Special Report

A NEW HOME / ON THE COVER

Continuing A Legacy from page 15

Shabbat services on Friday evenings,
the main sanctuary will be available to
B'nai Israel on Saturdays. On the few
Saturday mornings Kol Ami has b'nai
mitzvah scheduled, alternate space in
the building will be available.
B'nai Israel's traditional
Conservative service, including the
reading of the entire weekly Torah
portion, will continue the way it was
run at the CSZ B'nai Israel building.
A similar, new Shabbat service has
been instituted at CSZ to run simulta-
neous to the regular sanctuary service,
which.offers a rabbi-led service with a
cantor and piano accompaniment.
The new egalitarian minyan, both
rabbinic and lay led, takes place with-
out instrumentation and features a
more traditional service, with full
Torah reading and traditional liturgy.
A variety of youth and family prayer
opportunities are offered as well.
Rabbi Jonathan Berger has been
hired to officiate at services and
deliver sermons at the new B'nai
Israel, with members also providing
occasional divrei Torah.
"I am proud to be part of this excit-
ing, dynamic B'nai Israel community;
whose members all have so much to
contribute Berger said.
"My primary contribution to B'nai
Israel will be to run Shabbat morn-
ing services and to provide halachic
[Jewish law] guidance to members
and to the synagogue. My primary
professional commitment is to Hillel
Day School as its rabbi in residence,
and that will not change; I cannot be
the synagogue's full-time rabbi.
"Still, I know that with my love
for the community and my previous
experience as a congregational rabbi
in Baltimore, I will help the new B'nai
Israel to be a vibrant, traditional,
egalitarian and welcoming congrega-
tion rooted in love of Torah and the
Jewish people."
Volunteers will assign parts for
Shabbat and daily services, assemble
a yahrtzeit list and perform other reli-
gious and administrative tasks.
Shabbat youth as well as children's
programming will continue. Future
plans include expanding social pro-
gramming to include Saturday night
Havdalah services, concerts and other
entertainment. The synagogue will
also maintain a member-led daily
morning and evening minyan.
The membership will continue
traditions that date back to the start
of the original B'nai Israel in Pontiac:
serving a kosher breakfast follow-
ing weekday, morning minyan and a

kosher congregational lunch following
weekly Shabbat services.

Moving In
A processional of 180 individuals
marched Sunday on Walnut Lake Road
from the old B'nai Israel building to
the new one. Congregants brought
with them two Torahs that had been
used at CSZ's West Bloomfield build-
ing, but had been donated by mem-
bers of original B'nai Israel families.
Some Kol Ami members walked
alongside them, others met them part
way in a reception line and still more
welcomed the group as they arrived at
the synagogue.
The walk was followed by a cer-
emony attended by members of
both synagogues and a welcome by
Kol Ami's Rabbi Roman. Belmont
Kershenbaum of Bloomfield Hills, who
had been a member of the Pontiac-
based B'nai Israel, placed one of the
new synagogue's Torahs in the ark.
The group then moved in items that
included 225 prayer books and 225
Etz Hayim Chumashim (Five Books
of Moses) on loan from CSZ. The ner
tamid (the eternal light) that once
hung in the B'nai Israel synagogue
in Pontiac — and later in the West
Bloomfield building — as well as
kosher kitchen supplies from the CSZ
B'nai Israel facility were given to the
new congregation.
A large six-piece artistic needlepoint
that hung in the B'nai Israel Center
sanctuary and had been commis-
sioned by the original B'nai Israel sis-
terhood prior to the merger with CSZ
will be installed in the new building.
"Our families have pulled together
to turn a sad occasion into a cause
for celebration:' Ellias said. "In two
months, we have gone from mourning
the loss of our building to dreaming of
our future together. I am honored to
be a part of such a dynamic and com-
mitted community.
"We are taking the best of what
we had and building something even
stronger:' Ellias said. "I can't wait to
see what comes next:' ❑

See related Torah Portion by Kol Ami
Rabbi Norman T Roman on page 32.

With This Coupon
Exp. 10/31/10

Figyhous e. T

eclat* r

3rd Saturday of Every Month

Join Us September 25th • 11 am. • Orchard Mall Center Court

.

Local Favorite

Maureen Schiffman

Brings her mandolin, memorable songs &
her loveable kazoo-playing puppet pal Coco!

„Aft

For information on the
B'nai Israel Synagogue of
West Bloomfield, call
(248) 432-2729, send an
e-mail to info@bnaiisraelwb.org
or access the website at
www.bnaiisraelwb.org .

• t St t i.S *,„

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.);,0 , 4 "/

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41,11.11,
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Interactive
Entertainmen
for kids
ages 3 to 9

WEST BLOOMFIELD • MICHIGAN

Orchard Lake Road • North of Maple

248.851.7727

1623120

September 23 • 2010

17