Walled Lake Schools invites you to attend our Community Performances WL Northern HS Performing Arts Center to host Celebrating 50 Years • On Friday, Nov. 15, Rabbi Miriam Jerris of the Society for Humanistic Judaism will officiate at the installation of Rabbi Jeffrey Falick as rabbi of the Birmingham Temple. The celebration begins at 7:30 p.m. • On Saturday, Nov.16, former Detroiter Rabbi Adam Chalom, inaugurated in November 1963, with Wine as its spiritual leader, about 40 members and a board. Harry Velick was the first president. As early members examined tradi- tional Reform liturgy and practices under Wine's direction, they realized their beliefs were people-centered, not God-centered. People have the power to solve moral and ethical problems, they felt, without any assistance from a supernatural deity. Gradually they distanced themselves from the Reform movement and developed a new Jewish identity as humanistic Jews. Humanistic Judaism According to the Society for Humanistic Judaism's website, humanistic Jews believe that each Jew has the right to create a meaningful Jewish lifestyle free from supernatural authority and imposed tradition; that the goal of life is personal dignity and self-esteem; that the secular roots of Jewish life are as important as the religious ones; and that the survival of the Jewish people needs a reconciliation between science, personal autonomy and Jewish loyalty. "For many of us who grew up in the 1960s, [the forma- tion of the temple] was a turning point," said Rabbi Miriam Jerris, rabbi of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, based on the Birmingham Temple Rabbi Miriam campus. "Sherwin Jerris [Wine] wanted us to act on what we believed. He would ask, 'Is it good for the Jews or is it true?' It was always more important to be true." Scrapping much of the traditional Reform liturgy because of its refer- ences to God, the Birmingham Temple developed its own collection of read- ings, Celebrations: A Ceremonial and Philosophic Guide for Humanists and Humanistic Jews. Temple members didn't plan to upset the Jewish establishment, but a 1964 Detroit Free Press article about the tem- ple and its "atheist rabbi," and a similar article in Time magazine in early 1965, rabbi at Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in Chicago and North American dean of the International Institute of Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ), will ordain Rabbi Denise Handlarski of Toronto during a Havdalah celebration at 5:30 p.m. The program will be followed by a reception and gala dinner. There is a $50 charge. For reservations, go to office@birminghamtemple.org . blew the lid off their obscurity. "My friends and relatives would argue that I couldn't be a Jew if I didn't believe in God," said Leslie Kutinsky, 80, a Novi attorney who joined the temple in 1965. "But if you're a decent human being and a decent Jew, you don't sneer at someone else's beliefs:' Kutinsky said he became an athe- ist at age 8, when his Hebrew school class at Conservative Adat Shalom Synagogue learned the story of Joshua. He was appalled that God would direct the Israelites to kill every man, woman and child in Jericho. Later, when he first heard Sherwin Wine speak, he was "blown away," he said, and fell in love with the concept of Humanistic Judaism. The temple never did make it to Birmingham. The congregation moved to its current site, on 12 Mile Road near Middlebelt in Farmington Hills, in 1974. The building was expanded in 1978 and again in 1995, with the addition of the Ben and Lorraine Pivnick Center containing offices and classrooms. The congregation now has 265 members and a Sunday school with 60 children. An International Movement Despite its small size, the Birmingham Temple launched an international movement. In 1969, the temple joined groups in Westport, Conn., and Chicago to form the Society for Humanistic Judaism, which now has 29 member communities in North America. In 1985, the Society started the International Institute for Secular Jewish Humanism (IISJH), which has trained 45 communal leaders and is about to ordain its 11th North American rabbi. Its Israel branch has ordained 25 rabbis. Sherwin Wine was a larger-than-life figure known for his eloquent speaking and writing. Although he had retired in 2004, he continued to influence the temple and the movement. When he was killed in a car crash in 2007 at age 79, said Kutinsky, "it was like the loss of a father or a brother." Wine was succeeded by Rabbi Tamara Kolton, who had become the first rabbi ordained by the IISJH • On Sunday, Nov.17, there will be a colloquium sponsored by the IISHJ, starting at 9:30 a.m. Rabbi Sivan Maas, Israel dean of the IISHJ, will speak on "Are We One People?" Rabbi Denise Handlarski will speak on "A Cultural Judaism for a Multicultural World," and Rabbi Adam Chalom will speak on "Jewish Futures." There is no charge, but registration is requested at https:// collo2013.eventbrite.com/. FHIARMON LH IC Halloween Pops Concert October 25, 2013, 7:30 p.m., WL Northern HS •Featuring the Michigan Philharmonic with music director and conductor Nan Washburn • Special performances by Walled Lake Schools student choirs For ticket information, go to wlcstickets.com or call 248-387-9160. ❑ Rabbi Jeffrey Falick in 1999. When she resigned last year, a national search resulted in the appointment of Rabbi Jeffrey Falick, formerly of Miami. He began July 1 and will be officially installed as part of the temple's 50th anniversary celebration weekend Nov. 15-17. Into The Future Falick is excited about Humanistic Judaism and what it can bring to the world. "We don't talk about how we don't believe in God; we talk about what we do believe in," he said. "We don't live by rejection of what others believe, but by positive assertion of what we believe:' A key part of this belief system, he says, is "radical tolerance — respect for individual private beliefs — which is something that's greatly missing in the world." Humanistic Jews value many aspects of traditional Judaism, Falick said, but they also feel many aspects of Torah Judaism are "extremely offensive to a 21st-century sensibility," including the ancient Israelites' treatment of other peoples and their treatment of women. "We don't believe anything is `eternal:" he said. "We treasure the Torah as an artifact of history, but not as a guide for values to live by." To those who knew Sherwin Wine, Falick represents the future. "Sherwin was a real person to us, a friend, mentor, guide?' said Miriam Jerris. "But the numbers of those of us who knew him personally are decreasing. For people coming to Humanistic Judaism now, he's a historical figure. He's our past — and there is a future?' ❑ For a more complete history of the Birmingham Temple, see The Birmingham Temple and the Creation of Humanistic Judaism, by longtime temple member Mark H. Cousens, published by the Society for Humanistic Judaism. "A Phantom, A Witch and A King" WL Western HS Performing Arts presents "Shrek - The Musical" November 14-17 & 21-24, 2013 7:30 p.m., WL Western HS For ticket information, go to wlcstickets.com or call 248-387-9160. J WL Northern HS Performing Arts presents II; . "David and Lisa" November 14-16, 2013 X, WL Northern HS For ticket information, go to wlcstickets.com or call 248-387-9160. WL Central HS Performing Arts presents "You Can't Take it With You" December 5-7, 2013 7:30 p.m., WL Central HS For ticket information, go to wlcstickets.com or call 248-387-9160. WL Central, Northern & Western HS choirs, bands and orchestras present Collage Concerts •December 10, 2013 - WL Western HS band & orchestra •December 11-12, 2013 - WL Northern HS choirs, band & orchestra •December 17-18, 2013 - WL Central HS choirs, band & orchestra •December 19, 2013 - WL Western HS choirs For ticket information, go to wlcstickets.com or call 248-387-9160. WL Northern HS Performing Arts Center to host Holiday Pops with the Phil Presented by the Huron Valley Council for the Arts December 13, 2013 WL Northern HS Featuring the Michigan Philharmonic with music director and conductor Nan Washburn. PHILHARMONIC For ticket information, go to www.huronvalleyarts.org or call 248-889-8660. 1865340 November 7 • 2013 17