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Meet At The Well from page 14

for of the JN.
His academic credentials include a bach-
elor's degree in politics from Brandeis, a law
degree from the University of Michigan,
master's degrees from U-M (sport manage-
ment), Gratz College (Jewish studies) and
Hebrew College (Jewish education), and
ordination from the Mesifta Adas Wolkowisk
Rabbinical Academy in Woodmere, N.Y.
He is a member of OHALAH: the
Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal
and the Michigan Board of Rabbis.
He will formally start his new job June 1,
though he's been working on contract since
February, planning and piloting activities.
He has workspace at Temple Israel, which
is donating administrative services for the
program, but he doesn't consider it an office
because he doesn't plan to be there often.
Horwitz says the founders struggled to
find a name for the program.
"We went through hundreds of sugges-
tions, and then I did what all good Jewish
husbands should do: I asked my wife he
said. "Miriam came up with 'The Well"' —
understandable, he says, given the associa-
tion of the biblical Miriam with the well that
accompanied the Jewish people in the desert.
"Our ancestors were a desert people and
thus their lives centered around the com-

munity well," Yedwab said. "For them, the
well was a meeting place, a business center,
a singles' bar, a lifeline, a coffee klatch, the
office water cooler and a place to just hang
out and shmooze."
The Well will perform a similar function,
he said, as a place for people get together,
make new friends, contribute to the commu-
nity and find that Judaism can be a central
meeting place in their lives.

"Raising The Tide"
Horwitz has piloted a "CSI" — coffee, study,
interpret — Jewish learning evening in part-
nership with Moishe House and Federation's
NextGEN Detroit, and staged a pop-up
Shabbat service and potluck dinner at JARC
headquarters in Southfield for 30 young
adults, including some JARC clients.
He foresees a monthly music jam, Jewish
yoga or other meditative practices, cooking
demos, retreats, camping trips, soup deliver-
ies to ill people or those getting used to new
babies, and group volunteer efforts.
"But those are my ideas," he said. "I'm so
much more interested in others coming to
the table with their ideas:'
Horwitz and Yedwab note that The Well's
activities will not be limited to millennials,
and they are clear its purpose is not to boost

membership at Temple Israel.
"I'm dedicated to welcoming all and to
linking individuals with like-minded folks,"
Horwitz said. "I plan to ask people: 'What do
you want to do and how can I help you build
the Jewish community you want?"'
Yedwab said, "John E Kennedy said a rising
tide raises all ships. We're trying to raise the
tide. If we raise Jewish involvement in Detroit,
then Temple Israel, other congregations, the
JCC, the Federation — all will benefit"
Benefactor Lori Talsky Zekelman and her
husband, Alan Zekelman, of Bloomfield
Hills, have made an impact on several
Jewish institutions in Detroit, including
the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman
Family Campus in Farmington Hills and the
Harry and Wanda Zekelman Campus of the
Lubavitch Yeshiva in Oak Park
She says she supports The Well because it
can address the disconnect between young
Jewish adults and the organized Jewish com-
munity that the Pew report identified.
The Well will provide "opportunities and
tools for meaningful spiritual growth, char-
acter development and community involve-
ment rooted in, or consistent with, Jewish
values, wisdom, practices and traditions, but
with an engaging, inclusive, contemporary
approach:' she said.

Similar programs exist — the Riverway
Project in Boston and Makom in Dallas —
but they have important differences from
The Well. Those programs are affiliated with
congregations with a goal to boost member-
ship, and the rabbis directing them also have
congregational responsibilities.
Detroit Orthodox organizations, includ-
ing Chabad, Partners and AISH, have been
reaching out to unaffiliated young adults by
sponsoring bar nights, retreats, trips and
seminars. Like them, The Well will have no
membership dues and will rely heavily on
social media for publicity.
Horwitz sees his program as unique
because he will work fulltime for The Well,
which is not affiliated with any congrega-
tion or organization. He hopes participants
will look at him and see it's possible to live
an engaged Jewish life in a non-Orthodox
environment.
"I'm trying to model what it is to simulta-
neously live a life that is authentically both
Jewish and American, and to do it in a way
that is community-centric and filled with
joy!" he said. ❑

For more information about The Well and upcom-
ing events, visit www.meetyouatthewelLorg.

Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies - Wayne State University
John M. Haddow Memorial Program in Jewish Culture

Hava Nashira

Israel In Song & Melody

Lauren Skuce Gross

With Hazzan Daniel Gross and Lauren Skuce Gross and
an ensemble from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Monday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m.

The Berman Center for the Performing Arts
6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield

aman Daniel Gross

Tickets: $25 per person
For tickets call The Berman at (248) 661-1900
Or buy them online at: www.theberman.org/wsu.

Cohn Haddow

Center for Judaic Studies

16

vIay 28 • 2015

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DETROIT S I SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT

We Deliver Adult Jewish Education

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A COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCIIESTRA

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