Related story from page 14
Disagreements Mark
Beth El's History
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
T
he organ music and the
mixed-gender choir caused
the first schism at Temple
Beth El.
But the disagreement that be-
gan that day in September 1861
has been repeated several times
with different themes since the
Beth El Society, Michigan's first
Jewish congregation, formed in
1850. Major arguments over re-
ligious and managerial matters
have led, in the past, to three ma-
jor splits and the departure of
hundreds of temple members.
As a result, two of the largest
congregations in Michigan were
formed, and a third has become
the fastest-growing temple in the
state.
Temple Beth El, the oldest con-
gregation in Michigan, has gone
from being the temple with the
largest membership to the sec-
ond-largest Reform congregation
in the state.
It all began on that autumn
day in the temple's first home on
Rivard Street between Cham-
plain and Monroe in Detroit.
The Beth El Society held its
first meeting in Isaac and Sarah
Cozen's Detroit home. The soci-
ety was more Orthodox in its tra-
ditions, but slowly migrated
toward Reform through the lead-
ership of its early rabbis.
The shift to Reform was not
welcomed by all. By the time the
society had gathered enough cash
to purchase the French
Methodist Episcopal Church in
August 1861, a rift had grown.
The congregation's leadership
had taken a bold move to include
organ music to accompany the
male and female choir during ser-
vices in the new building. The
space required by the larger choir
forced some of the women in the
congregation to sit on the same
floor as the men.
"At the conclusion of Simchas
Torah services on Sept. 27, 1861,
when these innovations were first
introduced, 17 of the 40 members
withdrew from Beth El to form
the Shaarey Zedek Society," a
book written about the history of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
says.
The new society quickly grew.
Within three years, Shaarey
Zedek Society had 63 members
and opened its first synagogue.
Eighty years after the first
split, another disagreement was
brewing. In 1941, Rabbi Leon
Fram, associate rabbi and direc-
tor of the temple's education pro-
gram, was poised to take over
Rabbi Leo Franklin's position as
senior rabbi.
But some board members felt
that Rabbi Fram was too in-
volved in secular causes, like civ-
il rights, labor and politics.
Others took issue with his Zion-
ism.
When the board voted to re-
place Rabbi Franklin with Rab-
bi B. Benedict Glazer, 200 Beth
El members held a meeting in
July 1941 at the Book Cadillac
Hotel in Detroit.
According to historian Sidney
Bolkosky's book Harmony & Dis-
sonance: Voices of Jewish Identi-
ty in Detroit, 1914-1967, Temple
president Marvin Garvett
chaired the meeting. As it pro-
gressed, Rabbi Fram walked in,
much to the surprise and delight
of the crowd.
Mr. Garvett resigned his posi-
tion and, with the crowd, decid-
ed the town was big enough for
two temples. The new one would
be called Temple Israel.
At Temple Israel, b'nai mitz-
vah reappeared and more He-
brew was used in the services.
Nearly 1,000 members joined the
new congregation in a short span
of time.
In 1987, some board members
sought to terminate Rabbi Dan-
nel Schwartz's tenure. Rabbi
Schwartz had served at Temple
Beth El as an associate rabbi un-
der Rabbi Richard Hertz since
1974 and had taken over the po-
sition of senior rabbi when Rab-
bi Hertz retired in 1982.
During his time as senior rab-
bi, Rabbi Schwartz reinstituted
at Temple Beth El, then home to
1,600 members, the use of kippot
and talleisim. But some temple
leaders held fast to the more clas-
sical Reform tradition, which saw
no place for such religious items.
When Rabbi Schwartz's contract
came up for review, the board de-
cided not to renew.
A group of congregants, call-
ing themselves Friends of Tem-
ple Beth El, were angered by the
board's moves and began a recall
campaign to oust some trustees.
The board eventually gave
Rabbi Schwartz an additional
year contract, which would ex-
pire June 30, 1988.
The following spring, a hand-
ful of Temple Beth El members
left to form Temple Shir Shalom.
Led by Rabbi Schwartz, the tem-
ple grew within a few months to
300 members.
Now, Shir Shalom counts 670
families as members and is con-
sidered by the Union of Ameri-
can Hebrew Congregations to be
the fastest-growing temple in the
state.
Temple Beth El now has some
1,245 members. 1:1
"I've never laughed so much nor
have I cried so much in one day,"
s'aid Marc Beals of West Bloom-
field. The mere sight of El 747s
at the Detroit Metro Airport
international terminal brought
tears to our eyes and pride to our
community. A year prior, th6 con-
cept of a Michigan acie Mission
was at mostone El AI direct flight
servicing- 200-400 etroiters.
pent-up demand res :Red in some
1,300 Detroit Jemdsh community
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