AUGUST 18 • 2022 | 23

“They wanted to create an
Orthodox synagogue here in
this neighborhood, and they
worked really hard,” Rabbi
Morris said. “When you go
through our building, it’s sort
of like a patchwork quilt. It’s
not a building that was created
all at once. Over the years, dif-
ferent parts have been added.
It reflects the beauty of the
contributions of the members.
Everyone has done their part
to create the community we
have today.”
YIS has about 130 families
who are not only members,
but also all live in the neigh-
borhood within a mile radius
of the synagogue. “It’s in a
wonderful neighborhood, a
really nice place to raise chil-
dren,” Rabbi Morris said.
Many services take place
throughout the week, and pro-
grams take place in the syna-
gogue and at people’s homes.

CHILDREN ARE
THE FOCUS
“On Shabbos, when it comes
alive, there’s probably about
130-140 children from birth to
teenagers who are members of
the synagogue and are really
the focus,” Rabbi Morris said.
“The children are primary
in terms of everything we do
within the synagogue.”
YIS has a learning program
with parents and children,
grandparents and grandchil-
dren. In summer months, they
do something similar in the
park next to the synagogue. On
Sunday mornings in the sum-
mer, the kids all congregate at
the synagogue, coming straight
from davening with breakfast
afterwards.
“It’s vibrant, it’s alive and
while it always was strong,
things really picked up in the
last 10 years,” Rabbi Morris
said. “We made a concerted
effort to say we have a great
community here and let’s try
to market it in Detroit and

beyond. Within the last 10
years or so, we’ve had about
50 young families move in. It’s
beautiful to see.”
YIS recently renovated its
sanctuary, which will be called
the Gonik Family Sanctuary
because of that family’s com-
mitment to the project. It will
be dedicated in autumn with a
date to be decided.
At its core, prayer services,
davening and Torah classes
are what YIS offers, but social
get-togethers are key as well.
“We started this month-
ly men’s get-together where
there’s a barbecue and there’s
always a guest speaker. We do

something similar for women’s
programming, including a
wonderful Sisterhood with tons
of social programming taking
place,” Rabbi Morris said.
YIS does not have a religious
school. Almost all the children
in the synagogue attend full-
time day school, with over 80%
attending Farber Hebrew Day
School and some attending
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and
Hillel Day School.
In addition to being the full-
time rabbi, Rabbi Morris also
teaches a couple of classes a
day at Farber.
“
A strength of the com-
munity is that if I’m away for

a weekend, everything runs
smoothly,” Rabbi Morris said.
“We have members who can
give classes. I can ask someone
to give the sermon. It’s a team
effort.
“One of the most beautiful
things about our community
is that people will come over
to you and welcome you,
thank you for coming,” he
added. “You’ll get invitations
for meals; people send any
help and assistance. We know
one another, and we’re always
happy to have more people join
us, whether permanently as
members or just for the morn-
ing or evening.”

The Idler family
studies in the
new Donny Morris
Children’s Learning
Library.

The YIS Purim
celebration, 2022