GRAND OPENING! CANINE DAYCARE & TRAINING CENTER Leonard Nimoy demonstrates how the posture of the praying kohanim in his childhood synagogue inspired the Vulcan greeting used on "Star Trek." 3131 Haggerty Road Commerce Twp., MI 48390 248-926-1711 Busy Family Lonely Dog = DAYCARE Stop feeling guilty about leaving your dog home alone! We have the answer! Let our experienced Playgroup Supervisors organize an exciting, energy-burning day for your dog! DayCare hours Monday - Friday 6:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Training Classes for puppies & adult dogs Focus On Photography Nimoy draws 600 to Shir Shalom to hear about his controversial new book. T DIANA LIEBERMAN Copy Editor/Education Writer he National Foundation for Jewish Culture (NFJC) will host 40-50 events this year in major centers such as New York and Los Angeles. But probably none will attract as large an audi- ence as the Nov. 14 appearance of actor-photographer Leonard Nimoy at West Bloomfield's Temple Shir Shalom, according to NFJC's national president, James August of Bloomfield Hills. About 600 people streamed into the synagogue's main sanc- tuary to hear Nimoy speak about his newly published book of photographs, Shekhina, which combines photographs of female models with tefillin, tallit and other Jewish artifacts. Nimoy had been booked as a guest speaker during the 51st Annual Jewish Book Fair, but community leaders and rabbis objected to the juxtaposition of nude or nearly nude female models with holy religious imagery. At an Oct. 23 community meeting to discuss Nimoy's appearance ("Community Consensus," Nov. 1, age 24), Rabbi Dannel Schwartz of Temple Shir Shalom volunteered to hold the talk at his synagogue instead of at its original venue, the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. The Book Fair and the NFJC remained as co-sponsors. "We need to find an opportunity in community venues for artists to exhibit their creations so that we can find out if they are meaningful to us," said August in a conversation before the event. "We're very appreciative of Shir Shalom for opening their doors to this program, but it doesn't solve the underlying issue," he said. The community members' "being offended is legitimate, and we can't destroy Book Fair over this, but we need a way for new ideas and expressions to be dissemi- nated in the venue of the community. "I'm not saying this work is heroic," August added, "but if you can't see it, how are you going to know?" Private Lessons ** ego vg, Available ONE FREE DAY OF DAYCARE Bring this coupon and receive one FREE day of DayCare at our new DayCare & Training Center. Please call for a reservation. Some requirements apply. One coupon per household Nimoy said that his critics had "assigned themselves the role of gatekeeper. "I'm OK with that, but others might object. I think they underestimate the public." A Jewish Journey Nimoy, whose role as Mr. Spock in the television series Star Trek made him famous, called his creation of Shekhina his "Jewish journey. A first-generation American whose parents came from Ukraine, he was raised in a home steeped in Jewish tradition, with Yiddish as his first language. He made his stage debut as the teen-aged son in Clifford Odets' 1935 play, Awake and Sing. Nimoy said the story captures precisely what was going on in his Boston apartment. As an adult, he told the audience, "Judaism went flat for me for a while. I went to services because I felt duty-bound NIMOY on page 18 " 673670 AUTO LEASING & BUYING MADE EASY ONE PHONE CALL IS ALL IT TAKES Specializing in: BUSINESS FLEETS HIGH-END IMPORTS FLEXIBLE LEASES HIGH-MILEAGE LEASES INDIVIDUAL LEASES All Makes and Models Foreign or Domestic Ask about our Zero-Down Leases No Cash Due at Delivery We Po All the Work Saving You Time and Money LEE ROTH GAGE LEASING COMPANY 28801 WOODWARD AVE. Many of the 600 audience members stayed after the talk for Nimoy to autograph copies of his book, "Shekhina." 248.414.5363 gageleasing@ameritech.net a division of THE GAGE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP IN BUSINESS FOR 55 YEARS 11/22 2002