Opinion
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Editorial
This Little Shul Could
I
is a song of hope — and so much
more.
Founded during a conversation in
a United Hebrew Schools extension-site
parking lot 25 years ago, the Troy Jewish
Congregation seemed destined to fail. It
had no rabbi and no sanctuary. And few
Jews lived east of Woodward Avenue.
But the moms shmoozing about having
a shul of their own so they didn't have to
drive to the west side for High Holiday ser-
vices were serious.
When Pamela Spitzer and Phyllis Wenig
hosted a fall 1982 meeting for prospective
congregants, 18 families were represented,
an impressive enough number. But a sec-
ond gathering a few weeks later drew 70
people representing 45 families. The engine
of opportunity already was humming:
Committees were formed, dues were col-
lected and officers were elected.
The Troy Jewish Congregation, today Shir
Tikvah (Song of Hope), was born.
A silver anniversary celebration was held
Feb. 9 on Shir Tikvah's wonderfully wooded
lot at Wattles and Northfield Parkway. The
event was a testimonial to the congrega-
tion's pioneering spirit.
The first year brought a borrowed Torah,
a sisterhood, a youth committee, a newslet-
ter and High Holiday services — lay led, of
course. The first sefer Torah was purchased
in 1984 from the Memorial Scrolls Trust in
Westminster, England.
Part-time student rabbis served until
1988 when God made the perfect match: a
young, growing congregation and Student
Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg, who was serving
in Traverse City at the time. He quickly
became beloved by family, friends and col-
leagues. He remains Shir Tikvah's lifeblood.
The year 1992 brought the Sam and Jean
Frankel Family Education Program.
In 1998, congregants marched their
Torahs from Northminster Church on Big
Beaver and dedicated their new home after
16 years of wandering.
A second rabbi, Aaron Starr, who grew up
at Shir Tikvah, returned in 2004. He took
the Frankel Family Education Program to a
higher level.
Under Rabbi Arnie, Shir Tikvah has
grown to 338 families, advocated social
causes like Empty Bowls Shabbat, expand-
ed its affiliation from the Reform move-
ment to include the Renewal movement,
and created new ways to learn for Jews of
all ages. The outdoor sanctuary and rustic
labyrinth underscore a commitment to
reflection and prayer amid nature.
Shir Tikvah openly appeals to traditional
Jews, unaffiliated Jews, interfaith families
raising their kids as Jews, gay and lesbian
Jews — really anyone searching for the
nutrients of Torah.
Worshippers clap, sing and dance. It is
pure inspiration to watch Rabbi Arnie,
draped in a tallit and with his signature
smile, sing Shalom Aleichem. He moves
spiritual mountains.
A founding partner of the Troy Interfaith
Group, Shir Tikvah has proven that reli-
gious unity is possible amid diversity. It
welcomes and warmly accepts you for who
are, period.
It's fitting that Shir Tikvah has commis-
sioned a scribe to create its own sefer Torah.
This little shul that could is making
Judaism — and its spiritual and cultural
bounty —echo for all congregants, but
especially the younger, impressionable
generations most influenced by the secular
world's powerful tug.'
_
Greenberg's View
5teve@greenimrg-art.com
Reality Check
Words From The Wise
A
fter the shtetl of Chelm, the vil-
lage of fools of Jewish folklore,
disappeared from the map, its
wise men went off looking for employ-
ment. I think they must have found it
locally.
One of their great projects back in
Chelm was trying to steal the moon by
sealing its reflection in a vat of liquid.
Some say it was borscht. Whatever. When
they removed the lid next day they were
mystified to find the moon had escaped.
But as the new advisers to Kwame
Kilpatrick, the wise men have surpassed
even this triumph. One of them stood in
front of a television camera to deny that
any secret agreement involving the Mayor
existed at the very moment copies of that
very agreement were being passed out to
reporters. This was a masterstroke.
They also told Kilpatrick to make a
public televised apology while
seated in his church.
"What am I supposed to
apologize foe asked the Mayor.
"Everything," they said.
"But what should I say that I
did wrong?"
"Nothing."
"But why should people
believe me just because I'm in
a church when I've already lied
in a court of law after by plac-
ing my hand on the Bible."
The wise men had to consult on this.
"You could tell them that you are on
a mission from God to be the mayor of
Detroit:' they told him. "Let them try to get
a denial of that."
"Sounds good:' he said. "What else
should I do?"
`Well, you can attack the Detroit Free
Press. Accuse it of publishing
these stories in order to sell
newspapers."
"Wait a minute said Kwame.
"Isn't that what a newspaper
is supposed to do? If it doesn't
sell papers, wouldn't it go out of
business?"
"Possibly," said the wise men.
"But that is a very subtle point
and by the time people figure it
out, we will all have moved on.
By the way, keep telling people it's time to
move on. Maybe even to move out.
"And when you go on television to apol-
ogize, make sure your wife is sitting right
next to you. Hold her hand. That would be
a nice touch. And say that the media made
her the real victim."
"Yes. That's a good point:' said the
Mayor. "I can see that. It certainly wasn't
me who did it."
"Of course not."
"And shouldn't I play the race card, too."
"Are you kidding me said the wise
men. "Of course. This is Detroit. People
like familiar things in their politics. It
makes them comfortable."
"Well, let's see said Kwame. "I'll play
the race card, the media card, the religious
card and the family card. What's left?"
"How about the deuce of clubs?" said
the wise men. "There's nothing lower left
in the deck."
The wise men looked around and
sighed.
"You know," one of them said. "This
place doesn't look anything like Chelm.
But I could get to feel at home here." O
George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor614@aol.com.
jr1
February 21 • 2008
A25