continued on page 16

“The impossibility of singing together 
in real time is a downer for all of us, but 
we’ve found some creative solutions.”

— JAKE EHRLICH

continued on page 16
i
d
16

time due to Michigan’
s stay-at-home order and the search for com-
fort during a difficult time. 
“The pandemic emphasizes the need to be part 
of a community,
” said Rabbi Aaron Bergman of 
Congregation Adat Shalom, who chaired the Michigan 
Board of Rabbis during the early months of the pan-
demic.
However, online programming doesn’
t fulfill all 
needs. “Zooms don’
t accomplish the same thing as a 
beit knesset — a gathering place,
” said Rabbi Schneur 
Silberberg, community outreach director of the Chabad 
Torah Center. 
Dana Patchak, a West Bloomfield resident who is a 
longtime member and former board member of a local 
Reform temple, describes Zoom services as “so one-di-
mensional and flat. It makes me sad for the rabbi. The 
whole feeling of community is sitting in a sanctuary 
together. It’
s a very scary time for people and they need 
to be together.
”

HIGH HOLIDAYS LOOM
For months, local congregations have discussed how and when 
to reopen their facilities. “We consider the governor’
s orders and 
changing science. We’
ve gone very cautious,
” said Rabbi Bergman. 
Local churches have also struggled with reopening. Churches in 
some parts of the country have reopened with few requirements for 
social distancing and other health precautions, leading to COVID 
outbreaks. 
The Michigan Board of Rabbis issued a “Proposal for Re-opening 
Simchahs” on June 9. This permits small gatherings beginning in 
August for private, in-person weddings, baby naming ceremonies 
and b’
nei mitzvah at synagogues, but preferably outdoors, with very 
strict attendance limits and health rules. 
The Council of Orthodox Rabbis of Greater Detroit has issued 
stringent guidelines for re-opening synagogues, but allows consid-
erable discretion on the part of individual rabbis and congregations, 
depending on the demographics of their membership and the nature 
of their facilities. Some Orthodox synagogues have been holding 
small minyanim and services in their buildings with pre-registration 
and other requirements.
Young Israel of Southfield has had two hybrid services daily and 
on Shabbat since mid-June. The hazzan stands in the doorway 
between the social hall and the adjacent patio, which enables wor-
shipers to choose whether to pray indoors or outside, explains Rabbi 
Yechiel Morris. “Not everyone is coming back but it’
s working pretty 
well,
” he said.
A number of other congregations, including Beth Shalom, Shaarey 
Zedek and Shir Tikvah, have been holding socially distanced out-
door services. Families are seated together at a designated distance 

from others. 
The Chabad Torah Center of West Bloomfield has been holding 
services using two tents and a sukkah adjacent to their building. 
Rabbi Silberberg says that there is plenty of space in their parking lot 
and some individuals choose to sit farther away. However, he says 
that a “significant percentage has chosen not to return.
”
At all congregational events, the traditional practices of passing 
around of the Torah and handing out or sharing prayer books are 
suspended. Social distancing and masks are required.
The High Holidays pose an immense challenge — a reluctance to 
give up traditional services that are so important to the community 
but a recognition that the coronavirus continues to be a serious 
threat, especially for full-scale, indoor gatherings. 

 AUGUST 6 • 2020 | 15

(Reform, Conservative and Orthodox) included 
in the survey data, six gained members during 
this 13-year time span, although increases were 
small for two congregations. In addition, one new 
synagogue was established. Membership declined 
at 11 congregations included in the study. (Some 
congregations have added members since 2018.)

Rabbi Aaron 
Bergman

Rabbi 
Schneur 
Silberberg

Worshippers at a socially distanced Shabbat service 
in the parking lot of Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak 
Park. Middle/bottom: Congregation Shaarey Zedek in 
Southfield conducts its own masks-on Shabbat service.

ALEXANDER CLEGG/JEWISH NEWS
ALEXANDER CLEGG/JEWISH NEWS
COURTESY OF CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM

ALEXANDER CLEGG/JEWISH NEWS

