SEPTEMBER 29 • 2022 | 37

A

fter two years of virtual 
programming due to the 
pandemic, the dementia-
friendly Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur service 
organized by the Dorothy and Peter 
Brown Jewish Community Adult Day 
Program will now be offered in a hybrid 
format on the Sunday between Rosh 
Hashanah and Yom Kippur. 
The program is open to the 
community. On Oct 2 at 11 a.m., 
participants will either be able to 
attend an in-person service led by 
Cantor Pamela Schiffer in the tent 
outside Shaarey Zedek 
Synagogue (27375 Bell 
Road, Southfield) or 
they can participate in 
the service online over 
Zoom. 
The award-winning 
program is now in 
its sixth year and 
offers those living 
with dementia and their loved ones 
and care partners an opportunity to 
enjoy a service filled with familiar 
liturgy and melodies. The service is 
kept purposefully brief, at 45 minutes, 
to ensure that participants are not 
overwhelmed. The Brown Program is a 
joint initiative between Gesher Human 
Services and Jewish Senior Life.
“We are in a pandemic that has lasted 
much longer than we ever thought 
possible and are seeing the effects 
of isolation on older seniors in the 
community,” said Brown 
Program Director Debi 
Banooni. “We are so 
glad we can now offer 
this opportunity for 
people to come together 
and celebrate the High 
Holidays while keeping 
to safety protocols.” 
Banooni explained that 
some people might still not feel safe 
being in a group setting due to COVID 
concerns, while for others there are 

challenges to leaving their home. “For 
these reasons, it remains important to 
continue offering a Zoom option for the 
service, so everyone can be included,” 
she said. 
Schiffer, who is Cantor Emerita of 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East 
Lansing, has conducted the service 
for the last four years. When she was 
originally contacted by the Brown 
program to lead the service, she says she 
immediately jumped at the opportunity. 
“Firstly, it was a wonderful thing 
to do and, secondly because I had 
experienced dementia in my family and 
knew how powerfully music connects 
with deep memories,” she says. “As 
I chanted the prayers the first time 
I participated in the service, I could 
sense that the traditional High Holiday 
melodies brought familiar sounds and 
feelings to those in the congregation.”

Many families have shared with 
Schiffer how meaningful it is to see 
their loved one begin to sing or hum 
along with the High Holiday melodies, 
recognize the blessings and responses 
for the Torah reading, and experience 
the sounds of the shofar.
“For this year, the hybrid service is a 
wonderful way to bring this special Kol 
Nidre/Yom Kippur service to everyone 
at their own comfort level — attending 
in person or viewing from home. I 
am honored to part of this worship 
experience again this year,” she said.
In-person attendees will receive a 
complimentary gift bag with the Brown 
program’s prayer book, plus an apple, 
honey and challah. To register for the 
service, necessary for both in-person 
attendance and to obtain a Zoom link 
for virtual, go to brownadultday.org/
HighHoliday2022. 

Dementia-Friendly 
High Holiday Service 

Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur service is back in person 
this year for Brown Program participants, friends.

ALISON SCHWARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS 

Pamela Schiffer

Debi Banooni

