46 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024
J
N
T
he High Holidays are a time for self-exam-
ination, renewal and communal prayer. The
Selichot services traditionally are the intro-
duction to this sacred time of year. Congregation
Beth Ahm will host a special Selichot concert
and services with visit-
ing Rabbi Deborah Sacks
Mintz, director of Tefilah
and Music at the Hadar
Institute. She is a teacher,
practitioner and facilitator
of Jewish communal prayer.
“I, and those with whom
I share this work and this
mission, dream of a Jewish
world in which individuals
and communities read
themselves proactively
into the story of prayer —
that we all have the right,
responsibility and resources
to access the spiritual
potential embedded in the
richness of Jewish prayer
and song.
“My work centers around
supporting all who seek this
to find the internal tools
and the practical skills to
become spiritually empowered — and to see music
and prayer as core pathways!” she explains.
Sacks Mintz has collaborated on many albums
with Rising Song Records, including two of her
own albums of original spiritual music, The
Narrow and the Expanse (2020) and Yetzira (2023).
She received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish
Theological Seminary where she also earned a
master’s degree in women and gender studies and
holds degrees in music and religious anthropology
from the University of Michigan. Hadar Institute is
an egalitarian yeshivah, based in New York, that is
devoted to Jewish learning and practice.
“I am hoping that people will come away with
a connection with the
holidays and their music
and melodies. I want
people to have heightened
experiences,” says Beth
Ahm’s Rabbi Steven
Rubenstein.
“This helps people feel
empowered through their
prayer. Selichot sets the
tone for the holidays.”
The programs are a
joint effort of
the Detroit
area’s seven
Conservative
synagogues,
which have
rotated Selichot
since 2019.
“We are
glad that we are working
together and collaborating.
People like to see
their friends and family members from other
congregations,” says David Goodman, Beth Ahm’s
executive director.
“Empowered Prayer” featuring Rabbi Deborah
Sacks Mintz is sponsored by the Menasche &
Sara Harr and the Walter & Regina Litt funds.
Congregation Beth Ahm is located at 5075 W.
Maple Road in West Bloomfield.
Congregation Beth Ahm’s Selichot programs
will feature Hadar’s Rabbi Sacks Mintz.
Enrich Selichot with
‘Empowered Prayer’
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ROSH HASHANAH
“PERSONAL PRAYER
KNOWS NO LIMITS —
WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN
INTERNAL SPIRITUAL
WORLD — AND THE
TEXTS OF THE SIDDUR
SERVE AS AN ANCHOR
AND GUIDE TO GIVE
US A CONTAINER
FOR THAT WHICH IS
UNCONTAINABLE.”
— RABBI DEBORAH SACKS MINTZ
Rabbi
Deborah
Sacks Mintz
Beth Ahm Welcomes
the Community to
Selichot Programs:
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27:
7 p.m. — Songful and soulful
prayer with Rabbi Deborah Sacks
Mintz followed by a dessert oneg.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 28:
9:30 a.m. — Rabbi Sacks Mintz will
lead the Shabbat service.
8 p.m. — Havdalah and pre-glow
for young professionals.
9 p.m. — Participatory concert with
Rabbi Sacks Mintz.
10:30 p.m. — Selichot service led
by Rabbi Steven Rubenstein and the
Beth Ahm team, which will introduce
the melodies of the High Holidays.
Rabbi
Steven
Rubenstein