jews d

on the cover

in
the

75 Years
Of Growth

Generation to generation,
Temple Israel has stayed true to its ideals.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ABOVE: The same ark from the
Manderson sanctuary is now in the
West Bloomfield sanctuary.

W

hen Shira Ellis of West
Bloomfield became a
bat mitzvah at Temple
Israel in January, she joined a four-
generation family legacy in the
congregation’s 75-year history. She
participated in a ceremony that until
the 1950s was historically only open
to boys in Detroit.
Wearing a tallit knit by an aunt,
she prayed from the gender-neutral
Shema Yisrael siddur designed by
Rabbi Paul Yedwab — all tradi-
tions among others that have been
thoughtfully renewed over the
decades by clergy and lay leaders.
In the background of Ellis’ photos
are the memorial plaques bearing
the names of relatives who founded
Temple Israel. They include her
great-great uncles and past presi-
dents Charles L. Goldstein (1944-
1947) and Nathaniel H. Goldstick
(1956-1959) as well as her great-
grandparents Lydia and Archie Grey.
As coincidences go, Archie’s plaque
was lit to honor his yahrzeit.

Shira’s grandfather, James Grey,
72, recalls going to Hebrew school
at age 9 in the congregation’s first
building in Palmer Woods. His
teacher was the late Rabbi M.
Robert Syme and his classmates,
some still friends, “were Detroit’s
future doctors, lawyers and the
future Rabbi Daniel Syme.”
Grey remembers moving into his
Farmington Hills home with his wife,
Ruth, in 1979, the same year Temple
Israel moved into its new building on
a still-unpaved Walnut Lake Road.
His uncles helped carry the Torah
scrolls into the new sanctuary.
“Temple Israel is not only a Jewish
religious center but a place where
people of all backgrounds can come
together. There is something for
everyone here,” said Grey, whose
leadership positions at Temple
include a Brotherhood presidency.
Nicknamed by founding
Rabbi Leon Fram “The Miracle
Congregation” or by Rabbi Stanley
Yedwab, father of Temple Israel

continued on page 20

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May 11 • 2017

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