NOVEMBER 25 • 2021 | 39

H

avdalah cannot begin until 
the three brightest stars in 
the sky can be seen,
” said 
Rabbi Brent Gutmann as he kicked 
off Temple Kol Ami’s Astronomy 
Havdalah. “Can any of you see three 
stars yet?”
Yes, three “stars” could indeed be 
seen in the fading twilight, but they 
were actually the planets Jupiter, 
Saturn and Venus. “Good enough!” 
declared Rabbi Gutmann and, with 
that, Havdalah began.
Kol Ami members Craig Organ and 
Paul Gross then invited the congrega-
tion to look through their telescopes 

at the planets. Many had never looked 
through a telescope before and were 
amazed by being able to see Jupiter’s 
four biggest moons: Io, Europa, 
Ganymede and Callisto. Meanwhile, 
others took turns looking at stunning 
Saturn and its rings and the planet 
Venus through Organ’s telescope.
Experiential Judaism like this is at 
the core of what Kol Ami does, and 
the West Bloomfield synagogue’s 
Astronomy Havdalah was a huge hit 
with the congregation. In particu-
lar, the fun event added very special 
meaning to Havdalah for the children 
who participated. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEMPLE KOL AMI

Temple Kol Ami’s 
Astronomy Havdalah
a Huge Success

Moon Pies were 
a popular treat at 
Temple Kol Ami’s 
Astronomy Havdalah

Daria Gutmann 
looks through a 
telescope at the 
planet Jupiter

Sara Kravitz looks 
through a telescope 
at the planet Jupiter

Temple Kol Ami members 
Paul Gross and Craig Organ 
with their telescopes

Once three stars became 
visible, Havdalah began 
at Temple Kol Ami’s 
Astronomy Havdalah

