Synagogue

Life Through The Camera's Eye

SHELLI DORFMAN
StqffWriter

T

he last thing Meredith
Fleischer expected when she
walked into photojournalism
class last fall was ending up
volunteering for a project that would
take her a year to complete.
But that was before she heard what
Dorie Shwedel was proposing. The
president of Dorie Shwedel Public
Relations was in the process of pro-
ducing a photo exhibit called "A Year
in the Life of Shaarey Zedek." She
approached students at the Center for
Creative Studies in Detroit to carry
out Congregation Shaarey Zedek
President Dottie Wagner's idea to pho-
tograph the day-to-day lives of congre-
gants. At first, Fleischer said, her
entire class decided to work on the
project, but after participating in one
or two photo shoots together, the
group dwindled to three. Fleischer did
the bulk of the photography.
Shwedel described the resultant
black-and-white photographic journal
as an "unposed documentary of the
synagogue's people and places in a
spectrum of synagogue activities."
The focus was to capture congregants
in their everyday pastimes, rather
than seek events to photograph their
staged happenings.
Describing the photos as "instruc-
tive, evocative and interactive,"
Shwedel said they are deliberately not
larger than 11 x 14 inches in size. "The
smaller the better," explained Fleischer,
"because the more intimate, the more
meaningful they will be [and] more of
a family thing, with viewers having to
get closer to see them."
The photo display will be part of
Shaarey Zedek's "Tapestry 1999" event
at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16. Lori
Silverstein, event chair with Juliann
Kovan, said the display fits into this
year's theme: "The Art of Jewish
Living." Silverstein stressed the word

Shaarey Zedek offers a photographic
look at a year in the life of its members.

Juliann Kovan, Meredith Fleischer, Lori Silverstein and Dorie Shwedel display pic-
tures from the Shaarey Zedek photo exhibit.

"art," with reference to cultural
Judaism. "Tapestry," beginning with a
Havdala service and ending with
dessert, in the middle will offer Jewish
learning sessions in music, dance,
drama, photography and more.
Shwedel will host a descriptive tour
of the photos in
"A Year in the
Life." Some, she
said, appear as
vignettes in such
*,"
settings as the
daily morning
minyan, which

"Tapestry 1999: The Art of Jewish Living" includes the
photo exhibit "A Day in the Life of Shaarey Zedek" and a
PR&W Traveling Dance Theatre presentation of
"Postcards From Israel." Following is a dessert afterglow
by Quality Kosher Catering with coffee drinks from Viva
Cappuccino. Pianist Carole Lasser and flutist Nikola
Lemberg will play. Tickets for the evening are $18. For
reservations by Friday, Oct. 1, call Kelly Woerner, (248)
357-5544.

,,,...§AM .A.,&:;:sXxr •
•

she described as "contemporary people,
so sincere in their praying, it gives you
a catch in your throat."
In a photo taken at the religious
school, Shwedel pointed out the moth-
er standing with her son, whose facial
expression shows "the concentrated

effort of coming to school, dead-tired
from soccer, with his look saying it all."
Even with careful planning of
which scenes to photograph,
Shwedel said, "the project took on a
life of its own." It reflects everything
from choir practice to nursery
schoolers embracing teachers to bar
and bat mitzvah tutorials to "the
thousands of decisions, based upon
halachic, personal, logistical and
financial considerations, that take
place daily."
The photos of Jewish life show that
"we are connected by ancient ritual. . .
endless carpools, home observance and
communal prayer — scenes which
could be anywhere," she said.
Five-dozen photos were chosen for
the exhibit. Fleischer said her input
consisted of nearly 400 photos taken
and developed from 35 rolls of films. "I
knew it would take a long time," said
the May 1999 CCS graduate. Now
holding a bachelor's degree in fine arts,
with a specialization in photography,
Fleischer is a free-lance photographer
who's applying to graduate schools.
"It was nice to go back and observe
some of the holidays and events that I
didn't even know existed, through the
eye of my camera," she said.
Fleischer was especially awed at the
chance to photograph people she
deemed as extraordinary in very ordi-
nary scenes. At a pre-Kol Nidre photo
shoot, she aimed the camera at man she
"had always heard about but had never
seen his face." Among Fleischer's contri-
butions to "A Year in the Life of Shaarey
Zedek" is a photo of synagogue-goer
Max Fisher chatting casually with a
friend, Dr. Manny Sklar. ❑

:R&M&

:, •

rneaning
.
c,h.rliques

outhfleld will derrionstrate tliat
e to drinking wine than sipping

trends in Jewish music.
• Modern Israeli Poetry: A Reflection of the
Israeli Soul. Nira Lev will discuss issues of
Israeli society, as expressed through modern
Israeli poetry. Lev is director of Hebrew pro-
grams at the Hebrew Interactive Learning
Center at the Agency for Jewish Education.
', Virtual Judaism. Noah Krugel of EPK
Design will offer an interactive tour of the
many Internet Web sites available on Jewish
topics. No computer experience is necessary.
•As Orthodoxy Meets Conservative Jewry:
Encounters in Israel. Scholar-in-residence
Rabbi Benjamin Segal will explore the strug-
gle for religious pluralism in Israeli society.

9/24
1999

Detroit Jewish News

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