Funding Help

IADS President Leor Barak shows the new refrigerator to Martin Herman of

Detroit.

Soul ^f Thom Shul

Downtown Synagogue set to open a
brand new kitchen with pantry.

Barbara Lewis

Contributing Writer

M

etro Detroit's oldest syna-
gogue building will soon
have a brand new kitchen. Its
members couldn't be more pleased.
When the Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue (LADS) unveils its updated
kitchen, it will mark the end of a long
and sometimes-grueling process.
It started with the need to meet some
environmental challenges, including
leaks, sewage backup and mold prob-
lems.
The old kitchen was dingy and
depressing, said LADS member Liz
Kannon of Ferndale. It was equipped
with a small sink, a few old household-
size refrigerators and a four-burner
electric stove. No matter what they did,
members couldn't seem to get it clean.
"I've likened the process to the book If
You Give a Mouse a Cookie," said Anna
Kohn, program and development direc-
tor.
"If you give a synagogue a leak-free
kitchen, they will want new fridges. If
you give a synagogue new fridges, they
will want a new stove, and so on and

so on. Each layer that was peeled back
exposed another layer that needed to be
dealt with:"
Most of the problems stemmed from
decades of deferred maintenance at the
four-story building, constructed in 1934
and formerly home of the Fintex Clothes
store. TADS, founded in 1921, has been
there since 1962.
Aside from recent improvements to
the heating, ventilation and air-condi-
tioning system, building updates were
done so long ago that they're beyond the
memory of anyone now associated with
the synagogue.
Kohn joined the congregation in 2012
as executive director and saw an imme-
diate need for a new commercial sink.
Members have been working on the
kitchen since then. The renovation cam-
paign kicked into high gear in May.
One wall was moved to enlarge the
space. New flooring and a new drop ceil-
ing brightened the room, as did white-
washing the cinderblock walls.
Kohn said the congregation is fortu-
nate to have Jay Bassin, regional property
manager and director of corporate secu-
rity for the Berger Realty Group, as chair
of its Building Operations Committee.

Funds for fixing the mold and ventilation
problems — about $30,000 — were raised
as part of the congregatioris successful
"Make It History" campaign. A generous
grant from the Shirley Rosenberg Trust,
offered by the Agree family, covered the
purchase of new commercial appliances,
including refrigerators and a freezer.
The LADS building committee is work-
ing with the Detroit fire marshall to
determine what kind of venting they will
need to install a commercial gas stove
and oven. When they've done the vent-
ing, they can upgrade from their ancient
electric stove.
Since construction started in May, the
kitchen has been closed, a hardship for a
congregation that prides itself on serving
free member-prepared Shabbat dinners
and lunches. A Chanukah celebration
Dec. 21 relied on food from a kosher
caterer.
One of the most exciting aspects of
the renovation was turning a previously
unused room next to the kitchen —
which had stagnant water on the floor
and mold on the walls — into a bright,
well-lit pantry and prep area, Kohn said.
"We'll be able to feature workshops and
classes on challah baking, latke making
and endless possibilities for teaching our
community about local, fresh and healthy
food," she said.
The kitchen is the soul of the
Downtown Synagogue, said Kohn, and
members have responded generously to
provide the necessary equipment.
Ron Sussman of Ann Arbor has been
a special hero, she said. "We had a bro-
ken blender, and he purchased us a new,
expensive, commercial blender. Our food
processor broke, and he again answered
the call. Our crockpot cracked and again,
he answered the call."
Sussman often calls to ask what else
is needed. "He never fails to amaze us:'
Kohn said.
For others wishing to donate small
appliances or kitchen equipment, the
congregation maintains a wish list on
Amazon.com.

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New Officers

Liz Kannon shows where the new

pantry will be. This room used to

fill with water whenever it rained.

18 January 15 • 2015

JN

The Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue recently elected new
officers and board members.
Leor Barak will continue as presi-
dent. Jon Koller will serve as first
vice president and Noah Purcell
as second vice president. Jodee
Fishman Raines will be secretary,
and Ryan Hertz will be treasurer.
Elected as directors were Jay
Bassin, Rena Friedberg, Elizabeth
Kannon, DaVid Powell, Jackie
Victor, Amit Weitzer and Martin
Herman.

Benjamin
Pollock

Cohn-Haddow
Talks To Focus
On Law, Leaders

The Cohn-Haddow Center for
Judaic Studies at Wayne State
University will feature lectures by
Professors Lynn Kaye of Ohio State
University and Benjamin Pollock of
Michigan State University.
Kaye, assistant professor of
rabbinics, is one of a growing
number of academic scholars re-
examining and rediscovering the
impact of women in the formation
of Judaism. She completed her
doctorate in Talmud at New York
University, examining concepts of
time in classical rabbinic sources.
Her talk, "Women as Extra-
Legal Role Models in the Talmud,"
explores the ways that women often
represented a legal alternative in
Talmudic law — for better and for
worse — to the conventional stan-
dards applied to men. Her talk is
co-sponsored and hosted by Akiva
Hebrew Day School.
Pollock is associate professor of
religious studies and received his
doctorate in Jewish Thought at
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
His book, Franz Rosenzweig and

the Systematic Task of Philosophy
(Cambridge University Press,
2009), was awarded the Salo W.
Baron Prize for Outstanding First
Book in Jewish Studies by the
American Academy of Jewish
Research.
His lecture, co-sponsored and
hosted by Congregation Beth Ahm,
is titled "What Does Philosophy
Have To Do With Jewish Life?" He
will explore how some of the most
important figures in the history of
Jewish thought grappled with this
question and discuss what their
answers have to teach us today.
Kaye's lecture will be at 8 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 22, at Akiva Hebrew
Day School in Southfield. Pollock's
lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday,
Jan. 26, at Beth Ahm in West
Bloomfield. Both talks are free
and open to the public. For details,
contact the Cohn-Haddow Center
at (313) 577-2679 or by email at
cohnhaddowcenter@wayne.edu , or
visit judaicstudies.wayne.edu .

❑