24 | APRIL 14 • 2022 

FROM TOP: Front of the shul, a quarter-mile from the Detroit Zoo. 
Woodward Avenue Shul’s Hanukkah menorah. WAS’s sanctuary.

SYNAGOGUE SPOTLIGHT 

T

he Woodward Avenue 
Shul (WAS) is situated 
in the center of 
the recent trend of Jewish 
migration to the surrounding 
cities of Huntington Woods, 
Royal Oak, Berkeley, 
Birmingham, Pleasant Ridge 
and Ferndale. The shul’s 
Rabbi Mendel Polter believes 
its location and intimate 
nature are what makes it 
unique.
“We are proud to 
offer meaningful Jewish 
experiences fused with a 
very warm and inviting 
atmosphere, to cater to the 
palate of any level of Jewish 
practice,” Polter said. 
The WAS likes to call 
themselves “traditional,” 
which they understand to 
be a coupling of traditional 
Jewish standards with a user-
friendly, relevant approach.
 Polter stepped into his 
role at WAS when founding 
rabbi Chanoch Hadar moved 
into a more administrative 
role. The WAS began as a 
neighborly gathering in the 
Hadar family home in 2005 
and rapidly grew into their 

dedicated shul building in 
2008. 
“While we continuously 
grow as a community, we 
strive to retain our intimate 
touch,” Polter said. “Our shul 
has been the meeting ground 
for many couples, leading 
to tens of marriages and the 
building of young families 
who have become integral to 
our community.”
The WAS, defined as “Your 
Home for Everything Jewish,” 
is a multifaceted institution.
“While our prayer services 
are one component of the 
shul activity, it is by no 
means our primary focus,” 
Polter said. “We constantly 

The WAS has an open-door policy 
where all are welcome.

Woodward 
Avenue Shul 
Provides a 
‘Traditional’ 
Experience 

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Rabbi 
Mendel 
Polter

OUR COMMUNITY

