jews d

on the cover

in
the

Restoring
A Gem

JAMIE FELDMAN

Interfaith effort aims to revive
iconic Temple Beth El building.

ROBIN SCHWARTZ JN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

O

n a recent Friday
night, the majes-
tic sanctuary of a
95-year-old Detroit syna-
gogue came alive with music,
song and Sabbath prayers. It
was a momentous occasion.
It has been decades since a
Jewish congregation called
the Temple Beth El build-
ing on Woodward Avenue
“home.”
The stunning 1922 Albert
Kahn structure is noted for
its grand entranceway and
Corinthian columns on the
outside and cavernous walls and ornate domed ceiling inside. In
the 1970s, following the 1967 riot, Temple Beth El moved to its
current location on Telegraph Road in West Bloomfield. A non-
denominational Christian church, Breakers Covenant Church
International, owns the building today.
“The evening was beautiful, with the sunlight slowly fading
in the space,” says Justin Wedes of Huntington Woods, a life-
long Temple Beth El member who will marry his fiance, Rachel

RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN ARCHIVES/TEMPLE BETH EL

ABOVE: The exterior today
of the old Temple Beth El
building at Woodward and
Gladstone in Detroit.
RIGHT: Temple Beth El
in the 1920s.

Rudman, in the sanctuary
next month. Two rabbis, Dan
Horwitz of The Well and Ben
Shalva of Tamarack Camps, led
a group of about 100 attendees.
“We sat in a circle surrounded
by concentric circles,” Wedes
says. “We were right under the
dome in the center of the room.”
Wedes is also part of a grow-
ing interfaith group working
hard to breathe new life into
the historic synagogue, now
called the Bethel Community
Transformation Center. A
Kickstarter campaign will go
through Friday, April 28; donations for the next $20,000 will be
matched dollar for dollar, thanks to generous donors. The goal is
to raise $100,000 and begin what will ultimately be a multiyear,
multimillion dollar restoration and renovation project.
In a nutshell, organizers want to create a modern performing
arts space, worship space and community center that “will create
jobs, unite our fractured faith and racial communities, and inspire
hope for a better day for Detroit.”

continued on page 14

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April 13 • 2017

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