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