Calendar of Events
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53rd Annual Meeting of the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan
May 22, 2012 7:00 PM | Temple Israel
Join us as we honor our 2012 Leonard N. Simons Award winner, Michael O. Smith, former director of the Walter P. Reuther Library and welcome Arthur Horwitz, founder, Detroit Jewish News Foundation.
Dessert Reception to follow
LOOKING INSIDE: A Tour of Four Synagogues and the Pieces of Our Past That Came With Them Congregation Shaarey Zedek – Temple Beth El – Congregation Adat Shalom – Temple Israel
June 19, 2012 9:30 AM
Visit four Oakland county, present-day synagogues: Temple Beth El, Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Congregation Adat Shalom and Temple Israel. Congregation leaders, including clergy and historians, will discuss the history of the congregation, the building architecture and the art and artifacts that travelled with the congregation from their old buildings.
J-Cycle II: A Bike Tour of Historic Jewish Detroit
August 19, 2012 | Milliken State Park
Hop on your bicycle and join the Jewish Historical Society, the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, the Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit and Hillel Metro Detroit for a ride of historic proportions.
Our Mission
The Jewish Historical Society of Michigan educates, celebrates and promotes awareness of the contributions of the Jews of Michigan to our state, our nation and the world. Throughout the year, we present docent-led tours of historic Jewish Detroit and Southeast Michigan and host interesting lectures, book discussions and film viewings. We publish Michigan Jewish History, an annual journal, and maintain the Jewish Yearbook Collection, the largest collection of yearbooks from Detroit-area high schools.
The Jewish Center Orchestra earned national prestige for its success in attracting world-renowned figures in composition and performances, mentoring and developing young talent and bringing world-class music and musicians to the Detroit area. Maestro Julius Chajes conducted the orchestra for more than two decades beginning in 1940.
Before the Motor City became known for automobiles, Detroit had earned its spot on the Underground Railroad, serving as an important terminus for freedom seekers. The Gateway to Freedom statue honors those who helped secure freedom for the slaves, including Jewish residents who saw to it that these men and women were fed, clothed and safely escorted to their next destination.
In 1850, Sarah Cozens gathered a group of fellow German-Jewish immigrants and held religious services at her home, near this present-day location (at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building in Detroit). Marcus Cohen conducted the services of the congregation which would be called the Bet El Society and is known today as Temple Beth El (Bloomfield Hills)
JCycle 2011 participants stop at the T-Plex building, in an industrial section known as Milwaukee Junction, which once housed Ford Motor Company’s first factory, research facility and offices. In 1908, Henry Ford developed the Model T here and among the many workers employed in the factories owned by various manufactures in the area were many Jewish immigrants.
