bins of donated supplies, all sorted by age group.

Ethan Endelman and Rebecca Rabin, co-chairs of the Balance Box Michigan chapter.

“IT FEELS GOOD TO ASSIST PEOPLE IN NEED, ESPECIALLY NOW WHEN IT’S HARDER FOR EVERYONE.” — REBECCA RABIN

Before a donation drop-off, teen volunteers gather outside, with masks, to participate in socially distanced packing parties to assemble the boxes. They try to put together each box with a theme, whether it’s something generic like kindergarten fun or something more specific like superheroes or princesses. “I want to help out in the community, and it feels good to assist people in need, especially now when it’s harder for everyone,” explained Rabin, a freshman at Frankel Jewish Academy, who, before COVID, participated competitively in gymnastics. “I also think it’s cool that this organization is all around the world.” Neither Endelman’s nor Rabin’s mother is surprised by the effort and commitment of their children. “Rebecca is a pretty giving individual,” said Amy Rabin, of Bloomfield Hills. “We’d like our kids involved and giving, and I’m very proud of her. She’s put in a lot of hard work and time.” Balance Boxes is always looking for donations of books, arts and craft supplies, activity sets, non-perishable food items and monetary donations. They are also hoping to secure corporate sponsorship. For more information about the organization, visit www. balanceboxes.org. To make a donation or volunteer, email Endelman at ethan@balanceboxes.org or Rabin at Rebecca@ balanceboxes.org.

JEWSINTHED | FACE&PLACES

Lighting Up Chanukah on the Eastside JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

or the first time, Jewish families who live in eastern Oakland County had a Chabad Chanukah event of their very own. On Dec. 13, the Chabad Jewish Center of Troy arranged a very large public Menorah lighting in Troy, attended by 350 people who joined from the safety of their cars. “This must have been the largest Jewish celebration that the entire eastside has seen in a very long time, and for sure a first for a Chanukah!” said Rabbi Menachem Caytak, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Troy.

The drive-in Chanukah event saw the lighting of a 12-foot menorah, followed by a fire show for all to enjoy. Local dignitaries, including Mayor Ethan Baker of Troy and members of city council attended. A large stage and video wall were set up at the Troy Technology Park to project the event so people could easily see what was happening. “I felt proud that the Jewish community on this side of town was able to gather like this and celebrate Chanukah in such a fashion,” Caytak said. “I’m excited, excited for what this community has in store. I feel

that there is only growth for the future of this community.” The event was the brainchild of Caytak, whose Chabad center serves families throughout the eastside. Most of the approximately 1,000 Jewish families on the eastside live in Troy and Rochester Hills, he says, and nearly half are engaged with the Chabad center. The pandemic may have slowed the center down, but it hasn’t stopped it. “Ever since the pandemic started, we never sat back. Every holiday, every event, we sat and brainstormed, thinking out of the box, how to

best serve the Jewish community in a safe way, all inspired by Rabbi Schneerson’s message of love,” Caytak said. “When Chanukah came around, we knew that especially this holiday, whose message is spreading light, needed to be celebrated on the largest scale possible in a safe way. We came up with this Menorah drive-in idea, and we probably got more people in Troy to come together for Chanukah, then if we had done a more traditional Chanukah party.” Caytak wants to call out Friedman Real Estate for providing the venue, as well as Pegasus Entertainment, Lisa Fenkell, Barry Drillman and Eli Puretz for their help in making the event a success.

1. James Silver brought his children to the Chanukah celebration. 2. The Bednarsh family enjoys the festivities. 3. The eastside menorah is lit by Scott Shefman, executive managing director of Friedman Real Estate. Also on stage are Troy Mayor Ethan Baker, Troy City Councilwoman Ellen Hodorek, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive director of the Friendship Circle of Michigan, and Chana Caytak, co-director of Chabad Jewish Center of Troy. Rabbi Menachem Caytak, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Troy looks on.

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DECEMBER 24 • 2020

JEWSINTHED

Local Rabbi Goes Viral on TikTok

The video has been viewed nearly 100,000 times.

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DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

abbi Yoni Dahlen of Congregation Shaarey Zedek has gone viral on the social media platform TikTok for a video in which he shows how to light a chanukiah. The video had nearly 100,000 views as of press time. Using the username “Motor City Rabbi” on the popular video platform, Dahlen uses the service to teach Jewish rituals to the general public. Other videos of Dahlen’s on the platform include a tutorial of how to put one’s mezuzah up, how to put a tallit on, how to wrap tefillin on the arm and put tefillin shel rosh on the head, and how to light Shabbat candles. Dahlen also has a SoundCloud account, which primarily consists of prayers and songs recorded by Dahlen, and a YouTube account, which consists of similar TikTok content and a long-form Jewish interview series called “3 Opinions”. Dahlen’s rabbinical social media journey began with him trying to work on the idea of “empowerment” since the pandemic started, of getting people to own and feel comfortable with their Judaism through Jewish rituals. “I think there’s an unfair pressure in Judaism that basically assumes everyone should know how to do everything,” Dahlen said. “So, one of the things I’ve been working on is this idea of ‘how-to’ Judaism in a judgment-free setting, and really encouraging people to ask questions.” Dahlen began with the idea of “How 2 Jew” — a video series explaining Jewish rituals and education in “2” minutes or less. When Dahlen started to spread to other platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, he was then limited to one minute for the videos. That didn’t stop Dahlen; he just had to adapt creatively, something he had already done because of the pandemic.

Dahlen has been shocked at the viewership the video has gotten since uploading it. He usually gets 40-50 views when putting the videos in weekly emails to the congregation and maybe 100-200 views when posting them on Facebook. When Dahlen started posting on TikTok, he became amazed at how the algorithm worked, with way more people watching and those viewers being “genuinely interested,” the rabbi said. “What’s more amazing to me than the 100k views is the incredible amount of positive, kind comments, especially from a lot of non-Jews who say, ‘This is so great. I’ve always wanted to know this … This helps me with talking with my Jewish friends and I feel like I’m a little more educated now,’” Dahlen said. Dahlen believes social media is a great tool to promote Judaism among younger generations, who may not seek out answers otherwise. “I don’t think there’s enough data yet to see if it actually creates membership engagement or increased membership or anything like that, but it’s definitely something to at least get information out,” Dahlen said. “That’s my primary goal right now, to let people who otherwise might be too afraid or embarrassed to ask or not sure what to do, to have those resources without feeling any kind of judgment or insecurity or anything like that.” Dahlen intends to continue these videos after the pandemic is over and is more than willing to make a video about any Jewish ritual or topic people are interested in learning about. “I was trying to do it even before the pandemic started,” Dahlen said. “But now, the pandemic has made me really home in on what’s working and what’s effective, and I think that’s helpful and something I know we can carry forward.”

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Happy New Year!

B’nai Moshe To Feed 400 Henry Ford Hospital Workers on Christmas Eve Congregation B’nai Moshe of West Bloomfield is showing their gratitude for all that healthcare workers have done over this year by providing a Christmas Eve dinner to all 400 night-staff personnel at Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield on Dec. 24. For many years, B’nai Moshe has baked and delivered cookies to Metro Detroit police and fire stations and hospitals on Christmas Day as a way of saying thank you for working on their holiday to keep the community safe. This year, with the coronavirus pandemic, they

were not able to do the cookie baking and delivery but still wanted to perform the mitzvah (commandment) of giving. Henry Ford Hospital and B’nai Moshe are neighbors in West Bloomfield. The synagogue asked its members for donations to accomplish this task and the congregation responded with $6,000 to make the dinner a reality. The dinner will be provided by B’nai Moshe’s caterer, Chef Cari Kosher Catering, and her Southfield based Chinese restaurant “Wok In Cari Out.”

Help for Those with Hearing Loss also Facing Financial Challenges The COVID-19 crisis made it a year filled with filled with health concerns, physical and emotional challenges, and financial pressures. For people with physical disabilities like hearing loss, 2020 was doubly difficult. So to help usher in the new year on a higher note for those individuals, Hinderliter Hearing Services is joining forces with other hearing care professionals nationwide to donate up to $1 million of hearing aids to people profoundly affected by the 2020 pandemic. As part of that effort, Hinderliter Hearing

Services in Birmingham is seeking nominations of people with hearing loss who have experienced financial difficulty during 2020 and would benefit from receiving a set of ReSound ONE hearing aids, one of the best hearing aids available on the market today. Nominations are made by visiting hinderliterhearing. com or calling (248) 4307353 with the name, contact information and an explanation of financial challenge for the nominee. Nominations must be received by Dec. 31, 2020.

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COURTESY OF NCJW|MI

JEWSINTHED

A Crafty Way to Relieve Stress NCJW’s Re|Sale store offers “craft jars” of broken vintage jewelry to spur creativity. JN STAFF

M MEL DRYMAN

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BUY • SELL • INVEST

Estate Property Sales from Listing to Clean-Out! 24

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

any people are struggling with stress issues as the pandemic marches on. One way proven to help is to engage in creative activities. Studies have shown that working on crafts lets people forget about their stress for a while and allows them to focus on the positive things in their life, an effect similar to meditation. The Council Re|Sale thrift store in Berkley, operated by the National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan (NCJW|MI), is offering people a new way to express their creativity and improve their mental health. Broken vintage jewelry, a new craft trend seen online, is now being sold in Craft Jars at Council Re|Sale. The jars are filled with beautiful and unusual jewelry items to get the creative juices to flow and, at the same time, improve mental well-being. The jewelry can be repurposed to make new jewelry designs, decorate photo frames, create holiday orna-

ments or garden chimes, decorate a belt buckle or beautify mirror frames. The Craft Jars cost from $25 to $50. All proceeds from the sales at Council Re|Sale go to the community and social advocacy projects of NCJW|MI. “We have so much fantastic jewelry donated, we had the idea of parceling broken items into jars and selling it to customers for their own arts and crafts project. We know that working with your hands is really good for your brain as it can create nerve pathways, reduce stress and boost your mood,” said Amy Cutler, president of NCJW|MI. “As we approach this pandemic winter, anything you can do to keep your hands busy is going to be beneficial for your well-being.” Council Re|Sale follows strict safety measures, including sanitation stations, quarantining of donations and returns, social distancing practiced by staff and customers, and mandatory mask wearing.

Detroit Jews for Justice Celebrates Detroit Moratorium on Water Shutoffs

etroit Jews for Justice has long been working to end water shutoffs in Detroit, and their efforts came to fruition Dec. 8, when Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced a moratorium on water shutoffs would be extended until the end of 2022. Duggan also announced that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former director of the Detroit Health Department and former candidate for governor of Michigan, will head a group looking into ways to make the moratorium permanent. “We are so glad to see the city finally stepping in to halt this inhumane treatment of our neighbors,” said Rabbi Alana Alpert, executive director of Detroit Jews for Justice, in a

statement. “We also know that to win a water affordability plan and get real, permanent protection for Detroiters, we have to continue to be vigilant.” DJJ has been working in coalition with the People’s Water Board, We the People of Detroit, Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry and Michigan Welfare Rights on water justice in Detroit since 2015. More than 140,000 Detroit households had their water and sewage services shut off between 2014 and 2020. DJJ has been working to stop “the unconscionable practice of water shutoffs and to transform the dead-end system of water payment assistance to one based on income affordability,” said Lori Lutz,

Welcome!

Dr. Kleinsmith has joined Midwest Center for Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery – Farmington Hills Center

DJJ

JN STAFF

DJJ leaders demonstrate at Campus Martius during Chanukah 2018.

DJJ Thriving team member and Water Team leader, in a statement. “This ‘miracle’ is a huge step (but far from the last) in that direction.” Local organizations caution that a moratorium on water shutoffs is not enough. “The DJJ community plans to continue its work on ensuring all Detroit residents have access to water.

Dr. Kleinsmith received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, and her medical degree from Dr. Wayne State University Dr. Kleinsmith has joined Midwest Kleinsmith has joined Midwest Center Center for Dermatology & Cosmetic for Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery — School of Medicine. Dr. Kleinsmith Surgery – Farmington Hills Center Farmington Dr. KleinsmithHills hasCenter. joined Midwest completed her dermatology Center for Dermatology & Cosmetic Kleinsmith received her bachelor’s degree Dr. Kleinsmith received her residency atDr.Henry Ford Hospital, Surgery – Farmington Hills Center degree fromjoined Michigan frombachelor’s Michigan State University, and her Dr. Kleinsmith has Midwest Dr. where she was Chief Resident. State University, and her medical medical degree Wayne State University Center from for Dermatology & Cosmetic

“For five years, DJJ has been involved as an organization,” said Barry Rubin, DJJ water team leader and steering committee member, in the statement. “It often takes a long-term commitment to make meaningful progress. I’m proud of this organization and of all who participated. Today we must acknowledge that the arc of the moral universe can bend toward justice.”

Welcome!

Welcome! Welcome!

Dr. Kleinsmith received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, and her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Kleinsmith completed her dermatology residency at Henry Ford Hospital, where she was Chief Resident.

Dr. Kleins

Dr. Kleinsmith received her from State University Schooldegree ofSurgery Medicine. Dr. Kleinsmith completed – Wayne Farmington Hills Center bachelor’s from Michigan of Medicine. Kleinsmith herSchool residency at degree HenryDr. Ford Hospital, completed her Stateshe University, and her medical where wasdermatology Chief Resident. Dr. Kleinsmith received her residency Henry Ford Hospital, degreeatfrom Wayne State University bachelor’s degree Dr. of Kleinsmith isfrom aDr. Michigan where she was Chief Resident. School Medicine. Kleinsmith StateCertified University, and her medical Board Dermatologist. completed her dermatology

Kleinsmith

Dr. Kleinsmith

degree from Wayne State University residency at Henry Ford Hospital, School of Medicine. Dr. Kleinsmith where she was Chief Resident. completed her dermatology residency at Henry Ford Hospital, where she was Chief Resident.

Dr. Kleinsmith

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

Surgery – Farmington Hills Center

My (Big, Fat) Joyful, Tearful

DECEMBER 24 â&#x20AC;¢ 2020

JEWSINTHED

PHOTOS BY MICHAL ZIELINSKI

K, it wasn’t that big, and it wasn’t that fat. But meaningful? Oy, vey! My beautiful bride, Dr. Freda Lengel Arlow, a divorcee of 10 years, and I, a widower of 13 years, decided to exchange our wedding vows in a very special place. We were wed in October 2019 in Kazimierz, the centuries-old Jewish quarter of Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city. The choice of Poland for a destination wedding might seem “beyond the pale” — but the city called out to us for deep personal and spiritual reasons. Before World War II, Freda’s family lived in Tarnow, about 50 miles east of Krakow. By war’s end, her father, Hillel Lengel, had survived Auschwitz, but the Germans had slain his wife and two young sons. After liberation, Hillel married Anna, also of Tarnow, and in 1948, Freda was born in a displaced persons camp in Linz, Austria. Freda’s mom, Anna, was one of 11 daughters of a well-to-do Jewish family. But of the 11 sisters, only two survived the Holocaust. During those horrendous years, Anna endured starvation and beatings in three slave labor camps. Anna’s younger sister Lucia, however, was hidden by a heroic Catholic family despite threats of death to those who hid Jews. After the war, she married the family’s son, Bronik Zaczkiewicz, and remained in Poland. Bronik was later honored by the Yad Vashem Holocaust center in Israel for risking his life to smuggle food to Jews in the Tarnow ghetto and for saving Lucia’s life. In 2019, and for each of the past 16 years, Freda had traveled to visit her widowed Aunt Lucia, now a feisty 100 years old and a Krakow resident. For Freda, whose mother died in 2001, the opportunity to be wed in front of her mother’s surviving sister and cousins Halina and Gosia had enormous meaning. Freda and I also believed that having a Jewish wedding in Poland would be an act in defiance of the Nazis who sought to exterminate all Jewish life. Our wedding took place in the late afternoon on the day after Yom Kippur, a very desirable day to marry according to Chasidic tradition. On the morning of the wedding, I was thrilled with anticipation, and Freda was as giddy and nervous as a youthful 70-year-old could be — getting married in the land of her family’s roots.

ul Polish Wedding

DAVID SACHS COPY EDITOR

A GREAT HERITAGE Jewish Krakow has a vast 600-year history, and several ancient synagogue buildings have been preserved. In 2008, a new Jewish Community Center was established to serve the few thousand Polish Jews and the contingent of American expats and Israelis who live or work there. We decided on a wedding at the JCC officiated by American-born Orthodox Rabbi Avi Baumol with whom we studied during previous trips to Krakow. Baumol, whose mission since 2013 has been to revive Jewish life in the city, conducted our wedding ceremony in Hebrew, English and Polish. “It’s a new life you’re starting,” he said as we stood together under the chuppah, “and where better to start a new life than in Krakow — a place that had such a flourishing Jewish community for hundreds of years? It was almost continued on page 28 CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP: Under the chuppah, Dan Arlow reads the seventh wedding blessing to David; his mom, Freda; and Rabbi Avi Baumol. Women dance around Aunt Lucia immediately after the wedding ceremony. Newlyweds David and Freda Sachs enter the reception. The whole clan: David, Freda and Aunt Lucia, seated, with Halina, Marcin, Ania, Olga, Gosia, June, Dan and Maria.

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

JEWSINTHED

GRZEGORZ LYKA

Freda and Aunt Lucia communicate in Yiddish.

GRZEGORZ LYKA

Rabbi Avi Baumol explains why a glass is broken at the end of the wedding ceremony. continued from page 27

destroyed; but now, we are rebuilding Jewish life here. “Your wedding in Krakow is a symbol of our people’s resilience and ability to start over and start fresh — and that’s something very special.”

HEARTFELT MOMENTS Freda’s son, Dan Arlow of San Francisco, walked his mother to the chuppah just after Dan’s wife, June, escorted me there. All wedding arrangements were made by the very helpful JCC Krakow staff, including a

heimish kosher dinner for 25 guests. In the middle the wedding ceremony, Aunt Lucia left her seat and sauntered right up to the chuppah and playfully kibitzed with the rabbi in Polish. But at the end, when it came time for the symbolic breaking of the glass, the rabbi explained that even during joyful times, Jews must not forget the tragedies that have befallen them. Lucia was brought to tears during

THE ONLY WAY TO BEAT COVID-19 IS TO FACE IT. We can’t forget the danger. Wear the mask. Wash your hands. Practice physical distancing. Consider virtual gatherings. Curbside food pickup. For more holiday safety tips, visit oakgov.com/covid..

Paid for by Oakland County Health Division.

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

the singing of the mournful Hebrew psalm, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem.” Lucia, however, who had experienced so much tragedy and hardship under Nazism and communism during her century of life, rebounded. She smiled gleefully as circular dancing and the singing of “Siman Tov u’Mazel Tov” broke out after the breaking of the glass. Along with Lucia, Freda and I were overcome with joy. Mission accomplished!

JEWSINTHED

WINNERS! JN readers choose online Chanukah winners. FIRST

SECOND

eaders have voted and the results are in! Here are the winners of the online Chanukah art contest. Each will receive $18.

FIRST

AGE 10-12 FIRST PLACE: ZEEV MAINE SECOND PLACE: TALYA BERNHARDT

UNDER 6

FIRST PLACE: HALEY HAMBURGER SECOND PLACE: MAX FRIEDMAN FIRST

SECOND

AGES 7-9 FIRST PLACE: ANNE GARDIN SECOND PLACE: NOAH GITLIN

SECOND

DECEMBER 24 â&#x20AC;¢ 2020

BUSINESS

SYNDI PILAR

Local Love

Oakland County Provides Grants to Restaurants As pause continues, restaurants are given a lifeline — or ‘Band-Aid.’ ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

multi-million-dollar economic program announced earlier this month will provide immediate, quick relief for some members of Oakland County’s restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oakland Together Restaurant Rescue Program will distribute $10 million in grant money to 1,000 restaurants and bars. The money can be used for operations, including payroll costs; weatherization and equipment for outdoor dining; and personal protective equipment and supplies to reopen safely inside. The program’s funding includes $7 million from the federal CARES Act allocation to Oakland County in the spring and $3 million from the county’s general fund. Restaurants and bars came under greater scrutiny after a fall surge in COVID cases. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services restrictions

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

were issued Nov. 15 to slow the spread of infection. They include imitations on indoor gatherings, including dining, and only outside dining, carryout and delivery service are permitted. Restaurants eligible for the program submitted applications under one of Oakland County’s previously sponsored COVID-19 grant programs. These businesses will receive checks in the mail; they won’t have to formally apply for the new money. Funds must be spent by Dec. 30 on expenses incurred since March 1. Members of the local restaurant community shared their views about the Oakland Together Restaurant Rescue Program. Heirloom Hospitality Group has one Oakland County property — Townhouse Birmingham. President Jeremy Sasson figures each entity will receive $7,000, based on the forecasted number of participants. “I’m grateful and thankful for

any funds because we need help to survive,” Sasson said. “It’s an amazing gesture, but it’s only a Band-Aid, or like getting one blood transfusion. The subsidy might be enough to cover, maybe, one night of business. It doesn’t solve our problems when it comes to operating costs. We’ll use the money to pay bills and our employees.” Estimating 15,000 local businesses benefited from federal grants distributed in May and June under the CARES Act, Sasson said: “The second wave of support, if it comes, should keep some restaurants in business.” Bill Roberts, proprietor of Roberts Restaurant Group headquartered in Beverly Hills, said, “It is terrific that (County Executive) Dave Coulter and Oakland County are doing whatever they can to save our industry.” His five restaurants are located in Oakland County. “All restaurateurs are struggling

Restaurant owners, servers, chefs, cooks, bartenders and other staff are struggling to survive until Michigan’s COVID-19 safety restriction on congregating within restaurants and bars is lifted. These local businesses and workers have a friend in Marc Israel, owner of Great Lakes Hotel Supply in Southfield. His goal is to distribute at least $500,000 to the restaurant community through donations to Local Love, his GoFundMe fundraiser with the Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association. “These folks are really in need, and it’s vital that we help them,” said Israel. His company is a food service equipment dealer that has worked with thousands of Detroit area restaurants. Running through March 1, 100 percent of the funds raised will go to those in need, minus processing and administrative fees not to exceed 10 percent of donations. Businesses applying for help must be registered in the state of Michigan. Owners must register themselves and their employees for approval. All money raised will be distributed to the owners and their employees, based on the total amount of donations received. The first checks should arrive before Christmas, and then be distributed monthly. To enroll or donate to the Local Love fund, visit www.glhsco. com/locallove/. – Esther Allweiss Ingber

with negative cash flow since we have had no indoor dining for three weeks and counting,” he said. “We were very fortunate to have received grant money in the fall from the county. Any monies that we receive now will help us with our payroll costs and will be greatly appreciated.”

INSTAGRAM/@PINCANNA

‘Growth’ Industry Israeli and Michigan cannabis firms team up, plan medical-use strain. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

sraeli-based medical and adult-use cannabis company Tikun Olam and Michiganbased cannabis cultivator and distributor Pincanna have finalized an agreement to bring Tikun’s cannabis products to Michigan in Spring 2021. Through the deal, Pincanna will grow and distribute Tikun’s

cannabis products, which will join a lineup of around 10 different cannabis brands the company grows and/or distributes. Pincanna is working with Tikun Olam USA, a U.S.-based joint venture of the company established in 2015. Robert Nusbaum, founding partner of Pincanna, believes

Huntington Bank, Torgow’s TCF Bank Announce Merger

in Minneapolis and a better experience for our customers,” Torgow said in the release. “We will be a top regional bank, with the scale to compete and the passion to serve.” Torgow also serves on the board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, as senior vice president of the Orthodox Union, and as board president of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. The headquarters for the commercial bank will be in Detroit where “at least 800 employees of the combined company, nearly three times the number TCF had planned, will be housed in the downtown structure,” the press release said. Columbus will remain the headquarters for the holding company and the consumer bank. The merger means the TCF Center in downtown Detroit

will be renamed the Huntington Center, just one year after a deal was made to remove the Cobo name from the conference center. This is the second merger for TCF in as many years after a $3.6 billion merger with Chemical Financial Corp. The combined company will have approximately $168 billion in assets, $117 billion in loans and $134 billion in deposits. The combined organization is believed to significantly improve Huntington’s market position, increase scale and provide greater revenue growth opportunities. The merger, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, is believed to create a top 10 U.S. regional bank, with a total market value of approximately $22 billion. TCF Bank and Torgow declined to comment.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

CF Bank announced Dec. 13 that it had been acquired by Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bank and that the combined entity would have “dual headquarters” in Detroit and Columbus, marking a big moment in the career of TCF Bank chair and prominent Gary Torgow Jewish Detroit philanthropist Gary Torgow. Under the agreement, TCF will merge into Huntington,

and the combined holding company and bank will operate under the Huntington name and brand following the closing of the transaction. Upon closing, Stephen D. Steinour will remain the chairman, president and CEO of the holding company and CEO and president of the bank. Torgow will serve as chairman of the bank’s board of directors. “This partnership will provide us the opportunity for deeper investments in our communities, more jobs in Detroit, an increased commitment

TIKUN OLAM

variety of symptoms of medical conditions such as cancer, PTSD, epilepsy and chronic pain. In Bernie addition to its Sucher U.S. operation, Tikun operates similar partnerships in Canada, Greece and Australia. Bernie Sucher, CEO of Tikun Olam USA, grew up in Southfield, did business in Russia for years and currently resides in Miami. The partnership is another notable addition to the Michigan cannabis industry’s Jewish ties, joining Weinberg Family Enterprises and the affiliated PRIMITIV, Evergreen Logistics and TheGreenhouse of Walled Lake, among others. Nusbaum believes Tikun Olam will become the primary strain for Pincanna’s medical sales.

EUROAMERICA DESIGN

Tikun Olam choosing them to produce their strain is a big deal in the burgeoning Rob Michigan canNusbaum nabis industry, and says Tikun Olam initially reached out to them. Pincanna is based in Farmington Hills, but also operates a 135,000-squarefoot cultivation and manufacturing facility across 185 acres in Pinconning, just north of Bay City. The company also operates its own retail store in Kalkaska, near Traverse City, and plans to open numerous Pincanna market retail stores throughout the state. Tikun Olam’s products have been used since 2010 in ongoing clinical trials in Israel’s regulated medical cannabis market, treating patients for a

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

MOMENTS BIRTHS AUG. 12. 2020 Gary and Brooke Rosenberg of Tustin, Calif., are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Kennedy Parker (Kinneret Paz). Sharing in their happiness are big brother Levi, grandparents Lauren and Mark Rosenberg of West Bloomfield, and Sharon and Robert Pancer of Montreal, Quebec. Also delighted is greatgrandmother Fern Lutz.

MILESTONES

Manello 60th

earl and Sy Manello of West Bloomfield will mark their 60th wedding anniversary on Dec. 25, 2020. Love and best wishes are sent by their children, Carl and Julie Manello, and Sharon Manello Borstein, and their grandchildren, Sam and Ed Borstein, Jake and Becca Manello.

Richmond 60th

ene and Claire Richmond of Farmington Hills will mark their 60th anniversary on Dec. 26, 2020. They were married in 1960 at Adas Shalom Synagogue. They will celebrate with family and friends. Their children are Steven and Jody, and Sierra. They have two grandchildren, Daniel and Blaise.

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

Bocknek 50th

heryl and Marc Bocknek of West Bloomfield will celebrate their 50th anniversary on Dec. 26, 2020. They are the proud parents of Steve and Meredith Bocknek, and Andy and Erika Bocknek. They have been blessed with five amazing grandchildren, Meirav, Erez, Ethan, Lielle and Kefira. Cheryl and Marc are looking forward to future celebrations.

Sherman-Blinder

ichelle and Jan Sherman of Farmington Hills are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter Jamie Renee to Benjamin Ethan Blinder, son of Laurie and Mark Blinder of West Bloomfield. Jamie received her bachelor’s degree in communications from Michigan State University and spent the past decade working in public relations in New York City, Chicago and finally back home in Detroit. Benjamin received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from Wayne State University. He is a therapist in Metro Detroit. Jamie and Benjamin are planning a September wedding at Lovett Hall at the Henry Ford Museum. They reside in Huntington Woods.

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@renmedia.us or (248) 351-5147 for information or for a mailed or emailed copy of guidelines.

SPIRIT

TORAH PORTION

The Power of Forgiveness continued resentment — as it was his father’s favoritism (and Joseph’s accompanying ego) that resulted in his brothers despising him and selling him into slavery. The Torah states in Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take vengeance and shall not bear any grudge against the member of your people.” As Jews, are we really meant to never bear a grudge? Is there really no situation in which continued resentment is justified? We learn in the Talmud that the prohibition against bearing grudges applies solely to monetary matters (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 23a). However, despite the lack of a more general prohibition against grudge holding, we

This commentary originally appeared in the Jewish News on Dec. 5, 2013. Rabbi Horwitz is now head of the Alper JCC in Miami, Fla. CALEB SEE/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

quite a few challenges. n this week’s portion, we Joseph is the most powerful have a big reveal. person in all of Egypt after Joseph, moved by his Pharaoh. He has chariots, brother Judah’s desire to food aplenty and servants. serve as Joseph’s slave in By the time his brothers place of Benjamin, orders come to see him, Joseph his Egyptian entourage has been in his position as out of the room and Pharaoh’s No. 2 for about tells his brothers who he Rabbi Dan nine years and hasn’t seen really is. Horwitz his father in more than 20 They are speechless years. until he assures them he Parshat If Joseph really cared is not angry with them Vayegash: about his father Jacob’s — rather, his being sold Genesis into slavery was part of a 44:18-47:27; well-being, why didn’t he Ezekiel go home to visit once he Divine plan that allowed 37:15-28. attained such stature? him to be in a position to Why didn’t he send later save everyone from messengers to let his father certain starvation. know that he was alive and well? Joseph’s first question to his Perhaps Joseph chose not to brothers upon the reveal is, “Is my father still well?” contact Jacob in order to cause his father pain — the result of This question, frankly, poses

should strive to reconcile with and forgive those who we feel have wronged us. The result of Joseph’s actions, or lack thereof, is that he spends significantly less time with his father (and family) than he otherwise could have. Life is simply too short to punish those we love for their misdeeds by succumbing to persistent feelings of resentment. This Shabbat, recognize that while it is human nature to bear a grudge, doing so comes with significant tradeoffs. Acknowledge that the time we have in this world is far too precious and short to consume ourselves with resentment. Strive to forgive.

ERETZ

Full Diplomatic Ties Israel formalizes ties with Bhutan, the nation seeking “gross national happiness.” The flag of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

RON KAMPEAS JTA

srael and Bhutan, a small Buddhist majority Himalayan kingdom snuggled between India and China, have established full diplomatic ties. Ron Malka, the Israeli ambassador to India, posted photos on Twitter Dec. 13 of the signing ceremony. Bhutan and Israel already have cordial, informal ties. Bhutan has, over the last 20 years, emerged from centuries of cultural

and diplomatic isolation, although it has long accepted development assistance from other countries, including agricultural training from Israel since 1982. The constitutional monarchy is famous for a national policy that eschews materialism and instead seeks “gross national happiness.” According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the

establishment of diplomatic relations will create new avenues for cooperation between the two countries in water management, technology, human resource development, agricultural sciences and other areas of mutual benefit. Ties between the two peoples through cultural exchanges and tourism would also be further enhanced, the press release said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the announcement was “the additional fruit of the peace agreements,” although it’s not clear how ties with the remote Buddhist nation are related to the flurry of agreements Israel has signed in recent months with Sunni Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. DECEMBER 24 • 2020

ARTS&LIFE FICTION

Ann Arbor Writer Highlighted on NPR Chanukah Series

nn Arbor-based fiction writer Anna Megdell’s short story “For the Days to Be Long Again” has been selected to be included on the 30th-anniversary edition of NPR’s Hanukkah Lights series, airing nationally on various NPR stations during Chanukah. The hourlong show can also be heard online at NPR.org. Since 1990, NPR has celebrated Chanukah with the program of original stories inspired by the Jewish festival of lights. The yearly show is hosted by NPR’s Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz, who read the selected stories. Megdell was one of only five winning authors this year. “It felt really nice that what started as a personal challenge and a desire to write in a new way was recognized as being worthy of being included on this platform,” Megdell said. “For the Days to Be Long Again” follows Jenny, a woman sheltering during the pandemic, and her search for a sense of community through Chanukah rituals. Megdell, who is Jewish and grew up in Holt, Michigan, didn’t have to search too far for the story’s inspiration, experiencing the trials and tribulations of the pandemic just like the rest of the world. “I was trying to figure out how I feel about this year and all that’s been going on, and what the holiday meant to me in light of this year,” Megdell

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

CHRISTIANA BOTIC

Anna Megdell’s short story was chosen for the program’s 30th anniversary show.

Anna Megdell

“EVEN IN THE BLEAKNESS OF THIS YEAR, NEW EXPERIENCES AND NEW JOY CAN BE FOUND.” — ANNA MEGDELL said. “I think I started from that place — of trying to put words to the feelings and weirdness of this year.” Megdell received her undergraduate degree in creative writing and comparative literature from the University of Michigan in 2012 and a master of fine arts in fiction from the University of Tennessee in 2018, where she won the John C. Hodges Award. She is currently the natural sciences writer for the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) at the University of Michigan. RITUALS PROVIDE HOPE As expressed in the story, even

through all the isolation this year, Megdell thinks there can be a lot of comfort and hope in connecting to traditional rituals — and also in creating new ones. “It was really important to me in the story that lighting the Chanukah candles was something new for Jenny and that, even in the bleakness of this year, new experiences and new joy can be found,” Megdell said. The beginning of Megdell’s writing process consists of trying her best to follow any idea or whim she has, even if it feels strange or she doesn’t know where it could connect overall in a larger story.

“I try to write really freely and loosely without a lot of structure in the beginning, and then it’s a process of forming all the raw material into something coherent and structured,” Megdell said. Megdell first heard of the opportunity when a friend forwarded her the call for submissions for the program, and she wrote the story in response. She had never written anything responding to current events before, and also had never explicitly written about Judaism before, and felt that both made this story a personal challenge and exercise for herself. The 2020 edition of Hanukkah Lights aired on public radio stations around the country throughout Chanukah, including NPR affiliates in New York City, Vermont and Nebraska. However, the two local NPR affiliates, WDET and Michigan Radio, appear not to have programmed the special for broadcast. Megdell, who previously worked for Michigan Radio and is personally a fan of the statewide NPR affiliate, was honored by the notice. “It’s such a hard time creatively,” she said. “Finishing and working on creative pursuits this year is really hard, so it felt nice to finish something and be proud of it — and extra nice that it was recognized by people I respect so much.”

ARTS&LIFE DANCE

Dancing Forward

Recent University of Michigan graduate uses dance to inspire social change. ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“THE PERFORMING ARTS NEED A LOT OF LOVE AND ATTENTION RIGHT NOW.” PHOTOS BY MICKY WEST

— JOHANNA KEPLER

rofessional dancer and activist Johanna Kepler has made it her mission to use the creative arts as a tool to inspire social change. The recent University of Michigan graduate who majored in dance with a minor in Latino studies has used her platform to spark discussions about racial injustice, immigration reform and most recently, the impact that the COVID19 pandemic has had on the performing arts community. Kepler, 23, who originally hails from Johanna Boston and is now based in New York City, Kepler has witnessed firsthand the devastation that the pandemic has had on artists, many of whom are without work or turning to virtual platforms to reach their audiences. She graduated in the class of 2020, so her dream of auditioning for Broadway and Off-Broadway shows is temporarily on hold. Instead, Kepler, who has been dancing since age 6, has used her time to interview more than 200 performing artists, dancers, choreographers and directors from around the world about how the pandemic has personally impacted their lives and careers. Her hope is that creating a collective community focused on rebuilding the performing arts industry will generate awareness for the struggles artists have faced and steps they’re taking to move forward. “It’s continuing to share the story of the artists, not just the art we make,” Kepler explains. About a week before she graduated from U-M, she wrote to the college inquiring about 12 potential grants to pay other recently graduated students who were also out of work due to the pandemic, and successfully received a few. These grants also helped her build “The Power of the Performing Arts: Uniting Artists While Apart” and the website platform needed to make the interview project a reality (thepoweroftheperformingarts.com). Kepler conducts interviews via Zoom. When she first started the platform, she was completing up to 10 interviews a day. While at the University of Michigan, she also founded Arts in Color, a student organization committed to diversity, equity and inclusion within the arts, an endeavor Kepler received the Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award for in 2019. “Being an adopted Latina woman in the U.S., my own identity drives me forward,” says Kepler, who was adopted from Guatemala and grew up in a Jewish household. continued on page 36 DECEMBER 24 • 2020

CELEBRITY JEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

WONDER WOMAN AND TOM TO THE RESCUE Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to the 2017 mega-hit Wonder Woman, is arguably the biggest film release since the pandemic began. It starts streaming Dec. 25 on HBO Max at the same time it is released to theaters. AT&T owns WarnerMedia and HBO and it decided that getting more streaming subscribers was more important now than anemic theater revenues. Warners will release 17 new movies in 2021 in the same way. Many filmmakers are not pleased with this decision. However, Israeli actress Gal Gadot, 35, offered anoth-

er perspective in a recent Digital Spy interview: “The truth of the matter is we just didn’t have other better options. We felt like we were sitting on this movie for such a long time, we shot the movie in 2018, we started promoting the movie in 2019, we pushed [rescheduled] the movie four times. We felt like the movie was so relevant to what’s happening in the world right now that you come to a place at a certain time where you’re like, ‘OK, I just want people to watch the movie.’” Gadot said she was open to doing another sequel. She also recalled how she felt when she first saw the opening sequence of the first film: “I got so emotional … I felt like Gal, the 8-year-old, watching another 8-year-old doing something out-ofworldly and being so good

Wonder Woman 1984

IMDB

ARTS&LIFE

at it … it moves me so deeply and so much that I just, you know, I got emotional.” Tom Hanks’ first Western, News of the World, opens in theaters Dec. 25. He plays a former Confederate officer who agrees to return a white girl, taken by the Kiowa tribe years before, to her family, even though the girl wants to remain with the Kiowa. He and the girl travel hundreds of hard, eventful miles. The film’s score is by James Newton Howard, 69, an eight-time Oscar nominee.

Howard’s father died when he was 10, and 25 years later, he found out his father was Jewish. He later became a practicing Jew. Actress Mare Winningham, 61, has a large supporting role (“Jane”) and, like Newton, an unusual Jewish story. Raised a Catholic, she decided to take a Judaism class in 2001. Two years later, she converted to Judaism. Her conversion was not associated with having a Jewish romantic partner. A talented musical performer, Winningham likes to refer to herself as a Jewish country singer and issued a “Jewgrass” album in 2017. Last March, she got good reviews for her performance in Girl from the North Country, a hit Broadway musical that features many Bob Dylan songs. It had to close after a few weeks because of COVID-19.

DANCING FORWARD continued from page 35

“That intersectionality in my identity sparked interest in the personal narrative and the personal story.” She especially focuses on gathering stories from people of color, which are portrayed in both her interview project and through PHO TO SC OU her choreographed dance. RT ES “Creating these platY UM forms and making those connections, I’m trying to figure out how we can get a seat at the table,” she continues, “to make change in the performing arts, to be a more diverse and inclusive community.” Kepler choreographed various pieces while at Michigan that tied her identity to her personal

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

narrative. To shine a light on the current U.S. and Mexico border crisis that has separated children from their families, she gathered 15 interviews from various news sources that featured her Latino friends on campus reading them, then reacted to those sound bites through dance moves. This powerful solo show was selected to be performed at the eastern conference of the American Dance Festival in 2019. “Showcasing that solo on stage is a solid example of how the performing arts can show emotion that touches people in a different way,” Kepler says. Afterward, she explains, numerous students went up to her and told her how the story of the crisis hit them in a different way when viewed

through art. “The performing arts can open people’s minds and hearts.” Now, Kepler is working on continuing to build awareness for the performing arts community through the COVID-19 pandemic while also helping performing arts organizations with marketing and development. She hopes that in 2021, Broadway will be able to reopen and that dance companies will once again hold auditions so she can continue to pursue her career as a performing artist and choreographer. “The performing arts need a lot of love and attention right now,” Kepler says, who believes a deeper appreciation for the field is quickly developing. “A lot of people are turning to the performing arts for their entertainment and to be uplifted during this hard time.”

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the second term of Musa Hadid, the affable mayor of Ramallah, the historically Christian city that serves as the administrative center of the Palestinian Authority. Hadid has day-to-day concerns to handle, from increasing tourism and planning the annual Christmas celebrations, to repaving sidewalks, but the darker realities of life under occupation are never too far away. Cost; $10. Tickets available through DIA website.

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

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SOUL

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Leader in the Law

udge Alice Lee Gilbert, 88, of Bloomfield Hills, died Dec. 9, 2020. “Trailblazer” is the most fitting moniker attributable to Judge Alice Lee Gilbert. Her trailblazing cut across many paths, and the paths she blazed are more aglow now than ever. Back when the glass ceiling was made of marble, she smashed all gender barriers. Growing up in the Chicago area, she resolved that she would attend the best college possible and moved across the country. Majoring in political science and economics, she attended Wellesley College, leaving in her last year for Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Judge Gilbert was a lifelong learner, and her post-graduate studies included work at the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration (now Harvard Kennedy School), Wayne State University Law School (Go Warriors [then Tartars]!), University of Detroit Law School, University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and several courses at the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her trailblazing continued in law school, where she was just one of two women. She was a bright and determined lawyer who resolved to make her mark and go her own way. Bucking all custom, when she married she maintained her surname and in 1957 sued to practice law under her given surname rather than her married name. Out of the courtroom, she was a founding member of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for Women, the first female member of the Oakland County Bar Association and a founder of the Oakland County Women’s Bar Association. Judge Gilbert became the third woman

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

elected as a circuit court judge in the history of the state of Michigan and the first in Oakland County. Alice Gilbert Over the course of her career, she presided over 110,000 cases. As impressive a resume as that is, it hardly reveals the woman. She was a voracious traveler, including climbing the Andes Mountains and going on expeditions to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, France, Italy, Egypt, Israel, Russia, China and Africa. She remarked to a newspaper, “I started with a philosophy that I have one goal — living my life. That’s family and career. I never divided it,” Judge Gilbert was the beloved wife of the late Murray P. Greenblatt and the late Dr. Herbert J. Bloom; cherished mother of Gwen Gilbert, Greg (Carolynn) Gilbert and Dean (Christina) Greenblatt; loving grandmother of Ariel Zekelman, Leah Zekelman, Jonah Zekelman, Andrew Gilbert, Jennifer (Michael) McManus, Julia Gilbert, Katherine Greenblatt, David Greenblatt and Allison Greenblatt; sister of the late Henry Gilbert; daughter of the late Rebecca and the late Alfred Gilbert. She is fondly remembered by many friends and colleagues. Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jewishhospice. org; or Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, holocaustcenter.org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

PRISCILLA “PRISSY” BACHAIOV, 84, of Farmington Hills, died Dec. 11, 2020. c. 1956 She was a very talented person: a singer, actress, comedian and artist. Priscilla was a warm, loving, welcoming and fun individual; she cooked fabulously and loved to feed her family and friends great Jewish and Bukharian dishes. She was also a talented singer and actress, who loved to laugh and entertain her family and friends. In addition, she taught bar and bat mitzvah classes at Temple Kol Ami and Hebrew at Congregation Beth Ahm and Congregation Beth Achim. Mrs. Bachaiov is survived by her children, Claire and Jeff Past Epstein of West Bloomfield, Mark Bachaiov of West Bloomfield, Abby and Randy McBride of Van Nuys, Calif., Sherri and Dr. Jerry Nosanchuk of West Bloomfield; brother and sisters-in-law, Haskell and Barbara Adler of Southfield, Sandy Adler; brother-in-law, Shlomo Duben; grandchildren, Aaron and Kristina Ratajczak Epstein, Chad Epstein, Carli Epstein, Jacob Taft, Ruthy McBride, Charley McBride, Max Nosanchuk; great-grandchildren, Elizabeth Epstein, Alana Epstein; many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and many others who called her “Bubbie” out of love. Mrs. Bachaiov was the devoted daughter of the late Cantor Hyman Adler and the late Ruth Adler; dear mother-in-law of the late Alan Epstein; loving sister and sister-in-law of the late Shana Duben, the late Usher Adler. Contributions may be made to Hebrew Benevolent

Society, a charity of one’s choice, or Chabad of Commerce. A graveside service was held at B’nai Israel Memorial Gardens in Novi. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. STEVEN BENJAMIN BAKER, 52, of Bedford, Texas, died Dec. 13, 2020. He was known as the “Cookie Man” for his baking gourmet cookies and his distribution of them to friends and teachers at Marsha and Robert’s school. Mr. Baker is survived by his wife of 25 years, Marsha Baker; son, Robert Ross; brothers and sisters-in-law, Brian and Barbara Baker, Michael and Rachel Baker; mother-in-law, Elaine Beresh. He was the loving son of the late David and the late Ruth Baker; dear son-in-law of the late Larry Beresh. Contributions may be made to The Shul, 6890 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322; or Jewish Senior Life, 6710 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322. A graveside service was held at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. SALLY ANN (ROSENBLOOM) BELSON, of Delray Beach, Fla., formerly of Southfield/ Bloomfield Hills, passed away peacefully on Dec. 9, 2020, with her loving family and friends by her side. Sally grew up in Southfield, attended Southfield High School, Eastern Michigan University, University of Michigan and Wayne State. earning bachelor of arts and master’s in social work. She met and married the

love of her life, Steven Belson of Birmingham. They first lived in Boston, Mass., then moved to South Florida in 1985. Sally worked as a social worker for the Detroit Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Detroit, served as the founding executive director and social worker for the women’s shelter Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA) in Delray Beach, was an interviewer for the Steven Spielberg Shoah Visual History Foundation in Miami, Fla,, and worked as a congressional assistant to U.S. Congressman Robert Wexler from Boca Raton. She was a passionate animal lover, had many adoring friends and was a fabulous and loving wife, mother, daughter and sister. She will be forever missed but never forgotten and will live in the family’s hearts and minds for eternity. Mrs. Belson was the loving wife for 36 years of Steven A. Belson; adored mother of Jaclyn Elise Belson, Carly Michelle Belson and Joey “Joe Joe” Belson; beloved sister of Lee Rosenbloom and Nanci Rosenbloom Kahn; cherished daughter of the late Gerald and Joan Constance Rosenbloom; the lifelong friend of Janie (Hamburger) Starkman of Commerce Township and Lori (Goldstick) Gottlieb of Newport Coast, Calif; and many others. Memorial contributions may be made in Sally’s memory to Tri-County Animal Rescue, 21287 Boca Rio Road, Boca Raton, FL 33433; Detroit Dog Rescue, P.O. Box 806119, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080; or Florida Breast Cancer Foundation, 11900 Biscayne Blvd., N. Miami, FL 33181. Arrangements handled through Kronish Funeral Services, Boca Raton, Fla.

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12 Teves Dec. 27, 2020

Charles J. “Chickie” Sherman

Hyman I Kaplan Sarah A. Nederlander Morris Schechter Eva Landsman Bertha Zeff Cantor Rubin Boyarsky Leo Lubetsky Fayga Kuhn Laura Nagler Arthur A. Cutler Levi Kuhn Joseph Katz 13 Teves Dec. 28, 2020

15 Teves Dec. 30, 2020

Aaron Tilchin Bertha Katz Adolph Mehler Boruch Yagoda Sarah Lea Sacher Irwin Treitel Max Wasserman Fannie Harris Joseph Levine Hyman Weisberg Moshe Budnick Abraham Fuchs Morton Steinhart Max Goldstein Bernard Shapiro

Phylis Hertzberg Rebecca Farhy 16 Teves Dec. 31, 2020 Rose E Chayet David Ben Rafael Moshe Reuben Miller Simon Axelrod 14 Teves Dec. 29, 2020 Shirley Kaplan Sylvia Shapiro Rose Kadans Henry Cohen Josephine Jeanette Rodnick Casper Brown Samuel Schugar David Lebenbom Rebecca Levitt Oskar L. Wolf Dora W. Milling Sam Daniels Arthur Mandell

17 Teves Jan. 1, 2021

Irving Lyons Joseph Martin Furman Zivya Alte Boyarsky Lillian Kaner Morris Bello Betty Violet Benenson Goldie Brudner Esther Berlin Molly Jacobs Evelyn Woolman

18 Teves Jan. 2, 2021

Eva Adelson Rosslyn L Berman Michael Blum Morris Sax Jacob Goldis Mary Coscarelly Irving Kozuch Isadore Danto Norman Allan Ida Wassermann Kopel Rosen Morris Diem George Must M Manuel Merzon Sylvia Moorawnick Harry Wolin

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DECEMBER 24 • 2020

OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 41

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THEODORE “TED” BROD, 82, of Oak Park, died Dec. 14, 2020. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Annette Brod; daughter and son-in-law, Dana and Ron Swain; son and daughterin-law, Todd and Rhonda Brod; stepchildren, Michelle and Kevin Raisch, Brian Soloway, Pamela Soloway Strohs, Olive and Isabelle Soloway; grandchildren, Alexander Swain, Vanessa Swain, Isabelle Swain, Jacqueline and Ian Dunlap, Ryan and Brittany Brod, Gabrielle Brod and Brian Lindeman, Jessica Raisch, Zachary Raisch and his fiancee, Casey, and Michael Raisch; great-granddaughter, Aria Lindeman. Mr. Brod was the cherished father of the late Matthew Brod; the loving brother of the late Miles Brod; the devoted son of the late Lillian and the late Ralph Brod. Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association-Greater Michigan Chapter, 25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 100, Southfield, MI 48033, alz.org/ gmc. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. MARILYN GVAZDA, 78, of Commerce Township, died Dec. 13, 2020. She is survived by her beloved husband, Judge Melvyn Gvazda; daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Melanie and Glen Schwartz; grandchildren, Avery and

Ari Schwartz; many other loving family members and friends. Mrs. Gvazda was the devoted sister of the late Dr. Robert (the late Mary Jo) Wolfe. 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. MARCIA WILK HARRIS, 100, of West Bloomfield, died Dec.12, 2020. She was a progressive, independent, modern woman, who appreciated that she was born the year that women won the right to vote. She considered man’s greatest achievement of her 100 years was putting a man on the moon. Marcia cherished her 33 years with her husband, Bill, with whom she ran the UAW Elections for the Michigan auto industry. Her greatest sadness was that “Bill died too soon.” Her greatest joy were her two granddaughters, whom she called her “special dividends.” A lifelong goal was to live to be 100 years old and she exceeded that. Mrs. Harris was a lifelong member of Temple Beth El, active in the sisterhood, on the scholarship committee and was a member of the Current Topic discussion group. She was also a very active member of the National Council of Jewish Women. She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan and a member of

the AEPhi sorority. She loved to travel with Ruth Felmus; they became world travelers and had visited 67 countries. She is survived by her daughters, Ilene Harris, Nancy Harris/Roger Shepherd, Pat Harris-Linton, Elaine Pollack; her grandchildren, Megan and Jonathan HLZacks, Whitney HarrisLinton; her great-granddaughter, Gavriella HLZacks. She is also survived by Dennis and Peggy Frank. Mrs. Harris was the daughter of the late Bess and the late Benjamin Wilk. Interment was at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

WILLIAM KELLER, 90, of Farmington Hills, died Dec.13, 2020. He is survived by his children, Howard and Rebecca Thomason Keller, Gayle and Joshua Jackson Keller; grandchild, Serena Keller; sister, Sophie Berkowitz. Mr. Keller is the husband of the late Beverly Keller. Contributions may be made to Pancreatic Cancer Research. A graveside service was held at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel. DR. DANIEL KESSLER, 69, of Cincinnati, Ohio, died Dec. 4, 2020. Known as

exceptionally bright, inquisitive and learned, Dan was an outgoing and caring husband, son, brother, uncle, friend and physician. Born in Staten Island, N.Y., Dan grew up in the Detroit area, attending Cranbrook School. He received both a bachelor’s and medical degree from the University of Michigan, followed by a residency in urology at the University of Washington. He practiced in Cincinnati for many years, where he was as well known for his talent as a surgeon as he was for his bedside manner. Dan was the son of the late Dr. Charles Kessler. He is survived by his beloved wife, Cathy Cordes; his mother, Josephine Kessler; his sisters, Amy Kessler (James Slowik)

and Dr. Susan Kessler (Bruce Shaw); nephew and nieces, Jonathan, Emily and Sarah Shaw, Carolyn (Michael) Kiniyalocts and Lauren (Jordan) Tate. A graveside service was held in Cincinnati. Contributions in honor of Dan’s life may be made to the University of Michigan Medical School Dean’s Scholarship Fund348010, University of Michigan Office of University Development, 3003 S. State St., Suite 9000, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; <leadersandbest.umich. edu/find/#!/give/basket/ fund/348010>; the American Heart Association-Cincinnati, 5211 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45227; or Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms, 1841 Paynes Depot Road, Georgetown, KY 40324. continued on page 44

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SOUL

OF BLESSED MEMORY continued from page 43

GAIL ROSE SOSKIN, 88, of Sacramento, Calif., formerly of Southfield, died Dec. 7, 2020. She is survived by her daughter, Diane Ash; son and daughter-in-law, Neil Soskin and Gayle Brickman; grandchildren, Justin Ash and Michelle Zimmerman, Marissa Ash and Michael Reilly, Aaron Soskin and Kayla Soskin; great-grandson, Ethan Joshua AshZimmerman. She is fondly remembered by Norman Ash and Karen Soskin. Mrs. Soskin was the beloved wife for 57 years of the late Alan Soskin; the devoted daughter of the

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

late Nellie and the late Otto Hyman. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the National MS Society, nationalmssociety.org; Hadassah, 40 Wall St/, New York, MY 10005, hadassah. org; or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. JULIE SOSNICK, 62, of Beverly Hills, died Dec. 11, 2020. She is survived by her son, Jason Cyrulnik; sister and brotherin-law, Karen and Jeffrey Schoenberg; brother, Michael Zack. She is also survived

by her dear friend, Terry McKnight. Ms. Sosnick was the devoted daughter of the late Robert Sosnick and the late Marilyn Zack. Interment was at Nusach Harie Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Temple Israel, Robert Sosnick Family Life Center, 5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48323, temple-israel. org/tributes; or Restore Foundation, 1760 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302, therestorefoundation. org. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

OBITUARY CHARGES The processing fee for obituaries is: $125 for up to 100 words; $1 per word thereafter. A photo counts as 15 words. There is no charge for a Holocaust survivor icon. The JN reserves the right to edit wording to conform to its style considerations. For information, have your funeral director call the JN or you may call Sy Manello, editorial assistant, at (248) 351-5147 or email him at smanello@ renmedia.us.

RASKIN

Japanese Goodness

Shiro Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar has beautiful surroundings and great food.

t is among pride and joy structures of Novi that builder/developer Irwin Arkin once called a dream of life … The white edifice that today stands as the fine Shiro Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar enjoys history and décor as a yesteryears home and fine eatery that today Danny Raskin might seem to Senior Columnist overshadow its fine Japanese presentations … But the Japanese choices and appearances are noted to be in somewhat of its own class and admired by many visitors as well. The onetime mansion has had an interesting history since being built in 1929 … A strikingly beautiful edifice that once became a restaurant like those before it … Cervi’s White House Manor, Romanik’s and Home Sweet Home … to today’s fine Shiro Japanese Restaurant and

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Sushi Bar on 9 Mile, just off Novi Road. It was the site where Charles Rogers, former co-owner with his father, invented condensed milk and began selling it to the Pet Milk Company. The approximately 300 seating capacity enjoyed pre-pandemic, was occupied by many who enjoy the numerous Japanese items rarely seen on many Japanese menus … Conventional seating is coupled with private tatami rooms … It’s currently opened for carryout only, with items like Ebi Tempura Moriawase, Salmon Teriyaki, etc., among numerous Japanese food items seldom seen at other such dining spots … Also, many styles of noodles, which are second to rice as Japan’s favorite staple. Those who stay away from sushi because they think it contains raw fish should be told that not all sushi is such … There are many types of sushi that are

not raw fish, like cream cheese, steamed lobster, smoked salmon, fried shrimp, imitation crab meat, cucumbers, fried oysters, etc. … Sushi is healthy and rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, plus being low in fat … Sashimi is the mistaken name identity. The former elegant mansion is certainly to be admired, with its classic blend of New England and Georgian décor stylings … As Shiro Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar, its food selections, goodness and presentations are also presently noted as having their own fine distinctions. OLDIE BUT GOODIE … Three Jewish gents came to America and, as so often happened in those days, immigration officers simplified their names … They were recorded as Diamond, Gold and Taylor … Years later, they met and asked how each was doing … Diamond said, “With my name I started a jewelry store.

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Now there are Diamond Jewelers all over the country.” Gold replied, “I started the Gold Ornaments Shop, and the branches have spread. Now I am a millionaire.” “With me it wasn’t so simple,” said Taylor. “I started a clothing store, worked hard but it failed. My family was starving. So, I prayed to God, “Oh Lord, help me to prosper. Lord, if you do, I’ll promise to give you 50 percent of the profits.” “Did it work?” asked Diamond and Gold. “Did it work?” said Taylor. “You never heard of Lord and Taylor?” CONGRATS … To Heidi Press on her birthday … To David Blatt on his birthday … To Fran Seasons on her birthday … To Seymour (Sy) and Pearl Manello on their anniversary.

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DECEMBER 24 • 2020

Looking Back

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

A Giant Name in Retail

recently read about the passing of Charles “Chuck” Himelhoch on Dec. 7, 2020. He was 101, the last son of the founder of Detroit’s famous Himelhoch’s department store. By all accounts, Charles Himelhoch was a great guy, a mensch, who worked as a stock boy, salesman, coat buyer and in other positions within the company before eventually serving three decades as its CEO. His daughter, Carol, related that he was an “idea man,” but most of all, Charles “put other people first.” Mike Smith Charles Himelhoch’s story Alene and is very interesting to me. I Graham Landau Archivist Chair have reviewed thousands of historic pages of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle and the JN in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History, and I can tell you that, beginning in 1919, many issues of these publications have something in common: advertisements for Himelhoch’s. The story of Himelhoch’s is a history of Detroit, of Jews in the city and of a Jewish family. It is also a classic history of Jewish entrepreneurship in America. In 1873, Wolf Himelhoch and his family immigrated from Latvia, then a province of Russia, and settled in Michigan’s thumb area. There, like many early Jewish immigrants, he sold goods from a push cart between Caro and Bay City. Himelhoch opened his first store in Caro in 1876. In 1907, the first B. Himelhoch’s in Detroit opened on Woodward Avenue, next to Hudson’s, across the street from B. Siegel’s. A few years later, as Hudson’s expanded, Himelhoch’s moved into its iconic seven-story building at 1545 Woodward. Along with B. Siegel, Alberts, Hudson’s and Winkleman’s — to name just a few stores — Himelhoch’s was one of the anchors of Downtown Detroit shopping and, nationally, a rec-

DECEMBER 24 • 2020

ognized leader for women’s fashion. Himelhoch’s was a great success in Detroit. As the city expanded during the first 50 years of the 20th century, so did Himelhoch’s. In the early 1950s, the company opened branch stores in Birmingham, Grosse Pointe and in Northland Mall. Eventually, Himelhoch’s was a chain of seven stores. By now, the company also sold clothing for men and children, cosmetics and other products, including its famous “buttermilk” soap. To say the least, Himelhoch’s was a leader. Once through the doors of the store, a shopper would find the latest trend-setting fashions, an expert sales staff and innovative retailing. Most significant, Himelhoch’s supported the work of new young designers; among them were Calvin Klein and Estee Lauder. Sadly, as the city of Detroit lost population and experienced economic decline, Himelhoch’s could not survive. The Downtown store closed in 1979. This flagship store was renovated into an apartment building that still exists today. There is, however, a happy ending to this story. In 2018, Himelhoch’s reopened as an online retailer, managed by the fourth generation of the family, Carol Himelhoch. It still features the latest fashions, and Himelhoch’s continues to promote the work of emerging new designers from Detroit and around the world. I love the old advertisements that I find in the Davidson Archive, for Himelhoch’s, the many hundreds of other stores and products. Here are a few ads and a good story from the June 14, 2012 JN: “Remembering the Retailers.” Fun reading. Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

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Articles inside

Soul

Raskin

Looking Back

Celebrity Jews

Dancing Forward

Moments

More Chanukah Art Winners

My (Big, Fat) Joyful, Tearful Polish Wedding

Faces & Places

Local Rabbi Goes Viral on TikTok

New WSU Press Director Sees “Position to Succeed

Balance Boxes

Detroit Jews for Justice Celebrates Detroit Moratorium on Water Shutoffs

A Crafty Way to Relieve Stress

An Unknown Mishpachah

Oak Park Couple Make Aliyah, Join Children and Grandkids