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of major architectural endeavors
at Detroit area synagogues in the
past few decades. With Temple
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield
and the soon-to-be built synagogue
for Congregation Shir Tikvah in
Troy as more recent additions to
the city's spiritual landscape, and
Temple Beth El and Congregation
Shaarey Zedek heralding archi-
tectural triumphs past, Detroit is
rife with unique shuts that are ex-
pressive of Jewish thought.
YIOP's Rabbi Well says a di-
alectic exists "between the notion
of the community coming togeth-
er to engage God as a community
and the private experience in
prayer. And for it to be a commu-
nity, the way we're going to have
to construct the building is that
everyone feels a part of that com-
munity."
That means all seats within
ample view and hearing of the ser-
vice. Far-reaching, clear acoustics.
Natural light — so as to strip wor-
shipers of egocentrism. According
to the Talmud, tractate Brachot,
the Book of Daniel says that a syn-
agogue needs windows, so a "per-
son does not have a microscopic
view [and has] the proper reality
of who God is," says Rabbi Weil.
Also of great concern for Young
Israel is the location of the
women's section. 'The idea was to
try and make the proximity of the
women as close to the center of ac-
tion as possible, within halachic
guidelines," Mr. Cohen says.
Committee members are dis-
cussing with the architects differ-
ent materials to use for the
mechitzah, or separation, to give
female worshippers a proper view
of the service without distracting
the men on the other side.
Kenneth Neumann and Joel
Smith, of Neumann Smith & As-
sociates, and Don Paul Young and
Todd Mitchell Young, ofYoung &
Young, agree that a building
should be an outgrowth of the peo-
ple who use it.
Neumann Smith designed
Young Israel-Southfield, Congre-
gation B'nai Moshe and Shir
Shalom in West Bloomfield, Tem-
ple Beth El in Flint and is work-
ing on Shir Tikvah. YIOP is the
first synagogue Young & Young
has constructed.
Mr. Neumann and Mr. Smith,
who are Jewish, say their shared
heritage influences how they en-
vision a synagogue. The Youngs,
who are not Jewish, feel that corn-
ing in cold gives them an advan-
tage: no preconceived notions.
Nonetheless, as Mr. Neumann
says, "It all starts by listening to
somebody." With Shir Tikvah,
currently being built, "the whole
congregation said they want a
simple building, not to impress, a
very residential feel."
Consequently, Shir Tikvah's
plot, at the corner of Northfield
Parkway and Wattles in Troy, is,
and will stay, surrounded by trees
and neighborhoods. With the
school portion a priority, the en-
tire building will be multipurpose:
the sanctuary's walls are movable,
so the classrooms behind can be
used for a banquet or extra High
Holiday seating, says Rabbi Arnie
Sleutelberg. The Reform congre-
gation hopes to inhabit its new
building by Chanukah, he says.
How does an architect realize
the wishes of a congregation? Todd
Young replies: "How does a musi-
cian create a symphony?
"You have to have a complete
understanding of all pieces — bud-
get, governmental regulations,"
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Above: Alex Saltsman, Eugene
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Left: Joel Smith and Rabbi Elliot
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30400 Telegraph Rd. Suite 134, Bingham Farms • 642-5575
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