<RXU2IÀFH
Solution
jews d
in
the
“I love all Jews. My critics, my supporters
are all people I love. Judaism thrives on
arguments ... ”
— RABBI ASHER LOPATIN
continued from page 14
&RPHMRLQRXURIÀFH
On top of having great space and amenities, we have
amazing referral opportunities. You’re renting space why
not make it a part of your marketing strategy. At Thav
Ryke and Associates we are not only Probate Lawyers
we are engineers that have created a dynamic work
environment.
What’s Your Plan?
OFFICE SIZE
120 sq ft
120 sq ft
200 sq ft
300 sq ft
Cube/admin assist desk
OFFICE LOCATION
Interior (no windows)
Exterior (windows)
Exterior (windows)
Exterior (windows)
Interior (no windows)
PRICE
$600.00 per mo.
$750.00 per mo.
$1000.00 per mo.
$1750.00
$250.00 per mo.
AMMENITIES INCLUDE:
t Custom offi ce spaces
t Receptionist to greet your
clients and answer your calls
t Phone system
t Copier
t Fax
t Use of 5 conference rooms
t cable
t Internet
t And a chance to grow your
business by all the in house
referals!!!
For more information please contact:
Josi Ryke
248-505-7559
josiryke@gmail.com
24725 W. 12 Mile Road, Suite 110
Southfi eld, MI 48034
16
June 21 • 2018
jn
fire, in the Jewish Standard (Teaneck,
N.J.) in July 2015, he has said he sup-
ports the ordination of women, calling
it “true to our Modern Orthodox val-
ues, our menschlichkeit (compassion
or consideration of others.)”
If women are “inspired by putting
on tefillin … they can put on tefillin,”
he said in a 2017 interview. “With
women’s issues, we get so worked
up, like it’s going to be the end of the
male-dominated world.” Lopatin con-
siders himself a feminist.
His position on gay marriage,
though, is what raises the ire of
Orthodox rabbis both locally and
nationally. He said in an interview
last year with Scott Kahn of Orthodox
Conundrum that Torah forbids sexual
relations among members of the same
gender. But it is unclear what Torah
says about same-sex unions.
“The Torah told us not to marry
gentiles. The Torah knows how to say
don’t marry somebody, but it doesn’t
say that about same-sex partners,”
Lopatin said in the interview with
Kahn. “Twenty-first-century moral-
ity says, ‘Wait a second, why do you
assume Torah is against people of the
same gender getting married?’ The
Torah doesn’t say it clearly.”
That does not sit well with most
Orthodox rabbis.
“The understanding of our sages
and teachers for these 3,400 years is
that from the Torah verses that deal
with homosexuality we derive that
such a marriage is prohibited. After
all, marriage is not meant to be pla-
tonic, and a platonic relationship does
not need marriage to sanctify it. One
who comes up with a Torah interpre-
tation that flatly rejects our mesorah
is very far from Orthodox indeed,” says
Silberberg, a member of the presidium
of the Council of Orthodox Rabbis of
Greater Metro Detroit, known as the
Vaad HaRabonim. That body decides
matters of religious law and provides
supervision over kosher food estab-
lishments.
LOVE FOR ALL
Lopatin does not like striking back at
his critics — and as head of YCT, he
became accustomed to them.
“I love all Jews. My critics, my sup-
porters are all people I love. Judaism
thrives on arguments; Talmud thrives
on arguments. I’ve found that when
people get to know me they under-
stand me much better,” he said for this
story.
Lopatin’s reach will likely not be
felt, at least initially, outside the
Orthodox community in Detroit,
which compromises about 11 percent
of Metro Detroit’s Jewish population,
estimated to be 67,000, according
to the 2010 update to the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s
2005 Population Study. The Modern
Orthodox community, concentrated
in Southfield and Oak Park, is smaller,
but it has spread out; many Shabbat-
observant families have put down
roots in Huntington Woods.
A FAQ issued by Kehillat Etz
Chayim on its Facebook pages in
May says the congregation will use
the Artscroll Chumash (Five Books of
Moses) and the Koren siddur (prayer
book), both widely used Orthodox
texts.
The nature of the mechitzah, a phy-
sicial barrier that separates men and
women in the synagogue, has yet to be
determined.
Etz Chayim officers declined to
comment for this story. Founding fam-
ilies include Nancy Kleinfeldt, 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.
Lopatin and his family have found
a home in Huntington Woods and are
in the process of closing.
He says he is eager to be here. He
wants to make Halachah meaning-
ful in people’s lives and to use Torah
values to change the way people of dif-
ferent colors and creeds engage with
each other.
“I’m interested in broader ques-
tions of race in America, Israelis and
Palestinians, issues of gentrifica-
tion and affordable housing, social
justice issues,” Lopatin says. “I think
this move to Detroit will, God will-
ing, be able to meet both passions
— the intense desire to be involved
in the Jewish community and to take
on broader issues we care about in
America and the world.” •