Community
that synagogue services lack spirituality,
and that they can find the spiritual con-
tent they crave in Buddhism.
But to incorporate Buddhist thought
into traditional Jewish services can pro-
vide the missing link between the
Protestant model of Judaism that
became the norm in America — sit in
rows of pews and listen to the rabbi lead
— and that other-worldly, participatory
spirituality.
What distinguishes Judaism, Rabbi
Sleutelberg says, is that it's always adapt-
ing new ways to express spirituality and
applying them to their lives.
"We've had mountaintop experience
after mountaintop experience, including
every level in between the valley and the
mountaintop repeatedly over the years,
and we've really become a spiritual com-
munity" he says. "But part of remaining
on the cutting edge of connection with
God is to continue to be creative and
innovative and seeking to become ever
more connected."
Being open to the idea is what made
his sabbatical to the Far East so success-
ful. He purposely went to Thailand
without any itinerary or reservations. He
wanted to adopt the Buddhist technique
of letting experiences find him, rather
than chasing after them.
In the north of Thailand, he ran into
a young man who happened to be a
guide. The next thing he knew, he was
on his way to a two-day trek into the
hills to spend some time in isolated vil-
lages. He learned about their culture and
talked with the village shaman.
"It was one of the most enriching
experiences of my life," he says.
"I really have been conscious since
I've come back of the privilege of every
experience that comes my way. I think
I've been able to focus more on the
moment and not get caught up in
thoughts of the past or the future."
Rabbi Sleutelberg is discovering that
his congregants are thirsty for these
kinds of insights. One indication of this
thirst is that the SAJE class he and
Rabbi Greenwald taught had space for
25 people, and they had to turn away
75.
Seeking Meaningful Encounters
To Rabbi Greenwald, one way to
quench this thirst for Eastern thought
is to take Detroit-area Jews to investi-
gate the source.
The "Great Cities" trip will take the
travelers to Thailand, Singapore,
Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
Along the way, they will look for
opportunities for mifkash, for personal
encounters, with the local population.
"We want to have meaningful
Spirituality
-/
encounters with people who practice
Eastern religion," Rabbi Greenwald says.
"People who can really tell us how they
feel about this world, about suffering,
about faith. Bring home the differences
and commonalities to us. Also, their
everyday struggles and triumphs."
Rabbi Greenwald believes a trip like
this will aid Jews in their individual
quests for meaning in Judaism — a
quest that has brought many Jews into
the realm of Eastern thought.
Many Jews drift toward Eastern
thought because it seems more con-
ducive to the personal search, as opposed
to the Jewish emphasis on community,
he says.
.
"Above and beyond many other pop-
ulations, Jews are seekers for emet, for
truth. I think they've lost along the way
some of the tools for that personal
search. All this movement is about is
bringing back some of the tools."
Although Buddhists do not ask that
Jews relinquish their Judaism, where is
the point where a Jew who practices
Judaism ceases to be a practicing Jew?
"When you stop doing mitzvot,"
Rabbi Greenwald says. "That's the sim-
ple answer."
Mitzvot keep Jews grounded in this
world, he says. That is why
Buddhism's Jewish cousin — the mys-
tical tradition of KabbaLh — has tra-
ditionally imposed limits on who can
practice it (only over-40 married males
with children), out of fear that with-
out a grounding in this world, they
will simply take off.
"There is a this-worldly Judaism
and an ethereal, other-worldly
Buddhism," Rabbi Greenwald says.
"Buddhism also returns to the Earth,
but doesn't see the world and its glo-
ries as being of intrinsic importance,
whereas Judaism really does."
Part of the purpose of this trip, Rabbi
Greenwald says, is to study the points
where Judaism and Buddhism merge,
and where they depart. The result
should be greater insight into both.
"The people who come on this trip
can really bring back something that'll
be welcome in Detroit, which is a bit of
an outsider's look on Judaism, a bit of an
outsider's look on faith and religion in
general. These people can be builders in
terms of what they bring back and
imbue that into their lives."
❑
re in ormation about the
ties of Asia trip, call
reenwald at (248) 661-
Keter Torah Hosts
Synagogue Picnic
Keter Torah Synagogue will host a
family picnic 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 5, at the Drake Sports
Park shelter in West Bloomfield.
There will be games for children
and adults. There is no charge. For
information, call Susan Alspector,
(248) 788-1006.
Weitzman Earns
Beth El Award
Clement Weitzman of Southfield
was recently honored at the Temple
Beth El Brotherhood installation
with the presentation of the Robert
L. Rosenbush Award.
The award is given annually to one
devoted to the brotherhood and for
emulating the qualities of Bob
Rosenbush, the former brotherhood
president for whom the award is
named: Torah (scholarship) Avodah
(worship), G'milut Hasodim (deeds of
loving kindness).
Weitzman spent the better part of
his 90 years in service to others.
After 55 years as a real estate broker,
he is still active as owner and presi-
dent of Circle Realty. He is a 60-
year member of the temple's usher
corps and an active participant in
the Beth Elders, serving as a board
member and co-chair of entertain-
ment.
A longtime brotherhood member,
he served two years on its board and,
prior to its disbanding in 1996, he
was active in the Middle Years
Group, serving five years as presi-
dent and 10 years as entertainment
chair. Weitzman also served as chair
of volunteers for the Baldwin Soup
Kitchen program, which serves din-
ner once each month at the Pontiac
facility.
Temple Emanu-El
Installs Officers
Temple Emanu-El installed its lay
leadership for the coming year at a
special Shabbat service on June 29.
They include president, Bruce
Gordon; vice presidents, Robert
Olender, Sheldon Klein, Kathryn
Nelson, Jo Strausz Rosen, Debra
Holzman Silver; secretary/treasurer,
Jacob Shimansky; financial secretary,
Alan Kessler and immediate past-
president, Beth Applebaum.
Also named were trustees: Lindy
Buch, Howard Collens, Elaine C.
Driker, Eric Goldstein, Judith
Greenwald, Susan Gross, Sheryl
Loeb, Mitch Meisner, Arleen Miller,
Sandy Nickerson, Jennifer Wolin
Patterson, Arnold Portner, Gerald
Robbins, Richard Selik, Susan
Sherbow, Neal Silver, Elizabeth
Zerwekh and Julie Zussman.
Temple arms and auxiliaries presi-
dents include: sisterhood/WRJ presi-
dent, Carolyn Silverstein; brother-
hood president, Alan Schindler;
EMES president, Lillian Fox and
TEMTY president, Caitlin Klaper.
Multi-Media
Project Set
The Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit has been
selected one of 20 JCCs to partici-
pate in An Ethical Start, a multi-
media Jewish educational curriculum
made possible through a grant from
Steven Speilberg's Righteous Persons
Foundation. An Ethical Start is a
program of the JCC Association of
North America.
The project is based on the study
of the Hebrew text Pirkei Avot,
(Ethics of the Fathers). The book is
the Talmud's repository of advice,
whose ethical lessons have been a
source of guidance for Jews for cen-
turies. The idea behind the program
is to lead parents and teachers
toward a deeper approach to study-
ing Jewish texts so they can better
convey to their children the signifi-
cance of Jewish values discussed in
Pirkei Avot.
Geared for 3-5 year olds, An
Ethical Start uses modern technolo-
gy, language and imagery to tech val-
ues of friendship, self-dignity and
respect for others. Each JCC will be
able to customize and adapt the pro-
gram to its local needs.
The goal of the program is to go
beyond the holiday-oriented Jewish
education curriculum usually used in
JCC early childhood programs
To develop this project, JCC
Association's early Childhood
Education department brought
together a team of artists, songwrit-
ers, Jewish text experts and early
childhood curriculum writers, incor-
porating the most up-to-date tech-
nological resources. The 20 JCCs
will field test the curriculum over
the next two years. One of the other
JCC participating is the JCC of
Washtenaw County.