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"full of life and energy. It's very ex-
citing for the youth; they had a
Broadway play recently and the
children were so happy. They had
such excitement to go to temple,
you could see it in their faces."
Plus, says Ms. Fink, the temple
has something for everyone —
"from the Temple Beth Elders
that my parents are involved in,
[to] Torah class, the Glazer Insti-
tute, which is an ecumenical
weekend where we
had a speaker ... it's
been going on for 55
years and brings cler-
gy from all over city to
our temple."
And, of course, Rab-
bi Syme'spet project,
Reath for Hope, a teen
suicide prevention
program.
While many ap-
plaud the suicide pre-
vention efforts of
Rabbi Syme, whose
brother Michael killed
himself, some ques-
tion its place at a syn-
agogue. Beth El has not focused
on, or mentioned publicly, suicide
rates within the Jewish commu-
nity, and the rabbi has taken the
program to the greater commu-
nity, to schools in Lake Orion,
where few Jews, if any, live.
That speaks volumes about the

majority of Beth El programming.
In December, it led a coat and shoe
drive, collecting thousands of
pieces of clothing and household
items to distribute to needy folks
in the community — Jewish or
not.
A 1950s band, the Persuasions,

Rabbi David
Castiglione: Proud
of Beth El's move
toward tradition.

W i tar444

Joyce Seglin sits
on the bimah in
clergy attire.

held a concert at the temple to
raise money for Reach for Hope,
and Beth El sponsored a "Gospel
seder" during Passover. Rabbi
Castiglione says part of the tem-
ple was transformed into a Green-
wich Village-style night club for
a night of fun.

"We talk about repairing the
world, tikkun olam — I believe
that Beth El is living it every day
now," says Lois Gerenraich, a tem-
ple trustee, social action chair and
lifelong member. .
"I see an enthusiasm and a to-
getherness in helping like rve nev-
er seen. So many
volunteers have come
forward to give 10
hours [a year] of their
time that we can't
even begin to contact
them adequately,"
she says. "We have a
waiting list of people
who want to deliver
food for Yad Ezra."
This summer, the
temple unveiled
Summer Adventures
1997, outdoor pro-
grams for all ages.
The camping es-
capades, like many of
Beth El's activities, have
no obviously Jewish content to
them, but Rabbi Castiglione says
all the programs are inherently
Jewish because Jews are doing
them.
"[Our] new philosophy is that
we are Jewish in every aspect of
our lives," Rabbi Castiglione says.
"Judaism is not confined to the
synagogue — one is Jewish every
moment."

PHOTO S COURTESY OF TEMPL E BETH EL

Jews to High Holiday services
free-of-charge.
Rabbi Syme, who declined to
be interviewed for this story, has
indicated in recent months that
he wants 2,500 member families
by the millenium.
In one year alone, the temple's
religious school has grown to the
point that it must cap enrollment
for next year at 750 students. A
child must come from a Beth El
member family to attend its re-
ligious school, which has absorbed
250 new students this year.
When all is said and done,
many congregants and unaffili-
ated individuals are literally in
love with the new Beth El.
Annette Fink, a member who
lives in West Bloomfield, joined
Beth El when her daughter start-
ed nursery school — a quarter cen-
tury ago.
What first attracted her to the
Reform congregation was "the fact
that children were really impor-
tant ... and that they were given
first-class treatment: during the
High Holiday services, they were
in the main sanctuary with the
main rabbis. When I grew up, a
teenager that was good in Hebrew
sometimes led the Service."
Ms. Fink says the temple has
only gotten better.
"The staff that we have now is
almost indescribable," she says,

In the synagogue, Beth El is be-
coming more Jewishly observant
than it used to be. Like the Refol
movement as a whole, Beth El has
taken on some more traditional
elements of Jewish religious ob-
servance — a change welcomed
by some members.
Beth El formed in 1850; when
UAHC formed in 1873, Beth El
was one of the charter members.
Called Beit El, it started Ortho-
dox, but after about seven years
beg-an to incorporate Reform ideas
— before the movement was even ■
created, says Rabbi Castiglione.
"Not only did we support Re-
form principles, but we started in-
stituting Reform practices and
rituals," he says. Temple Beth El
is one of the last examples of clas-
sic Reform in metro Detroit, as
many Reform congregations have
become more traditionally obser-
vant.
It began with outlawing the
practice of wearing yarmulkes. To-
day, head coverings are back in,
as with Rabbi Castiglione's daily
wearing.
A prayer of healing is included
in every service. Individuals in
need of "healing" are asked to
stand, says Rabbi Castiglione,
and twice so far, the clergy "have
actually gone down into the confil

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