1 00:00:08,733 --> 00:00:11,466 (tranquil music) 2 00:00:12,933 --> 00:00:14,733 - [Beth] I'm just always in my mind, I have that verse. 3 00:00:14,733 --> 00:00:19,233 Not always, but whenever I am able to be conscious of this, 4 00:00:19,233 --> 00:00:21,133 teach me to number my days 5 00:00:21,133 --> 00:00:24,200 so that I may attain a heart of wisdom, 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:25,800 and I'm still working on that. 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:27,733 - [Jonathan] Welcome to my synagogue. 8 00:00:27,733 --> 00:00:31,233 - But I know one thing to be true and wise is that- 9 00:00:31,233 --> 00:00:33,633 - [Jonathan] That's my sister Beth, a cantor. 10 00:00:33,633 --> 00:00:36,133 - It's all about the people and the connections as- 11 00:00:36,133 --> 00:00:38,233 - [Jonathan] These are my parents. 12 00:00:38,233 --> 00:00:40,833 - And to be able to be here in the good times, 13 00:00:40,833 --> 00:00:42,300 in the bad times- 14 00:00:42,300 --> 00:00:43,666 - [Jonathan] Cross the aisle are the Kirshenbaums. 15 00:00:43,666 --> 00:00:46,000 Dear friends who, in the most meaningful way, 16 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:47,733 are family as well. 17 00:00:47,733 --> 00:00:49,033 - Lived in this building 18 00:00:49,033 --> 00:00:51,300 and to be able to be here right now. 19 00:00:51,300 --> 00:00:53,200 - [Jonathan] In this sheol, Temple B'Nai Shalom, 20 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,800 in the small city of Benton Harbor, Michigan 21 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:56,866 is where I grew up. 22 00:00:58,100 --> 00:01:01,266 (singing in a foreign language) 23 00:01:01,266 --> 00:01:04,033 Beth leads us in Hineh Ma Tov, 24 00:01:04,033 --> 00:01:06,466 a song which, in Hebrew, means how wonderful 25 00:01:06,466 --> 00:01:08,200 it is for us all to be together. 26 00:01:11,033 --> 00:01:13,066 It's true, it is wonderful 27 00:01:16,033 --> 00:01:18,600 but the emotions beneath are complex. 28 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,666 There's sadness, a sense of loss and even fear 29 00:01:21,666 --> 00:01:23,300 about what will become of the community 30 00:01:23,300 --> 00:01:24,900 my parents and grandparents 31 00:01:24,900 --> 00:01:27,300 and generations of Jews before me created. 32 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,200 And there's also a profound irony. 33 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,333 Our parents' generation forged us 34 00:01:36,333 --> 00:01:38,400 into becoming the people we are, 35 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,100 all committed on some level 36 00:01:40,100 --> 00:01:41,833 to our Jewish heritage and faith. 37 00:01:44,633 --> 00:01:46,133 And with all that, 38 00:01:46,133 --> 00:01:48,566 we ended up doing what they encouraged us to do. 39 00:01:48,566 --> 00:01:49,366 We left. 40 00:01:50,766 --> 00:01:52,300 And though we come back to visit, 41 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:55,633 we cannot help but wonder, will it live on? 42 00:01:56,866 --> 00:02:00,966 (Beth singing in a foreign language) 43 00:02:11,100 --> 00:02:13,500 (waves crashing) 44 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:16,066 (serene music) 45 00:02:47,366 --> 00:02:50,166 I'm Jonathan Levin and as funny as it may seem, 46 00:02:50,166 --> 00:02:52,100 now I'm an immigrant. 47 00:02:52,100 --> 00:02:55,233 Some years ago I moved with most of my family to Israel. 48 00:02:55,233 --> 00:02:58,700 Now Haifa, the country's third largest city, is my home. 49 00:03:01,533 --> 00:03:03,133 I'm a clinical social worker. 50 00:03:03,133 --> 00:03:05,866 In the virtual age I work in the modern way. 51 00:03:05,866 --> 00:03:08,533 I see clients online, the majority from the U.S., 52 00:03:08,533 --> 00:03:10,800 and can do that from just about anywhere. 53 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,166 (serene music) 54 00:03:14,166 --> 00:03:15,700 I've adjusted. 55 00:03:15,700 --> 00:03:18,200 Life in Israel is another world from Benton Harbor, 56 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,066 a place where being Jewish is a given, the norm. 57 00:03:24,700 --> 00:03:26,200 I mean, over the course of my life 58 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,200 I've gone from being part of a minority, 59 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,100 now I'm part of a majority. 60 00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:32,600 When I was young it was my family, my friends, 61 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,266 and my synagogue that supported my Jewish identity. 62 00:03:35,266 --> 00:03:37,100 Now it's my entire country. 63 00:03:37,100 --> 00:03:39,200 A lot of that's comforting, but some isn't. 64 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,166 Becoming an Israeli has taken me far from my origins. 65 00:03:46,533 --> 00:03:49,333 That distance is what got me to tell this story. 66 00:03:49,333 --> 00:03:52,833 It just came upon me, the idea that my roots, my family, 67 00:03:52,833 --> 00:03:54,400 and my family friends, 68 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,400 it all stems from this core connection to Benton Harbor. 69 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:58,800 A connection between my mom 70 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,933 and someone who's really close to her, 71 00:04:00,933 --> 00:04:02,500 someone who from a long time ago 72 00:04:02,500 --> 00:04:04,566 was just another kid in the neighborhood. 73 00:04:09,233 --> 00:04:10,933 - [Sondra] Aswalds lived next to you, right? 74 00:04:10,933 --> 00:04:12,166 Right there, yeah. 75 00:04:12,166 --> 00:04:14,700 - [David] Yeah, about somewhere in there. 76 00:04:14,700 --> 00:04:17,566 - Do you remember the night that their house burned? 77 00:04:17,566 --> 00:04:19,133 You remember the fire? 78 00:04:19,133 --> 00:04:20,600 - Just vaguely. 79 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,600 - Somehow I remember being awakened. It was wild. 80 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,900 - [Jonathan] On a hot July day, my mother, Sondra Levin, 81 00:04:26,900 --> 00:04:29,766 and her lifelong friend, David Kirshenbaum, 82 00:04:29,766 --> 00:04:33,466 take a walk with me on Thresher Avenue in Benton Harbor. 83 00:04:33,466 --> 00:04:34,633 (upbeat music) This is where they grew up, 84 00:04:34,633 --> 00:04:36,800 right across the street from one another. 85 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,466 Amazingly, they were born just one day apart 86 00:04:39,466 --> 00:04:41,700 in December, 1938. 87 00:04:41,700 --> 00:04:43,033 Was this your driveway? 88 00:04:43,033 --> 00:04:45,533 - [Sondra] I'm thinking it could have been. 89 00:04:45,533 --> 00:04:47,900 It had to have been. Yep. 90 00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:51,833 (upbeat music continues) 91 00:04:51,833 --> 00:04:53,766 - [Jonathan] That's David as a toddler. 92 00:04:55,233 --> 00:04:56,600 That's my mom. 93 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:57,500 Just a baby. 94 00:04:59,733 --> 00:05:02,100 Today, the old houses are gone, 95 00:05:02,100 --> 00:05:03,966 but as they walk the empty lots 96 00:05:03,966 --> 00:05:05,366 they can bring it all back. 97 00:05:07,133 --> 00:05:08,466 - You were another kid on the block 98 00:05:08,466 --> 00:05:10,966 but you were special because you were Jewish. 99 00:05:10,966 --> 00:05:15,966 and I liked you and we played ball together, basically. 100 00:05:17,100 --> 00:05:18,300 And you were there. 101 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:23,566 - There was a certain energy 102 00:05:23,566 --> 00:05:26,100 because of the projects after the war, 103 00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:29,300 the fact that this was, not in most part, 104 00:05:29,300 --> 00:05:33,466 but in a large part, a Jewish community. 105 00:05:33,466 --> 00:05:38,466 Kosher, I mean a synagogue. - Orthodox synagogue. 106 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,033 - Another synagogue down the block, 107 00:05:41,033 --> 00:05:42,633 on Mary City of David there was another synagogue, 108 00:05:42,633 --> 00:05:44,433 which everyone forgets about. 109 00:05:44,433 --> 00:05:45,900 - [Jonathan] It's almost hard to imagine today 110 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:47,400 but these two. 111 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,500 - [David] I want to walk to that back lot. 112 00:05:49,500 --> 00:05:51,733 - [Jonathan] Now pillars in a fading Jewish community 113 00:05:51,733 --> 00:05:53,100 grew up in a thriving one. 114 00:05:56,433 --> 00:05:59,000 By the fifties many of the Jews in Benton Harbor 115 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,033 owned retail businesses. 116 00:06:01,033 --> 00:06:04,500 But well before that, in the early 20th century, 117 00:06:04,500 --> 00:06:06,000 Jews escaping Eastern Europe 118 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,500 where they couldn't own land, 119 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:09,800 were attracted to places where they could. 120 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:11,900 For some families here one of the things 121 00:06:11,900 --> 00:06:13,133 that brought their ancestors 122 00:06:13,133 --> 00:06:15,600 to the southwest of Michigan was farming. 123 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,233 - Yeah, that would be a strange thing, 124 00:06:18,233 --> 00:06:20,733 for the typical Jewish American kid 125 00:06:20,733 --> 00:06:23,866 to know anything about Jews and farming 126 00:06:25,266 --> 00:06:27,266 and those were skills that they may have brought 127 00:06:27,266 --> 00:06:29,300 from the old country and in some cases, 128 00:06:29,300 --> 00:06:32,700 I think, that they just adopted that when they got here. 129 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:35,600 (upbeat music) 130 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,233 Grandpa was a farmer. 131 00:06:38,766 --> 00:06:40,166 He was really a blacksmith. 132 00:06:41,333 --> 00:06:46,133 And when he came over and landed in New York, 133 00:06:47,766 --> 00:06:50,733 he came with the skills of really knowing 134 00:06:50,733 --> 00:06:52,966 how to make mattresses. 135 00:06:52,966 --> 00:06:55,300 Blacksmithing and those kinds of things, metalworking, 136 00:06:55,300 --> 00:06:57,966 and he elected to come to southwestern Michigan 137 00:06:57,966 --> 00:06:59,666 and to take up the only thing that he could here, 138 00:06:59,666 --> 00:07:01,300 there was not enough money in blacksmithing 139 00:07:01,300 --> 00:07:03,000 so he went into farming. 140 00:07:05,833 --> 00:07:07,800 - [Jonathan] Benton Harbor and its neighboring city, 141 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,500 St. Joseph, are along the fruit belt in southwest Michigan. 142 00:07:11,500 --> 00:07:13,200 Farming was, and still is, (insects chirping) 143 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,033 part of the landscape. 144 00:07:15,033 --> 00:07:17,666 But less known is that for a good part of the 20th century, 145 00:07:17,666 --> 00:07:21,033 Jewish farmers and Jewish businesses that supported farming, 146 00:07:21,033 --> 00:07:22,300 were in the mix. 147 00:07:22,300 --> 00:07:24,266 That included my grandfather. 148 00:07:24,266 --> 00:07:27,833 - My dad's name was Maurice B Gelder 149 00:07:27,833 --> 00:07:32,833 and he worked in the family business almost all of his life. 150 00:07:34,133 --> 00:07:35,733 He was the parts manager 151 00:07:35,733 --> 00:07:38,433 at Louis Gelder and Sons in Millburg. 152 00:07:38,433 --> 00:07:43,433 He was the third generation of sons. 153 00:07:44,300 --> 00:07:47,066 They sold tractors, spray rigs, 154 00:07:47,066 --> 00:07:50,733 anything associated with the physical act of farming. 155 00:07:50,733 --> 00:07:52,233 At the synagogue, as we were there, 156 00:07:52,233 --> 00:07:55,266 we were at the Rosenberg brothers. 157 00:07:55,266 --> 00:07:59,600 - There were probably 20 families 158 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:04,166 with close association to the farming. 159 00:08:04,166 --> 00:08:05,700 (upbeat music) 160 00:08:05,700 --> 00:08:06,900 - [Jonathan] But for some like, Mendel Kirshenbaum, 161 00:08:06,900 --> 00:08:08,633 patriarch of the Kirshenbaum family, 162 00:08:08,633 --> 00:08:10,666 farming was never a good fit. 163 00:08:10,666 --> 00:08:13,666 - What I'd heard was that Mendel, my great-grandfather, 164 00:08:15,666 --> 00:08:18,500 I think on weekends, on Shabbat, 165 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:21,400 convened the Jewish farmers for Talmud study, 166 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,266 but not a lot of talk about farming skills. 167 00:08:24,266 --> 00:08:26,366 So my grandfather didn't graduate, 168 00:08:26,366 --> 00:08:27,600 he didn't go past eighth grade, 169 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,966 and he left to go work for a truck driver 170 00:08:30,966 --> 00:08:35,500 and as he talked about, we were cold and hungry 171 00:08:36,633 --> 00:08:39,366 and I think there might have been a feeling 172 00:08:39,366 --> 00:08:41,166 that they wished Mendel would've focused 173 00:08:41,166 --> 00:08:42,400 a little more on the farming 174 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,166 and maybe a little less on the Talmud. 175 00:08:44,166 --> 00:08:46,766 (upbeat music) 176 00:08:48,166 --> 00:08:52,433 - He didn't make enough money even to raise his family. 177 00:08:52,433 --> 00:08:53,300 They all left. 178 00:08:54,466 --> 00:08:58,666 My dad ended up a driving truck 179 00:08:58,666 --> 00:09:02,400 and went to the McAllen Valley in Texas for a while. 180 00:09:05,366 --> 00:09:06,866 And it was hard. 181 00:09:06,866 --> 00:09:08,900 It was just a hard life for him. For all of them. 182 00:09:10,366 --> 00:09:13,266 (orchestral music) 183 00:09:14,766 --> 00:09:16,966 - [Jonathan] Despite these hardships, our grandparents, 184 00:09:16,966 --> 00:09:18,666 like many Americans of that era, 185 00:09:18,666 --> 00:09:21,066 were a launchpad for the next generation. 186 00:09:21,066 --> 00:09:22,900 They encouraged education 187 00:09:22,900 --> 00:09:25,566 and gave up a lot for their kids to get one. 188 00:09:25,566 --> 00:09:29,400 My dad, Al Levin, was one of the few Jews from Decatur, 189 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:31,200 a small town nearby. 190 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,433 My parents briefly met at a Jewish youth group 191 00:09:33,433 --> 00:09:34,966 during their high school years 192 00:09:34,966 --> 00:09:37,766 and like my mom, he went to the University of Michigan 193 00:09:37,766 --> 00:09:40,400 and for them, that's where it all began. 194 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,200 - And she actually called me 195 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,566 and asked me to one of her dorm dances. 196 00:09:48,733 --> 00:09:50,766 That's what kind of started our. 197 00:09:50,766 --> 00:09:53,000 - Were you surprised to get a phone call from her? 198 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,666 - I would've been surprised to get a call from anybody 199 00:09:55,666 --> 00:09:59,566 from the opposite sex, to tell you the truth. 200 00:09:59,566 --> 00:10:01,366 (upbeat music) 201 00:10:01,366 --> 00:10:03,900 - [Jonathan] That call led to a first date. 202 00:10:03,900 --> 00:10:07,200 Within six months things were getting serious. 203 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,633 And do you remember a time during those six months of, 204 00:10:10,633 --> 00:10:12,566 "Huh, I'm in love with this guy," 205 00:10:12,566 --> 00:10:14,533 or, "I'm in love with her," do you remember that at all? 206 00:10:14,533 --> 00:10:16,700 - I do. - I do, yeah. 207 00:10:16,700 --> 00:10:18,133 - It felt different? 208 00:10:18,133 --> 00:10:20,433 - It felt different. It wasn't casual anymore. 209 00:10:20,433 --> 00:10:22,800 - Yeah I think, I remember one time, 210 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,566 just when we were dating, 211 00:10:25,566 --> 00:10:28,200 we were taking a walk around campus or something 212 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:33,200 and we had a very serious talk about where this was going 213 00:10:34,433 --> 00:10:35,966 and I think we realized (violin music) 214 00:10:35,966 --> 00:10:40,533 that it was gonna be a forever thing, right. 215 00:10:41,633 --> 00:10:43,100 - That must have been exciting. 216 00:10:43,100 --> 00:10:47,733 - It was. When you realize that you're in love. 217 00:10:51,266 --> 00:10:54,533 - [Jonathan] In 1961, my parents were married. 218 00:10:54,533 --> 00:10:56,133 Around the same time, 219 00:10:56,133 --> 00:10:59,533 David Kirshenbaum was getting fixed up on a date in Chicago 220 00:10:59,533 --> 00:11:02,100 to a young woman named Elaine Shankerman. 221 00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:07,100 - It was a really blustery, wet snow kind of a day 222 00:11:08,300 --> 00:11:11,833 and this cute guy comes to the door 223 00:11:11,833 --> 00:11:16,233 and sits down on the couch to wait for me to come out, 224 00:11:16,233 --> 00:11:19,200 I wasn't ready, getting dressed yet 225 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,933 and I came out in my little outfit 226 00:11:21,933 --> 00:11:25,100 and with my little cutaway shoes 227 00:11:25,100 --> 00:11:29,533 that I got in downtown Chicago 228 00:11:29,533 --> 00:11:31,666 and he looked at me and he said, 229 00:11:33,133 --> 00:11:35,966 "Why are you in that kind of a shoe in this weather? 230 00:11:35,966 --> 00:11:39,766 "That's ridiculous." (everyone laughing) 231 00:11:39,766 --> 00:11:42,533 And I thought right away, I like this guy. 232 00:11:46,033 --> 00:11:49,100 - [Jonathan] David and Elaine were married in 1963. 233 00:11:49,100 --> 00:11:52,100 At the time, Southwest Michigan was a surprisingly good fit 234 00:11:52,100 --> 00:11:55,833 for young Jewish couples, especially those with family here. 235 00:11:55,833 --> 00:11:58,766 Years later, Bob and Diane Yampolsky 236 00:11:58,766 --> 00:12:00,333 would get married at the synagogue 237 00:12:00,333 --> 00:12:03,433 and for them it was not a hard decision to stay. 238 00:12:03,433 --> 00:12:06,533 - The heart of Benton Harbor was it's businesses, 239 00:12:06,533 --> 00:12:09,533 it had a lot of Jewish merchants, grocery stores, 240 00:12:09,533 --> 00:12:13,600 it was a strong community 241 00:12:15,033 --> 00:12:16,766 and at that time, 242 00:12:16,766 --> 00:12:18,433 I think at one time we had like, 243 00:12:18,433 --> 00:12:22,000 well throughout the county, we had 215 Jewish families. 244 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,800 And at one point, I know my folks belonged 245 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,700 to all three congregations. (upbeat music) 246 00:12:31,833 --> 00:12:33,100 - [Jonathan] As the couples joined, 247 00:12:33,100 --> 00:12:35,000 there was another union in the making 248 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,000 but this had all the makings of an uneasy marriage. 249 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,333 So at that point, 250 00:12:39,333 --> 00:12:41,633 there were two main congregations in Benton Harbor. 251 00:12:41,633 --> 00:12:44,100 Temple Bethel, which was reform. 252 00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:47,000 And Children of Israel, which was conservative. 253 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,000 And as it turns out, my grandfather and my dad 254 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,033 were part of secret negotiations 255 00:12:52,033 --> 00:12:54,333 to merge the two synagogues. 256 00:12:54,333 --> 00:12:57,733 - I think we all realized that neither congregation 257 00:12:57,733 --> 00:13:00,500 was gonna grow that much all by itself 258 00:13:00,500 --> 00:13:05,166 so we put this together and we actually kept it secret 259 00:13:05,166 --> 00:13:09,300 from the boards of both congregation 260 00:13:09,300 --> 00:13:14,066 until they called meetings for both congregation 261 00:13:14,066 --> 00:13:19,066 the same night and presented the articles of a merger. 262 00:13:21,833 --> 00:13:24,033 - [Jonathan] To non-Jews, merging two synagogues 263 00:13:24,033 --> 00:13:26,733 might seem like no big deal, but it was. 264 00:13:27,833 --> 00:13:30,100 Jack Keller, a prominent local attorney 265 00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:32,066 and longtime member of the synagogue, 266 00:13:32,066 --> 00:13:34,166 was part of the merger deal. 267 00:13:34,166 --> 00:13:38,333 - We were proud because I don't think there's 268 00:13:38,333 --> 00:13:43,266 a lot of communities where congregations of differences 269 00:13:43,266 --> 00:13:46,966 gelled and came together and I wanted to be part of that. 270 00:13:46,966 --> 00:13:48,700 - And you helped create that. 271 00:13:48,700 --> 00:13:51,200 - And that was my focus. 272 00:13:54,733 --> 00:13:58,400 - [Jonathan] It worked. (singers vocalizing) 273 00:13:58,400 --> 00:13:59,733 Even though the merger represented 274 00:13:59,733 --> 00:14:01,833 the shrinking of two congregations, 275 00:14:01,833 --> 00:14:04,066 it ended up creating a stronger one. 276 00:14:04,066 --> 00:14:06,066 Temple B'Nai Shalom was dedicated 277 00:14:06,066 --> 00:14:09,566 on the corner of Broadway and Delaware in 1962. 278 00:14:09,566 --> 00:14:11,133 - My aunts and uncles went there. 279 00:14:11,133 --> 00:14:13,133 Bob and Sybil's brother went there. 280 00:14:13,133 --> 00:14:14,266 - So it brought families together. 281 00:14:14,266 --> 00:14:16,666 - It brought our family totally together 282 00:14:16,666 --> 00:14:18,266 and we could do more things. 283 00:14:18,266 --> 00:14:23,200 Instead of having two separate Purim carnivals, both small, 284 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,633 that we could have one really nice one, that is an example. 285 00:14:26,633 --> 00:14:28,866 And I loved the service. 286 00:14:28,866 --> 00:14:31,900 I mean, I had no problem with the service at all. 287 00:14:31,900 --> 00:14:35,000 (singers vocalizing) 288 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:39,733 - [Jonathan] By the time my generation came along 289 00:14:39,733 --> 00:14:40,933 there was definitely a sense 290 00:14:40,933 --> 00:14:42,900 that though we were a tiny minority, 291 00:14:42,900 --> 00:14:45,000 we were a strong, tight-knit group. 292 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,466 - So when I think about growing up here 293 00:14:47,466 --> 00:14:48,733 in this Jewish community, 294 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:54,733 I think about, in a sense, being raised by a village 295 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,200 in the way that we talk about it, 296 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:03,200 the cliche of, it takes a village, and I actually had that. 297 00:15:04,633 --> 00:15:06,733 So I've had occasion to actually try 298 00:15:06,733 --> 00:15:09,066 to describe the components of that, 299 00:15:09,066 --> 00:15:13,200 like how it was that I grew up feeling so taken care of 300 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,433 by many families and how the way 301 00:15:16,433 --> 00:15:19,300 that the families of Temple B'Nai Shalom 302 00:15:19,300 --> 00:15:21,966 conceived of community for real. 303 00:15:21,966 --> 00:15:25,033 (singers vocalizing) 304 00:15:27,500 --> 00:15:30,300 - What I talk about now a lot 305 00:15:31,433 --> 00:15:35,333 in my 30 years in the Jewish community, 306 00:15:35,333 --> 00:15:37,933 is that in some ways 307 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,633 I have been recreating this 308 00:15:43,633 --> 00:15:46,300 in the community that I'm in now, 309 00:15:47,833 --> 00:15:51,366 that sense of, this is a place that can hold you, 310 00:15:51,366 --> 00:15:53,200 this is a place that can know you, 311 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,900 and I learned it all here. 312 00:15:56,900 --> 00:16:00,133 (singers vocalizing) 313 00:16:00,133 --> 00:16:02,300 - [Jonathan] For both the Levins and the Kirshenbaums 314 00:16:02,300 --> 00:16:05,566 there were multiple generations all in one place. 315 00:16:05,566 --> 00:16:07,300 - When we moved back to Benton Harbor, 316 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:11,233 I definitely entered into the Jewish life 317 00:16:11,233 --> 00:16:15,100 and belonged to the temple and Sisterhood Odessa. 318 00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:16,366 - [Jonathan] In neighboring St. Joseph 319 00:16:16,366 --> 00:16:18,900 there was my Aunt Cindy, my mom's younger sister, 320 00:16:18,900 --> 00:16:21,766 my Uncle Andy, and their three kids, my cousins. 321 00:16:21,766 --> 00:16:24,200 - It was a wonderful time to raise children. 322 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,300 It wasn't a big Jewish community. 323 00:16:26,300 --> 00:16:30,000 The Sunday school classes were very, very small. 324 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,666 Did my children have Jewish friends? Yes, a few. 325 00:16:34,666 --> 00:16:38,166 (singers vocalizing) 326 00:16:38,166 --> 00:16:40,733 - I think it came very, very natural to us 327 00:16:42,066 --> 00:16:45,266 to see the progression of the kids 328 00:16:45,266 --> 00:16:48,666 from just going to Sunday school, 329 00:16:48,666 --> 00:16:51,366 doing their bar and bat mitzvahs, 330 00:16:51,366 --> 00:16:56,366 and then continuing on leading a Jewish themed life. 331 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,366 (singers vocalizing) 332 00:17:01,366 --> 00:17:04,766 It was wonderful being part of it. It really was. 333 00:17:11,066 --> 00:17:13,800 (waves crashing) 334 00:17:18,366 --> 00:17:20,966 (serene music) 335 00:17:37,766 --> 00:17:38,700 - [Jonathan] Haifa. 336 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:42,266 It might sound funny 337 00:17:42,266 --> 00:17:45,233 because Haifa is such a big and culturally different place. 338 00:17:45,233 --> 00:17:47,900 6,000 miles away from where I was raised. 339 00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:50,966 But for me, it's hard not to stand by the Mediterranean 340 00:17:50,966 --> 00:17:54,000 looking west and think about Benton Harbor. 341 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,900 Sometimes I think I'm looking out over Lake Michigan. 342 00:17:56,900 --> 00:18:00,366 (serene music continues) 343 00:18:10,533 --> 00:18:13,500 There too is a parallel kind of natural beauty. 344 00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:15,300 Benton Harbor sits along Lake Michigan 345 00:18:15,300 --> 00:18:16,800 where the beaches are stunning 346 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,200 and the sun sets into the horizon over the water. 347 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,066 But there is more to know. 348 00:18:23,066 --> 00:18:25,633 For many, Benton Harbor is more associated 349 00:18:25,633 --> 00:18:27,600 with its struggles than anything else. 350 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,833 Historically, it was a hub for manufacturing, 351 00:18:32,833 --> 00:18:34,166 partly in the automotive world, 352 00:18:34,166 --> 00:18:37,800 but mostly around one huge company, Whirlpool. 353 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:39,266 The headquarters of Whirlpool, 354 00:18:39,266 --> 00:18:41,033 a giant in appliance making, 355 00:18:41,033 --> 00:18:43,700 has remained in Benton Harbor since its founding 356 00:18:43,700 --> 00:18:47,400 but over time, white flight and changes in manufacturing 357 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,066 left Benton Harbor with fewer resources. 358 00:18:50,066 --> 00:18:53,100 - I think downtown Benton Harbor, 359 00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:56,366 back in the 1940s and fifties, 360 00:18:56,366 --> 00:18:58,333 and right through the early sixties, 361 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:04,600 I would say 50% of the retail businesses were Jewish owned. 362 00:19:06,033 --> 00:19:09,300 So it was very much, very much like what you read in books 363 00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:13,200 actually, about the Jewish downtown 364 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,166 and the different family owned businesses. 365 00:19:17,166 --> 00:19:20,633 It was still viable and going very strong 366 00:19:20,633 --> 00:19:25,633 when we first got married and moved back here 367 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:31,100 but then it declined rapidly in the 1960s. 368 00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:35,900 (serene music) 369 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:40,633 - [Jonathan] By the seventies, 370 00:19:40,633 --> 00:19:43,533 Benton Harbor was mostly African American and lower income. 371 00:19:43,533 --> 00:19:44,866 Just across the river, 372 00:19:44,866 --> 00:19:47,633 St. Joseph was mostly white and middle class. 373 00:19:47,633 --> 00:19:50,333 In Michigan, the twin cities, as they were called, 374 00:19:50,333 --> 00:19:53,200 were known for their racial and economic divide. 375 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:55,800 (serene music) 376 00:19:57,233 --> 00:19:59,900 Through the years, a lot was done to turn things around 377 00:19:59,900 --> 00:20:01,566 and there have been successes. 378 00:20:03,566 --> 00:20:05,100 But on a summer weekend, 379 00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:07,933 the contrast between the two communities is pretty stark. 380 00:20:07,933 --> 00:20:11,000 As children, that complex history weighed on us. 381 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:19,133 - So growing up Jewish in this town 382 00:20:19,133 --> 00:20:23,033 was a strange experience, as we all experienced, 383 00:20:23,033 --> 00:20:24,166 the only Jewish kid in this class 384 00:20:24,166 --> 00:20:26,400 and that class and whatever. 385 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,033 But what I remember is that I was clear 386 00:20:30,033 --> 00:20:32,333 that I was anchored somewhere. 387 00:20:32,333 --> 00:20:33,900 I remember like everybody else made 388 00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:36,166 the Christmas trees out of the felt 389 00:20:36,166 --> 00:20:40,100 and I was very clear that I was to say that I don't do that. 390 00:20:43,566 --> 00:20:45,200 I don't have a memory of being embarrassed. 391 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,466 I have a memory of being clear. This is who I am. 392 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,533 - The synagogue was always my favorite place to be 393 00:20:56,533 --> 00:21:01,500 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 394 00:21:02,900 --> 00:21:07,200 and I am probably one of the only people who enjoyed 395 00:21:08,333 --> 00:21:09,600 going to Hebrew school and Sunday School 396 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:14,366 and immediately felt the importance of community 397 00:21:14,366 --> 00:21:19,366 and felt so safe and enjoyed the sense of belonging 398 00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:25,100 from as early as I can remember 399 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:29,433 and just having so much fun with our friends 400 00:21:29,433 --> 00:21:32,966 and I just wanted to keep coming. 401 00:21:32,966 --> 00:21:37,966 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 402 00:21:40,100 --> 00:21:41,933 - Beth means the world to me. 403 00:21:41,933 --> 00:21:44,000 When I turned 13 and she was 16, 404 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,800 and I was her first bat mitzvah student. 405 00:21:48,833 --> 00:21:49,800 - I did not know that. 406 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,166 - She'd just gotten her license 407 00:21:54,433 --> 00:21:58,066 and I was a really good bat mitzvah student, as she said, 408 00:21:58,066 --> 00:22:00,633 and we'd sit in the library and I would show her 409 00:22:00,633 --> 00:22:02,466 that I knew all my stuff and she'd be like, 410 00:22:02,466 --> 00:22:03,933 "Okay, let's go. Let's go driving," 411 00:22:03,933 --> 00:22:07,966 and so we'd ditch the lesson, my parents never knew, 412 00:22:07,966 --> 00:22:10,766 and she'd like drive around with her new license 413 00:22:11,966 --> 00:22:14,466 and that was the beginning of our- 414 00:22:14,466 --> 00:22:15,700 - Of your long conversation. 415 00:22:15,700 --> 00:22:17,833 - It was beginning of a long conversation. 416 00:22:17,833 --> 00:22:21,000 (group chatter) 417 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,300 - [Jonathan] That conversation has never been far 418 00:22:23,300 --> 00:22:25,966 from the central topic of what shaped our lives. 419 00:22:25,966 --> 00:22:28,466 No doubt growing up, we had each other, 420 00:22:28,466 --> 00:22:30,766 but our parents wanted more for us. 421 00:22:30,766 --> 00:22:33,466 - But we made sure, we tried to make sure, 422 00:22:33,466 --> 00:22:38,466 that you were exposed to other Jewish experiences like camp. 423 00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:42,666 Camp was, to us, a Jewish camp was very important 424 00:22:42,666 --> 00:22:44,166 for you to go to 425 00:22:44,166 --> 00:22:48,633 and see how the rest of the world lived Jewishly. 426 00:22:48,633 --> 00:22:51,700 (singers vocalizing) 427 00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:55,233 - [Jonathan] A bunch of us went to camp. 428 00:22:55,233 --> 00:22:57,666 Mike Kirshenbaum and I were in the same grade. 429 00:22:57,666 --> 00:22:59,066 Mike did other stuff, 430 00:22:59,066 --> 00:23:01,533 like going to teen conventions run by Young Judea, 431 00:23:01,533 --> 00:23:03,100 a Jewish youth organization. 432 00:23:03,100 --> 00:23:06,266 - So the conventions were actually in hindsight, 433 00:23:06,266 --> 00:23:08,266 kind of meaningful in a way 434 00:23:08,266 --> 00:23:10,433 because it was during adolescence 435 00:23:10,433 --> 00:23:15,433 and it was like being around that many other Jewish kids, 436 00:23:16,833 --> 00:23:18,066 which just didn't happen, we were so small here 437 00:23:18,066 --> 00:23:19,333 and there was a part of it, like, 438 00:23:19,333 --> 00:23:21,366 oh, having a crush on a Jewish girl, 439 00:23:21,366 --> 00:23:24,033 there really weren't opportunities for that here 440 00:23:24,033 --> 00:23:24,966 with our age. 441 00:23:24,966 --> 00:23:26,100 - How'd that go with the girls? 442 00:23:26,100 --> 00:23:27,900 - Not well. (everyone laughing) 443 00:23:27,900 --> 00:23:30,233 I thought about it a lot. Never acted. 444 00:23:30,233 --> 00:23:33,233 It's part of the deal. - It is, until I was like 22. 445 00:23:35,933 --> 00:23:38,433 - So, it did sort of open you up a little bit. 446 00:23:38,433 --> 00:23:40,266 Okay, we were here in Benton Harbor, 447 00:23:40,266 --> 00:23:41,700 sort of comfortable in B'Nai Shalom, 448 00:23:41,700 --> 00:23:44,266 but then we did, you can speak for yourself, 449 00:23:44,266 --> 00:23:46,233 we saw that there was a different world, 450 00:23:46,233 --> 00:23:47,700 there's more out there, there could be more out there. 451 00:23:47,700 --> 00:23:49,000 - And making those connections 452 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,966 to other Jewish youth adolescents, 453 00:23:53,133 --> 00:23:55,133 it wasn't just, oh, the people I know in town, 454 00:23:55,133 --> 00:23:56,466 but this is something common I share 455 00:23:56,466 --> 00:23:58,333 with a lot of people around the world 456 00:23:58,333 --> 00:24:00,933 and this is a way to kind of come together around that, 457 00:24:00,933 --> 00:24:02,766 so that was meaningful in that way. 458 00:24:02,766 --> 00:24:06,333 (singers vocalizing) 459 00:24:06,333 --> 00:24:07,533 - [Jonathan] For my brother, Bruce, 460 00:24:07,533 --> 00:24:09,533 camp was more than meaningful. 461 00:24:09,533 --> 00:24:11,933 It shaped his identity and gave him something 462 00:24:11,933 --> 00:24:13,733 that other parts of his life could not. 463 00:24:13,733 --> 00:24:15,633 It seems like it was almost more your identity 464 00:24:15,633 --> 00:24:18,300 and then going to school and everything else 465 00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:20,166 was sort of secondary in a way. 466 00:24:20,166 --> 00:24:22,066 - It was, it was, I mean, all my friends were like, 467 00:24:22,066 --> 00:24:23,300 even from here were like, 468 00:24:23,300 --> 00:24:25,233 oh, we're not gonna see you in the summer 469 00:24:25,233 --> 00:24:26,433 because you're gonna be at camp. 470 00:24:26,433 --> 00:24:28,033 We're not gonna see you on weekends. 471 00:24:28,033 --> 00:24:32,266 And again, with the full support of mom and dad, 472 00:24:32,266 --> 00:24:34,633 sending their 17 year old, 473 00:24:34,633 --> 00:24:37,133 here take the car for the week and go to Ann Arbor, 474 00:24:37,133 --> 00:24:39,766 plan a convention and come back. 475 00:24:41,433 --> 00:24:42,466 - It was never a question. 476 00:24:42,466 --> 00:24:43,633 - It was never a question 477 00:24:43,633 --> 00:24:44,666 and I probably took it for granted 478 00:24:44,666 --> 00:24:47,433 that this is what people do. 479 00:24:47,433 --> 00:24:52,433 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 480 00:24:53,866 --> 00:24:56,233 - [Jonathan] My sister Beth had other things to consider. 481 00:24:56,233 --> 00:24:59,300 As a teenager, she certainly understood she was Jewish 482 00:24:59,300 --> 00:25:00,866 and she would learn she was gay, 483 00:25:00,866 --> 00:25:03,733 two attributes in a community with little of either. 484 00:25:03,733 --> 00:25:06,200 Was there a sense that you were gonna come back? 485 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,700 Did you know right away that you weren't gonna come back? 486 00:25:09,866 --> 00:25:13,200 - So, I have a deep love for Benton Harbor 487 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:18,200 but I knew that I would not be able to have a life here. 488 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,900 So especially when we were growing up, 489 00:25:21,900 --> 00:25:26,900 this, and now as well, Benton Harbor did not offer, 490 00:25:28,133 --> 00:25:30,300 I mean, I'll speak for me personally, 491 00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:32,600 there was no gay community here. 492 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,400 There was not an LGBT community 493 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:39,400 and I knew that I didn't feel safe on that front 494 00:25:40,133 --> 00:25:41,766 and that there wasn't, 495 00:25:41,766 --> 00:25:44,300 weren't gonna be people to meet and all of that. 496 00:25:44,300 --> 00:25:47,533 So I knew I needed to be in a place 497 00:25:50,500 --> 00:25:52,000 that offered more, 498 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,100 and then of course we know economically and everything. 499 00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:59,600 I knew also that I wanted to work in the Jewish community 500 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:04,066 and that there wasn't enough Jews here for that. 501 00:26:04,066 --> 00:26:06,666 (serene music) 502 00:26:10,833 --> 00:26:14,400 - I can imagine, as a parent, what that must be like. 503 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,833 As a parent, not seeing your kids, 504 00:26:17,833 --> 00:26:21,300 you want them to be happy, you want them to prosper, 505 00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:23,300 you want them to follow their dreams 506 00:26:23,300 --> 00:26:24,500 and you don't wanna hold them back, 507 00:26:24,500 --> 00:26:26,833 you don't want them to be limited 508 00:26:26,833 --> 00:26:28,833 and I think that mom and dad, 509 00:26:28,833 --> 00:26:30,333 as hard as it was for them, 510 00:26:30,333 --> 00:26:33,866 encouraged us to not limit ourselves to being here. 511 00:26:33,866 --> 00:26:35,100 - The cost is that. 512 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:39,533 - And the cost is that this community, 513 00:26:39,533 --> 00:26:42,600 this temple, may not survive because of that. 514 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,166 (serene music) 515 00:26:50,333 --> 00:26:52,000 - What are we doing for dinner tonight? 516 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,766 (group chatter) 517 00:26:54,766 --> 00:26:55,900 - [Jonathan] If you went through a list 518 00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:57,233 of most of the Jewish kids 519 00:26:57,233 --> 00:26:59,300 in Benton Harbor from my generation, 520 00:26:59,300 --> 00:27:01,533 most of us landed somewhere else. 521 00:27:01,533 --> 00:27:03,333 Gayle Kirshenbaum settled in Brooklyn. 522 00:27:03,333 --> 00:27:05,600 Her brother, Mike, in Washington State. 523 00:27:07,300 --> 00:27:11,966 (family speaking in a foreign language) 524 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,166 My sister, Beth, and brother, Bruce, 525 00:27:15,166 --> 00:27:18,566 both live in the Boston area and I'm in Israel. 526 00:27:18,566 --> 00:27:21,200 It wasn't easy for our parents that we all moved away, 527 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:22,766 but they never objected. 528 00:27:22,766 --> 00:27:24,633 - I think all three of you, 529 00:27:24,633 --> 00:27:28,500 what you're doing is very Jewishly oriented. 530 00:27:28,500 --> 00:27:31,366 Beth is the most obvious, 531 00:27:31,366 --> 00:27:34,333 but you and Bruce becoming social workers, 532 00:27:34,333 --> 00:27:36,800 I've always considered social work 533 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:40,566 as being heavily influenced by the prophets. 534 00:27:40,566 --> 00:27:43,700 I mean, they were the ones that told us 535 00:27:43,700 --> 00:27:45,166 to watch out for the widow 536 00:27:45,166 --> 00:27:47,733 and watch out for the stranger and the children 537 00:27:47,733 --> 00:27:51,866 and whether you knew it or not, you're doing that 538 00:27:51,866 --> 00:27:55,766 and we're very proud of what all three of you are doing. 539 00:27:55,766 --> 00:27:58,733 You're carrying the banner of Judaism. 540 00:28:00,133 --> 00:28:02,166 - And it's okay that it's not in Benton Harbor? 541 00:28:02,166 --> 00:28:05,533 - It is, I mean, we'd love to have you in Benton Harbor, 542 00:28:05,533 --> 00:28:09,700 but we didn't really mean for you to go to Israel either. 543 00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:11,866 But it's fine with us. 544 00:28:11,866 --> 00:28:13,600 You're doing what you need to be doing 545 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:18,000 and if you're happy we're happy and we're proud. 546 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,000 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 547 00:28:24,133 --> 00:28:25,066 - [Jonathan] As the kids from my generation 548 00:28:25,066 --> 00:28:26,666 took off to new destinations, 549 00:28:26,666 --> 00:28:29,366 the temple maintained a semi peaceful existence 550 00:28:29,366 --> 00:28:31,566 with just enough new members trickling in 551 00:28:31,566 --> 00:28:32,766 to keep things going, 552 00:28:32,766 --> 00:28:34,833 but even if the future was tenuous, 553 00:28:34,833 --> 00:28:37,300 the community was still making great connections. 554 00:28:40,033 --> 00:28:41,700 - I came to Benton Harbor, 555 00:28:42,633 --> 00:28:46,366 served in, I think it was 1999, 556 00:28:47,533 --> 00:28:52,433 and I felt almost immediately at home. 557 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:55,866 - [Jonathan] Jan Katzew, a scholar in the reform movement, 558 00:28:55,866 --> 00:28:58,400 got an invitation to lead the High Holiday services 559 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,166 in Benton Harbor back in 1999. 560 00:29:01,166 --> 00:29:03,633 He accepted and for more than two decades 561 00:29:03,633 --> 00:29:06,000 he came back every fall to do the same. 562 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,266 - People from this shtetl, 563 00:29:08,266 --> 00:29:12,000 from this very small Jewish community, 564 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,600 in many respects had an international network. 565 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,033 There were leading doctors. 566 00:29:17,033 --> 00:29:22,033 There were surprisingly worldly lawyers and accountants 567 00:29:23,466 --> 00:29:28,433 and teachers and thinkers and I think that my perception, 568 00:29:30,333 --> 00:29:31,900 not just of small town Judaism, 569 00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:36,100 but of small towns in the Midwest in particular, 570 00:29:36,100 --> 00:29:41,100 was exploded by getting to know the human beings there. 571 00:29:42,666 --> 00:29:46,800 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 572 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,666 - [Jonathan] But if spirit was a strength, 573 00:29:48,666 --> 00:29:50,466 demographics were a problem. 574 00:29:50,466 --> 00:29:52,800 For any synagogue service to take place, 575 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,500 Jewish custom calls for a quorum called a minyan 576 00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:58,533 to have at least 10 members in attendance. 577 00:29:58,533 --> 00:30:00,500 - We've lost, over the last couple of years, 578 00:30:00,500 --> 00:30:05,500 we lost several key people who attended services 579 00:30:06,633 --> 00:30:09,000 and it was difficult getting a minyan 580 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,866 before the covid shutdown. 581 00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:17,466 Now we have no idea whether or not, 582 00:30:17,466 --> 00:30:21,133 we figure on Friday night we will have a minyan. 583 00:30:21,133 --> 00:30:23,933 Saturday is gonna be very questionable 584 00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:27,066 and it's gonna take some work 585 00:30:27,066 --> 00:30:31,100 to try to get at least 10 people every Saturday. 586 00:30:31,100 --> 00:30:33,833 - Shabbat shalom everybody. - Shabbat shalom. 587 00:30:33,833 --> 00:30:35,733 - [Jonathan] Once covid did come, 588 00:30:35,733 --> 00:30:38,600 Temple B'Nai Shalom had to adapt, quickly. 589 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,800 For a period of time all services went online. 590 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:44,500 - [Diane] Let us turn to page 13. 591 00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:46,433 - [Jonathan] On a Friday night my mother leads 592 00:30:46,433 --> 00:30:48,533 a Zoom service from the bench of her piano. 593 00:30:49,766 --> 00:30:52,066 - The first two and the last two verses 594 00:30:52,066 --> 00:30:53,000 of the (foreign language). 595 00:30:54,966 --> 00:30:59,933 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 596 00:31:02,966 --> 00:31:05,266 - [Jonathan] The temple no longer has a full-time rabbi 597 00:31:05,266 --> 00:31:07,900 and though there are two part-time rabbis who help, 598 00:31:07,900 --> 00:31:09,300 services are now conducted 599 00:31:09,300 --> 00:31:11,666 mostly by lay leaders like my mom. 600 00:31:11,666 --> 00:31:13,300 - [Diane] But every Friday evening, 601 00:31:13,300 --> 00:31:17,400 we have the opportunity to make the journey anew. 602 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:19,733 - [Jonathan] Diane Yampolsky co-chairs the ritual committee 603 00:31:19,733 --> 00:31:22,000 and co-leads services with my mom. 604 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,033 She recalls a time years ago when she was less involved 605 00:31:25,033 --> 00:31:27,166 and she didn't want to go to services. 606 00:31:27,166 --> 00:31:30,000 But as she got pulled into other synagogue activities, 607 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:31,900 she started showing up for Shabbat. 608 00:31:31,900 --> 00:31:36,900 - And then I began to have a feeling from it, 609 00:31:38,100 --> 00:31:41,100 a part of belonging and not necessarily believe 610 00:31:41,100 --> 00:31:45,566 in all that I was praying, and I still don't, 611 00:31:45,566 --> 00:31:49,733 but there was a connection and it was like by osmosis, 612 00:31:49,733 --> 00:31:53,400 it became part of me. (singer humming) 613 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:01,166 And we became more of members of a community 614 00:32:02,033 --> 00:32:04,966 that we feel is like family. 615 00:32:06,233 --> 00:32:07,866 I mean, I look at your parents, 616 00:32:07,866 --> 00:32:10,033 I feel like they're our family. 617 00:32:11,066 --> 00:32:13,900 (singers humming) 618 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:22,000 - We just have grown up together and had families together 619 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,100 and shared the joys of our children together 620 00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:31,833 and it's a wonderful community. 621 00:32:31,833 --> 00:32:32,666 - It's a gift. 622 00:32:33,966 --> 00:32:37,966 (singing in a foreign language) 623 00:32:42,900 --> 00:32:45,400 - The emotions about family, community, 624 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:48,500 and connection at Temple B'Nai Shalom are often raw, 625 00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:50,600 right on the surface 626 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,266 and there's a simple reason for that. 627 00:32:52,266 --> 00:32:53,600 When you think about it, 628 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:55,400 it all comes down to what's been, so far, 629 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,333 an unsolvable problem. 630 00:32:57,333 --> 00:33:00,600 Membership has been in decline for several years now. 631 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,200 But one thing I found interesting, even unexpected, 632 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,000 is when I ask people about the future of the synagogue, 633 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,600 I got very different responses. 634 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,700 - You never write off a Jewish community 635 00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:16,466 because, or as I put it sometimes, don't say kaddish 636 00:33:16,466 --> 00:33:19,333 for the role and place of a synagogue in Jewish life 637 00:33:19,333 --> 00:33:23,533 because they will revive. 638 00:33:23,533 --> 00:33:25,733 - David Nelson, a retired rabbi 639 00:33:25,733 --> 00:33:27,900 who leads services at Temple B'Nai Shalom, 640 00:33:27,900 --> 00:33:30,000 was characteristically upbeat. 641 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,100 - So I think that these communities, 642 00:33:32,100 --> 00:33:33,366 and this one especially 643 00:33:33,366 --> 00:33:36,433 because I have never seen a community 644 00:33:36,433 --> 00:33:38,433 that has the vitality and the dynamism, 645 00:33:38,433 --> 00:33:41,433 even with 15, 20 people, 646 00:33:41,433 --> 00:33:44,800 it's remarkable and it's gonna stay. 647 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:49,800 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 648 00:33:53,133 --> 00:33:54,233 - [Jonathan] The rabbi is not alone 649 00:33:54,233 --> 00:33:55,833 with that optimistic view. 650 00:33:55,833 --> 00:33:57,933 My sister, Beth, who you could say was formed 651 00:33:57,933 --> 00:34:00,500 both personally and professionally at the synagogue, 652 00:34:00,500 --> 00:34:02,233 believes there's a way forward. 653 00:34:02,233 --> 00:34:06,000 - And what I believe is that the Jewish community here 654 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:07,900 will never go away. 655 00:34:07,900 --> 00:34:11,433 I think that its roots are so deep 656 00:34:11,433 --> 00:34:12,833 and it has been through so much 657 00:34:12,833 --> 00:34:14,766 and has weathered so much 658 00:34:14,766 --> 00:34:18,700 that I think this is a hinge moment. 659 00:34:18,700 --> 00:34:23,100 I believe that with the change of post covid life 660 00:34:23,100 --> 00:34:24,633 and people leaving cities more 661 00:34:24,633 --> 00:34:27,900 that people are gonna find this area 662 00:34:27,900 --> 00:34:30,666 and they're gonna wanna raise their families here 663 00:34:30,666 --> 00:34:35,666 and I think this is nearing the end of a chapter, 664 00:34:39,133 --> 00:34:40,933 but the book isn't over. 665 00:34:40,933 --> 00:34:45,933 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 666 00:34:50,300 --> 00:34:51,766 - [Jonathan] Others aren't so sure. 667 00:34:51,766 --> 00:34:54,633 For several years, David Kirshenbaum has been trying 668 00:34:54,633 --> 00:34:56,700 to figure out what to do next. 669 00:34:56,700 --> 00:34:59,633 - And I don't like to look upon it as a balance sheet 670 00:34:59,633 --> 00:35:04,500 or just some cold statistics but we're running outta people. 671 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:07,666 We're flat out running outta people and young people. 672 00:35:07,666 --> 00:35:09,533 - [Jonathan] One possibility, David explored, 673 00:35:09,533 --> 00:35:12,133 was to move the synagogue to another space. 674 00:35:12,133 --> 00:35:14,233 The idea was to sell the current building, 675 00:35:14,233 --> 00:35:17,866 possibly to a church group, and just be smaller. 676 00:35:17,866 --> 00:35:20,366 As he made a series of attempts to find a buyer, 677 00:35:20,366 --> 00:35:22,300 there were a flood of emotions. 678 00:35:22,300 --> 00:35:24,900 - I've been in a slow, saying goodbye process 679 00:35:24,900 --> 00:35:26,966 to the community that I've known, 680 00:35:28,033 --> 00:35:31,733 that has held us all over time. 681 00:35:31,733 --> 00:35:35,066 I think that when the possibility of the building 682 00:35:35,066 --> 00:35:38,700 being sold came up, 683 00:35:38,700 --> 00:35:42,766 I felt just a complete panic actually and immediate sorrow. 684 00:35:42,766 --> 00:35:44,233 Like, no. 685 00:35:46,900 --> 00:35:48,866 I see entirely how this might not make sense 686 00:35:48,866 --> 00:35:50,966 to have this building anymore 687 00:35:50,966 --> 00:35:54,366 but how could we lose that building? 688 00:35:54,366 --> 00:35:57,300 - [Jonathan] Turned out a sale never materialized. 689 00:35:57,300 --> 00:35:59,600 But oddly, in the midst of covid, 690 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:01,666 David saw a glimmer of hope. 691 00:36:01,666 --> 00:36:05,266 - I think one of the things that the pandemic showed us, 692 00:36:05,266 --> 00:36:09,333 there's ways to exist, and as a matter of fact, to thrive 693 00:36:09,333 --> 00:36:12,133 and when you have a way of operating 694 00:36:12,133 --> 00:36:15,300 that's tailor made for a congregation that's aging, 695 00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:18,566 in that you can get on the internet, 696 00:36:18,566 --> 00:36:22,033 even our oldest people were able to get on Zoom. 697 00:36:22,033 --> 00:36:23,700 So yes, there is a way. 698 00:36:23,700 --> 00:36:27,566 But for the pandemic, I would not be sitting here 699 00:36:27,566 --> 00:36:29,600 telling you that I think there's a way for us to exist. 700 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:32,566 A brick and mortar existence? Probably not. 701 00:36:32,566 --> 00:36:36,033 - Let's join together with a Shammah on page 41. 702 00:36:37,566 --> 00:36:41,000 (Sondra singing in a foreign language) 703 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:42,633 - [Jonathan] My parents, for their part, 704 00:36:42,633 --> 00:36:45,033 sound resigned to the future. 705 00:36:45,033 --> 00:36:47,400 At the very least, they can look back 706 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:49,866 and know they did everything they could. 707 00:36:49,866 --> 00:36:54,866 - It's a painful subject to see something possibly ending. 708 00:36:56,066 --> 00:36:59,766 Personally, I think that, as it is now, 709 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,900 it would not survive but I have hopes 710 00:37:04,900 --> 00:37:09,900 that there are enough young people in the community, 711 00:37:11,066 --> 00:37:13,433 if they were to take an interest in it, 712 00:37:13,433 --> 00:37:17,200 it could be molded to become a synagogue for them. 713 00:37:18,766 --> 00:37:20,866 It might not be anything like it is now, 714 00:37:20,866 --> 00:37:25,866 but it could become meaningful to them. 715 00:37:27,266 --> 00:37:31,000 - I don't know how much more effort I want to put into this, 716 00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:40,100 I've put in a lot, I've fought a few battles in there 717 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:46,333 and I feel happy with what I've been able to do, 718 00:37:46,333 --> 00:37:51,166 however, I don't see the level of enthusiasm 719 00:37:52,133 --> 00:37:55,133 that was there years ago 720 00:37:57,600 --> 00:37:59,600 when you guys were growing up in town 721 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:04,200 and we had 40, 50 kids in the Sunday school, 722 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,200 all this has passed as far as I'm concerned. 723 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,533 - What is the emotions that you feel with that? 724 00:38:10,766 --> 00:38:14,800 - I'm sad, but I'm realistic. (group chatter) 725 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:17,666 - [Jonathan] Realistic. That's my dad. 726 00:38:17,666 --> 00:38:20,466 But on this summer's weekend he can be something else, 727 00:38:20,466 --> 00:38:23,333 happy. (group chatter) 728 00:38:23,333 --> 00:38:24,866 The Kirshenbaum and Levin families 729 00:38:24,866 --> 00:38:26,700 are gathering for a cookout. 730 00:38:26,700 --> 00:38:28,266 - Lunch is ready! 731 00:38:30,166 --> 00:38:32,000 Are you hungry? 732 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:33,833 - [Jonathan] It's a good day. 733 00:38:33,833 --> 00:38:35,633 We don't have to worry so much. 734 00:38:35,633 --> 00:38:37,800 We can hang out, eat, and sing songs 735 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:39,966 we learned in Sunday school and camp. 736 00:38:39,966 --> 00:38:42,933 (singing in a foreign language) 737 00:38:42,933 --> 00:38:46,633 We experienced the joy, the power of our connected families, 738 00:38:46,633 --> 00:38:48,866 the feeling of just all being together. 739 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:56,200 (everyone laughing) (everyone applauding) 740 00:38:57,066 --> 00:38:57,833 But what we couldn't know was 741 00:38:58,700 --> 00:39:00,333 it would be one of the last. 742 00:39:12,300 --> 00:39:15,300 (singer vocalizing) 743 00:39:47,366 --> 00:39:52,366 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 744 00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:00,866 - [Jonathan] A Shabbat in August. 745 00:40:00,866 --> 00:40:04,066 I'm back in Benton Harbor visiting for a couple weeks. 746 00:40:04,066 --> 00:40:07,300 Diane Yampolsky, my mom's partner as lay leader, 747 00:40:07,300 --> 00:40:10,566 is conducting the Saturday morning Torah service. 748 00:40:10,566 --> 00:40:13,933 (Diane singing in a foreign language) 749 00:40:13,933 --> 00:40:15,633 The removal of the Torah from the arc 750 00:40:15,633 --> 00:40:17,633 is a sacred part of the liturgy. 751 00:40:17,633 --> 00:40:20,000 During this part, congregants are called up 752 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,133 to the Torah to say a prayer as portions are chanted, 753 00:40:23,133 --> 00:40:24,733 then later interpreted. 754 00:40:24,733 --> 00:40:29,733 (congregation chanting in a foreign language) 755 00:40:33,633 --> 00:40:36,133 I stand with my mom and say the blessing. 756 00:40:36,133 --> 00:40:38,500 United with her and others who have come, 757 00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:40,433 these days almost all services are held 758 00:40:40,433 --> 00:40:42,000 in the synagogue's library 759 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:45,266 because the much larger sanctuary would be too empty. 760 00:40:45,266 --> 00:40:49,000 - Anybody on Zoom with any names. 761 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,866 - In the Zoom era, the library has gone high tech 762 00:40:51,866 --> 00:40:54,633 equipped with a couple TV screens and a camera. 763 00:40:54,633 --> 00:40:56,200 Some, like my Aunt Cindy, 764 00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:58,066 chant sections of the Torah online. 765 00:41:02,066 --> 00:41:04,233 There's just enough for a minyan today. 766 00:41:04,233 --> 00:41:08,100 A total of 14 people from Zoom and in-person combined. 767 00:41:08,100 --> 00:41:10,900 While I feel a connection with my hometown synagogue, 768 00:41:10,900 --> 00:41:13,833 there's also a deep sense of loss. 769 00:41:13,833 --> 00:41:17,833 (singing in a foreign language) 770 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:30,200 - I want to believe that I've shared with my children values 771 00:41:31,366 --> 00:41:32,566 that will make their lives more meaningful. 772 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:34,866 - [Jonathan] Just a year ago, 773 00:41:34,866 --> 00:41:36,833 I interviewed Jack and Julie Keller, 774 00:41:36,833 --> 00:41:38,833 key members of the synagogue. 775 00:41:38,833 --> 00:41:42,400 For 12 years Jack battled leukemia, 776 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:45,033 then, only months after I spoke to him, 777 00:41:45,033 --> 00:41:47,100 Jack got covid and died. 778 00:41:48,566 --> 00:41:50,400 - We miss him, all of us. 779 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:53,500 The love of my life. He had a great sense of humor. 780 00:41:53,500 --> 00:41:55,700 No one could replace such a person. 781 00:41:55,700 --> 00:41:58,733 He played the violin and the piano and practiced law. 782 00:41:58,733 --> 00:42:00,866 He did everything, was involved in the community. 783 00:42:00,866 --> 00:42:05,933 He was quietly wonderful and very appropriate at all times. 784 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:10,266 (singing in a foreign language) 785 00:42:17,433 --> 00:42:18,866 - [Jonathan] There would be more. 786 00:42:18,866 --> 00:42:21,933 When I sat with my parents in 2021, 787 00:42:21,933 --> 00:42:23,700 my dad had been diagnosed 788 00:42:23,700 --> 00:42:27,100 with a neurological disorder called siderosis. 789 00:42:27,100 --> 00:42:30,000 - He was getting weaker every day 790 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:33,100 and had more and more trouble walking 791 00:42:33,100 --> 00:42:35,300 and it just, throughout July, 792 00:42:35,300 --> 00:42:38,200 it picked up its rate of change, 793 00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:41,133 I think it got worse, faster. 794 00:42:41,133 --> 00:42:42,400 - [Jonathan] We brought him 795 00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:43,600 to a nearby nursing care facility where, 796 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:45,400 for a while, he was okay. 797 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:48,200 But within just days of Jack Keller's passing, 798 00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:51,233 my parents got bad news from the staff. 799 00:42:51,233 --> 00:42:52,866 - And then they came in and said, 800 00:42:52,866 --> 00:42:57,733 "Mr. Levin, you've tested positive," which was a huge blow. 801 00:42:57,733 --> 00:43:01,466 So they retested, of course, and he was still positive. 802 00:43:01,466 --> 00:43:05,666 He had covid and there we were. 803 00:43:05,666 --> 00:43:10,466 (singing in a foreign language) 804 00:43:10,466 --> 00:43:14,033 At the end they give them morphine when they need it, 805 00:43:14,033 --> 00:43:15,700 which he needed very little by the way. 806 00:43:15,700 --> 00:43:20,000 He was unresponsive. He was peaceful. 807 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,700 For me, I wanted to talk some more. 808 00:43:25,833 --> 00:43:27,966 - That was the hard part about the isolation. 809 00:43:27,966 --> 00:43:30,700 - We didn't have that last talk. 810 00:43:30,700 --> 00:43:34,866 I had it, but I have to think he heard it. 811 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:41,200 (singing in a foreign language) 812 00:43:43,233 --> 00:43:47,900 - Dad faced his challenges bravely, head on, 813 00:43:47,900 --> 00:43:50,800 with courage and with great dignity. 814 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:52,800 Always our greatest role model. 815 00:43:55,100 --> 00:43:59,333 Dad, we will miss you and love you forever 816 00:44:00,733 --> 00:44:03,400 and we will forever cherish the gifts of your life. 817 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:09,000 (singing in a foreign language) 818 00:44:22,033 --> 00:44:23,700 - Before we do the Mourner's Kaddish, 819 00:44:23,700 --> 00:44:27,066 I'll read the (indistinct) for this week. 820 00:44:27,066 --> 00:44:28,900 - [Jonathan] Jewish tradition calls for remembering 821 00:44:28,900 --> 00:44:32,300 those we lost on the anniversary of their deaths. 822 00:44:32,300 --> 00:44:34,000 One year after their passing, 823 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:38,033 Jack and Al, my dad, are on a list of names. 824 00:44:38,033 --> 00:44:41,800 - Judy Frank, Eileen Martin, Dorothy Gobaum, 825 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:45,300 Jack Keller, Al Levin, Julius Turk, 826 00:44:45,300 --> 00:44:47,533 Diane Kirshenbaum and Berdino. 827 00:44:49,133 --> 00:44:52,700 (congregation speaking in a foreign language) 828 00:44:52,700 --> 00:44:55,200 - It's hard being back here without him, obviously, 829 00:44:55,200 --> 00:45:00,200 because he's so much of a part of our world here. 830 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:04,500 (congregation speaking in a foreign language) 831 00:45:04,500 --> 00:45:07,166 - It's hard to think what this community would've been 832 00:45:07,166 --> 00:45:09,266 without him and Jack Keller 833 00:45:09,266 --> 00:45:13,533 and all the leaders that sort of built this community. 834 00:45:13,533 --> 00:45:16,800 The loss of the two of them two weeks apart, 835 00:45:18,966 --> 00:45:20,533 it's just sort of unbelievable 836 00:45:20,533 --> 00:45:23,000 and it's still just devastating for everybody. 837 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:25,433 It still feels like a nightmare 838 00:45:25,433 --> 00:45:29,466 and it still feels like unreal at times. 839 00:45:29,466 --> 00:45:33,800 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 840 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:36,233 - [Jonathan] The sudden loss of two pillars of the synagogue 841 00:45:36,233 --> 00:45:39,000 was a shock, a reminder, the institution 842 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:41,100 and its members are vulnerable. 843 00:45:41,100 --> 00:45:42,966 I met again with the two old friends, 844 00:45:42,966 --> 00:45:44,466 my mom and Dave Kirshenbaum, 845 00:45:44,466 --> 00:45:46,466 who had had his own struggles to deal with. 846 00:45:46,466 --> 00:45:50,300 - 9-11 of last year, coming up on a year, 847 00:45:50,300 --> 00:45:53,233 I had a stroke at 10:45 at night. 848 00:45:53,233 --> 00:45:55,800 I was only in the hospital for two nights 849 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:57,900 but that put in motion a whole bunch of things 850 00:45:57,900 --> 00:46:00,200 that we as a family had to plan for. 851 00:46:01,566 --> 00:46:04,000 And then in March of this year, Elaine had a heart attack 852 00:46:05,300 --> 00:46:08,000 and so the theoretical began to move into 853 00:46:09,533 --> 00:46:12,833 more of a magnified view of what the future looked like. 854 00:46:12,833 --> 00:46:17,233 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 855 00:46:17,233 --> 00:46:20,366 - [Jonathan] At times that future has looked bleak. 856 00:46:20,366 --> 00:46:22,800 The losses at Temple B'Nai Shalom were arguably 857 00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:26,466 not just reflective of one small town synagogue in Michigan, 858 00:46:26,466 --> 00:46:28,466 but part of a cultural, religious 859 00:46:28,466 --> 00:46:31,400 and demographic shift across the Jewish landscape. 860 00:46:32,833 --> 00:46:35,600 Small town Judaism is, by some measures, disappearing. 861 00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:38,866 Rabbi Jan Katzew quoted Simon Rawidowicz, 862 00:46:38,866 --> 00:46:41,000 Jewish philosopher and scholar. 863 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:44,200 - Rawidowicz is the one who spoke about the Jews 864 00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:45,900 as and ever dying people. 865 00:46:47,100 --> 00:46:48,633 Well, if you're an ever dying people 866 00:46:48,633 --> 00:46:50,233 then you're an everliving people 867 00:46:52,066 --> 00:46:57,066 and because of this great concern about living on 868 00:46:59,700 --> 00:47:02,366 and will it go on, et cetera, 869 00:47:02,366 --> 00:47:05,200 that question is animating (serene music) 870 00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:06,866 the soul of the Jewish people. 871 00:47:09,833 --> 00:47:11,333 - [Jonathan] One of the extraordinary things 872 00:47:11,333 --> 00:47:14,166 about my hometown is the way the sky can explode with color 873 00:47:14,166 --> 00:47:16,700 as the sun sinks into Lake Michigan. 874 00:47:16,700 --> 00:47:19,800 To some extent, I had expected to come back to Benton Harbor 875 00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:21,400 ready to describe an ending, 876 00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:23,833 how the sun was setting on the Jewish community, 877 00:47:23,833 --> 00:47:26,300 but that's not exactly what I found. 878 00:47:26,300 --> 00:47:27,733 - It just meant something to me 879 00:47:27,733 --> 00:47:31,966 that these people hung together in the face of everything. 880 00:47:31,966 --> 00:47:34,066 So I became president. 881 00:47:34,066 --> 00:47:36,300 - [Jonathan] Ruth Kremer is president of the synagogue board 882 00:47:36,300 --> 00:47:38,700 and has brought a renewed sense of mission. 883 00:47:38,700 --> 00:47:40,866 - In Southwest Michigan, an organization 884 00:47:40,866 --> 00:47:42,900 dedicated to helping mothers and infants 885 00:47:42,900 --> 00:47:45,700 delivered 5,000 diapers 886 00:47:45,700 --> 00:47:48,033 to the county health department there. 887 00:47:48,033 --> 00:47:50,633 - [Jonathan] She's made social justice a priority, 888 00:47:50,633 --> 00:47:51,933 making interfaith connections 889 00:47:51,933 --> 00:47:54,233 between the synagogue and local churches. 890 00:47:54,233 --> 00:47:56,800 Just one example, she created a drive 891 00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,366 to supply infant diapers to people in need. 892 00:47:59,366 --> 00:48:02,000 - Rosh Hashanah is Sunday, September 25th 893 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:03,466 and we'll have a study session 894 00:48:03,466 --> 00:48:05,566 with Rabbi Katzew before then. 895 00:48:05,566 --> 00:48:08,266 - For Ruth Kremer, the key to attracting new members 896 00:48:08,266 --> 00:48:10,800 isn't primarily religious observance. 897 00:48:10,800 --> 00:48:15,100 - If I can build this temple into a focus of social justice, 898 00:48:15,100 --> 00:48:17,333 those Jews will come out of the woodwork. 899 00:48:17,333 --> 00:48:21,333 By becoming a recognized and valued member of the community, 900 00:48:21,333 --> 00:48:24,900 it will be okay to be Jewish again and we can have, 901 00:48:24,900 --> 00:48:26,800 through this social justice action 902 00:48:26,800 --> 00:48:28,600 and that's my vision for the future. 903 00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:32,733 - [Jonathan] That sense of purpose has been helpful to many, 904 00:48:32,733 --> 00:48:34,200 including my mom 905 00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:36,633 but it took her a while to find her footing. 906 00:48:36,633 --> 00:48:40,600 After my dad died, she slowly returned to services in part 907 00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:43,000 because she knew he would've wanted her to. 908 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,633 Eventually she went back to leading them. 909 00:48:45,633 --> 00:48:47,100 But she couldn't have done any of that 910 00:48:47,100 --> 00:48:48,366 without community support, 911 00:48:48,366 --> 00:48:50,933 particularly from David and Elaine Kirshenbaum. 912 00:48:50,933 --> 00:48:52,766 - From my perspective, 913 00:48:53,933 --> 00:48:57,233 for a long time I needed taking care of 914 00:48:57,233 --> 00:49:00,366 and David and Elaine were there for me 915 00:49:00,366 --> 00:49:04,466 and I hope I can be there as much as I can, 916 00:49:04,466 --> 00:49:07,300 which I'm ready to be, for them. 917 00:49:07,300 --> 00:49:10,833 I think we could become closer. 918 00:49:10,833 --> 00:49:12,066 - Yeah. Oh, for sure. 919 00:49:12,066 --> 00:49:13,633 - I mean, it's in a different way too. 920 00:49:13,633 --> 00:49:16,466 It's like you said, David, 921 00:49:16,466 --> 00:49:19,300 you appreciate the people that are left 922 00:49:19,300 --> 00:49:23,700 and want them to be as good as they can be 923 00:49:25,100 --> 00:49:27,100 and it feels good to do something for someone else. 924 00:49:28,933 --> 00:49:29,866 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 925 00:49:29,866 --> 00:49:31,666 - For both my mom and David, 926 00:49:31,666 --> 00:49:34,766 loss brought about emotions they did not quite expect. 927 00:49:34,766 --> 00:49:37,600 No doubt there is grief and uncertainty, 928 00:49:38,833 --> 00:49:41,166 but there's also determination 929 00:49:41,166 --> 00:49:43,600 and I think that comes from a profoundly Jewish idea 930 00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:46,000 passed on from generation to generation. 931 00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:47,300 Let's say something bad happens, 932 00:49:47,300 --> 00:49:49,800 like a death before a wedding, in that case, 933 00:49:49,800 --> 00:49:53,166 if that happens, you have the wedding, you keep going. 934 00:49:53,166 --> 00:49:56,500 And in the face of the losses at Temple B'Nai Shalom, 935 00:49:56,500 --> 00:49:58,400 it's the same idea. 936 00:49:58,400 --> 00:49:59,500 (congregation singing in a foreign language) 937 00:49:59,500 --> 00:50:02,100 You just keep going. 938 00:50:02,100 --> 00:50:05,000 - And if we do that, then we can do something constructive. 939 00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:08,000 But if you just say it's all gonna die, it will. 940 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:10,533 If you say it, it's like wishing it. 941 00:50:10,533 --> 00:50:14,600 I mean, getting Jews to agree on the synagogue 942 00:50:14,600 --> 00:50:15,900 and then what's the definition 943 00:50:15,900 --> 00:50:17,833 of being here and being present. 944 00:50:17,833 --> 00:50:19,400 Sometimes it's just showing up. 945 00:50:20,933 --> 00:50:24,700 And regardless of the fact 946 00:50:24,700 --> 00:50:27,200 that the numbers are what they are. 947 00:50:27,200 --> 00:50:32,100 You just can't take an early exit 948 00:50:32,100 --> 00:50:36,266 'cause the people are not gonna follow you that way. 949 00:50:36,266 --> 00:50:37,533 - So keep showing up. 950 00:50:37,533 --> 00:50:39,100 - Yeah, you gotta keep showing up. 951 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:44,000 (singing in a foreign language) 952 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:46,833 - And I think being made to think has made it helpful 953 00:50:46,833 --> 00:50:48,733 as well as difficult, 954 00:50:48,733 --> 00:50:53,333 it's made me reflect on the whole history of Benton Harbor, 955 00:50:53,333 --> 00:50:55,166 not just our section of it, 956 00:50:55,166 --> 00:50:57,966 and I'm sure you feel the same way with your grandfather, 957 00:50:59,366 --> 00:51:03,300 that my grandparents helped build Temple Bethel 958 00:51:03,300 --> 00:51:06,500 and it went down for my parents and you had the same thing. 959 00:51:06,500 --> 00:51:08,600 It puts things in perspective in a way 960 00:51:08,600 --> 00:51:10,366 that we're part of this 961 00:51:10,366 --> 00:51:13,900 and that's one reason that I'm optimistic about it 962 00:51:13,900 --> 00:51:17,433 is that I'm not gonna let it go easily. 963 00:51:18,833 --> 00:51:23,366 Too many people in my past have worked too hard. 964 00:51:24,233 --> 00:51:27,800 (singing in a foreign language) 965 00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:29,166 - [Jonathan] There's another thought, 966 00:51:29,166 --> 00:51:32,466 not a pleasant one, but also not unrealistic. 967 00:51:32,466 --> 00:51:35,833 What would we say or feel if someday it turns out 968 00:51:35,833 --> 00:51:38,166 the community did not live on? 969 00:51:38,166 --> 00:51:39,666 What to make of all of this 970 00:51:39,666 --> 00:51:42,500 if the cocoon of my childhood were to come to an end? 971 00:51:43,700 --> 00:51:46,366 For Rabbi Jan Katzew, if that were to happen, 972 00:51:46,366 --> 00:51:49,566 there would be, strangely enough, something to celebrate. 973 00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:52,233 - Then I ask myself, 974 00:51:52,233 --> 00:51:56,866 well, would it have been better if it had never existed? 975 00:51:57,933 --> 00:51:59,400 No. 976 00:51:59,400 --> 00:52:02,700 Would it have been better if the last 30 years 977 00:52:02,700 --> 00:52:06,000 of B'Nai Shalom had not existed? 978 00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:07,500 Absolutely not. 979 00:52:07,500 --> 00:52:12,500 So, Judaism is so much a this world centered faith 980 00:52:16,700 --> 00:52:18,400 that there is something 981 00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:22,200 and the faith to me adds to hope 982 00:52:22,200 --> 00:52:26,733 an element of the divine, an element of uncertainty, 983 00:52:26,733 --> 00:52:31,733 an element that recognizes nothing is certain in human life, 984 00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:34,066 other than perhaps death, 985 00:52:34,066 --> 00:52:38,766 but I'd like to think that the existence of B'Nai Shalom, 986 00:52:41,533 --> 00:52:45,533 as long as it does exist, will have been for good 987 00:52:45,533 --> 00:52:49,766 and to me that's more than good enough. 988 00:52:50,766 --> 00:52:54,733 (singing in a foreign language) 989 00:53:25,866 --> 00:53:30,866 (uplifting music) (children playing)