Co m mun ity

Spirituality

Time For Repentance

Selichot services follow programs highlighting
forgiveness and human relationships.

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Related editorial- page 37
Related story: page 69

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Synagogues use programming

to initiate discussion in antici-

pation of the Days of Awe.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
StaffWi-iter

hen area synagogues
begin pre-Selichot
service programs on
Iliir Saturday, Sept. 23,
at least two will do so with the
words and lessons of Capt. James
T Kirk.
Ushering in Selichot, the peni-
tential prayers said daily from the
week before Rosh Hashanah
through Yom Kippur, many con-
gregants first will attend programs
featuring related music, art and
films. The service begins a time of
preparation for the 10 Days of Awe,
during which Jews ask God for forgive-
ness for human failings.
"Selichot night provides a good
opportunity for introspection as one
begins to consider the possibilities of
teshuvah or repentance," says Rabbi

ynagogues offering Selichot ser-
vices and related programming on
Saturday, Sept. 23, include:
• Adat Shalom Synagogue: 9 p.m.
adult study commission-sponsored
discussion with Rabbi Jay Strear,
and colleagues from University of
Judaism May 2000 rabbinical ordi-
nation class. Discussion will be fol-
lowed by refreshments and an 11
p.m. service, led by the Adat
Shalom clergy and the High
Holiday Mixed Voice Choir.
Discussing personal perspectives
on their "spiritual journeys" to rab-
binical school and to Detroit will
be Rabbi Strear with Rabbi Amy
Bolton, chaplain and community
educator; Rabbi Scott Bolton, direc-

While searching a Conservative rab-
bis' Internet site, Rabbi Charles
Poppy discovered the same episode
on a list of suggested video presenta-
tions for pre-Selichot programming.
"This is a show about the nature
of the human being," says the new
Congregation Beth Ahm rabbi. "As
we approach the High Holidays, we
think about our impulses: how we
make our choices and control our-
selves and how we balance the dif-
ferent things we feel."
Offering a different theme of
repentance is Congregation Shaarey
Zedek. "We are showing a film
about reconciliation during this time
of year when we reflect on our rela-
tionships with friends and loved
ones," says Cantor Chaim Najman.
"The Quarrel (by Yiddish writer
Chaim Grade) is about two child-
hood friends separated by war," he
says. "By the time they reunite after the
war, they discover they are totally differ-
ent people — one very observant and
one very secular and worldly"
Says Cantor Najman: "The film
shares with the viewer the process of
their being alienated, the quarrel they
have and the reconciliation." ❑

8

m

Elliot Pachter of Congregation B'nai
Moshe. "The service is one of a reflec-
tive mood and haunting melodies," says
Cantor Chaim Najman of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek. It is typically accompa-
nied by related programming offering
thought-provoking discussion leading to
personal reflection.
"'The Enemy Within' is the very seri-

ous Star Trek episode we are showing,"
Rabbi Pachter says. "It is where we meet
two Capt. Kirks — the good one and
the evil one. The lesson we see is that
there are good and evil yetzers [inclina-
tions] in each of us. It is a beautiful les-
son of what comprises the completeness
of a human being — a powerful mes-
sage for the pre-High Holiday season."

tor of community learning at Mel
Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit; and Rabbi Hal Greenwald,
director of Jewish education at the
Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit.
• Congregation Beth Ahm: 9:30
p.m. showing of Star Trek episode,
"The Enemy Within"; 10:30 p.m.
refreshments followed by Selichot
service led by Cantor David
Montefiore and the synagogue
choir.
• Congregation Beth Shalom: 9
p.m. Eileen Halman Aboulafia will
present "The Birds Still Sing, the
Flowers Still Grow; the Sun Still
Shines: a Visual Essay of David
Horodok, Belarussia"; 11 p.m.

Selichot service,
• Congregation B'nai Moshe: 7:15
p.m. concluding Shabbat services;
8:15 p.m. Havdaia and dessert; 9
p.m. showing and discussion of Star
Trek episode, "The Enemy Within";
10 p.m. Selichot service led by
Cantor Earl Berris.
• Congregation Shaarey Zedek:
8:30 p.m. showing of The Quarrel,
followed by refreshments; 11 p.m.
Selichot service presented by
Cantor Chaim Najman and the
Shaarey Zedek synagogue choir,
directed by Eugene Zweig. Rabbis
Irwin Groner, Leonardo Bitran,
Stephen Weiss and Joseph Krakoff
will participate and offer commen-
tary.

• Shir Tikvah: 11:30 p.m. medita-
tion; midnight Selichot service.
• Temple Beth El: 8 p.m. author,
psychologist, professor, Dr. Sol
Gordon will speak on "When
Loving Heals"; 9:30 p.m. oneg; 10
p.m. Selichot service.
• Temple Emanu-El: 8 p.m.
Selichot service.
• Temple Israel: 9 p.m. musical
program by Klezmer Fusion Band;
11 p.m. Selichot service.
• Temple Kol Ami: 8 p.m. Selichot
program; 9:30 p.m. refreshments;
10 p.m. Selichot service.
To determine other programming
and services, contact individual syn-
agogues. ❑

