Community
Cover Story/Spirituality
Metro Detroit's Finest
Heating and Cooling
Specialists
-'1h7z77t
Is your air conditioning running
as efficiently as it should?
FREE ESTIMATES
FINANCING AVAILABLE
www.SMHEATING.com
—
23262 Telegraph Rd. • Southfield, MI 48034
49 YEARS IN BUSINESS. AND
WE'RE STILL DEVELOPING.
.
loin the Families That Have Come To
Depend On Us Year After Year.
G O R bACk phorogRAphy
Les and Jack Gorback
32731 Franklin Rd. • (248) 626-3666
PLAISA
Jackets, Pants, Skirts, Sweaters
& Accessories • Women's Sizes 2-16
COMPLAISANT
6720 Orchard Lake Road
est Bloomfield (next to Deli Unique
Michigan's Hottest Group
Mel Ball and Colours
Voted #1 Best Band b y
Crain's Detroit
7/13
2001
56
Business Magazine
(248) 851-1992
gants to feel connected to one
another. For the past 15 years, he
has concluded each Shabbat ser-
vice with a "Simcha Moment."
"People stand up and share
their simcha
whether it's a
birthday, anniversary, new job
or the birth of a child," says
Rabbi Nelson. "It's very spon-
taneous, very beautiful, and
has made the congregation
closer. When everyone walks
into the oneg Shabbat after
the service, they have some-
thing to celebrate together."
Another innovation at Beth Shalom
is a "group blessing" during Saturday
morning services. "Nobody escapes
without a blessing," says Rabbi Nelson.
"Reciting the Blessing of Aaron, which
is a priestly blessing, as a group is very
empowering."
Group singing is also encouraged,
although Beth Shalom has not yet used
music as part of their services. "We do
plan to experiment with musical instru-
ments during the Minchah or Havdalah
services, but not during Shabbat," says
Rabbi Nelson.
According to B'nai Moshe's Rabbi
Elliot Pachter, the use of musical
instruments during Shabbat is not in
direct violation of biblical law, but
rather a rabbinic prohibition dating
back 2,000 years. He says that because
musical instruments were used in the
Second Temple in Jerusalem before its
destruction in 70 C.E. by the Romans,
their use was forbidden thereafter .ts a
sign of mourning.
The trend toward innovative syna-
gogue programming is rapidly spread-
ing from coast to coast, often originat-
ing in California and New York.
Upper Manhattan is home to one of
the national models for Synagogue
2000. The Friday night family service at
Congregation B'nai Jeshurun draws
hundreds of people weekly for an ener-
getic evening of singing, dancing and
prayer in a casual, upbeat, but decidedly
Jewish, setting. Although it is a
Conservative synagogue, musical instru-
ments are used throughout the service.
And where but California can one
find a musical group called
"Hollywood Klezmer," and a Shabbat
service entitled "Friday Night Live?"
The Sinai Temple in Los Angeles is
Jerry Welber,
Huntington
Woods, finds a
page in the
sicklur at a
Shabbat Rocks
service at
Adat Shalom
Synagogue.
known for its popular Friday night
Reform service, a 90-minute musical
service produced and directed by song-
writer Craig Taubman.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people,
primarily singles, gather on the second
Friday of each month for a lively musi-
cal service, Israeli dancing, refreshments
and plenty of post-prayer schmoozing.
Temple Beth Ahm, also in Los
Angeles, holds a Reform-based musical
service "for singles looking for religion
and a partner." It features "song and
dance in a funky and fun form of wor-
ship," according to the Web site.
For families with younger children,
the Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los
Angeles implemented a Friday night
"Shabbat Early" program. The hour-long
Reform service, similar to B'nai Moshe's
"Shabbat Odyssey," includes snacks for
children and take-home dinners.
Not everyone, however, is receptive
to change, especially in the synagogue,
where some people expect tradition,
stability and "no surprises."
After a particularly spirited Friday
night outdoor service at Temple Israel,
Cantor Corrsin received a letter from
an irate congregant, asking, "What do
bongos have to do with being Jewish?'
For other families, such as Ken and
Leslie Hacker of Clarkston, the infor-
mality and personal connection they
found at Shir Tikvah were exactly
what they needed. They joined the
400-family congregation four years
ago, after an unfulfilling experience in
a larger congregation.
"When you come here, you know
everyone and they know you," says
Ken Hacker. "It's just like a family, and
all the singing makes the service more
enjoyable. I find myself humming the
melodies even during the workday." 111