the church if there had been no way
to cover the crosses," he said.
"In some churches, Jewish prayer
would be hard to imagine. Most
Catholic churches, for example, are
full of deeply Christian iconography
and architecture. I do not think it is
possible to recite an Amidah with the
proper intention while surrounded by
crucifixes, standing in a cross-shaped
room full of stained glass depicting
the resurrection. But at Covenant
Baptist Church, there is almost no
Christian iconography."
In a letter sent to the congregation,
Berger wrote, "There will be no cross-
es visible; the stained glass, which is
at the rear of the sanctuary, actually
contains a Torah. I found the room
to be a religiously neutral yet truly
spiritual space, and it will be easy
to fill it with our heartfelt prayers.
And they are eager to host us. While
undergoing renovations, they were
hosted by another synagogue [Temple
Beth El] years ago, and they would
like to return the favor to the Jewish
community."
The church invited B'nai Israel
to use space in their building at no
charge, but the synagogue congrega-
tion insisted on paying for its use.
After Benchell-Eisman put out the
word that a series of "pew parties"
would be held in the basement of her
West Bloomfield home, 23 volunteers
— including two non-members, a few
men and a teen — gathered at the
first work session. A few more joined
in for two more days of sewing and
one day of finalizing the project; cost
was covered by the synagogue.
Prior to the gatherings, Benchell-
Eisman had designed a pattern
including the synagogue's logo and
stars of David. She created a mock
up to be replicated for the 80 covers
for both ends of 40 pews.
Benchell-Eisman made templates
and traced the designs for the logo
and stars for each cover and used
a product that heated and bonded
them to the fabric. "Other workers
cut the components of the designs
and another group ironed the
designs onto the front of the covers,"
she said.
An assembly line was formed for
sewing the hems, front, top and back
pieces of each cover. Nine volunteers
showed up with their own sewing
machines.
Benchell-Eisman found the project
enlightening.
"The sense of camaraderie was felt
by everyone," she said. "There were
members of our community sitting
across from one another who have
seen each other in shul but never
really knew each other; that ended
and new friendships started."
B'nai Israel member Ilana Glazier
of West Bloomfield said, "I par-
ticipated because the congregation
relies on volunteers for almost
everything that it does."
Jeffrey Eisman, a board mem-
ber, praised the synagogue's hosts.
"Pastor Jon Good and those at
Covenant Baptist Church graciously
opened their door to our congrega-
tional family," he said.
"To me, this project is about much
more than sewing covers," said
member Vicki Freedman of West
Bloomfield. "It is about the gift of
being part of a community prepar-
ing for the High Holidays. And it is
about our commitment to creating a
meaningful High Holiday experience
for one another."
Eisman said, "When something
needed to be done, the call for vol-
unteers was made. The response,
while awesome and overwhelming,
was not surprising. The decision
to pray together was more impor-
tant than where we pray together.
Although we are small, this is a sign
of a real community."
May the coming year be filled
with health, happiness and prosperity
for all our family and friends.
CLAIRE •ST MARV
JEFF k SANDI
TAMAROFF
May the coming year be filled
with health, happiness and prosperity
for all our family and friends.
Melissa, Kenny, Spencer &
Carson Litvin
❑
According To Jewish Law •••
T
he Talmud prohibits Jews
Christianity was not to be considered
from entering places of
idol worship, and I find his arguments
idol worship such as pagan
to be convincing.
temples, and these laws are gener-
While there are significant theo-
ally still operative. Therefore,
logical and religious dif-
the first question I considered
ferences between us that
when deciding whether B'nai
clearly set Christianity
Israel might hold its services
aside as a distinct reli-
in a church concerned the way
gion; Christians worship
Christianity is understood in
the same God as we do.
Halachah (Jewish law). Many
While it would never be
medieval authorities believed
appropriate for someone
that Christianity was, if not
Jewish to participate in
Rabb
exactly polytheistic then close
a Christian service, I
Jona than
enough to be considered a
concluded that a Jewish
Berg er
form of idolatry. Notably,
service could be held in a
Rabbi Menachem Meiri, who lived in
church, provided the space was not
13th-century Provence, argued that
full of Christian symbols."
1
as ana
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all my family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!
Peggy Bookstein
e
❑
iN
September 13 • 2012
71
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