Photos by Krista Husa

Aaron and Jill Dones:
Loving Beth Shalom.

Conservative Rebirth

Free one-year
memberships
pull in new,
young families
to Congregation
Beth Shalom.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN
Staff Writer

r

or Karen Smith and Marcus
Helman, it was a matter of
convenience. And finances.
Huntington Woods resi-
dents for the past three years, the pair
and their two children, ages 4 years
and 5 months, just joined
Congregation Beth Shalom, largely
because of an offer for a free one-year
membership.
"It's in the neighborhood, we've
been to synagogue there before, liked
the sort of homey, informal atmos-
phere," Smith says. "We were not
members anywhere else — I grew up
in a large Conservative congregation
in Atlanta, and my husband grew up
in a fairly large Reform congregation
in Chicago. We really picked it
because the people were very nice and
welcoming and because of the free
membership ... because finances are an
issue, it made us feel that we could
join and see if we like the place and
become part of the community before
we made the financial commitment."

Smith and Helman are not alone.
Conservative shul in Oak Park is expe-
About 140 families took up Beth
riencing a renaissance of sorts.
Shalom's offer for "friendship mem-
The Oak Park-Huntington Woods
berships" — a free one-year member-
neighborhood used to be home to two
ship to anyone who attended Shabbat
Conservative congregations. B'nai
morning services in September. Some
Moshe, now in West Bloomfield, fled
of the new members, like Aaron
when the construction of 1-696
Dones and his new wife Jill, grew up
seemed to threaten properties near the
at Beth Shalom. But others, like Smith proposed highway, says Nelson. As
and Helman, were indecisive shul-
- recently as 1982, "it was still unclear
hoppers, searching for a combination
about 696, but I always believed in
of community, friendliness and afford-
the strength of the Jewish community,
ability.
that the center of the Jewish commu-
"People know about Beth Shalom,"
nity was here.
says its rabbi of 25 years, David
"We had a dream that we would
Nelson. "There are a lot of families
found a congregation and be success-
with great devotion to the area in
ful. I came 18 years into that dream. I
which they live — Southfield, Oak
didn't want to be the rabbi to close the
Park, Huntington Woods. But at least
congregation," he says.
40 percent of our members live 20 car
"We are still the center of the
minutes away from the congregation."
Jewish community, the heartbeat —
Beth Shalom has entered a new era.
kosher butchers, Jewish bookstores,
With the completion of renovations to
the Jewish Community Center,
the synagogue building and an antici-
Federation Apartments, the Orthodox
pated September 1998 opening of its
mikvah, bakeries. I always believed
first religious school wing, the only
this would be the major part of the