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Rabbi Shalom Kantor visited children of Congregation B’nai Moshe last summer at
Tamarack Camps.
Rabbi Brent Gutmann leads Temple Kol Ami congregants during Simchat Torah services.
continued from page 24
their concern for each other,” she said.
“I feel humbled and blessed to have
found such a sweet home.”
Several of the rabbis said they were
impressed by the spirit of the greater
Detroit Jewish community.
Brudney has connected with mil-
lennials through Jewish Federation’s
NEXTGen and enjoys spending time
with fellow clergy across the area.
“I was surprised by the warmth of
both Temple Beth El and the larger
Jewish community,” said Brudney, who
comes from Athens, Ga. “People have
been so kind and welcoming to me.”
Dahlen agreed. “I continue to be
surprised by just how supportive this
community is, especially in the diver-
sity of Jewish life. Never have I been
in a city where such an exchange of
ideas, programming and Yiddishkeit
exists, regardless of movement or level
of observance. It allows for a truly plu-
ralistic embrace of Jewish tradition.”
Ahuvia said she was excited by the
intellectual vitality of the metro area’s
spiritual community. “I feel fortunate
and blessed to count myself among
spiritual leaders in this area, and look
forward to contributing to our greater
Rabbi Yonatan Dahlen during a lesson with Religious
School students in the Shaarey Zedek chapel
26
December 7 • 2017
community’s continuing strength.”
NEW IDEAS BLOOM
The rabbis have made an impact on
their congregations. Kol Ami had its
first membership growth in more
than a decade, Gutmann said. One
of his favorite programs was bring-
ing in a blacksmith to beat a spear
into a pruning hook at Kol Ami’s Rosh
Hashanah family service.
Brudney organized a Women’s
Retreat, led a teen trip to Toronto
and took part in Beth El’s first sum-
mer Shabbat in Charlevoix. Dahlen is
building a social group, Rimonim, for
members in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
At Congregation B’nai Moshe in
West Bloomfield, Rabbi Shalom
Kantor helped his education team
kick off the PB&J (post b’nai mitzvah
Judaism) initiative for high school
students.
Rabbi Arianna Silverman of the
Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue
(IADS) helped move the congrega-
tion’s High Holiday services back to
the city. The synagogue’s own sanctu-
ary is too small for the holidays and,
for many years, the congregation held
Rabbi Dahlen on the playground with children
from Thrilling Thursdays, CSZ’s weekly drop-
in playgroup for children under age 5
services at the Holocaust Memorial
Center. This year they moved to the
Bethel Community Transformation
Center (the former home of Temple
Beth El) at Woodward and Gladstone.
Frustrations and disappointments
were few.
“What surprised me most was how
much there was to learn about little
things: Where the secret extra key to
my office was taped, how the sound
system worked, how to upload photos
to Facebook,” Ahuvia said. “These are
the types of challenges they don’t train
you for in seminary!”
Dahlen had to adjust to Detroit’s
slower pace after moving from New
York. “I was accustomed to going to
a restaurant at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday
night or picking up a prescription or
a pack of Oreos in the middle of the
night,” he said.
And Kantor, an outdoors enthusiast,
said he wished he had more time to
enjoy Michigan’s abundant natural
resources.
The rabbis are planning some excit-
ing new programs for the current
year. Kantor says B’nai Moshe will be
bringing its Hanukkah Light Parade,
with a 10-foot-tall menorah, to several
different neighborhoods. Each parade
will end with a party at a member’s
home. He’s also planning to expand
adult education, including a Passover
University with a wide range of pro-
grams about the holiday.
Silverman said IADS will con-
tinue to grow its partnerships with
other Jewish organizations in the
city, including Detroit Jews for
Justice, Repair the World, Hillel
of Metro Detroit and Chabad, and
with Breakers Covenant Church
International.
Gutmann is starting a new Shabbat
Live musical ensemble in which he
will play sax. On a personal level, he
is hoping to complete Ride for the
Cure, a 300-mile bike ride in northern
Michigan to raise funds for breast can-
cer research.
Ahuvia and her husband, Aaron,
look forward to hosting “cozy, infor-
mal Jewish gatherings” in their new
Huntington Woods home. She plans to
expand adult education and program-
ming for young children and to hold
monthly family Erev Shabbat services
followed by dinner. •
Rabbi Ariana Silverman “belts out” a lip-synched Motown tune at an Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue Motown revue.
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