Greenfield/Oak Park-Southfield com-
munity.
Freedman said the program's focus
is to help bridge the three movements,
with families from YI-Oak Park,
Congregation Beth Shalom and
Temple Emanu-El corning together
for projects at the Jimmy Prentis
Morris Building of the Jewish
Community Center in Oak Park.
Projects have included preparing
and delivering Purim packages and
Rosh HaShana apples-and-honey bags
to Jewish Apartments and Services'
apartments, and a "Rollerbladathon,"
which collected $257 to donate to Yad
Ezra, the Oak Park-based kosher food
pantry. Teens from the three syna-
gogues made Passover table-runners
together to take to the apartment resi-
dents.
Another evening program brought
women from the three congregations
together to talk about how they pre-
pare for the High Holidays, an event
at which the rabbi's wife, Yael Weil,
was among the speakers.
"The idea is to bring the communi-
ty together around things we can do
together, as opposed to what we may
do differently," Marion Freedman
said. "Rabbi Weil celebrates what we
share and does not focus on what we
do that is different. He cares about all
Jewish souls, with respect."
Rabbi David Nelson of Beth
Shalom, whose members participate in
the Neighborhood Project's program,
credits Rabbi Weil with bridging
many gaps. "What made him special
is that he treated everyone with a real
level of mentshlichkeit, bringing mutu-
al respect in the Jewish community
among my colleagues."
Many of the projects Rabbi Weil
encouraged took place at the JCC's
JPM Building in Oak Park. Leslee
Magidson, managing director there,
said: "Rabbi Weil really reached out,
not only to Young Israel and the
s.
Orthodox community, but to the
Jewish community at large."

Expansive Outreach

Rabbi Weil is strongly focused on
Israel. Rabbi Daniel Nevins of Adat
Shalom Synagogue calls him "a cata-
lyst for Orthodox involvement in
cooperative efforts, especially in bring-
ing Jewish youth and young adults to
Israel." Rabbi Weil recently co-chaired
a young leadership Partnership 2000
cooperative Jewish learning program
for Americans and Israelis.
Rabbi Weil also has taught at vari-
ous locales, including conducting a

Jewish history course at the AJE for
the last three or four years, and Torah
study classes at the Oak Park JCC.
Additionally, he has been involved
in programming that connects his syn-
agogue with the Southfield and West
Bloomfield Young Israel synagogues.
Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg of YI-
Southfield and Rabbi Weil each have
spoken from the other's pulpit. "We
have partnered in community activi-
ties, such as the Project Shalom Task
Force, a help-line for issues of poten-
tial domestic abuse," Rabbi Goldberg
said. "This will impact the entire
Detroit Jewish community." Rabbi
Weil "is an extremely bright, compas-
sionate spokesperson for our move-
ment and for the community," he
added.
Rabbi Nevins described his friend

Rabbi Yedwab

Rabbi Nevins

as an exceptionally talented, dedicated
and energetic leader of the entire
Jewish community. Rabbi Nevins,
president of the Michigan Board of
Rabbis, said Rabbi Weil "is the only
Orthodox pulpit rabbi to attend meet-
ings with the Michigan Board of
Rabbis." He recalled how, "during the
tragic days following the assassination
of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, of
blessed memory, it was Rabbi Weil
who stepped into the breach, partici-
pating in the communal memorial ser-
vice held at Adat Shalom. Concern for
Klal Yisrael (the entire Jewish people)
is a hallmark of his leadership."

California Bound

While the Detroit Jewish community
sadly bids farewell to Rabbi Weil, Beth
Jacob Congregation in Beverly Hills,
Calif, eagerly awaits his arrival.
With very tough shoes to fill, he
will step into the position held for 15
years by Rabbi Abner Weiss, who will
leave to lead the Marble Arch
Synagogue in London, England, as

well as head the University of
London-London School of Jewish
Studies.
Marc Rohatiner, president of Beth
Jacob, met Rabbi Weil in December,
when the rabbi was in California
speaking at the Orthodox Union's
annual conference. After hearing him
speak, first on the significance of
involvement in Jewish federations and
then on the importance of secular
education, Rohatiner called the rabbi
to invite him to be a scholar-in-resi-
dence at the synagogue the following
year.
When Rabbi Weiss accepted the
London offer in February, Rohatiner
re-contacted Rabbi Weil to invite him
to meet with the synagogue's board to
discuss a possible position. After a
search committee recommended that

Judah Isaacs

Rabbi Weil be hired, he returned to
Beth Jacob. Rohatiner described it as
"a very intense weekend of speeches
and classes," followed by a vote by the
general congregation.
Rabbi Weil will be only the fourth
rabbi in 60 years for Beth Jacob's cen-
trist, modern Orthodox congregation.
The 650-family synagogue sees 1,000
congregants on any given Shabbat,
joining one of the several weekly ser-
vices, including a "Happy Minyan,"
highlighted with music, and a yeshiva
minyan.
With pride in the diverse congrega-
tion, Rohatiner said, "We are a-very,
very divergent community — not a
typical monolithic shul." He says con-
gregants include many well-established
members, Holocaust survivors and
older Europeans.
Assistant Rabbi Marc Mandel will
stay on in his same capacity. Rohatiner
said Rabbi Weil's new position would
encompass all the responsibilities of a
new rabbi, with a focus on filling the
gap of working with the synagogue's
young couples.

Beth Jacob is the founder of the
Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, a
750-student religious day school for
students through the eighth grade.
Housed across the street from the
synagogue, it is now an independent
organization, but Beth Jacob's cur-
rent rabbi and president serve on the
academy bo\ard. The hope is for
Rabbi Weil to strengthen that rela-
tionship even more and become
involved at the school.

Farewell, Weils

Having visited the Beverly Hills area
on several occasions, Rabbi and Yael
Weil will return soon to search for
housing and to introduce their new
hometown to their children — Malky,
10; Kayla, 8; Josh, 6; Rachel, 4; and
Benjy, 3.
Yael Weil, an adult-educator who
has taught at Ohr Somayach Detroit,
AJE, Machon I2Torah/the Jewish
Learning Network of Michigan,
Women's Division of Federation and
the JCC, says her focus at first will be
on getting settled.
Originally from upstate New York,
where he received an MBA degree in
finance from New York University and
rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva
University in New York, the rabbi
came to Detroit in 1994. Following
the farewell party being planned by
congregants, the family expects to be
on the road by early August.
But seeing the rabbi leave will be
difficult for many.
Aronson of Federation's noted that
Rabbi Weil "will be a tremendous
addition to any community lucky
enough to have him."
For friend and colleague Rabbi
Yedwab, the thought of Rabbi Weil
going is "devastating." The two have
been friends since the first evening
they met at a Federation meeting,
when Rabbi Weil gave him his all-
important nod of approval in asking,
"Do you smoke cigars?" The ensuing
conversation went on for four hours.
The Weils plan to return so the
rabbi can conduct High Holiday
services at YI-Oak Park, and for
upcoming bar mitzvahs and wed-
dings.
Rabbi Weil looks at his time in
Detroit with "a profound sense of
gratitude to the community, the
greater Jewish community and the
Orthodox community for having
shown decency and warmth."
He added sincerely, "The past six
years for Yael and me have been the
best six years of our lives."

❑

6/16
2000

