Patterns Of Change
`The Boys From
Beth Achim'
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Community institutions often intersect
in new, intriguing patterns, as Beth
Achim, Adat Shalom and Yeshivat Akiva
did over the last year. The people of all
three say the changes are fine.
The morning minyan from
a closed synagogue finds a new
togetherness at Shaarey Zedek.
HARRY KIRS BAUM
Staff Writer
0 ne year later, they're still
together, for lox and herring
and devotion.
Faced with declining
membership a year ago, Congregation
Beth Achim in Southfield voted to
merge with Adat Shalom Synagogue
in Farmington Hills. The men who
made up Beth Achim's thriving, tight-
knit minyan [prayer quorum] weren't
sure what would become of them.
T a st Sunday morning, 28 former Beth
Achim minyaners sponsored a breakfast
in their new home — at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek — and showed that the
spirit of the minyan is not set in a place,
but in the people who pray.
About half of the members of the
Beth Achim minyan ended up at
Shaarey Zedek, said one of them, Paul
Sherizen, in part because its congregation
seemed to go out of its way to get them
and in part because of the location.
"For me, it's one of the closest
places to go — the next shul in the
neighborhood," Sherizen said.
Taking part in the minyan isn't quite
as convenient as it once was for
Sherizen. From his back yard, he can see
the former Beth Achim building (now
transformed into the school Yeshivat
Akiva), where he used to walk to the
minyan. Now Sherizen has to make a
short drive down 12 Mile Road to reach
Shaarey Zedek's Bell Road entrance.
For this age group, driving can be a
problem, said Harry Ellenson, 89.
"The older you get, your driving isn't
so aye-aye-aye.
"
Harry Kirsbaum can be reached at
(248) 354-6060, ext. 244, or by e-mail
at hkirsbaum@thejewishnews.com .
While many synagogues
struggle to get the 10 men
needed for the traditional
early-morning minyan, Beth
Achim never had a problem.
An average of 20 members
would show up for its ser-
vice each morning at 7:15.
Ellenson said the morn-
ing services now are "more
or less like the ones we had
at Beth Achim." Shaarey
Zedek's chapel is larger and
more modern, but the
prayers are ageless.
Harold Shwedel, 81, said
Shaarey Zedek is close to his
Southfield home, and hav-
ing a lot of his old friends
from Beth Achim makes it
feel like he's davening with
ca very close family."
Like most Beth Achim
congregants, he and David Glantz, 75,
of Southfield, went to Adat Shalom after
the merger a year ago. But one day, they
just decided to try Shaarey Zedek.
Glantz and Shwedel had met at the
Beth Achim minyan while saying
Kaddish for their wives, who died
within a month of each other, said
Glantz. Now they are close friends and
daven together in the back row of the
Shaarey Zedek chapel, and sit next to
each other over breakfast, just like
they did at Beth Achim.
Bernie Morof, 79, of Southfield said
he was upset when Beth Achim closed,
but feels comfortable where he is now
and knows that his presence here is a
mitzvah. He said "the boys from Beth
Achim" have helped stabilize the
turnout at Shaarey Zedek's minyan and
"helps them immeasurably"
Morof had been a Beth Achim
minyan participant since December
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0
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1986, when he said Kaddish for his
cousin. He considers himself close
friends with everyone in the group.
Cantor Ralph Goren of Shaarey
Zedek said the former Beth Achim
congregants "have brought stability,
warmth and sincerity to our minyan."
On Sept. 3, about 15 of the "boys
from Beth Achim" were welcomed to
join in a special breakfast for Barney
Kasoff, 99, who celebrated his birth-
day by doing what he's always done at
Shaarey Zedek to start his day — go
to minyan.
Occasionally, some of the daveners
will take a trip to Young Israel of
Southfield, and visit old friends like
Maurice Barnes, the 91-year-old who
used to fix breakfast for the Beth Achim
bunch, and Joseph Baras, the former rit-
ual director of Beth Achim for 26 years.
Last Sunday, in honor of their one-
year anniversary there, Baras led the
morning minyan at Shaarey Zedek.
Clockwise, from left:
Bernie Morof has breakfast.
Paul Sherizen and Al Friedman at
breakfast.
Harry Ellenson reads the
blessing after the meal.
Barney Kasoff celebrates
his 99th birthday
"It feels very nice. It reminds me of
the old days," he said.
Baras misses Beth Achim, but "this
is reality," he said. Even though he no
longer leads, he still joins in a Young
Israel study group at 6 a.m. before
going to minyan.
Al Friedman, 66, of Southfield, said
he doesn't miss Beth Achim for one
simple reason.
Its the people, not the building,"
he said. "If the people are here, you
have nothing to miss." I 1
9/10
1999
Detroit Jewish News
2,5