Shir Tikvah School Makes Movable Artifacts JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER ontinuing its nomadic existence, Congregation Shir Tikvah has added several portable elements to its fam- ily education program. Already touting an ark on wheels for its weekly services, the congre- gation now boasts several movable artifacts for its school, including a mezuzah hung with the aid of velcro. The 12-year-old congregation, with the help of the Agency for Jewish Ed- ucation and Jewish Experiences For Families, formed its own school two years ago when United Hebrew Schools closed. Neither the school nor the con- gregation has a permanent home. Services are held in the Northminster Presbyter- ian Church on Big Beaver Road in Troy while school takes place in rented rooms at Roeper Elementary in Bloomfield Hills. While the rental saves money normal- ly spent on bricks and mortar, it presents a problem for teachers who cannot set up permanent displays in the classrooms. Most materials used in classes are brought by the teachers, who store the items in their homes. Portable items create a mood for the school. But while the shlepping of the teaching materials is considered a "minor inconve- nience" by director of education Janet Moses, not having religious articles was more detrimental to the children. The need for such items arose when Ms. Moses planned to use a Jewish Experi- ences For Families learning game called the "Great Synagogue Search." The game features cutouts of items normally found in synagogues which the participants have to glue in the proper place. "To not have the artifacts on site is just one more opportunity for them to forget," she said. "I realized the children wouldn't know where the artifacts belonged." The congregation asked members to make the needed items. Art Bayer made an electric eternal light using different lengths of tubing and a flower pot. The light is transported to the school each week in a cardboard box stuffed with a pillow. Chris Wattenberg created a wooden mezuzah to hang in the school building. The school would not allow a nail to hang unprotected from a wall but was willing to allow a strip of velcro to be glued to a door post. The school now uses the portable ark, mezuzah and eternal light. "Because we are guests at the school, we have to be imaginative in adapting tra- ditional symbols to create a sacred space," Ms. Moses said. "It is the closest we could get to having a mezuzah affixed all of the time." Shir Tikvah students also assembled and painted a portable ark, complete with a sliding curtain. Even the school's library has wheels attached to the bottom. Although the congregation has been given some shelf space at the Presbyterian church, the school operates its book lending program from a cart assembled by the students. The cart is taken from room to room on Sun- days to allow the children to check out books. "They never cease to amaze me," Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg said of the congregants' response. "Their commitment and devo- tion to the temple is extraordinary." According to Rabbi Sleutelberg, the con- gregation has begun to plan for a perma- nent home. On June 11, members will be asked to vote on a financial plan to fund the construction of a temple. Even when a more permanent home is available, the portable pieces will be in- cluded in decoration plans. "These pieces will always have a place in the congrega- tion," the rabbi said. I