AUGUST 18 • 2022 | 29

faces&places

Y

oung Israel of 
Southfield (YIS) 
hosted a success-
ful Grill the Rabbi event on 
Wednesday, July 13, where 
congregants had the opportu-
nity to ask YIS Rabbi Yechiel 
Morris questions in an open 
forum. 
Sara Mor, who’s a mem-
ber of the congregation and 
part of the YIS Education 
Committee, helped put the 
event together. 
“We try to do events really 
geared toward the adults in the 
community, either bringing in 
speakers or different things of 
interest,” Mor said. 
She said the original plan 
was to have an intimate bar-
becue grill event in someone’s 
backyard. But, because of the 
weather, they shifted indoors 

at the synagogue. Mor said it 
ended up being better attend-
ed than expected. 
“It was a great turnout, with 
more than 60 adults and about 
40 children. A lot of our mem-
bers are young families.” 
Although they moved 
inside, they continued the 
theme with grilled foods for 
all. They had a movie playing 
for the kids because the event 
was geared for the adults. 
Mor says they had members 
submit questions in advance, 
and people were able to ask 
Morris more questions during 
the event. 
“Questions ranged from 
organ donation to abortion, 
to questions about synagogue 
leadership and the future of 
the community and challenges 
within the community, as the 

rabbi sees it,” she said.
Mor said they also talked 
about the importance of being 
able to ask your rabbi ques-
tions.
“Rabbi Morris explained to 
us that this event shouldn’t 
be the only time we ask ques-
tions. He said people should 
feel free coming to him any-
time they have questions; it 
shouldn’t be a one-time thing. 
But not everyone is comfort-
able asking questions.” 
This event brought YIS 
closer together, Mor said, giv-

ing members an opportunity 
to connect with Morris and 
for him to connect with his 
members.
“For the rabbi to hear what 
people are curious about 
and find interesting is very 
important,” Mor explained. 
While they had a big turn-
out for the kickoff Grill the 
Rabbi event, Mor says she 
would like to host another in 
a less institutional setting with 
half the amount of people, 
making it more intimate and 
conversational. 

Rebbetzin 
Adina Morris, center in 
pink shirt, chats with community 
members during the barbecue dinner. 

Grill the Rabbi

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR / PHOTOS COURTESY YIS

Rebbetzin 
Adina Morris, center in 
pink shirt, chats with community 
members during the barbecue dinner. 

ABOVE: Sara Mor introduces the event and 
thanks the Gonik family for hosting and 
Rabbi Yechiel Morris for participating. 
RIGHT: Children eating the barbecue 
dinner, while watching Finding Dory.

LEFT: Ari Gotlib, left, served as 
moderator with Rabbi Morris 
answering questions during the 
Q & A.

BELOW: Community members 
from the Unger, Faber, Lonn, Walz, 
Weinberg and Gottesfeld families 
eat and chat during the barbecue 
dinner before the Q & A. 

