Sara Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center
Hyman and Sonia Blumenstein Outreach Institute
Sara Tugman
There are no more fitting words to describe Mrs. Tugman then her son's own words. A Yiddishe Mama.
My mother had very little time to be a child, Hitler, Y"S took it away. At the age of thirteen she was no longer a child, but a survivor, an orphan; no mother, no father, no sisters and no brothers.
She maried young and at the age of eighteen was alone with three children. She later remarried and had another three children. Her children were her life. As long as her children were happy, she was happy. As long as her children were free from want, she was content. She asked for nothing for herself but struggled to give her children everything.
She demanded perfection from us and taught us the the true values of being a Jew. She succeeded because we couldn't stand to see her pain when we disappointed her.
Her tombstone reads: To the world she was a mother, but to us she was the world.
Hyman and Sonia Blumenstein
Through faith in G‑d, commitment to family, and hard work, Hyman o.b.m. and Sonia Blumenstein and their family have become pillars of the Detroit Jewish community.
Born in Eastern Europe, they grew up in the shadow of persecution; Hyman lost many family members in World War I, while Sonia's father and younger sister were victims of the Holocaust.
Sonia still remembers her mother reciting all of Tehillim from memory, and teaching Torah to her and her four siblings on Shabbos afternoons. Although she was only 31 when she died of typhus, Sonia's mother had a profound impact on future generations, planting the seeds of love of Torah in her daughter. Sonia, like her mother, is a devotee of Tehillim and prays regularly, not only for her own family members, but for the sick and for peace in Israel as well.
After Hyman and Sonia independently immigrated to Canada, they found work - and each other - in the same coat factory and married in 1933. In 1945 they moved to the Detroit where they raised a family of five while working hard and founded Madora Sportswear, a clothing manufacturing company. They always kept a kosher home, lit Shabbos candles every Friday night, and provided Hebrew School education for their children. Even in the early years, when they were struggling financially, the Blumensteins understood the importance of Tzedakah.
Since those humble beginnings they, and now their children and grandchildren, have been instrumental in supporting many local Jewish organizations and learning institutions and they were among the founders of the Bais Chabad Torah Center.
Hyman and Sonia are proud patriarch and matriarch of a large extended family. They are parents of Gordon and Reta Fishman, Harold and Penny Blumenstein, Ronald and Frances Rogers, Gerald and Eileen Borsand, and Frederic and Leah Ruby. They are also blessed with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
In September of 2000, Hyman and Sonia were honored at the annual dinner of the Sara Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center with the Kesser Shem Tov ("crown of a good name") Award. On this occasion, the Torah Center established the Hyman and Sonia Blumenstein Outreach Institute, which funds lectures, classes, and many other outreach projects in the community.
Always an inspiration and a delight, Hyman and Sonia Blumenstein are examples who demonstrate that Torah values, caring for family, and hard work are the truest measures of success.
