54 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

B

’nai Israel has been 
bringing people 
together for the 
last 90 years. Today a tight-
knit community with some 
30 regulars, they welcome 
visitors and out-of-towners, 
children and grandchildren, 
and celebrate life’s milestones 
in the framework of Jewish 
expression and tradition. 
 It’s a synagogue that has 
been through many iterations, 
but it has always been known 
for its warmth and optimism, 
according to its members. 
Faye Menczer of West 
Bloomfield joined the shul 
about three years ago when she 
married her husband, Howard 
Friedman. It’s unique because 
it truly functions as a chavurah 
(fellowship), she says. The 
couple attends services every 
Shabbat, and Menczer says 
her knowledge of Judaism has 
increased by going there.
“Everybody was so 

welcoming to me. They were 
so nice to me,” she says. “The 
members are very close, but 
it’s not cliquey; anybody who 
comes into our shul, any 
stranger is welcomed, is spoken 
to, is made to feel comfortable.” 
Members frequently rotate 
through the bimah to read 
Torah and lead services, she 
says, based on what they know 
already and new skills they 
may choose to learn. “They’re 
not just there for an aliyah. 
Anyone who has the skill or 
the knowledge is encouraged 
to participate,” she says. “
And 
that’s also very nice.”
Born and raised in 
Metro Detroit, Menczer 
has had several different 
synagogue affiliations but 
feels enthusiastic about her 
current congregation, which 
started in Pontiac, moved to 
West Bloomfield, merged with 
Shaarey Zedek and now resides 
in Temple Kol Ami’s building. 

Interestingly, she points out, 
Temple Kol Ami and B’nai 
Israel are both offshoots of the 
same congregation in Pontiac, 
Temple Beth Jacob. “We’ve 
come full circle,” she says. 
Offering what she calls 
“traditional and, at the same 
time, lighthearted” services, 
B’nai Israel was possibly the 
first synagogue in the area to 
offer lunch after services, and 
it also has the unique tradition 

of inviting people to speak 
about their loved ones on a 
yahrtzeit, the anniversary of 
their passing. 
“I remember, I was so 
surprised — it was my 
brother’s yahrtzeit and so I was 
saying kaddish for him, and 
the rabbi, Mitch Parker, asked 
me if I’d like to say a few words 
about him, and that was really 
a lovely thing,” she says. “I 
never saw that in another shul.”
It’s a place where people feel 
comfortable making jokes from 
the bimah, she says, and there’s 
a lot of laughter. “We take our 
Judaism seriously, but we’re 
also comfortable having fun.”

NEW BOOK PROJECT
With the Conservative-
affiliated congregation cele-
brating its 90th anniversary, 
Menczer has taken on a book 
project, publishing members’ 
personal histories on the 
occasion in the form of stories, 

Small West Bloomfield congregation celebrates 
its milestone with a book project.
Happy 90th, B’nai Israel

KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Geri Feigelson 
and Rebecca 
Tron riding a 
camel

B’nai Israel meeting 
in its new home in the 
Temple Kol Ami building