NOVEMBER 11 • 2021 | 25

become an example to other
communities around the
country.
For the past 14 years,
Moskowitz has taken families
to Israel in partnership with
Temple Israel, and he’s now
moving onto adult trips this
spring.
“I love bringing people to
Israel and sharing the joy of
Zionism and the reality of
what Israel is, all the good
and challenging with that,
but also it’s a vehicle to bring
people closer together and to
build community,” he says.
Moskowitz loves how tem-
ple has always been a “holy
petri dish,” creating different
ways to engage people with
Judaism.
Moskowitz is proud of the
growth of programs offered
to youth at the temple, start-
ing a preschool from the
ground up as something real-
ly intimate to now beginning
a building project where the
preschool will be at the tem-
ple itself.
Moskowitz is also proud of
the religious school, making
it a fun and engaging “camp”
as much as possible, wanting
their children to love their
Judaism and to feel comfort-

able and safe in it.
“I’ve had this freedom here
at temple from the get-go to
try anything for the better-
ment of education and com-
munity. There weren’t road-
blocks; there was, ‘go for it,
and if it doesn’t work, we’ll
try something different,’”
Moskowitz says.

‘GOOD’ FROM
THE START
Originally from St. Louis,
Moskowitz has grown to love
the Metro Detroit Jewish com-
munity, noticing a sense of
comfort from the beginning.
Moskowitz remembers visiting
Detroit for his interview, and
after meeting and having din-
ner with the board of direc-
tors, they were all hugging.
“It was very natural,”
Moskowitz says. “That’s part-
ly Shir Shalom, but I think
that’s also the Detroit Jewish
community and how people
are with one another.”
In reflection of his time at
Shir Shalom, Moskowitz car-
ries important lessons with
him.
“To lead with curiosity
more than with judgment,
the idea of knowing that
everyone has something to

teach and share in our world
and to look for the gifts in
every person that you meet,”
Moskowitz says.
Being able to both learn
and teach while being “sand-
wiched” by the elder Rabbi
Dannel Schwartz and younger
Rabbi Daniel Schwartz has
been a beautiful balance for
Moskowitz.
“It was a good match from
the start, and it continues
to be a very good match for
Temple Shir Shalom and
Michael Moskowitz, and that’s
really a blessing,” he said.
Rabbi Daniel Schwartz,
who was hired by
Moskowitz, thinks of him as
a community connector.
One memory tied to that
came in the wake of the
Pittsburgh synagogue shoot-
ing in 2018, when interfaith
colleagues Moskowitz had
formed relationships with
reached out to him, want-
ing to show support for the
Jewish community, Schwartz
said. As a result of the net-
work Moskowitz built over
the years, Shir Shalom was
able to have an archbishop,
an imam and a variety of
other religious faith leaders
on the bimah to stand in sol-

idarity.
“That’s just his personali-
ty. He can walk into a room
and get to know people and
build relationships with them
immediately,” Schwartz said.
Keith Lublin, immediate
past president of Temple
Shir Shalom, has known
Moskowitz since their fresh-
man year of college in 1986.
“I know the same passion
he has for community and
Israel that he shows now is
authentic because I’ve seen
it since we were teenagers,”
Lublin said. “That authentic-
ity, sense of humor and his
ability to connect with any
age group, what you see is
what you get.”
Lublin believes Moskowitz’
legacy is helping to build a
strong, caring community
and congregation that didn’t
exist before he came to town.
“The reason I think Shir
Shalom has been so suc-
cessful over these past 25+
years is because of the caring
clergy who have built some-
thing that very clearly was
desired and needed here in
town, and they’ve been able
to bring people together
in a way they wanted to be
brought together.”

LEFT: Rabbi Moskowitz, known for his sense of humor, dresses up for Purim. RIGHT: Rabbi Moskowitz takes pride in the growth of Shir
Shalom’s youth programs.