12 March 14 • 2019
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continued from page 10
“We know saving a life supersedes all the laws of Shabbat, and
we know that carrying a gun to synagogue may seem like a
contradiction.”
— RABBI AARON STARR
jews d
in
the
houses of worship that allow certain
members to carry, but I cannot disclose
which ones they are,
” Sikorski said.
“In most cases, they are retired first
responders or law enforcement profes-
sionals but, for obvious reasons, a syn-
agogue is not going to widely advertise
whether or not they allow it.
”
GUNS AND HALACHAH
Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek of Southfield will be
addressing the topic of the permis-
sibility of carrying a gun on Shabbat
during a session he will teach at
Limmud, an annual community day
of Jewish learning on March 31 at the
Jewish Community Center
(limmudmichigan.org).
On the issue of
whether Jewish licensed
gun owners should
carry a gun to ser-
vices on Shabbat, he
said Michigan state
law leaves it up to the
individual discrepancy
of the clergy or board.
Just because a person
is a licensed gun owner does not
qualify him or her to be a first line of
defense in case an attack happens on a
Saturday morning, he said.
“We know saving a life supersedes
all the laws of Shabbat, and we know
that carrying a gun to synagogue may
seem like a contradiction,” Starr said,
adding that he and his board members
have been approached by congregants
as to whether they may carry a weap-
on with them, just as this request is
being made at every synagogue in the
area, he says.
Starr would not say whether con-
gregants were granted permission to
carry, but there are professional securi-
ty guards in the building at all times.
Rabbi Yechiel Morris of Young Israel
of Southfield said there had been a
security plan and team in place years
before the Pittsburgh shooting. There
are a select few congregants who
are retired first responders who the
congregation board has granted per-
mission to carry. Other than that, he
said no one is allowed
to enter the synagogue
carrying a gun.
“We don’
t want some
cowboy coming in here
causing more harm than
good in an emergency
situation,” Morris said.
“If a person insisted on
carrying a weapon, they
would have to show documentation
they are certified. Though we cannot
divulge specifics, we have layers of
security in place as we have worked
with Gary (Sikorski) as well as the
Southfield Police. We are confident in
the security plan we have in place.”
As far as keeping phones at one’
s
side — either completely off or turned
on only to be used in emergency,
Morris said in the past few months the
Orthodox Union and the Young Israel
rabbinical council have had conference
calls and meetings taking halachah
into consideration.
“Halachah can be flexible when it
comes to safety and security,” Morris
said. “If authorities need to be con-
tacted on Shabbat, we have the means
to do so. Unfortunately, [guns and
increased anti-Semitism] are the real-
ity we have to live with, but we cannot
be scared. You take the necessary
security measures, then, you have to
live your life.”
Young Israel of Oak Park member
Dr. David Ungar believes in the ele-
ment of surprise when it comes to
security. For that reason, he is fine
about fellow congregants carrying
during services, but only the rabbi
should know who is
armed.
“If someone is car-
rying, I would rather
not know about it,
”
said Ungar, whose par-
ents were Holocaust
survivors who lived in
countries where citizens
were not allowed to own weapons.
“Having armed uniformed guards adds
an expense to the synagogue and it is
most likely that they would be the first
targets for a shooter. The only deterrent
to a mass shooter would be the element
of surprise in the worst scenario. There
are people who are dead set to get us,
and we cannot put our head in the
sand. We have to be prepared.
”
Dr. Marc Borovoy of West
Bloomfield has been active in formu-
lating The Shul’
s security
procedures. Though The
Shul would not disclose
specific security mea-
sures or whether they
allow members to carry
guns, anonymous sourc-
es have observed several
congregants who wear
communications ear
pieces during services.
“We take our security efforts very
seriously and have vetted our security
team,
” Borovoy said. “Our diligent
security team is prepared to minimize
any potential harm that could befall our
congregants but, because of that, we
cannot fully disclose our procedures.
“In private talks, we have trained and
educated congregants and have taken
the Federation’
s best practice proce-
dures into account to not only secure
the synagogue but also other buildings
on our campus.
”
Temple Shir Shalom Executive
Director Brian Fishman said outside of
armed, professional security guards in
the building during Shabbat services,
the temple does not permit members
with CPLs to carry guns outside of a
few exceptions. Shir Shalom has hired
additional uniformed and plain-clothed
security officers and has upgraded its
security doors, which are locked at all
times except during services.
“My answer is going to be, with
extremely limited exceptions [already
known to the police] our members are
not allowed to carry guns into services,
”
Fishman said. “If the unthinkable
happens and the police arrive, they are
going to shoot at anyone holding a gun.
This is not a scenario we would like to
unfold, and we leave our security in the
hands of our trained professionals. To
me, it is even a tragedy that we have to
have this conversation.
” ■
Rabbi Aaron
Starr
Rabbi Yechiel
Morris
Dr. Marc
Borovoy
Dr. David Ungar
Young Israel of Oak Park
Hires New Spiritual Leader
After a year-long search, Young
Israel of Oak Park has hired
Rabbi Shaya Katz to replace Rabbi
Michael Cohen, who finished his
duties at the synagogue last July.
Katz is executive director of the
Kansas City Community Kollel and
associate rabbi at Congregation
Beth Israel Abraham Voliner in
Overland Park, Kan. He will join
YIOP in July with his wife, Rikki,
and their three children: son, Dovi,
4; daughter, Elka, 2; and son, Asher,
4 months.
“After nearly a year of vetting
candidates, Young Israel was fortu-
nate to find a young, dynamic rabbi
whose passion for community and
Torah values aligned with YIOP’
s
modern, centrist values within the
framework of an Orthodox Jewish
shul,” said David Barth, YIOP’
s
president. “We look forward to wel-
coming him and his young family
to our community this summer.”
A native of Baltimore, Katz is a
graduate of Yeshiva University in
New York where he earned both
a B.A. in sociology and a mas-
ter’
s degree in social work. He
received his ordination from YU’
s
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary.
In a statement, Rabbi Ronald
Schwarczberg of YU said Katz was
one of the “budding stars” who has
come from YU in the last few years.
Rabbi Shaya Katz & family