ISAAC AGREE DOWNTOWN SYNAGOGUE

October 2017 / Tishrei - Cheshvan 5778

October Events at the Downtown Synagogue
    
    
 
    
Sukkot Fun
October 8-10
Check out all of our Sukkot programs below! From a Detroit Sukkah Hop to planting garlic in the garden to a lunch & learn at the Rabbi's home.  
Simchat Torah
Thursday, October 12
7:00 - 10:00 pm   
It's that time of year again! Come to our annual Simchat Torah service and then join us while we parade around downtown Detroit with the torah!
Bagels and Lox
Tuesday, October 17
6:00 to 7:30 pm
We proudly welcome Detroit-based Ma Cohen's to bring you an evening reminiscent of a Night in the Catskills. Bring your appetite!
We have launched an Annual Campaign! 
The Downtown Synagogue is an open, inviting, welcoming home. Show your support of the last free-standing synagogue in the city of Detroit, a synagogue that has stayed in the city since it began almost 100 years ago. Help us sustain the work we've done, the work we're doing, and the work we'll do in the future with your generous contribution. We're there for you. Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated. If you haven't yet, DONATE TODAY!  
Rabbi's Message

Sukkot moves me from exhaustion to gratitude. After the transformative personal and professional intensity of the Days of Awe, I am exhausted. And so every year as I erect our sukkah, I wonder what God was thinking in putting these holidays so close together.
 
And every year, God answers. God answers as I decorate the sukkah with the abundance all around me, as I welcome guests into our sukkah and watch them eat and laugh, as I recognize the fundamental blessing of having a roof over my head. Sukkot is z'man simchateinu, the time of our joy, as we are re-energized by, and grateful for, the blessings we enjoy.
 
The same can be true of the synagogue. As we move through the intensity of our personal and professional lives, it is sometimes hard to see the incredible blessings this community provides. Every week we, or our family, or our neighbors, or our friends, sit down over a meal at the synagogue and eat and laugh. Every week, the abundance of skill and creativity and caring of our lay leadership makes this community so much greater than the sum of its parts. And every week, we are grateful to have a gathering space to do it (which, by the way, will be getting a whole new roof over its head this month!). And that joy and abundance re-energizes us and makes us grateful.
 
There are a myriad of ways to be grateful. One way is to contribute financially when we invite your support. Not because you are required to, or because someone is asking you to, but because you want to. Because God challenges us to move from reflection to rebuilding, from atonement to abundance, from exhaustion to joy and gratitude.
 
Thank you for all that you do, and for the joy that you share. Chag Sameach.

Rabbi Ariana Silverman
Upcoming Events
All events are at IADS unless otherwise noted. For more information on some of the events below, click here
   
MOtor City Sukkah Hop (MOSH) and Nosh
Sunday, October 8, 10:30 am to 2:30 pm
Starting point: 4546 Avery St., Detroit
We're so excited to be hosting the first ever MOtor city Sukkah Hop (MOSH) and Nosh! We'll visit four different sukkahs, beginning at 10:30 am at Rabbi Silverman's home (4546 Avery St.), traveling to Southwest Detroit, Boston-Edison, and then back to Woodbridge. Each host will provide food and drinks and Sukkot hospitality. We kindly request an RSVP.            
 
Garlic Planting and Pizza Picnic 
Sunday, October 8, 5:00 to 7:00 pm
12273 Glenfield, Detroit 
Join the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue as we celebrate the end of the harvest with Eden Gardens Block Club! We'll be planting garlic for the next season and then eating delicious food, including Belle Isle Pizza. Eden Gardens is located at 12273 Glenfield. We kindly request an RSVP.
 
Lunch & Learn in Rabbi Silverman's Sukkah  
Monday, October 9, 12:00 to 1:00 pm
4546 Avery St., Detroit

Sukkot is called z'man simchateinu -- the time of our joy -- and we are expected to be happy and grateful. We have a lot to be thankful for, and we are also struggling with the challenges facing our communities, our country, and our world. Some of us are dealing with hardships in our personal lives. How do we cultivate joy during difficult times? Come enjoy some food for the body and food for the soul as we learn and discuss what it means to be joyful this Sukkot. Rabbi Silverman's home is at 4546 Avery St. Kosher, vegetarian lunch included.
 
Dancin' in the Streets --Simchat Torah in Detroit
Thursday, October 12, 7:00 to 10:00 pm 
It's time for our annual celebration that needs no introduction. Our Simchat Torah event at the Downtown Synagogue has continued to be one of our most lively events of the year. Don't miss it in 2017/5778! 21+ to drink.
 
A Night at the Catskills with Ma Cohen's
Tuesday
, October 17, 7:00 to 8:30 pm 
Join us for an evening reminiscent of brunch in the Borscht Belt with Detroit-based Ma Cohen's! We will be sampling a selection of Ma Cohen's best sellers on bagels and schmear including: lox, creamed herring, herring in wine sauce, kippered salmon, smoked rainbow trout, whitefish salad, and sablefish finished with a nip of slivovitz or whiskey.
 
Breast Cancer Awareness Shabbat
Friday, October 27, 7:00 to 10:00 pm
We are excited to be hosting our first ever Breast Cancer Awareness Shabbat in conjunction with Sharsheret, a Jewish breast cancer organization that helps women and their families face breast cancer and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Institute, the largest cancer care network in Michigan. Beginning at 7:00 pm, join us for a Friday night service and dinner at 8:15 pm. Following dinner will be a discussion with genetic counselor Courtney Attard, a certified genetic counselor with the Cancer Genetic Counseling Service at the Karmanos Cancer Institute where she provides genetic counseling to individuals at risk for hereditary cancer syndromes.
New Ways to Get to the Downtown Synagogue! 

Now that the QLine is up and running, park along the route, hop on the train, and join us for Shabbat services and programs. We are only two blocks from the Grand Circus station! For more information about pricing, routes, and stations, visit their website. We are also located one block from the nearest MoGo station!  


Eden Gardens is Winding Down  

Eden Gardens work days are Thursday and Sunday 5:00 - 7:00 pm September thru November and they would like for you to help volunteer!  

IADS Volunteer Shout Out 
In recognition of all of our September volunteers:

Ruby Robinson, Eric Hansen, Josh Berkow, and Marty Herman for helping to lead services this month; the Creative Communications Committee for all their hard work; all the lay leaders who helped out at High Holiday services; Oren Goldenberg for making Scroll Roll a stunning success; Thank you to everyone else who volunteers their time and energy to IADS. A lay led congregation is is only as strong its volunteers.

If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Vicki Sitron at 313-962-4047 or vsitron@downtownsynagogue.org.

We apologize for any names left off the list. Please let us know and we will recognize you next month. 
Hazon Seal of Sustainability  

We are excited to be participating in Hazon's Seal of Sustainability program here with a commitment to greening the Downtown Synagogue and lessening our impact on our environment. Our three focus areas are:

1) Start a recycling program
2) Transition to more sustainable plates/cups/utensils for our meals
3) Plan a launch/kick-off/educational event or publicity event surrounding our deepened commitment to sustainability

For more information on how to participate, please contact the Rabbi
Get Involved!
 
Green the Synagogue!
If you are interested in being part of an effort to make our synagogue more environmentally sustainable, please contact Rabbi Silverman.

Help Us Cook!
We're always seeking volunteers to help us in the kitchen! We pride ourselves on our delicious home cooked Shabbat and Lunch and Learn meals. If you want to contribute to the synagogue by cooking, please contact our Kitchen Coodinator to get on the schedule.

Clean House!
As we work to clean up and clear out in our Synagogue, we ask your cooperation. If you notice a spill, please wipe it up. If you drop crumbs, please clean them up. If you use the kitchen, please clean up. If you have extra papers or handouts, please take them home to recycle them, or, if needed, leave them in the designated box in the library for ritual burial. Just a reminder: please no food or drinks (other than water) are allowed on the 2nd floor. As we continue to create our welcoming communal home, please help us to keep it inviting. As the saying goes, "it takes a village." 
 
Gemilut Chasadim - Our Caring Community 
As life presents challenges, surprises, and celebrations, please let the Downtown Synagogue community know, so we can acknowledge your experiences. Please share your information with us here.

Amazon Smile
The Downtown Synagogue is now on Amazon Smile! If you use Amazon.com to buy useful and useless things, a percentage of eligible purchases gets donated back to us. Please bookmark this link and don't forget to use Amazon Smile when you shop Amazon. Thanks for your support!

Shop at Kroger
Make sure to register your Plus Card and designate IADS as your Kroger Community Rewards Program, if you haven't already done so. When you shop at Kroger, swipe your Plus Card each time you shop and the synagogue benefits. It's that easy! From November to January, you earned $51.31 for IADS. For more information, or to sign up, click here.
Don't Forget!
  
We hold regular Shabbat services! 

Shabbat services every Friday night at 7:00 pm
Rabbi Silverman leads services the first and second Fridays of every month
Liven up your weekly routine by joining us to welcome Shabbat. In the midst of busy schedules and tantalizing local events, Friday nights at IADS remain a signature weekly rhythm. Whether you have joy you wish to share in song or you are feeling in the mood to just be quietly present, we have a place reserved just for you. Services at 7:00 pm followed by a deliciously prepared Kosher vegetarian dinner. End your hectic work week with ruach and community.

Torah study (before Saturday services) at 9:00 am
torah-reading.jpg
Shabbat services every Saturday morning at 10:00 am
Rabbi Silverman leads services the first and second Saturdays of every month
Where would Jews be without the Torah? Torah is the center of our Saturday Shabbat service. It is a mitzvah to make a minyan so we can read the Torah and people can say kaddish. Please come to the Saturday morning Shabbat service at 10:00. We want to pass the Torah l'dor vador.

Contact us if you have questions or requests pertaining to our service schedule.
  
Purchase Your IADS T-Shirts Today!
Our incredibly soft tees have been seen all over the city. Grab yours today before they run out! T-shirts are $18. See more photos and get purchasing inf here.
CHECK OUT MORE IADS NEWS AND EVENTS HERE!

 

 

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The Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue
1457 Griswold - Detroit, MI - 48226 - (313) 962-4047