ADAT SHALOM SYNAGOGUE THE הֵקוֹּל ENDOWED IN MEMORY OF HARRY AND SHIRLEY NACHMAN Vol. 77 No. 8 November - December 2020 Cheshvan - Tevet 5781 SCHEDULE OF SERVICES Mornings: Sunday - Friday. 8:00 A.M.* Shabbat . 9:00 A.M. *Times subject to change Evenings (Minchah-Maariv): Sunday - Friday . 5:00 P.M. Saturdays: November 7. 5:15 P.M. November 14, 21, 28 . 5:00 P.M. December 5, 12, 19, 26. 5:00 P.M. Please read your weekly Shabbat@Adat email or visit our website for video and phone login instructions and any schedule changes. SHABBAT TORAH PORTIONS November 7 December 5 Vayera Vayishlach November 14 December 12 Chayei Sarah Vayeishev November 21 December 19 Toldot Miketz November 28 December 26 Vayeitzei Vayigash Evening Minyan Changes to 5 PM Weekday Minchah services will move to 5 PM on Sunday, November 1 and remain at 5 PM until Friday, February 12, 2021. Morning services will continue at 8:00 AM on weekdays, and 9 AM on Shabbat. Saturday evening service times vary throughout Finding light and beauty on Chanukah. the year. Please consult our monthly online calendars, our Shabbat@Adat emails or the Voice. SERVICES & SPIRITUALITY Mazal Tov to our November and December B’nai Mitzvah! Saturday, November 7 Tessa Sarah Lewis is the daughter of Nicole Susser & Roger Lewis, granddaughter of Danielle & David Susser, Emily & Arnold Lewis Saturday, November 14 Isabel Clara Eisenscher, daughter of Dawn & Doron Eisenscher, granddaughter of Marilyn & Charles Virant, Zahava & Eduardo Eisenscher Saturday, November 28 Jonathan Rosenthall, son of Suzanne & Sam Rosenthall, grandson of Bernie & the late Helen Speyer, Leonard & the late Devorah Rosenthall Saturday, November 28 Alexander Rosenthall, son of Suzanne & Sam Rosenthall, grandson of Bernie & the late Helen Speyer, Leonard & the late Devorah Rosenthall Saturday, December 5 Olivia Noa Randel is the daughter of Danielle & Michael Randel, granddaughter of Moreen & Marshall Lett, the late Carolyn & the late Norman Lett, great- granddaughter of the late Janette & the late Jesse Antman THE VOICE (USPS622-460) published monthly except February and July by ADAT SHALOM SYNAGOGUE 29901 Middlebelt Road Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 Phone: 248-851-5100 l Fax: 248-851-3190 Periodicals Postage entered at the Farmington, Michigan Post Office Postmaster: Send address changes to: The VOICE, 29901 Middlebelt Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334-2319 Cover artwork: Rabbi Aaron Bergman 2 MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT, FROM RABBI AARON BERGMAN JOAN CHERNOFF EPSTEIN I normally love everything about “Let us fight unto death in defense of our Thanksgiving. The food is great, the football souls and our temple!” The Maccabees were games are predictable, and the family is Jewish Freedom Fighters, led by Mattathias and together. This year's Thanksgiving is far from his sons. They banded together with a supportive normal. Many families, including my own, will community of Jews in pursuit and defense of not be fully together, except on Zoom. It is not getting easier. Spiritually connected is religious freedom. important, but not being together at the Just as the Maccabees came together, I am reminded that we as a Thanksgiving meal is pretty tough. Not quite Seder tough, but close. congregation have also banded together during these challenging Hopefully, next year we can all be around the same table with our times as we celebrated the High Holy Days, and as we now enter loved ones. Kislev. The clergy, staff, and members of Adat Shalom have all come together to support, encourage and connect with one another in a I am going to suggest a different approach to thinking about beautiful way. As you may know, Kislev means support – for those who Thanksgiving this year. I call it “Thanks taking.” Let me explain. The have fallen, or are struggling, or just need a boost. I have been inspired Jewish community is wonderful at giving. There are so many generous and amazed at how our congregation has come together. So many of and charitable people and organizations. We have much to be proud you have sent encouraging messages to our clergy and staff, and I too of. We have always looked out for each other's welfare even when we would like to thank everyone in the Adat Shalom community for their have disagreed with each other's opinions. support. Each one of you from the congregation to the entire staff, to What has been harder is to convince people that there are times that the clergy keep us bound together in support of one another. they should be taking. The economy has been devastating to a lot of A perfect example of this is seeing you all on Zoom for our High Holy people, including people who were used to giving to others, and now Days services. We had almost 1,000 electronic devices and Facebook are in terrible straits themselves. They need help. Help is available, participants involved. Estimating 2 people on each connection, that’s but they are hesitant to take it. They do not feel that they should be roughly 2,000 members - about as many as we would have seen in taking from the community. the sanctuary! Many of you were skeptical at first to celebrate with The mitzvah of giving is possible only if there are those willing to only Rabbi Bergman and Hazzan Gross at Adat Shalom, but the clergy receive help. If you need help, you should think of yourself as helping had a plan - a plan that included many moving parts of participation: someone else do a mitzvah, which is in itself a mitzvah. There is you had an Aliyah, you read from the Torah; you blew the Shofar; you nothing to be embarrassed about. sang solos; and one of you even made an appeal to the congregation. Sometimes in our lives we are going to be the givers, and other times Continued on page 4 the takers. Life changes. What does not change is our commitment to each other, whatever our role is at the time. FROM HAZZAN DANIEL GROSS There are so many places in the Jewish world waiting to help. Let LIKE A ROCK them help, and when you are back on your feet, you will do the same To many of us, the three words, “Like a for others. Rock,” are synonymous with both Bob Seger and We all need each other. We are all responsible for each other. Kol Chevy trucks, as it was Seger’s song used in Yisrael aravim ze laze, we are all connected. Chevrolet’s successful ad campaign in the 1990s and early 2000s. These words also have a FROM MICHAEL WOLF theological connotation, as “Rock” is one of the DIRECTOR OF SPIRITUALITY AND OUTREACH many monikers that we have for God. The Hebrew word for rock is tzur, and you may recognize it from the Chanukah anthem, Maoz Tzur A snippet from my Voice article last year – “As we (“Rock of Ages”), which is sung every night immediately after kindling begin 5780 I am planning to focus on the the candles on the menorah. The word maoz can be translated as “outreach” part of my position - using the either refuge, sanctuary or fortress. Maoz Tzur is a piyyut, a liturgical definition of “outreach” as a verb - “to reach poem or hymn, written in 13th century Germany. The poet is unknown, further than”… My intent was to start (reinvent) but we do know that his first name was Mordechai as the initial letter Chavurot – small groups of congregation members, which meet regularly, usually once a month in each other’s of the first five stanzas spell out his name. homes, to create bonds of friendship. That was so fall of 5780… An interesting piece of information about the history of Maoz Tzur is that the beginning part of the traditional melody is based on a German Zoom has allowed us to reach further. Members in Florida are able folksong that was eventually adapted by Martin Luther into a church to join our services, we are able to keep connected to members who chorale during the early 16th century. As the melody became more moved to Boston and Kalamazoo and interact daily with widespread, it became utilized for this Jewish piyyut that recalls Zoominyanaires from Toronto and New York. various painful exiles that the Jewish people endured; it also praises I am letting go of the Chavurot idea (for now) and shifting to God for redeeming us from these exiles. Chevrutah – also from the Hebrew word Chaver – Friend. Chevrutah The truth of the matter is that a great deal of our music has been is the traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a small acquired from other cultures – and not only the music. Many of our group of students analyze, discuss, and debate a shared text. I am cultural and liturgical origins stem from a myriad of non-Jewish hoping you will join me in learning Mishnah together on Zoom sources and communities that surrounded and paralleled our own. Tuesday mornings at 9 AM in November. We will be starting at the Our heritage is colored by having borrowed from this richness of beginning with Tractate Berachot, just in time to recognize all of our diversity. This contributes to the beauty of Judaism. blessings as we enter into Thanksgiving. Hope to see you on Zoom soon! 3 High Holy Days 5781 Joan Chernoff-Epstein (continued from page 3) Making it all happen smoothly was like solving an intricate puzzle of The beauty of the 5781 High Holy Days was a result of the talents great magnitude. We had so many parts which needed patience and and time put forth by many congregants, our clergy, and staff.