ED
-
This building, now a church, housed
United Hebrew Schools.
O
Formerly B'nai Israel, this building is now
home to the Third Baptist Church.
A rabbi's trip to
Detroit provides a
Cincinnati museum
with old Jewish
memorabilia.
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER
1-)
The inscription on the side of the old Temple
Beth El reads: "My house shall be called the
house of prayer for all people."
Collector Of
Jewish Artifacts
he first downtown Detroit stop Rabbi Abie
Ingber made was nothing more than a
small mound of dirt with overgrown grass.
Not exactly what he expected.
The Cincinnati rabbi got out of the car
anyway. He was hoping to find a corner-
stone or some sort of a clue to show this site
— the corner of Winder and St. Antoine —
was once home to Congregation Shaarey
Zedek.
His search was unsuccessful. He was un-
aware the abandoned building burned
down last year.
By early afternoon, Rabbi Ingber had
visited more than a dozen former Detroit
synagogues. Now homes to Baptist,
Methodist and other denominational
churches, these buildings still contain ev-
idence of Jewish inhabitance — exactly
what Rabbi Ingber was trying to find.
Synagogue names, Hebrew inscriptions,
Stars of David and menorahs are clearly
visible on the exteriors of these buildings.
Inside, Jewish stars and other symbols also
remain.
The Friday after Thanksgiving, the rab-
bi came to Detroit to explore these former
synagogues and collect relics for his Cincin-
nati museum — a preservation of artifacts
and architectural remnants from old U.S.
synagogues.
The museum, housed at the University
of Cincinnati Hillel Jewish Student Cen-
ter, where Rabbi Ingber serves as execu-
tive director, displays a collection of
synagogue artifacts from numerous con-
gregations nationwide.
"I began doing this because my parents
are both Holocaust survivors," Rabbi Ing-
ber said. "I have no history, except one pic-
ture of two of my four grandparents. I
cannot understand why people abandon
their history."
With the help of a 1940 Works Projects
Administration inventory of Michigan
churches and synagogues, Dr. Ron Fogel
behind the wheel and Sheri Devries acting
as navigator, Rabbi Ingber was able to vis-
it the sites of once-thriving Detroit con-
gregations.
At the time, no one was inside many of
the buildings so Rabbi Ingber could only
photograph the exteriors and substantiate
the WPA information. At buildings that
were in use, the rabbi was invited in for a
tour.
At the Third Baptist Church, on Ferry
and Hastings, the rabbi toured the build-
ing — a chapel with a small balcony and a
kitchen and meeting room in the basement.
The only indication that this building
was home to B'nai Israel, beginning in
1913, was a stained-glass Star of David (al-
though the top point was replaced by a sol-
id orange piece of glass) and the two tablets
of the Ten Commandments cemented near
the top of the church.
Rabbi Ingber does not always travel to
see old synagogues, but a visit with Dr. Fo-
gel was the impetus for his synagogue
search in Detroit.
Otherwise, if the rabbi hears of an arti-
fact, he calls on friends and former students
to help him locate the item.
`The artifacts, which find their way from
across the country to our collection, have
witnessed so many prayers," said Rabbi In-
gber. "While inanimate in design, they have
taken into themselves the soul of the con-
gregations that were their homes.
"They tell their stories, the stories of the
Jewish communities which gave them life.
In every city and town in this country, there
is an old synagogue, an old church, an old
town hall. Not every one needs to be pre-
served. But some artifact from the past can
preserve the legacy that bridges the gen-
erations."
Rabbi Ingber's recent trip to Detroit was
a success. The museum will soon "tell the
story" of B'nai Moshe when it adds a Star-
of-David stained-glass window and a wood-
en Jewish star. Both items from the 1929
shut were donated by the St. Paul African
Methodist Episcopalian Zionist Church, on
Lawrence Ave.
When the rabbi arrived at this particu-
lar church, he was awed by the beauty of
its stained-glass windows. Adding such a
window to the museum would be phe-
nomenal, but what were the chances?
Rabbi Ingber knocked on the door and
explained that he was interested in see-
ing the architectural remnants and talk-
ing to the minister about when the church
took over the building. The rabbi was also
hoping to find something left behind from
B'nai Moshe that would not be important
to the building's current occupants.
A tour of the church brought Rabbi Ing-
ARTIFACTS page 16