10,
Since Israel's enemies haven'
run out of missiles, we're
counting on you to ensure
we don't run out of supplies!

Tin] 'no%)

AMERICAN FRIENDS

OF MAGEN DA

MAGEN
DAVID
ADOM
IN ISRAEL

IADS congregants have fun on a Detroit River cruise, one of its many
programs.

't

New Identity from page 22

4

represents and reflects much of the
positive progress that Detroit has
achieved in the last five years. It is
optimistic, diverse, liberal, fresh,
and embracing the many cultural
and urban changes taking place in
the neighborhood," Resnick said.
To help pay for the incoming
prayer books, the synagogue is also
offering another way for its mem-
bers to have a more permanent
mark in the siddurim. As a lay-led
institution with minimal yearly
dues (only $75), funding for the
new prayer books is tough to come
by. For $50, members can have their
nameplate in one of the siddurim;
and for $100 they can have their
name printed in the back of all of
them. About 60 people signed up,
funding the new 200 hardcover
prayer books that they hope to be
ready around the time of the High
Holidays.
"It was a very fluid process to
get people behind financially:'
Kohn said. "It truly does reflect our
growth. It shows we can produce
something — we can raise the
money and produce a product that
is specific to us, and it has been
really wonderful."
A top priority for the Downtown
Synagogue was to veer away from
the hand-me-downs that they had
been using for years. Even when
other congregations in the area
offered to help, they declined. They
wanted to create their own identity.
"We have been offered by gener-
ous congregations who have said,
`We have 500 prayer books, would
you like them?' and we've said, 'It's
so wonderful that you're offering
that, but we're creating our own
identity now: And it's so great
to have the siddurim as a way of
expressing that identity and inde-
pendence from the old text from
what a lot of people were born into:'
Kohn said.

MDA Mobile Intensive Care Unit ambulance crew restocking medicines and supplies
before the start of theirsh.

Operation Protective Edge has depleted Magen David
Adom's medical equipment and supplies. MDA urgently
needs everything from band aids, syringes, and blood
bags to ambulances. In fact, MDA needs 100 new
ambulances over the next 12 months. MDA is not
government-funded and millions of Israelis are counting
on us!

So please give today, and we hope you can join us for
our upcoming gala on September 11th:

Celebration of Life Gala

Thursday, September 11, 2014 . 5:30 p.m.
at Congregation Beth Ahm, West Bloomfield
Featuring Guest Speaker – Dr. Eilat Shinar, M.D.
Director of Maks Blood Bank

R.S.V.P. by 'Thursday, September 4, 2014 by calling
877.405.3913 or at www.afinda.org/mames-gala.

Proceeds will be used to sponsor an ambulance in Israel
in honor of our chapter's founders and supply MDA
with much needed medical equipment and supplies.

Dr. John J. Mames Chapter — Michigan Region

Manny Charach, Chair • Can Margulis Immerman, Director
23215 Commerce Park Road, Suite 306
Beachwood, OH 44122 • Toll Free: 877.405.3913

central@afmda.org

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF
MAGEN DAVID ADOM

Co-sponsored by:
DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS

SAVING LIVES IN ISRAEL

1942690

24 August 28 • 2014

Plans For The Future

There is still more work to be
done. Resnick serves on the Capital
Improvement Committee, which
plans and designs potential renova-
tions for the synagogue. Parts of the
synagogue are worn down, unusable
and in need of repair. Resnick envi-
sions future restorations that capture
the synagogue's history while also
embracing the rest of the community
surrounding it.
"I see a well-designed renovation
that not only celebrates the syna-
gogue's historic presence, but also
provides a multiplicity of spaces and
programs to further engage with the
community, while better serving the
growing congregation:' he said.
With the High Holidays quickly
approaching, a new committee is in
talks to replace the hand-me-down
machzorim that they currently use.
Offering free admission into their
High Holiday services, the syna-
gogue draws a large crowd.
"We draw about 500 people
to the services, so we have 500
machzorim, but they are somewhat
dated. So we just formed a commit-
tee to look into producing our own
machzor," Herman said.
For a synagogue embarking on
its goal of creating its own iden-
tity, it understands that there are
many obstacles it needs to over-
come to achieve its objective. The
Downtown Synagogue's new sid-
durim, however, are a giant step in
the right direction.
As Kohn explained, "Because
we're so committed to our accessi-
bility and inclusivity, this has been
a way for us to say, 'We have about
seven staircases that we need to
climb — between the building, our
programs and our ritual identity:
So we're just climbing the steps and
coming together a little bit more
around a joint project that we can
all get behind:'

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