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JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

CONTINUED FROM page 1

Outside, an interfaith garden will allow
families to memorialize anyone, regardless
of faith or background. More than 40 per-
cent of the congregants are intermarried.
"This temple was constructed so no one
will feel too far away from the Torah," Rab-
bi Schwartz said. "A temple should be a
house of prayer, a house of study and a
house of meeting. We've combined all three
to teach our children the importance of
each."
Congregants can hardly hide their ex-
citement over the near-completion of the
new temple. Judging by inquiry phone calls
made to the temple office, most members
plan to attend the dedication and many
have driven by the new building on sev-
eral occasions or gone inside to sneak a
peek.

A banner has
counted down the days.

14

PHOTOS BY GLENN TRIEST

Alan Mindlin, Shir Shalom president,
drives by the new building every day. Not
because it's on his way to work but because
"it makes me feel good," he said.
Robert Fineman, the temple's first pres-
ident, also admitted to visiting the con-
struction site on several occasions.
"A few weeks ago, when Rabbi Schwartz
and I were there, we stood on the sanctu-
ary floor saying, 'Can you really believe
this?' " Mr. Fineman said. "A lot of people
worked hard to make this happen. It's very
gratifying to see a dream come true.
"In the beginning, none of us could have
imagined that in such a short time span we
would have tremendous membership num-
bers or that we'd be moving into a new
building. It's been a very gratifying process
for everyone involved and very much a trib-
ute to Rabbi Schwartz."
A large banner outside the temple's new
location has been counting down the days
to the dedication for the last 40 days: "Our
future is in days."
Bunni Lieberman, dedication chair-
woman, has worked on every detail of Sun-
day's event. She's been working closely with
250 volunteers, the West Bloomfield police
and area businesses who have agreed to
donate refreshments.
According to Ms. Lieberman's plan, a
half-dozen school buses will transport par-
ticipants from West Bloomfield High School

Workers install
a stained-
glass window.