By Shayla Mostyn This year marks 13 years of Jewish academia at Eastern Michigan University. EMU’s Center for Jewish Studies provides Jewish students, staff, and faculty with a space for their voices to be heard and for unique educational opportunities to be explored. In addition to offering a Jewish Studies minor, advanced undergraduate research opportunities,…
By Esther J. Terry A version of this article was delivered as a d’var Torah at the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan on November 8, 2025/17 Cheshvan 5786. Seven years ago, the 18th of Cheshvan fell on October 27 in the Gregorian calendar. The parashah that morning was Vayeira, which includes both the birth of Yitzchak…
By Murray Rosenthal Genesis of Ann Arbor, a long-standing equal partnership between Temple Beth Emeth and St. Clare’s Episcopal Church, has taken another bold step toward sustainability by expanding its solar energy system. Genesis’s original installation consisted of 160 panels which were mounted on the south-facing roof of the office building and the flat social…
The highly acclaimed 2023 documentary, Nathan-ism, examines the fraught relationships between art and life as well as memory and history. This film follows Nathan Hilu, the son of Syrian Jewish immigrants to New York, who, at the end of World War II, received a life-changing assignment from the U.S. Army: to guard the top Nazi…
By Drew Coel, Marketing and Program Associate, Ann Arbor JCC For the first time in several years, the JCC is delighted to bring a group show back to the Amster Gallery, with the reception taking place on Thursday, September 18, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. This exhibit will feature the work of seven talented artists…
By Ari Smith At the July 17 book launch for Ann Arbor resident Ken Wachsberger’s memoir Thumbs Up: Memoir of a Joyful Organizer, Wachsberger lived up to the title of his newest book, chatting with each attendee with such excitement that it was difficult to tell who he’d already known beforehand. Wachsberger is a well-known…
By Dvora Schulman On September 8, the Ann Arbor Jewish community will gather for a once-in-a-generation celebration: the 50th Anniversary Gala of Chabad House of Ann Arbor. Held at the historic Michigan Union, the evening event will honor five decades of vibrant Jewish life and the unwavering leadership of Rabbi Aharon and Esther Goldstein, who…
By Emily Eisbruch When Rav Gavrielle Pescador, the spiritual leader of the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (AARC), announced the congregation’s “Year of Water” in early 2025, congregants were intrigued. “It sounds promising,” was the common sentiment. “Water, a symbol of life, renewal, and transformation, flows through the heart of Jewish tradition,” said Rav Gavrielle. “From…
By Orit Aviran Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor is seeking support for a dedicated Music & Art Studio designed to provide a permanent home for the artistic and musical expression of students from its Gan (kindergarten) through fifth grade. The initiative comes on the heels of the school’s successful 50th anniversary celebrations and the…
By Eliana Adler, Etta Heisler, and Mira Sussman In an era when many summer camps are run by career administrators, Camp Tavor stands apart. At this Jewish summer camp in Michigan, the head counselor might be just 23 years old, and campers as young as eight participate in community-wide decisions. This distinctive approach to youth…