A Daily Fix
Temple Israel's daily minyan is a synagogue staple.
271 West Maple
Downtown Birmingham
248.258.0212
Monday—Saturday 10-6 • Thursday 10-9
--meatmkuma,mommawout
,z'a,ta fg aN4W,A.
ARNOLD
LINCOLN-MERCURY-MAZDA
Drive East Pay The Least
mama
PASSION FORTHE ROADTM'
43
LINCOLN
Mercury
GIL PRATT
Leasing Manager
Your West Side Specialist
(810) 445-6000
Gratiot Ave. at 12 Mile Road
1/30
1998
Roseville, MI 48066
Fax (810) 771-7340
LYNNE MEREDITH COHN
StafTWriter
T
hey gather in the library at
Temple Israel almost every
morning, surrounded by
stacks of books. The only
sounds are the chanting of Hebrew and
English as members daven together.
The service is led by members,
both male and female.
Batya Berlin has been davening
daily at Temple Israel since the tradi-
tion started about 14 years ago. The
synagogue began with an afternoon
service and moved to a morning
minyan a few years ago.
"At first, it wasn't a minyan (10
adults); it was what I call a
cminyanette' — two, three, four of us
there. We held the service even with-
out a minyan," she says.
Berlin, who leads the Tuesday
morning service, estimates there are
17 "regulars" during the week and 22
on Sundays. The minyan meets
Sunday through Thursday and draws
able to make it here in that time
members of all ages.
frame." So the service moved to the
The service "validates the whole
morning.
concept of lay leadership in the same
Rabbi Dan Freedlander, director of
way that Temple Israel's minyans at
program
for the Union of American
houses of shiva are purely lay-run,"
Hebrew
Congregations,
says it's more
says Rabbi Harold Loss. "It is a state-
common
for
large,
urban
synagogues
ment that religious services do not
to hold a daily minyan than those it_
necessarily need to be led by clergy."
the suburbs.
The daily minyan began
"In suburbia, it's far
under the leadership of the late.
Prayin
g
together
less
likely. As congrega-
Frank Simons, the temple's
in
the
morning
at
tions
moved to suburbs
executive director, and several
Tempi
e
Israel.
and
Jews
moved farther
members who knew Hebrew,
away
and
weren't near the
Berlin recalls. Simons "wanted
congregation at the beginning or end
this for the temple for the longest
of the day," the trend tapered off.
time. This hit me right in the heart as
"When a large, urban congregation r _,
something I really needed to do for
moves to the suburbs, re-establishin6—\
myself," she says.
its daily minyan is more difficult than
"I was not in mourning, but it was
it was in center city. That's the
something that seemed to me to be of
moment for celebration," he says.
utmost importance."
In metro Detroit's Reform congre-
When the synagogue was located in
gations, Temple Beth El recently
Detroit, the minyan met in the after-
began a daily minyan, and Temple
noon. "When we moved to the sub-
Emanu-El offers prayer services five
urbs (in 1980), we initially tried to do
days a week. Temples Shir Shalom and
the afternoon minyan again," Loss
Kol Ami do not have daily services. It,
says. "We found that people were not