Rosh Hashanah
Metro Detroit's
Best Kept
Secret
Steven E. Stein, M.D.
With 25 years of experience Dr. Stein
has performed over 1000 face and neck lift
procedures, along with blepharoplasties
(eyelid surgery) and fat grafting. Because
of his vast knowledge, Dr. Stein is the only
plastic surgeon you should be choosing
for your facial cosmetic surgery.
ah
T
ova
!
Brandon Klein leads a
meditation class.
'S
L
Enjoy wine, appetizers and discounted
pricing on select services and products.
Please RSVP 248.643.7710.
han
Join us at our Open House on Thursday,
October 26th – 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Somerset Center for
Plastic Surgery
Steven E. Stein, M.D.
1579 W. Big Beaver Rd. Suite B-7, Troy, Michigan 48084
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Franklin Cider Mill
“A FAMILY TRADITION”
NOW
OPEN!
248-626-8261
14 Mile Rd.
and Franklin Rd.
HOURS:
Open Daily
7am-6:30pm
Weekends
8am-6:30pm
Thanksgiving Day
8am-4pm
Last Day of Season,
Sunday,
November 25th
Wishing
our Friends
a Happy and
Healthy
New Year
Make us your stop for
the Jewish Holidays. A
full assortment of Dakota
Breads and our Franklin
Homemade Apple Pies.
26
September 6 • 2018
jn
Jewish Paths
Meditation is a way to connect
with yourself, others this season.
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A
pproaching the High Holiday
season, most would not think
to bring any meditation or
mindfulness skills they learned on a
yoga mat or a meditation workshop
along to High Holiday services.
But Brandon Klein, who left a doc-
toral program in psychology at Hofstra
University and, in 2016, moved back to
Michigan to start his own meditation
coaching business, thinks meditation
is just the thing Jews need at the start
of a new year.
In fact, meditation in Judaism dates
back to the practices of the Chasidic
masters who often sat silently with
their thoughts and intentions before
praying formally.
At press time, Klein will be offer-
ing several High Holiday meditation
workshops at area congregations
such as Temple Shir Shalom in West
Bloomfield and Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township, and at Tashlich
on the first day of Rosh Hashanah
with The Well at the Franklin Cider
Mill.
Within each session, and with the
help of congregation rabbis, Klein
hopes to weave the liturgy and the
themes of the High Holiday season
— return, repentance, introspection
and forgiveness — into a meditative
practice that congregants can use not
only during the high holidays but also
throughout the new year.
“Meditation can and should be a
Jewish practice even though most
associate it with more Eastern reli-
gions,” said Rabbi Mark Miller of
Temple Beth El, where Klein was to
lead a workshop prior to Selichot ser-
vices Sept. 1.
“At Selichot services, thinking
inwardly and being mindful are actu-
ally what we are supposed to be doing.
Meditating right before will create a
natural connection to the mood of the
season and help us think deeply and
contemplate: ‘Am I ready for the High
Holidays on a spiritual level?’ With so
many practicing these techniques out-
side a Jewish setting, bringing it into
a Jewish framework is relevant and
relatable to many,” Miller said.
Klein’s meditation session the after-
noon of Yom Kippur at Shir Shalom
will focus on fasting and include visu-
alization exercises about forgiveness.
“With a rabbi by my side serving as
a facilitator into the meaning of the
liturgy, these supplemental workshops
on the High Holidays will help people
regain the intent of contemplation
and focus during services, something
that has been lost in Jewish services
over time,” Klein said.
Growing up at Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills, Klein
said that conventional Jewish prayer
“didn’t do it” for him and says he
knows many others feel the same. He
takes this into consideration as he
begins his new position as program
and partnerships coordinator with
The Well.
Nowhe says he sees attending ser-
vices as a way for him “to be well” and
to connect to other Jews. He has also
incorporated Jewish rituals and con-
cepts, such as unplugging on Shabbat
and putting on tefillin in the morning,
into his own meditative practices.
“I have found that these things are
small ways for me to stay on Judaism’s
path,” Klein said. “As my work begins
to become more specialized around
the Jewish community, I hope to con-
tinue to work in creating new ways
for others to gain footing on their
own Jewish paths, starting with the
High Holidays and moving forward
throughout the year.” •