Spirituality Sounds Of Music Lack Of Funds Temple Israel chamber concert to feature DSO violinist. Michigan Institute for Jewish- Christian Relations closes its doors. B Suzanne Chessler Special to the Jewish News A s Temple Israel in West Bloomfield prepares for its next public concert, the planning team also is getting ready to release a DVD of the previous pro- gram. Greg Staples, a violinist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, will include two Israeli songs among clas- sical selections at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 14, in the Leslie R. Schmier Family Memorial Chamber Series. "A Bis'l Zun" ("A Bit of Sun"), the presentation which featured hit songs from the Yiddish theater and was the Harry and Sarah Laker Memorial Concert in April, is in the final stages of video production and will be released before the High Holidays. "Greg Staples is a great artist who has brought high artistic standards to other concerts we've had," says Cantor Michael Smolash, who was among the performers in the Yiddish show. "We were very pleased with the attendance at 'A Bis'l Zun' and decided to make it into a video that will sell for $20. The money will be used to sup- port our concert and lecture series!' The temple leadership is particu- larly glad to offer the free concerts at a time when many people are tightening their entertainment budgets, the can- tor explains. It was decided to offer the Staples program as an evening event because of the season, when families can spend afternoons enjoying warm- weather activities. Staples, who will be accompanied by pianist Angelina Pashmakova, will perform works by Mozart, Brahms, Prokofiev and Sarasate. The Israeli pieces, "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" and "Bashana Haba'ah," were arranged for violin by Jack Robbins. "Greg has a silky way of play- ing and has become a staple of our chamber series:' says Neil Michaels, Temple Israel's cantorial soloist and a singer in the Yiddish presentation. "We wanted our audience to have an opportunity to hear masterpieces of the violin repertoire and some Jewish content as well." A40 June i, 209 DSO's Greg Staples Staples is a native Detroiter who graduated from the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. He returned to the area after working with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The Yiddish concert, with a seven- member band, also featured Aviva Chernick, a Canadian singer who has recorded three albums. She tours as a vocalist comfortable with traditional and contemporary Jewish numbers. Also a cantorial soloist, Chernick leads and facilitates prayer and conducts workshops on the music of praise. Smolash, who has appeared in Canadian musical theater, practiced his tap dancing for a couple of months before spotlighting his choreography skills for the capacity crowd at the temple and in the upcoming DVD. Eva Kraus and Libby Gales, both of West Bloomfield, were among those who attended the Yiddish program. They especially liked the music and voices and felt the language took them back to their European roots. "We want Temple Israel to be a fun, inviting place:' Smolash says. "We're working with a committee to pull our fall concert together, and we hope to announce that soon!' Greg Staples will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 14, at Temple Israel, 5725 Walnut Lake Rd., West Bloomfield. Reservations for the free program can be made by calling (248) 661-5700. Tickets on the day of the concert will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. ecause of financial challenges exacerbated by Michigan's depressed economic climate, the Michigan Institute for Jewish- Christian Relations, founded as the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish- Christian Studies and also formerly known as the Dove Institute, has closed it doors. After more than a year of trying to develop a workable funding plan, the economic downturn sealed the fate of the Institute. MIJCR executive committee members — Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, president; Michael Hovey of the Archdiocese of Detroit, vice president; Micki Grossman, secretary-treasurer; and members-at-large Art Voisin and Don Cohen — reluctantly determined there was no other choice even though many challenges and opportunities remain for strengthening Jewish- Christian relations in Michigan and around the globe. The Institute was founded in 1982 by Rev. Dr. James R. Lyons to provide an atmosphere for study in Jewish- Christian relations that would impact local churches and synagogues as well as the larger community. Combining the latest scholarship with practi- cal outreach, the Institute promoted Jewish-Christian understanding that moved beyond tolerance to active affirmation of one another. After Lyons' death in 1998, the Institute was headed by David Blewett, who also served as national director of the National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel (NCLCI). Thousands of books in the exten- sive library gathered by Lyons on Christian-Jewish relations, the Holocaust, Israel, Judaism and Christianity and religious history have been purchased or otherwise distrib- uted to various local institutions. "Despite the fact that the Institute in many ways was truly in the forefront of furthering Jewish-Christian relations both locally and nationally, the current economic reality made it impossible to continue. The work however remains critically important and I am confident that synagogues, churches, universities, and religious organizations and institu- tions will build upon the trailblazing work of the Institute," Krakoff said. — Celebrating Study Rabbi Leima Wilhelm, a teacher at Yeshivas Lubavitch in Oak Park, takes part in the 25th anniversary celebration of a project of global, daily study of the Mishnah Torah, the principal work of Maimonides. The initiative, originated by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, has included hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide. A Web site, www.chabad.org/Maimonides, was launched last month and includes text, audio classes and event videos. It was created by a group including Yeshivas Lubavitch alumni Rabbi Shalom Klein, now a project manager at the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center in New York and Rabbi Mendel Shemtov, rabbinic mentor for the Chabad Yeshiva in New York.