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SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer
I
The Rabbi's Infl uence
Under Rabbi Weil's leadership, there
are now 260 member families at Yl-
Oak Park, an increase of 50 or 60
6/16
2000
6
Outside their Oak Park home, Rabbi Steven Weil stands with wife Yaeh holding 3-year-
old son Benjy. In front are their children Malky, 10; Kayla, 8; Rachel, 4, and Josh, 6
families since he arrived.
"He has done everything," Singal
said. "He has been involved with the
youth and adults. He made a tremen-
dous difference in our relationship
with Federation, the AJE, other con-
gregations and the rest of the commu-
nity. He put us on the map."
He said Rabbi Weil has made him-
self available to brainstorm, often
holding meetings at his house. Calling
the rabbi "a creative fund-raiser,"
Singal said as programming improved,
the Royal Oak Township-based shul
became a fun place to go and operat-
ing dollars increased. "People come
from other communities, feel welcome
and contribute to our shul."
Danie Sherizen, 17, a neighbor of
the Weils in Oak Park, has spent quite
a bit of time in the rabbi's home.
Watching him, he said, "I have
learned how to deal with different
people — all different types of Jews. I
see it is very important to reach out.
We're all Jews. There's not that much
difference between us. He stresses the
importance of reaching out to other
s
Core , ...
,yam rex.
Rabbi Weirs Detroit legacy inspires religious pluralism.
n less than six years, Young
Israel of Oak Park's Rabbi
Steven Weil has made an
imprint on the Detroit Jewish
community that will remain here long
after his family is settled in their new
California home.
His August move to a position as
head rabbi of Beth Jacob
Congregation in Beverly Hills leaves
not a void, but rather a legacy of
ongoing programming he initiated.
Bridge-building, a designation typi-
cally reserved for interracial and inter-
religiouS issues, is the term many use
in describing Rabbi Weil's work with-
in the movements of Judaism.
"He is a wonderful bridge between
the Orthodox community and other
denominations," said Rabbi Elimelech
Goldberg of Young Israel of
Southfield.
"His greatness is in being able to
reach beyond the Orthodox commu-
nity and touch and impact all walks of
life," added Judah Isaacs, executive
director of the Agency for Jewish
Education in Bloomfield Township
and a member of YI-Oak Park.
Friends; colleagues and synagogue
and community members are finding
the rabbi's departure bittersweet.
"This is a tremendous opportunity
for him," said YI-Oak Park President
Ruvi Singal. "But I am terribly upset
that he is leaving."
A search committee already has
been appointed; Singal said rabbis
across the country have contacted the
congregation. Isaacs, co-chair of the
committee, said that because of Rabbi
Weil, "a lot of people want to come
here. He made it the place to be."
The hope is to hire someone within
the next three to four months. The
task at hand, however, is not easy. "He
will be very hard to replace," Singal .
said. "In a short time, he has become
like a- member of the family."
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communities — bridging the gap."
As far as the synagogue's youth is
concerned, Sherizen said, "There are
always kids at his house watching
football on Monday nights.
"He is always an integral part of
whatever activity is taking place," said
Sherizen, a synagogue member. "He
seems to always be there."
Isaacs agreed. When his mother
passed away recently in Israel, he called
his friend and rabbi at 3 a.m. and
within minutes, Rabbi Weil was at his
front door. "That's the kind of person
he is for a lot of people at our shul,"
Isaacs said. "When members are in the
hospital, the rabbi's always been there.
Unify ing Force
With a priority of bringing together dif-
ferent sectors of the Jewish community,
Rabbi Weil was instrumental in revital-
izing the Detroit Teen Unity
Mission/March of the Living, an inter-
national youth trip to Poland and Israel.
Robert Aronson, CEO of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Rabbi Steven Weil is leaving
Young Israel of Oak Park for a
California congregation.
Detroit, remembers the march as a
program that in the past attracted
three or four participants yearly. It was
revived under Rabbis Weil, Paul
Yedwab of Temple Israel and William
Gershon, formerly of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.
Together, they "recruited from the
Orthodox, Reform and Conservative
movements, to make it a community
program, increasing it to 60 teens,"
Aronson said.
The Federation-funded program
was so successful that it sponsored a
similar one for young adults.
"What happened between the
movements was so unique with the
teens that Rabbi Weil did the same
with 20 young adults, who traveled on
the Klal Yisrael/Unity Mission to
Prague and Israel on a young leader-
ship trip," said Rabbi Yedwab.
He said one evening of that mission
was devoted to an "Ask-the-Rabbi"
session, which turned into "basically a
flat-out, no-holds-barred debate that
was so stirring that individual mem-
bers searched each other out for fur-
ther discussion into the early morn-
ing."
Rabbi Yedwab credits Rabbi Weil
for the bonding that occurred.
"Anybody could have done what I did,
but only Steven Weil could do what
he did."
Rabbi E.B. "Bunny" Freedman of
the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy
Network in Southfield said of Rabbi
Weil: "He is one of those people to
work with the entire broad communi-
ty — finding areas that bring people
together."
One such area has been the
Neighborhood Project's tri-city pro-
gram, which connects members of
Orthodox, Conservative and Reform
synagogues.
Marion Freedman is director of the
Neighborhood Project, a direct service
program of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit. The
Neighborhood Project was established
to enhance and preserve the vitality and
growth of the Jewish neighborhoods of
Oak Park and Southfield. Freedman
sees Rabbi Weil as a strong proponent
of the Neighborhood Project and a
supporter of the 10 Mile-