Noah Not Needed

Flood at Temple Emanu-El doesn't halt activities.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

SteqfWriter

W

hen Rabbi Joseph Klein
spoke to his synagogue's
executive committee earlier
this month, he mentioned the weekly
Torah portion, "Noah," in a new con-
text.
"When Rabbi Klein said, 'the
spririgs opened from underground and
leapt forth,' he was connecting the
portion with the flood we had in the
synagogue on Oct. 1," said Susan
Kirschner, Temple Emanu-El's execu-
tive director. "I looked at him and
tentatively asked, 'What's next week's
portion?'"
The congregation's saga began when
a water pipe broke the Friday after
Yom Kippur. "The building is old and
just sprang a leak in the underground
area beneath our foyer," Kirschner
said. "We actually had an outdoor leak
before Rosh Hashanah, so we were
quite fortunate that neither leak was
on the High Holidays."
It's that positive attitude — which
was also noted among other staff, cler-
gy and congregants — that made the
situation much more tolerable.
Although the synagogue currently
has no carpet in the foyer, was briefly
without water and is without its new
stained glass windows (removed for
equipment entry), those involved are

Equipment is all set for work inside Temple Emanu-El.

taking the experience in stride. They
even turned it into an adventure for
their nursery school students, whose
classes were canceled for just one day.
"The kids think this is the greatest
thing that ever happened," Kirschner
said. "They watch the workers from
inside; they watch from outside. They
even had a special talk by one of the
plumbers telling them about how the
work area was too dangerous to come
near."
Right now, except for a request to
visitors to use the synagogue's educa-
tion entrance, it is business as usual at

Yehuda, music director
of Voices for Israel

Akiva Hosts Yehuda

Yeshivat Akiva will feature Yehuda, music director of
Voices for Israel, at its annual family concert and afterglow
Saturday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m.
Yehuda will be accompanied by full orchestra. The event
will take place at Akiva, 21100 W. 12 Mile Road,
Southfield.
The evening also will include a tribute to Distinguished
Service Awardee Linda Lefkowitz.
To make reservations ($18 for adults and $10 for chil-
dren), to inquire about sponsorship opportunities or to
place a message in the tribute booklet, call Mark Nadel,
(248) 356-5663.

10/29
2004

26

Emanu-El.
"We don't know exactly how long
repairs will take, but right now we
have water and operations continue,"
Kirschner said.
And upcoming activities — like the
Nov. 18-21 art fair of works from the
Safrai Fine Art Gallery in Jerusalem —
will be held as scheduled.
During the weekend of the flood, a
group of teens attending a North
American Federation of Temple Youth
(NFTY) Kallah was able to hold their
event in the building.
Even a wedding, planned for 'that

same weekend, was held, on time,
without any hitches — other than that
of the bride and groom.
Last-minute wedding plan modifica-
tions were organized by Judy
Greenwald, Emanu-El's arts and decor
committee chair and building and
grounds co-chair.
"She made the wedding look as if it
was what was planned all along,"
Kirschner said. "She even ordered an
outdoor tent for the hors d'oeuvres
and reception that were originally sup-
posed to be held in the foyer."
Synagogue staff, including
Kirschner, was on hand to guide
guests from an alternate entrance —
away from the wet floors of the foyer
— into the tent. The sanctuary and
social hall, where dinner was served,
were undamaged.
"The guests — who could ha've
been whining and grumbling — were
all peaches and kindness," she said.
The one possible setback that staff
wasn't certain it would be able to rem-
edy was the lack of water supply in the
bathrooms during the wedding and
youth group program. That's when
they were reminded what great neigh-
bors they had.
"The Jewish Community Center [in
Oak Park] next door, opened up the
building during a time when it was
closed to make their bathrooms avail-
able to our guests."

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