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.