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