26 | MARCH 9 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

C

ongregation Shaarey 
Zedek in Southfield 
has a new program 
for kids of all ages and the 
whole family: Drama & 
Davening. 
Drama & Davening blends 
the traditional prayers of 
Shabbat in Hebrew with 
fun, dramatized versions of 
the weekly Torah portion, 
as well as icebreaker games 
and an opportunity to lead 
the congregation in the 
final prayer of Adon Olam 
on the bimah in the main 
sanctuary. The program is 
run by Ari Reis, 
CSZ’s director of 
Youth and Family 
Learning, and 
Annie Klinger, 
CSZ’s youth 
adviser.
The program 
begins with an 
opening prayer 
to sing along 
to, usually 
something like 
Shalom Rav, to 
get everyone in 
the mood. 
Drama & Davening then 
gets into “Make up your 
own Midrash,” a “finish 
your sentence” game where 
participants sit around and 
build their own story about, 

ideally, the Torah. The game 
is guided by Reis and Klinger 
who are strategically placed 
in between the kids so they 
can add words to make it 
into a Midrash. 
“It becomes kind of a 
fun exercise in free-flow 
thinking,” Reis said. 
The group also does a 
circle walk, where all the 
kids start walking around in 
a circle and a leader calls out 
someone or something they 
need to act like.
“For example, we acted out 
the 10 Plagues. So, we have 
you walk through and you’d 
cover your eyes and pretend 
to be in the dark,” Reis 
explained. 
The program then gets 
into basic introductory 
prayers like Barechu, Ma 
Tovu and Shema, and then 
into the Torah service. 
During the Torah service, 
scripts are brought out for 
the dramatized portion. Reis 
always has a script of the 
play for the week, but on 
some occasions, like when 
the kids are skewing young, 
paper bag dramatics are 
brought out instead. 
“You get a bag full of 
props and, if we’re talking 
about the plagues, I would 
come out and have different 

props that look like plagues, 
and the kids have to make a 
play about these particular 
plagues. If it’s really good, 
potentially, it’s going to 
make its way onto the main 
bimah,” Reis said. 
By that time, ending 
prayers begin and there’s 
often time for one more 
game, such as an imagination 
station where participants 
use their creativity to 
imagine themselves walking 
through the Sea of Reeds 
or any number of different 
scenarios. 
Then the kids head down 
to the sanctuary and help 
lead the final prayer of Adon 
Olam. Finally, the group sits 
together for kiddush and free 
lunch after services. 
“It’s a great program,” Reis 
said. “We’re really hopeful 
it’s going to continue to grow 
because it’s very popular.”
Drama & Davening began 
in October and takes place 
one Shabbat a month. CSZ’s 
Rabbi Aaron Starr and 
Rabbi Yoni Dahlen are both 

involved in the program as 
well. 
Reis is hoping to expand 
it further next year by 
hiring more professionals. 
Rabbi Yoni is interested in 
hiring people from theater 
companies to come and 
actually teach the acting, and 
they’re applying for a grant 
to allow them to do that.
Reis believes the program’s 
interactivity and its way of 
blending tefillah, theater 
and impromptu, informal 
learning is what sets it apart. 
“It feeds the creative 
energy we need in Judaism,” 
he said. 
“Kids are excited to come 
to shul, put on a costume 
and pretend to have a staff 
like Moses or that there’s 
frogs raining down on them, 
and just play around, have 
some fun and then associate 
that with learning, Torah, 
Judaism and community. 
“The more fun and 
inviting we can make shul, 
the more people will come.” 

Congregation Shaarey Zedek’s 
new program blends tefillah, 
theater and learning.

Drama & 
Davening

Ari Reis

Annie 
Klinger

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

 Can include multiple images & any design!

