40 | SEPTEMBER 22 • 2022 

the temple’s religious school or preschool 
students or an outdoor cocktail hour 
space for weddings and b’nei mitzvot 
events. 
Schwartz said during the height of 
the pandemic there was a focus to make 
students and young families feel welcome 
and safe. Last year’s High Holiday season 
featured a family Rosh Hashanah service 
on the bleachers of the West Bloomfield 
High School football field. Many 
students, who spent the bulk of their 
school years online, were thankful to 
come to educational and social programs 
in person outside the building, braving 
the cold with heat lamps and wearing 
masks, as advised by the congregation’s 
volunteer committee of medical 
professionals. 
“At their May graduation, our Hebrew 
High School students told us that our 
outside classes were the only time they 
got to socialize and be with friends in 
person,” Schwartz said. 
To keep its youngest congregants 
connected, Shir Shalom last year 
conducted its religious school program 
last year a-la-camp style on the grounds 
of the Jewish Community Center. 
“This year we will also begin religious 
school with that camp-style feeling and 
conduct Sunday school classes as long 

as possible on the JCC campus, and 
then we’ll move things inside the JCC,” 
Schwartz said. “It’s always nice to learn 
outside with the natural light and fresh 
air. It makes people feel safer.” 
Schwartz noted that years before the 
pandemic, Shir Shalom had been live- 
streaming its religious services. The onset 
of the pandemic only boosted the need. 
“Whether we have had elderly 
members or those who have been 
immune- compromised, or even if there 
have been those anxious about coming 
to temple because of security reasons, 
our services were accessible to people. 
The onset of the pandemic just increased 
those numbers using online resources.” 
Congregation Beth Ahm in West 
Bloomfield this High Holiday season is 
enhancing youth and family activities 
thanks to planning by the synagogue’s 
Jewish educators. The second day of Rosh 
Hashanah will be marked with a birthday 
of the world celebration for families with 
young children, and the congregation 
welcomes members from Hazon and 
Interfaith Power and Light to have 
conversations with teens about personal 
values, Jewish identity and environmental 
concerns.
When weighing the choice of 
whether to attend in person or stay 

home and be online, Rabbi 
Steven Rubenstein said 
Congregation Beth Ahm 
seriously takes into account 
that there are many in the 
community with health 
concerns and compromised 
immune systems, and 
COVID remains a threat to 
their health. That is why High Holiday 
services will be livestreamed. 
Expressing concerns for continuing to 
participate in Judaism at the communal 
level, Rubenstein said Jews owe it to 
each other to show up for the holidays in 
person if they can, that 2019 seems very 
far away, and many families have changed 
and grown since then.
“While the themes of the holidays and 
of our tradition are the religious focal 
point of the holidays, the communal 
aspect of coming into the building has a 
special feeling.”
Rubenstein added that there are some 
things that cannot be replicated online. 
Seeing congregants occupying seats 
in the sanctuary that they’ve sat in for 
generations, noticing how children have 
grown taller and having a conversation 
with a friend one has not seen in some 
time — are all part of the High Holiday 
experience. 

ROSH HASHANAH

continued from page 39

Rabbi 
Steven 
Rubenstein

An outdoor service 
at Adat Shalom
Adat Shalom 
families enjoy the 
outdoor space at 
the synagogue.

