Rosh Hashanah services
took place last week. The
Downtown Synagogue
will hold Kol Nidre
services Friday, Sept.
29, and Yom Kippur
and Neilah services on
Saturday, Sept. 30, at
8801 Woodward Ave.
(at Gladstone). Events
are free and open to all,
but pre-registration is
requested online
at downtownsynagogue.
org or by phone at (313)
962-4047. The full
schedule for services
is also available on the
synagogue’s website.

services in Detroit
this year is an affir-
mation of our com-
mitment to the city
and to our shared
future,” said Rabbi
Ariana Silverman,
who also rode in the
bed of the truck dur-
ing the scroll roll. “It
will be a privilege to
worship in a space
that has such deep
significance for the
Jews of Metro Detroit
and to our neighbors
and partners who
worship there now.
We could not do so
without our Torah scrolls, without
our neighbors and partners, and
without the enthusiasm of our con-
gregation to honor the beautiful
sanctuary’s sacred past and pres-
ent.”
When the truck pulled up to the
grand entrance of the old temple,
a small crowd of congregants and
members of Breakers Covenant
Church International (which holds
weekly services in the building)
was waiting to greet the scrolls
and carry them inside. The group
formed two lines, passing the
Torahs from one person to the
next until they were placed inside
the sanctuary. There were songs
and prayers; Rabbi Mark Miller
of Temple Beth El, Pastor Aramis
Hinds of Breakers Covenant Church
International and Rabbi Silverman

also shared some
thoughts and reflec-
tions.
“It was very mov-
ing for everyone
involved,” said Arlene
Frank, the Downtown
Synagogue’s executive
director. “It brought
back history, it created
a future and it made
a deep connection
between our commu-
nities.”
Little is known
about the origin of the
Torah scrolls or their
history, but they’ve
certainly traveled
many miles. Over the last six years,
the scrolls were transported back
and forth to and from the Holocaust
Memorial Center in Farmington
Hills for High Holiday services. They
have also been carried around the
streets of Downtown Detroit as part
of what Rabbi Silverman describes
as “a raucous annual Simchat Torah
celebration.”
But, this year holds special signifi-
cance.
“We are proud to be working
in partnership with the Bethel
Community Transformation Center
and to be celebrating our shared
textual tradition,” Rabbi Silverman
said. “Young Jews are proud to be
embracing the Torah in the streets
of Detroit and proud to be learning
from the rich history of the former
Temple Beth El building.” •

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September 28 • 2017

17

