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12 December 29 • 2016 continued on page 14 and New York. Berman was president of Smokler and Dreyfus Development Corp. from 1969-1975. He also served on the board of Guardian Industries, as chairman of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and as president of the Southeastern Michigan Builders Association. One of Bill's longtime friends, Mort Harris of West Bloomfield, recalls being involved with him in one of his more unusual business ventures. "He called me and said, 'We're going to buy a fleet of 500 trucks in Poland!' And we did. It turned out to be a pretty good deal. The trucks delivered merchandise through- out Europe — from France to Russia. Then we sold them; that was an even better deal." Last week, Harris, 96, talked about his best friend and business partner for more than 35 years. "Bill was one of the finest people I've ever met," Harris said. "We never had an angry word pass between us. Working with Bill has been a wonderful experience. He loved to laugh, and we always had some humor pass between us, and we never took anything too seriously. We spoke every day, first regarding business and then to discuss our aches and pains." Harris spoke to Bill the night before he died. Bill had invited him to join him in Florida, and he was planning to do so. SHAAREY ZEDEK TIES "Bill was a shul boy," Congregation Shaarey Zedek Rabbi Aaron Starr said of the long- time synagogue member. Bill said his father had been involved in Shaarey Zedek since the 1890s. Bill has kept the strong connection. Starr said, "Bill held nearly every lead- ership position at Shaarey Zedek, except president, because he left the board early to become president of the Jewish Federation. Several years ago, CSZ made Bill 'honorary president for life.' "Bill would often add there was one more position denied to him at Shaarey Zedek, but he couldn't understand why. Apparently, despite the volume of his singing, no one ever invited Bill to be part of the Shaarey Zedek choir. "When Rabbi Morris Adler asked Bill to lead the construction of the new syna- gogue building in Southfield, Bill, of course, agreed," Starr said. "However, Bill made sure to tell the rabbi he built a trap door into the bimah. If Rabbi Adler's sermons ever crossed the 18-minute mark, the trap doors would open and he would fall in." Starr also talked about why there was stained glass at the top of the back of the sanctuary. The rabbi asked Bill to place it there. "Everyone else gets this beautiful view," Rabbi Adler chided Bill, "shouldn't I have one, too?" Bill's passion for Shaarey Zedek contin- ued throughout his lifetime. In 2004, he was the honoree for the synagogue's inau- gural Annual Dinner. Bill was a regular at Shabbat services, and every year he asked to speak on the Shabbat nearest his birth- day, as he did recently for his 99th birthday. "His remarks were a highlight every year, and we looked on with awe as he bounded up the steps to ascend the bimah that he built," Starr said. "We will all remember his stories, his wit and his wisdom. We will also remember the joy he exhibited in living life to its fullest, in caring for others, and in sustaining and strengthening the Jewish people." DATABASED DECISIONS Bill Berman had a unique interest in data. The hard information he gleaned informed his decisions, drove his philanthropy and helped him play a major role in shaping the future of the Jewish community locally and nationally. "I'm the only Jewish philanthropist who has a real interest in Jewish data, and the storage, dissemination and preservation of that data," Bill told the New York Jewish Week in 2009. "I'm particularly interested in Mandell "Bill" Berman » 1 9 1 7 - 2 0 1 6 B ill Berman was a giant in business, philanthropy and communal service, but was never too big to walk among the legions of everyday people whose lives he touched. You could find Bill get- ting dirty with preschool children and their par- ents partaking in hands- on Jewish family educa- tion programs that he pioneered with Harlene Appelman at his beloved Congregation Shaarey Zedek. You could find Bill engaged in animated conversation over lunch with a group of Wayne State University students who, short on funds and just a handful of credits shy of graduation, received a quiet finan- cial boost from him to complete their studies. You could find Bill — in an ear- lier era — leading volunteers at a converted Velvet peanut butter facility as they sorted mounds of donated clothing intended for World War II refugees. This, mind you, from a man who had recently completed his service to America as a naval officer stationed at Okinawa. Wherever people gathered, if the cause was worthy, odds are you would find Bill. But because of his unique blend of intelligence, humor, candor, Jewish communal perspective and wisdom, you would also seek Bill. His door was always open to those in search of guidance, validation of an idea (and if it was a good one, he might write you a check as well), a dose of history and a good story about some of the commu- nity's more colorful personalities. A visit to Bill was essential prior to starting many Jewish News initiatives, including the launch of the independent nonprofit Detroit Jewish News Foundation. Bill was uniquely capable of connecting our Jewish communi- ty's past and present to its future. He was a 99-year-old visionary, always attuned to demographic trends and changing needs — challenging existing organiza- tions to re-invent themselves and encouraging new entities to fill the voids he detected. For Bill, investing in various models of formal and informal Jewish educa- tion was the best way to assure the continuance of a vibrant and vital American Jewish community. In the June 15, 1945, edition of the Jewish News, a letter Bill sent to his parents was published under the headline "Lt. Berman Sees Jewish Faith High on Okinawa." In the letter, Bill noted the pessimism that existed back home about the future of Jewry in America. After observ- ing the religious spirit of his fellow Jews, who had braved a rainstorm to cram into a small tent for the Shabbat Shavouth services, he said: "The men by their attitude and demeanor charged that tent with a religious spirit that I have never seen in civilian life. These men didn't have to walk, hitch or ride a boat to that tent in the rain. No one urged them to come. "If ever I believed that Judaism would die with this second and third generation in the U.S., I was wrong. Right now, in their hearts these men are better Jews than 50 percent of the Jews (older men) I know at home … "I'm going to write Rabbi Hershman soon and … show him that his faith in the staying power of Judaism is at least justified out here." We have Bill Berman to thank for a lifetime dedicated to enhancing the "staying power" of American Jewry for future genera- tions. Rabbi Hershman would be proud. * A Man For The People Arthur Horwitz continued from page 11 Council of Jewish Federations President Bill Berman jokes with New York Gov. Mario Cuomo during a conference in 1988. Robert A. Cumins