V

adim Avshulamov moved to Downtown
Detroit after finishing grad school in 2012.
One Friday night, “after a difficult day,”
he happened upon the Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue (IADS) on Griswold Street and walked
in.
Knowing not a soul, “I was asked to lead
the Maariv service during Kabbalat Shabbat,”
Avshulamov said. His immediate impression was
that “IADS is a very inclusive community.”
Avshalumov quickly plugged into synagogue life
and completes his three-year term as IADS president
in December.
Celebrating its centennial (100 years of existence)
during Chanukah, IADS is a congregation with a
decidedly youthful demographic. The current 404
affiliated families include 612 adults and 97 children.

By comparison, IADS counted just 286 families
as members in 2014-2015.
Not so long ago, when IADS was struggling
to stay solvent, young Jewish adults started
moving into Detroit.
“These were young people looking for Jewish
experiences, spirituality, and finding it at the
Downtown Synagogue,” Avshulamov said. An
attraction for some members, he added, is that
“we are a ‘post-denominational’ synagogue,
not affiliated with any particular stream of
Judaism.”

IADS HISTORY
Synagogue founders and brothers, Nathan and
Charles Agree, however, were Orthodox Jews.
They honored their recently deceased father

10 | DECEMBER 9 • 2021

100
Years
100
Years

IN MOTOWN

OUR COMMUNITY

Downtown Synagogue celebrates centennial
and plans to enhance its future.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Synagogue namesake Isaac
Agree himself

PHOTOS COURTESY OF IADS