NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 | 85
J
N
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at thejewishnews.com
An Innovator and a Mensch
R
abbi Dannel I. Schwartz, founder of
Temple Shir Shalom, died in a car
crash on Oct. 29. It was a stunning
tragedy, not only for Shir Shalom, but for
the Detroit Jewish community.
As Ronelle Grier noted in her fine
obituary for Rabbi Schwartz in the JN last
week, he was an “imaginative leader, a
talented orator and devoted
family man who had an innate
gift for connecting with people
and bringing them together.”
Moreover, these tributary
words about Rabbi Schwartz
mirror nearly universal
feelings toward him among
members of Detroit’s Jewish
community.
Rabbi Schwartz’s legendary status is
well-earned. One only needs to spend
a few minutes in the William Davidson
Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
to confirm this fact. Rabbi Schwartz is
mentioned many times, and Shir Shalom is
cited on 5,614 pages.
As the title of Grier’s obit declares,
Rabbi Schwartz was indeed “A Visionary
Leader.” While there is much that can be
said about Rabbi Schwartz — more than
enough to fill a few issues of the JN — I
found one particular story in the Davidson
Archive to be most interesting: the founding
of Shir Shalom; in particular, the early
advertisements for the Temple.
It began with brief front page story with
a simple title: “Beth El Offshoot Forming”
(May 27, 1988, JN). On June 20, 30 families
with Rabbi Schwartz established Shir
Shalom in a converted office building in
West Bloomfield. A month later, Rabbi
Schwartz and Shir Shalom were the subjects
of a JN feature article: “A New Song” (July
22, 1988).
Most intriguing, however, is the novel,
highly effective advertising blitz conducted
by Shir Shalom after its founding. It
featured various ads in the JN directed
toward particular segments of Detroit’s
Jewish population. The first ad, “You
don’t have to wander anymore,” addressed
the Temple’s overall philosophy of
inclusiveness (June 17, 1988). That was
followed by ads such as one directed
toward single Jews that featured an image
of pair of animals boarding Noah’s Ark:
“You don’t have to come in pairs” (July 29,
1988) or “The first thing to do is find the
right temple for the kids” (Aug. 12, 1988).
The advertisements were not without
controversary. One that drew the ire
of some readers stated that “Ruth
Intermarried, too” and that Shir Shalom
would have welcomed her (Aug. 19,
1988). Rabbi Schwartz explained that the
purpose of the ad was not to encourage
intermarriage, nor did he perform
intermarriages unless the non-Jewish
partner was converting, but that Shir
Shalom was “trying to make people feel at
home,” especially intermarried couples that
were not participating in Jewish communal
activities (Aug 26, 1988).
Less than three months later, as its
advertisement in the Aug. 26, 1988, JN,
stated, the Temple had 487 member
families, and thanked Jewish Detroit for
the “Miracle of Shir Shalom.” Five years
later, the current Temple Shir Shalom on
Walnut Lake road was built. It’s a great
story of promise and growth.
Rabbi Schwartz’s leadership, his
superb oratory skills and, most important,
his ability to listen, provide empathy and
connect with people, are legendary in
Jewish Detroit. Perhaps his legacy can be
summed-up as follows: Shir Shalom is still
a welcoming Temple, and it is now home
to more than 900 families and individual
members.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, avail-
able for free at thejewishnews.com.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair