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YESHIVAT CHOVEVEI TORAH

in
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abbi Asher Lopatin, a nationally recognized
Modern Orthodox leader, plans to move to Metro
Detroit this summer to create an academic center
focused on civil discourse — and to lead a new Modern
Orthodox synagogue.
Congregation Etz Chaim was originated by a group
of Huntington Woods residents who say they are
responding to the growth of shomer Shabbat (Shabbat-
observant) families in their neighborhood. They also
say they didn’t want to miss the
opportunity to secure a scholar
of Lopatin’s caliber. And, some in
the growing congregation already
have a relationship with Lopatin,
calling him their family rabbi.
“People are moving back to
town; shuls are brimming with
young and growing families,” a
statement from the congrega-
tion says. “We in Huntington
Woods have seen similar growth.
A shomer Shabbat population
of only a handful of families 15
years ago now is approaching
100 families, with many moving to our community
from other states.”
Lopatin is no stranger to Detroit. His wife, Rachel, is
the daughter of Warren and the late Charlotte Tessler of
West Bloomfield. She got to know Lopatin in Chicago,
where she was program director at Conservative Anshe
Emet Synagogue and he was rabbi of Modern Orthodox
Anshe Shalom B’nai Israel. Both are Wexner Fellows.
Lopatin, 53, who holds ordinations from the esteemed
late Talmudic scholar Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik at
Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago and from Yeshiva University
in New York, announced his resignation at the end of
this academic year as president of Yeshivat Chovevei
Torah (YCT), a Modern Orthodox rabbinical school in
Riverdale, N.Y., where he has served since 2013.
He succeeded the yeshivah’s founder Rabbi Avi Weiss,
known as a maverick who rocked the Orthodox world
with his concept of Open Orthodoxy, a liberal alterna-
tive to Modern Orthodoxy that includes women’s ritual
roles in the synagogue, a broad concern and inclusivity
for all Jews, and a perspective of Halachah ( Jewish law)
that is open to innovation.
During his tenure at YCT, Lopatin replaced the term
Open Orthodoxy with Modern Orthodoxy to denote the
school “is a full part of Modern Orthodoxy,” as quoted
in an Aug. 16, 2017, New York Jewish Week story.
Lopatin’s plan for a Center for Civil Discourse in
Metro Detroit speaks to the importance he places on
inclusivity and being nonjudgmental.
The mission for his proposed civil discourse center
is “to establish a culture which welcomes, encourages
and nurtures respectful dialogue and conversation on
the critical issues of our times across political, reli-

Landing
A Leader

Rabbi Asher Lopatin
will head a new
Modern Orthodox shul,
start a civil discourse center.

JUF/CHICAGO

KERI GUTEN COHEN STORY DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

TOP: Rabbi Asher Lopatin will come to Detroit
this summer to lead the new Congregation Etz
Chaim, a Modern Orthodox shul.
ABOVE: Rachel and Rabbi Asher Lopatin

10

February 15 • 2018

jn

gious and cultural lines.”
Along with his rabbinic degrees, Lopatin also was
a Rhodes Scholar and earned a master’s in philoso-
phy from the University of Oxford in medieval Arab
thought.

MOVING TO DETROIT

“I am excited that Rachel, our four children and I will
be making Michigan our home starting this summer,”
Lopatin said in an email. “We will join Detroit’s celebrat-
ed resurgence and its dynamic Jewish community.
“Detroit will provide not only a base for the profes-
sional ventures that I will be pursuing, but also a won-
derful environment for raising our family. There will
be more to report in the coming months, but for now
Rachel and I want to express our excitement with the
opportunities that lie ahead.”
Many details are still to be determined, according to
Etz Chaim’s statement. It is anticipated that the shul
will first offer Shabbat and holiday davening. And no
final decisions have been about the shul’s location.
“I’m excited to be part of an initiative to contribute
to Jewish life in Metro Detroit. Rabbi Asher Lopatin is a
world-renowned Modern Orthodox leader. The opportu-
nity to bring a person of his caliber here was too good to
pass up,” said Nancy Kleinfeldt of Huntington Woods, a
member of Etz Chaim’s originating group that includes
Rebecca and Gil Feldman, Sheryl and Seth Korelitz,
Rachel and Josh Opperer, Ora and Michael Singer, and
Julie and Eugene Sherizen, all of Huntington Woods.
“I am the mother of three children, one at Frankel
Jewish Academy, one at Hillel Day School, and one at
Farber Hebrew Day School-Yeshivat Akiva,” Kleinfeldt
said. “He will touch the lives of my children and many
others to enhance Detroit’s Jewish future.”
When a letter about Lopatin and Etz Chaim from the
originating group was posted on a few of their Facebook
sites, comments were very positive, including many who
think the Lopatins are a “win for the community.”
At the same time, concern arose about whether
Huntington Woods and the surrounding areas had
enough of a Modern Orthodox population to sustain
another shul. Young Israel of Oak Park and the more
liberal Or Chadash, both Modern Orthodox shuls, are
nearby.
And an anonymous email circulated by a “concerned
Detroiter” warns that Lopatin is a “firebrand” with
“extreme positions” outside of Orthodoxy who will bring
“drastic changes” to Detroit’s Orthodox community.
Acknowledging the many emotions, Lopatin says, “I
look forward to working hand in hand with the exist-
ing Detroit congregations and to collaborating with
those who already are making phenomenal strides in
building community. We may be the newest addition,
but we will be joining an already rich landscape, and
we will look for opportunities to support our neighbors
and friends.” •