spirituality Give Your Child a Chance to Experience Summer Camp. Perfect Fit Birmingham Temple's new Rabbi leads congregation into 50th year. From our Family to Yours HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR! R For more information call: 248 -543-5697 www. woodenacres.com www.facebook.com/woodenacres Over a decade of summers, a lifetime of friendships. 1860540 lir Filled with LOTS of zero POINTS® fruits and vegetables! Florine & Family weightwatchers © 2013 Weight Watchers International, Inc., owner of the WEIGHT WATCHERS and POINTS registered trademarks. NOTTING HILL of WEST BLOOMFIELD HEALTH SERVICES Our caring, professional staff offers you or your loved ones a wide array of around-the-clock health care services that include but are not limited to: • 24-hour Nursing Care • Post-Surgical Care • Dental, Podiatry and Psychiatry Services • X-ray, Pharmacy and Laboratory Services • Ophthalmology and Audiology Services • Wound Care Management • Restorative Nursing - ADL Care • Dialysis Care Services • Care Management, Discharge Planning and Social Work Services • 24-Hour Nursing Care 112 August 29 • 2013 JN Pain Management 6535 Drake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322 phone 248.592.2000 I www.cienafacilities.com CIENA HEALTHCARE MEW abbi Jeffrey L. Falick accept- ed the post of rabbi at the Birmingham Temple for Humanistic Judaism effective July 1. Falick comes to the Birmingham Temple as the congregation prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary. "In every movement in organized Jewish life he said, "there are some institutions that represent the high- est expression of its ideals. For Humanistic Jews, that place is the Birmingham Temple:' Ordained as a Reform rabbi at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Falick turned to Humanistic Judaism about 10 years ago and became active with the movement. He currently serves as president of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis and is a mem- ber of the executive committee of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. The SHJ is the North American arm for the Humanistic Jewish movement, including more than 30 congrega- tions, communities and chavurot in North America. SHJ is based on the Birmingham Temple's campus in Farmington Hills. For 13 years, Falick was the assistant executive director and Jewish educa- tor of the Alper JCC in Miami. While living and working in Florida, he was a member and rabbinic adviser to Congregation Beth Adam, the Boca Raton Congregation for Humanistic Judaism. He also taught for many years at the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning in Miami. Last spring, Falick led a group of Humanistic Jews on a tour of Israel. This was only the latest of his more than 30 trips to Israel. "Zionism and Israel activism have played an important and consistent role in my own Jewish life said the rabbi, who studied there. His daughters also participated in post- high school gap-year programs in Jerusalem. Falick said his recent work experi- ence in the pluralistic environment of Miami's Alper JCC confirmed his pas- sion for Humanistic Judaism. "The Humanistic Jewish approach is the broadest, most encompassing embrace of our Jewish identities:' he said. "It brings to us a heightened awareness of the richness and vari- ety of Jewish histories and practices across time and place. It helps us to locate our own place in the Jewish Rabbi Jeffrey Falick experience. "This approach yields wonderful bursts of creativity in our celebrations and ceremonies. We have learned how to freely and sometimes radically adapt and reposition Jewish customs because we understand that their value does not lie in their mere pres- ervation. It lies in the benefits they provide to our lives and the strength- ening of our ties to each other. Rabbi Sherwin Wine and the Birmingham Temple created this. Any rabbi who serves the congregation must under- stand this:' Birmingham Temple President Lawrence Ellenbogen is excited about celebrating the temple's 50-year anni- versary and on into the future with Falick. All of us at the Birmingham Temple are congratulating ourselves for obtaining the services of Rabbi Falick. He is the perfect rabbi for the temple:' The Birmingham Temple offers a nontheistic alternative within Judaism. Embracing a human-cen- tered philosophy of life that combines the celebration of Jewish culture and identity with an adherence to human- istic values and ideas, the temple cre- ates an inclusive, nurturing environ- ment for all. ❑ For more information about the Birmingham Temple visit www. birminghamtemple.org.