Above: Meeting with Alan
Fisher and Bunny Peters
before their November
wedding.

Above: Rabbi Meyerowitz

leads a 1985 Soviet Jewry
rally with New York rabbis
Avraham Weiss and
Chaskell Lookstein.

Right: Preparing for a
sermon.

but sometimes you hit a home run."
So far, Rabbi Meyerowitz's style
seems to be in the ball park, renew-
ing member's interest in the con-
gregation, especially among young
adults, according to synagogue presi-
dent Robert Roth. However, even a
young, enthusiastic rabbi can't over-
come some of the problems facing
B'nai Moshe, which has seen its
membership drop from 750 families to
about 500.
The major concern is the need to
attract new, younger members. To do
this, it may be necessary to move the
synagogue from Oak Park to the
growing West Bloomfield area.
"A move is something we're talk-
ing about now," Roth says. "We're
deciding now if we can remain viable
for the long term. We stand a better
chance of attracting younger
members with Rabbi Meyerowitz, but
a rabbi can't change the
demographics of the area."
Rabbi Meyerowitz is certain that
the synagogue will have to move to
survive. "This synagogue has a tradi-
tion of evaluating itself in a realistic
way," he explains. "Thirty-five years
ago, they knew they had to move out

Left: Working with
synagogue president
Robert Roth.

of Detroit to survive. Now, we're going
to need another move. I'm sure there
will be mixed feelings, but we have to
deal with reality. Forty to 50 percent
of our membership already lives in
the northwest area. We will have to
move within the next few years, and
its my role to encourage it. Otherwise,
demographics will move us to extinc-
tion."
While they study a move, the
synagogue's leadership is also
plannng to open a nursery school or
day care center, either at the current
location or in a separate facility in the
Farmington Hills-West Bloomfield
area, Roth says. Rabbi Meyerowitz
believes this is necessary for the
revitalization of the synagogue.
"One of the great deficits of this
congregation is that they never dealt
with the issues of what to do with
young families. A nursery school is a
major area of growth for a congrega-
tion. A synagogue normally uses the
nursery school to bring young
families in."
Along with his work at B'nai
Moshe, Rabbi Meyerowitz plans to
continue his other activities, such as
teaching and working for the cause of

Soviet Jewry. He has been arrested
eight times during demonstrations at
Soviet Missions in Washington, New
York and San Francisco. He spent a
full day in jail in Washington, where
he was convicted and sentenced to two
weeks in the federal penitentiary
befor being pardoned by President
Reagan.
Now, Rabbi Meyerowitz believes
that "arrests have run their course,"
and the next step is to keep the issue
burning while waiting to see what
happens with Glasnost and next
week's summit meeting between
President Reagan and Secretary
Gorbachev.
Rabbi Meyerowitz's interest in
Soviet Jewry stems from the ex-
periences of his two brothers during
visits to the Soviet Union.
Even as he makes plans and
organizes
activities,
Rabbi

Meyerowitz is continually coming up
with more ideas. "I'm a good rabbi
when I'm excited, not bored," he
remarks. "I like to be spontaneous. It
was hard to leave New York. We'll
miss friends and family, and my wife
has given up a great deal for me, for
which I'm very grateful. But the peo-
ple here have been very warm, and
very giving, and they've responded
well to my message, which makes me
feel good.
"As a rabbi, all you can do is be
yourself. I want to be a warm, loving
human being who people can feel
comfortable with. I have to try hard
to reach those people who want to be
a part of the congregation, make peo-
ple think they have a stake in it, that
they're not just a number. I have to go
after them, make them feel that they
are wanted, and needed, and loved —
which they are."

❑

