MARCH 31 • 2022 | 25

Shir Tikvah during the pan-
demic summer of 2020. She 
held dozens of meetings with 
the staff and committees, 
“meet-and-greets” with fam-
ilies and made new friends 
with the Sunday school stu-
dents, all virtually. 
By the time the High 
Holidays came around, Shir 
Tikvah was ready to wel-
come its congregation. Using 
Zoom, YouTube and the out-
door sanctuary, Rabbi Alicia 
conducted beautiful and 
inspiring services. Since then, 
in the return to normalcy, the 
building is open more often. 
People gather for services; 
students attend religious 

school in person; and when 
the congregation gathers for 
social justice projects, it’s 
done together. All safely, of 
course.
Along with her rabbin-
ic duties at Shir Tikvah, 
Rabbi Alicia is a member of 
the Commission on Social 
Action through the Religious 
Action Center. She says she 
is learning about the Detroit 
area, making new friends and 
waiting until she can “strap 
on her shiny shoes and salsa 
the night away.” 

Shir Tikvah, 3900 Metro Parkway in 

Troy, is a Reform and Renewal syna-

gogue that welcomes new members. 

www.shirtikvah.org. 

TOP: Shir Tikvah President Patty Rehfus, Director of Lifelong 
Learning Sarah Chisholm, Rabbi Alicia Harris and Executive Director 
Lorelei Berg.

The congregation celebrated Rabbi Alicia Harris on March 11.

Adat Shalom Receives 
Hoax Bomb Threat

A 

bomb threat scare 
at Adat Shalom 
Synagogue in 
Farmington Hills on March 18 
led to the building being evac-
uated without incident and 
Friday night Shabbat services 
being conducted via Zoom.
Adat Shalom’s Rabbi Aaron 
Bergman sent out a letter to 
the community on Friday 
afternoon with the details.
“
At 3 p.m., our office 
received a phone call 
from someone with an 
out-of-state area code 
who said that he planted 
a pipe bomb at the syna-
gogue. The building was 
evacuated immediately 
without incident, and the 
police and Federation 
security were called. The 
police responded imme-
diately, including with 
bomb-sweeping dogs,
” 
Bergman relayed. 
“So far this seems to be a 
cruel hoax designed to ter-
rorize our communities. We 
will not allow these terrorists 
to win. However, out of an 
abundance of caution, and in 
order to allow the police to 
fully investigate every part of 
the building, we will be having 
services tonight only by Zoom. 
We will resume our regular 
Shabbat services tomorrow 
morning in the sanctuary, with 
our regular option to Zoom 
for those who wish.
”
The incident took place the 
week of Purim. 
“Purim reminds us to 
always be strong and never 

give up who we are,
” Bergman 
added. “It was true for our 
ancestors. It is true for us 
today.
”
Adat Shalom’s Executive 
Director Michael Wolf says 
there were only about 5-10 
people inside the synagogue 
at the time of the threat. 
“We did what we had 
to do when we answered 
the phone call and 
made sure everyone 
was safe,” Wolf said. 
“We’re grateful for 
the tremendous work 
the Farmington Hills 
Police and firemen do, 
for our rabbis and cler-
gy, and we’re grateful 
to have a caring con-
gregation that looks 
out for each other.” 
The Anti-
Defamation League’s 
most recent Audit of 
Antisemitic Incidents 
in the United States, issued 
in April 2021, recorded 2,024 
acts of assault, vandalism and 
harassment, the third-highest 
year for incidents against 
American Jews since ADL 
started tracking the data in 
1979.
The audit showed cases of 
antisemitism in the state of 
Michigan rose by 21% from 
the year prior, which contin-
ued a concerning trend of 
upward increases. The spike 
represented an increase of 
240% since 2016, with 51 inci-
dents total. The 51 incidents 
placed Michigan at eighth-
most in the country. 

Michael 
Wolf

Regular, in-person Shabbat services 
returned last week. 

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Rabbi 
Aaron 
Bergman

