22 | JULY 28 • 2022 

O

ak Park Reform con-
gregation Temple 
Emanu-El is an open, 
welcoming, inclusive congrega-
tion that strives to be a spiritual 
home for all. 
Temple Emanu-El was found-
ed in 1952 to meet the growing 
needs of the Jewish commu-
nity in Oak Park, Huntington 
Woods and other northern 
suburbs of Detroit. Called the 
Suburban Temple of Greater 
Detroit, it held its first service 
for its 100 families on Jan. 
18, 1952, at Burton School in 
Huntington Woods. The first 
High Holiday services were 
held later that year at the First 
Methodist Church of Royal 
Oak. Within its first year, the 
congregation grew to almost 
300 families under the leader-
ship of Rabbi Frank Rosenthal.
The cornerstone for its build-

ing was laid in October 1955 
with its final dedication in 1957 
under the direction of its new 
rabbi, Milton Rosenbaum, who 
was installed the year before 
and served the temple as rabbi, 
and then rabbi emeritus, for 
more than 40 years. In 1981, 
Rabbi Lane Steinger succeed-
ed Rosenbaum. Joseph Klein 
became rabbi in 1997 and then 
rabbi emeritus in 2013. Arturo 
Kalfus served as rabbi from 
2013-2018.
The temple’s first cantor, 
Norman Rose, joined in 1972 
and served more than 40 years. 
Darcie Sharlein 
became the second 
cantor, serving 
from 2008-2012.
Matthew J. 
Zerwekh has served 
as rabbi since 2018, 
and Kelly Onickel 

serves as cantorial soloist.
Whether you’re looking for 
a place for prayer, learning, 
cultural engagement, volunteer 
opportunities or to make new 
friends, Temple Emanu-El 
strives to offer a broad array of 
engagement opportunities while 
remaining intimate enough for 
individuals to make their own 
mark, Zerwekh said.
“This congregation has 
never moved. For all the ebbs 
and flows of this part of town, 
Temple Emanu-El has been that 
place in Oak Park and Southeast 
Oakland County, and I think 
that’s really special to be such 
a significant part of the neigh-
borhood for so long,” Zerwekh 
said. “I’ve run into folks from 
all over who grew up at Temple 
Emanu-El and have a lot of 
fond connections to it.”
Zerwekh is proud of Temple 

Emanu-El’s education program. 
“We have a wonderful preschool 
that educates the youngest 
minds,” he said. “It also happens 
to fill our building with a lot of 
joy every day.”
Temple Emanu-El, which 
has 360 family units, also has 
a combined religious school, 
Yachad, with Oak Park’s 
Congregation Beth Shalom. 
The foundations of the con-
gregation are steeped in tikkun 
olam and social justice engage-
ment. The temple has many 
programs aimed to educate and 
inform, sometimes from the 
Jewish realm, sometimes out-
side of it. 
Most recently, the temple 
hosted a panel discussion on 
reproductive freedom with a 
constitutional scholar, the assis-
tant director of the ACLU and 

Rabbi 
Matthew 
Zerwekh

Since 1952, Temple Emanu-El has offered congregants 
a welcoming, inclusive environment.

A Southeast Oakland 
County Constant

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

SYNAGOGUE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEMPLE EMANU-EL

Watch “Ask 
the Rabbi” 
with Rabbi 
Zerwekh

Temple Emanu-El
in Oak Park

