EDITOR'S WATCH
New Temple Israel Siddur
A Celebration Of Jewish Life'
Where is God?
Wherever you let God in.
— Kotzker Rebbe
on those prayer themes.
Unobtrusively placed prayer notes
explain the origins, meaning and vital-
ity of prayers in lay terms. "Prayers
emple Israel's new prayer
have a dynamic. They're not just a
book, Shema Yisrael: Hear,
string of words. Once you
0 Israel," is visually striking
understand that dynamic,
and spiritually enriching.
you're more likely to be
"The Temple Israel Siddur is ours
moved," Yedwab said.
— our guide to worship, our guide to
Benefactors Renee and Mar-
the celebration of Jewish life," said
tin Laker dedicated the siddur
Jimm White, president of
in memory of their
the 3,200-family Reform
beloved fathers, Harry
congregation in West
Laker and Samuel
Bloomfield.
Meltzer, and in honor o
"If a movement pro-
their mothers, Sarah
duced this prayer book,"
Laker and Florence
Rabbi Harold Loss said,
Meltzer.
"the movement itself
In the opening pages,
would be extremely
the Lakers write: "May
proud. That our congre-
this siddur guide you
gation — our clemv
and
through prayer in the
b.
ROBERT
members together — pro-
gentle and loving way
A.
SKLAR
duced it is something
our parents have guided
Editor
memorable."
us through life."
And he's right.
Teamwork by the
The power of prayer and the vigor
congregation produced the sid-
of meditation radiate from the color-
dur. But it never would have
fully illustrated, 225-page siddur, to be
seen print without Yedwab's
used on Shabbat, holidays and festi-
stay the course perseverance.
vals. We want worshippers to feel it's
Rabbi Loss likened his col-
something special the moment they
league of 12 years to "a brilliant
touch it," said Rabbi Paul Yedwab,
captain of a ship."
who served as editor.
To Yedwab's parents, Rabbi
The hardcover book is laid out in a
Stanley and Myra Yedwab of
two-page format so facing pages relate
Lakewood, N.J., in town for
to one another in design and content.
the dedication, Loss said:
Typically, right-hand pages carry tradi-
"Much of what you taught your
tional prayers while the facing left-
son is exemplified in every
hand pages offer creative meditations
aspect of his life. The prayer
T
-
Large Numbers
Don't Know Jews
Who would think my little fluff piece
of Oct. 30 ("Unprepared for
Mary Elizabeth Doyle")
would provoke even a single
letter, much less two?
One of these comments
demands a reply. On Nov. 20,
Ben Mandell writes: "He
wrote, 'We live in a largely
un-Jewish Detroit.' He proba-
bly meant un-Orthodox Detroit. I am
also inclined to believe he was referring
to the northwest area where many Jews
live who are not Orthodox."
I guess there are a few who hold
that only the Orthodox are Jews.
Please don't snare me in that trap. This
is one idea I emphatically reject.
Nor was I referring only to the
I11/27
11998
34 Detroit Jewish News
northwest. "Detroit" includes the core
city, Flat Rock, Sterling Heights — a
host of cities and towns where hardly
a Jew can be found.
I meant that Jews — in all forms of
practice — make up such an
inconsequential fraction of
greater Detroit that the gener-
al population is remarkably
ignorant of Judaism.
So it doesn't surprise me
anymore when people who
know full well of my religious
leanings ask me if I celebrate,
or enjoyed, Christmas. Our profile
here is so low that a lot of our neigh-
bors don't know without asking that I
don't, and I didn't. Brooklyn, it ain't.
When I said "non-Jewish Detroit,"
I meant literally that.
Elliott Shevin
Oak Park
book, so much of which he inspired,
is now an extraordinary part of our
life."
Yedwab was worried the siddurs,
printed in Jerusalem, wouldn't arrive
iitt&-itro
',veva)
the STatibath
in Irander before the'.
tai c, creation.
G. r
ays wilen
-e*tioothint.;
at,t!4
by the Nov. 20 dedication. So he
enlisted support from the 30 couples
he and Rabbis Steven Weil of Young
Israel of Oak Park and Stephen Weiss
of Congregation Shaarey Zedek were
with on a Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit-
cosponsored "Future Leaders
of Clal Yisrael" mission to
Prague and Israel.
The couples, who came
home Nov. 18, stuffed 200 of
the newly printed siddurs in
their El Al luggage. "With
some bags weighing more
than 100 pounds, it was a
miracle that plane even took
off," Yedwab quipped.
As it turned out, Federal
Express delivered
From
540 more of the
"Kabbalat hot-off-the-press
Shabbat." siddurs in time for
the dedication.
Reform couples
on the 10 day
mission were the first to expe-
rience the beauty of the sid-
dur when they used an
unbound version on Shabbat
at outdoor services overlook-
ing the hills of Jerusalem.
The siddur took a
painstaking four years to cre-
ate
grew
arew our of The New
Temple Israel Siddur experi-
mental edition used at sum-
mer services in 1994. A sub-
sequent series of town meet-
SIDDUR on page 38
-
'
Letters Policy
The Jewish News welcomes letters to the editor on topics of interest
to the Jewish community.
We reserve the right to edit letters. They should be limited to
approximately 350 words. Deadline for consideration is 10 a.m.
Tuesday for Friday's edition.
Letters should be typewritten and double spaced. They must con-
tain the full name of the writer and a daytime telephone number so
authorship can be verified.
Include the town of residence or employment of the writer as
well as a position or title, if appropriate. Original copies must be
hand signed.
Letters can be mailed or brought to The Jewish News at 27676
Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI 48034; faxed to (248) 354-6069; or e-
mail to: TheDJN@AOL.COM .
Letters to the Editor are posted regularly on our JN Online web-
site at www.detroitjevvishnews.com
■
"N "\. ; '