And Authenticity
Above: Putting on talit and tefillin in pre ara-
tion for morning services at Hillel are, le to
right, Greg Kaplan, 13, of Farmington Hills;
David Kurzmanov, 13, of West Bloomfield; and
Matthew Orley, 13, of Franklin.
,
Left: David Harris, 13, of Bloomfield, kisses his
talit in prayer at Hillel.
behind the East and West coasts when
it comes to women. Since the mid-
1980s, the movement has ordained
women rabbis, and a series of
Conservative rulings starting in 1955
count women in a minyan, allow them
to lead services and grant them the
privilege of reading from the Torah.
The movement does not mandate
inclusion of women, however, and
while 83 percent of North American
Conservative congregations are fully
egalitarian, some in Detroit have been
slow to change.
There are no Conservative women
rabbis in pulpit positions here,
although since 1995 Rabbi Michele
Faudem has performed rabbinic
duties at Hillel Day School, which
has been fully egalitarian since 1981.
B'nai Moshe and Congregation Beit
Kodesh do not count women in the
minyan or allow them to lead prayer.
Adat Shalom also does not, but is
expected to become fully egalitarian
next year.
For decades, Beth Shalom and the
Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue
have been fully egalitarian, and in the
past few years Shaarey Zedek and
Beth Abraham Hillel Moses also
opted to include women in all ritual
activities.
Rabbis anticipate that Detroit will
start to see women in Conservative
pulpits in the next few years. Hillel's
Faudem, a petite but powerful pres-
ence, agrees. "I don't think shuls will
look at gender as an issue," she said.
Faudem, who went to Hillel, knew
at age 11 that she wanted to be a rabbi,
even though the movement did not yet
ordain women. No one at Hillel ever
told me I couldn't," she said.
"My job is not up for grabs yet,"
said Beth Shalom's Nelson, "but when
it is, I imagine a woman would be
considered. I think women could be
candidates for any pulpits opening up
around here.
"
Outreach To Intermarried?
Both nationally and locally, the
Conservative Movement has been far
slower than the Reform Movement to
accept intermarried Jews and their
partners.
Fearing their welcome would
ENERGY on page 25
Opposite page: Shoshana Beider, 12, of West
Bloomfield, reads at the bima during Hillel Day
School's morning minyan.
Phoro b Daniel Li in
It's unclear whether observance in
metro Detroit has risen significantly,
but rabbis here say they're seeing •
more Shabbat attendance and getting
more phone calls from congregants
asking for help kashering kitchens or
observing the dietary laws of Passover.
In my congregation there is a grow-
ing coterie of people who are commit-
ted to mitzvot," observed Nelson.
"People want what's authentic."
Conservative Jews enrolling in
classes say that studying makes
Judaism more meaningful to them.
B'nai Moshe member Gloria
Bookstein said her learning — in
Detroit's now defunct community-
wide Florence Melton Adult Mini-
School and through Eilu v'Eilu —
has given her a better understanding
of the why's and not just the how to's
of Judaism. "Before the classes, I had
done things by rote, but never knew
why," she said.
Shaarey Zedek member Arlene
Victor, who recently participated in
several days of intense learning through
a Jewish Theological Seminary pro-
gram, said studying makes her feel
more closely tied" to Judaism.
CC
Left: Teletubbies 'Ede in yel-
low and "Dips)," in green were
a big hit with the young set at
a Shaarey Zedek parenting class
last week.
Below: Leonard Baruch, Karen
Lovinger and Jeflrey Eisman
study together during a Beit
Midrash class at Shaarey Zedek.
Below left: Susan Krakoff
leads a Limud class.
New Roles For Women
Both Bookstein and Victor are pleased
to see the Conservative Movement
becoming more egalitarian; Victor,
who at age 65 is studying for her bat
mitzvah, used to find Conservative
Judaism's patriarchal ways off-putting.
Now she feels energized by the
growing body of feminist interpreta-
tions within the movement.
Nonetheless, Detroit is a little
4/23
1999
Detroit Jewish News
23