Rabbis Herbert Yoskowitz, Rachel
Shere and Aaron Bergman and
Canton Daniel Gross

jews in the d

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

n the beginning, most of Detroit’s
Orthodox and Conservative congre-
gations developed along ethnic lines.
There were Polish shuls, Hungarian
shuls, Lithuanian shuls. Then a small
group of men broke the mold, organiz-
ing a congregation to serve all Jews in
their Northwest Detroit neighborhood.
That was the start of Adat Shalom
Synagogue, celebrating its 75th anniver-
sary this month.
The area around Seven Mile and
Livernois was growing, but most of
Detroit’s synagogues were located fur-
ther south in the city. An informal min-
yan starting meeting in rec rooms of
private homes, or, when larger quarters
were needed, in a skating rink.
As the minyan grew, participants
realized they needed an actual syn-
agogue and, in 1943, the Northwest
Hebrew Congregation and Center was
born, with 52 charter members. At first,
the congregation operated out of rented
spaces, including Bagley School. In 1945,
they broke ground for their own build-
ing at 7045 Curtis and,
soon afterward, chose a
new name, Adas Shalom
Synagogue, congrega-
tion of peace. (The more
common Sephardic pro-
nunciation, Adat Shalom,
The late Rabbi would be used after their
Jack Segal
move to Farmington Hills
in 1972). Alexander Moss was the first
president. Jack Segal was hired as rabbi
in 1946.
The congregation also bought a
25-acre cemetery on Six Mile Road near
Middlebelt, which became Adat Shalom
Memorial Park.
A new religious school grew quickly
as parents enrolled their Baby Boomer
children. Soon Adas Shalom became
the first synagogue to host a branch
of United Hebrew Schools, a Jewish
Federation agency that served the entire
community.
Gerald Loomus of Farmington Hills
has been part of Adat Shalom almost
from the start, when his parents, Joseph
and Betty, joined. Loomus celebrated
his bar mitzvah at Bagley School and
became the synagogue’s first junior con-
gregation president. He’s still friends with
some of his junior congregation buddies.
Now 85 and a not-quite-retired hema-

32

October 18 • 2018

jn

Diamond Anniversary

Adat Shalom Synagogue celebrates 75 years.

tologist-oncologist, Loomus remembers
Rabbi Segal, who led Adat Shalom until
his death in 1975. “His sermons were
brilliant intellectually and stirring emo-
tionally,” he said. “I still remember some.
“He made the junior congregation feel
like an important part of the congrega-

Kiddush treats and, of course, seudah
shlishit, which was a festive time at the
end of Shabbat with good food, singing
and friendships. I used to love the bal-
cony at the original building on Curtis,
which my childhood friends and I would
use as our ‘clubhouse’ during services,”
he said.

A CHALLENGING TIME
Although Adas Shalom was very
successful in Northwest Detroit,
the Jewish community was
migrating to the suburbs and, by
the late 1960s, the congregation
knew it would have to move to

tion. We always participated in
important events, like the ded-
ication of the new building.”
Congregation President
Sanford (Sandy) Vieder, 56,
of West Bloomfield, likes to
say his association with Adat
Shalom began with his bris.
Because his father, the late Larry Vieder,
served the congregation for 50 years, first
as sexton and then as cantor, the shul
became part of his family.
“I have fond memories as a child
going to Shabbat services, enjoying

Adat Shalom
(Then and Now)

survive. But the move sparked an exis-
tential crisis.
The congregation’s new building was
completed in 1972 on a 22-acre site on
Middlebelt near Northwestern Highway.
It was designed to echo the look of the

Israel Museum, with huge windows that
brought the outdoors into the building.
But the area was still sparsely populated
and membership dropped. Building
costs were more than twice what the
congregation expected.
When the congregation moved, Rabbi
Segal, who had been instrumental in
the fundraising efforts, was ill; he would
succumb to leukemia in 1975 at age 62.
The Yom Kippur War in 1973 absorbed
a significant portion of the communi-
ty’s fundraising dollars. A lawsuit filed
against the general contractor tied up
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In financial crisis, Adat Shalom
Synagogue filed for Chapter 11 bank-
ruptcy protection in 1973. It was a
humiliating but necessary move.
“It enabled us to pay our creditors and
our bond holders 10 percent for 10 years
without any interest,” said the late Irwin
Alterman, president at the time. “It also
shocked our congregants into action.”
Now Adat Shalom may enjoy the dis-
tinction of being the only congregation
in the country to enter into and emerge
successfully from Chapter 11.
“Everybody loves a comeback,” said
longtime member Asher Tilchin, 92, of
Farmington Hills, who was executive
vice president at the time of the bank-
ruptcy. “We weren’t ready to roll over
and close shop.”