On the Comeback Trail

Michigan rejoins FJMC with CBS Men’s Club of Oak Park

By Norwin Merens

After many years without having an FJMC International presence in a big Midwest city and a major state, the Detroit community is rejoining the fold.

And while Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park, Mich., is the first to do so, as part of the KIO+ Region, both club and FJMC leaders say they are optimistic that it won’t be the last.

Credit the creative efforts and vision of CBS Men’s Club president Jared Chimovitz and his enthusiastic officer team for re-energizing the synagogue affiliate in metropolitan Detroit during the past several years.

When the Covid-19 pandemic began in mid-March 2020 and continued unchecked over the next couple of years, the CBS men’s group all but ceased its programming and volunteer initiatives. Members relocating from suburban Detroit to be closer to their extended families elsewhere or passing away further compounded the situation.

The comeback trail hasn’t been without its challenges for the reconstituted club. Among the considerations were blending mainstay concepts with a new vision of how the club should align its efforts with the synagogue to increase and broaden its membership. Today, the CBS Men’s Club is redefining itself through innovative programming like the popular men’s Passover Seder where Rabbi Robert Gamer and others in the suburban community offer their own interpretation of the holiday observance. The men’s group has also been successful bringing back popular legacy programs, such as “Steak in the Sukkah” dinners.

And there’s more. Members and guests recently attended the annual Jewish Heritage day during a Detroit Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park. There have been other sports and festive holiday activities: Detroit Lions playoff football watch parties, secular New Year’s Eve celebrations and Super Bowl game festivities. Joint programming is also planned with Beth Shalom’s Sisterhood and other area men’s clubs in 2027.

Are you ready for self-defense training? The CBS men have a member who is eminently qualified to teach and provide self-defense techniques to an engaging audience. And, yes, the programming includes such standbys as FJMC’s annual World Wide Wrap, which is held at the synagogue’s Hebrew school Yachad that is combined with the Reform congregation, Temple Emanu-El, located a short distance from Beth Shalom.

“We show the students our tefillin and how to wrap, the prayers that are recited, and then encourage everyone’s participation,” said club Treasurer Glen Pickover.

As for service projects, the CBS Men’s Club cleaned and sanitized two of the synagogue’s cooking grills this summer that needed considerable maintenance. Next summer, they will be rehabbing the shul’s Sukkah. When there are services needed by others at Congregation Beth Shalom, the men’s group is the first to stand up and be counted.

The importance and value of being associated with FJMC goes without saying. According to Pickover, the CBS men’s group is among the first clubs in Michigan to rejoin the organization with the expectation that other men’s affiliates in the Detroit area will follow soon.

In fact, FJMC’s Executive Committee is planning a visit to CBS on Friday, Oct. 9, as part of Shabbat, and then weekend visits to other congregations in metro Detroit’s vibrant Jewish community. The objective of each synagogue stopover is to recruit men’s clubs to join the FJMC, while familiarizing them with all the programming offered by the organization and its renewed mission: Friendship, Judaism, Mentorship and Community.

Besides Chimovitz and Pickover, other CBS men’s club officers are: Vice President Vitaliy Galler, Secretary Aaron Schwartz and at-large members Don Berlin and Rob Grodin.

Norwin Merens is a HaD’var contributor, chair of FJMC’s Shomrei Ha’aretz (Environment) committee, co-chair of FJMC webinars, and past president of FJMC’s Midwest Region.