B'NAI DAVID page 1
`0" DOWN
NO DOWN PAYMENT
NO FINE PRINT
1994 PRIZM
$189
°°*36 MONTH
SMART LEASE
while its Drake Road building
was under construction.
* Consider merging with
Congregations Beth Abraham
Hillel Moses, Shaarey Zedek,
B'nai Moshe or Beth Achim.
* Dissolve the congregation.
"If we don't mind our P's and
Q's," said Mr. Traison, "this
could happen. We don't have to
vote; it will just happen on its
own."
The congregation has less
than eight weeks before it must
vacate, he said. "We will have
to work quickly if we're going
to merge." B'nai David has 292
members on its books, but Mr.
Traison believes at least 50
families have left the congre-
gation this year.
The city of Southfield was
willing to allow the congrega-
tion continued but limited use
of its building, said city admin-
istrator Robert Block. "We
needed a firm date from them
so that we could make accom-
modations. It's been four long
years and we have been anx-
ious and impatient, but we
were respectful of the congre-
gation and were prepared to go
longer."
He said the city would have
allowed the congregation to use
the building on Shabbat and
holidays.
Mr. Traison, however, said
B'nai David could not continue
without making a decision. He
fears members will begin "vot-
ing with their feet" and trans-
fer to other congregations.
"May 31 also is the date that
we send out dues statements
for the coming year. Will any-
one respond when we don't
know where we're going to be?"
he asked.
"We also have an obligation
to our clergy and our office staff.
I'm uncomfortable not being
able to tell them what the fu-
ture holds. It's been four years
and we still can't tell them."
Rabbi Morton Yolkut said
that all programming at B'nai
David is continuing, pending a
decision. "All this will be de-
cided Sunday, hopefully," he
said.
Beth Achim, Rabbi
Look To The Future
Stk. 1962
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AM/FM Stereo
Power Steering
Intermittent Wipers
Front/Rear Mats
Air Conditioning
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Anti-Lock Brakes
5 Speed
Electric Defogger
1.6L MFI L4 Engine
*36-Month GMAC Smart Lease. Payment of $189 x 36 plus use tax. Security deposit of $200
required and first payment of $196.56. 30,000 miles allowed over term with .10¢ per mile
over 30,000. Lessee responsible for excess wear and tear and may purchase vehicle at end of
lease but not required to purchase.
Jacky Cauley
Aeiiniroimiwiimes25;r
C ciiEvmotffr
ORCHARD LAKE RD.
Between 14 Mile & 15 Mile
Gee)
855.9700
HOURS: Mon. & Thurs. 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Tues., Wed., Fri. 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR
R
abbi Martin Berman of
Congregation Beth
Achim is expected to
leave the Southfield syn-
agogue this summer to become
rabbi of a congregation in
Toronto. And Beth Achim is
again studying whether to
move or merge with another
congregation.
Rabbi Berman will complete
negotiations next week with
Congregation Shaar Shalom, a
600-member Conservative syn-
agogue in the Toronto suburb
of Thornhill. He described the
situation as "a good opportuni-
ty for my advancement."
Beth Achim President Gary
Leeman said Rabbi Berman
asked the synagogue board
for permission to investigate
other opportunities when
preliminary discussions over
extending his contract began
last fall. He has been with Beth
Achim since July 1989.
"He told us in mid-February
of the seriousness of his leav-
ing," Mr. Leeman said. Beth
Achim contacted the Rabbinical
Assembly in New York to begin
the process of finding a new
rabbi and is appointing a search
committee.
"I can't fault anybody for try-
ing to improve the situation for
himself and his family," Mr.
Leeman said. He believes Beth
Achim's circumstances influ-
enced the rabbi's decision to
leave.
"At the end of a new three-
year contract (between Beth
Acim and the rabbi), will Beth
Achim have merged?" Mr.
Leeman asked. "Would Rabbi
Berman then still be calling the
shots on ritual?"
Mr. Leeman believes the con-
gregation will have to make a
decision in 1994 on moving or
merging. Beth Achim has been
debating this issue for a num-
ber of years.
"We need 600 members to
have the financial means to be
a full-service congregation," Mr.
Leeman said. Beth Achim now
has 439 members and broke
even financially this year.
'We're operating as tight a ship
as possible, and we're just bare-
ly making it," he said.
"To stay, there would have to
be a sudden change in the
neighborhood, with Jewish kids
again going to the public
schools."
Mr. Leeman said potential
building sites have been iden-
tified, but feasibility studies
must be done. He said the con-
gregation would consider merg-
er only after eliminating the
idea of moving on its own.