Good morning and gut yontif. My name is Sarah Allyn and it is my honor to serve on the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue’s Board of Directors. I want to begin by thanking the Bethel Community Transformation Center for generously and warmly welcoming us back to their beautiful space that holds such deep meaning for our community.  When Rabbi Silverman asked me to give this morning’s address, my first thought was, ‘how can I possibly speak in public uncaffeinated?’ And while I typically have little trouble saying ‘no’ (just ask my toddler) I have found on more than one occasion that I cannot t ..read more

We are proud to be building a hub for the Jewish community in the city of Detroit. As you saw on Sunday, our comprehensive renovation has already included updates to every floor of the building, a new elevator, kitchen, dedicated space for children to learn and play, sanctuary, and shared work and programming space for partner organizations. We are grateful to the 300+ unique donors who helped us raise $5.75M to make this transformational renovation a reality. In order to complete the vision and finish the renovation, we are raising an additional $1.5M to build out our roof deck! We invite you ..read more

Rabbi Ariana Silverman Yom Kippur 5783 Sermon - “Power and Vulnerability” When you are a pale-skinned Detroiter studying in Jerusalem in July, it is important to have lots of pockets. You may need to carry a smartphone and sunglasses and water and money and keys. And although, as I reminded you on Rosh Hashanah, you can carry all of the Jewish texts that you’re studying in your smartphone, I still liked to have them in print form, and have a notepad, and a pen. So this summer the Shalom Hartman Institute, a center for advanced Jewish studies, gave my cohort of rabbinic fellows a backpack with ..read more

I am so excited to be back at the synagogue and that we have started the month of Elul. As the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah and the Yamim Noraim, Elul is a time of deep reflection. We look back at the year that has passed and begin the difficult and redemptive work of tshuvah. We also look forward to the year ahead and feel gratitude for the many blessings that we hope to carry from 5782 into 5783. This reflection can deepen our relationship with the divine. Many have pointed out that the letters of the month of Elul– aleph, lamed, vav, lamed–are the first letters of the words “Ani l’dodi ..read more

As I spoke about in my Yom Kippur sermon, as human beings, and particularly as Jews, we often think of ourselves as either vulnerable or powerful. But we are actually often both. And we can be both even in the same moment.  Right now some of us may be feeling vulnerable. We are cognizant of the vicious antisemitic sentiments that are being spoken, tweeted, and reported in the press. We may be worried about what is happening in Israel. We are aware that our reproductive rights, and therefore our religious freedom as Jews, are being threatened. We know that life on Earth is being altered an ..read more

I have a journal in which each date has a page so that each year you can write a few lines about what you did on that day and then look back at what you did on the same date in past years. On June 3, 2014, I wrote the following: “Tikkun Leil Shavuot was a huge success. Over 25 [people in my living room] and they seemed to have a great time.” And then, of course, I raved about Ruby Robinson’s chocolate cheesecake. Eight years, dozens of classes and teachers, hundreds of participants, three participating congregations, hours of work from staff, a global pandemic that temporarily moved it online ..read more

IADS Library: Samantha Loved Books By Margo & Doug Woll Samantha loved books. All kinds of books. Old books, new books, recycled books, used books, books on Judaism and Jews, books on politics, books on social justice, books on feminism, books on politics, books on urban affairs, books on religions, books on philosophy, self-help books, books to help others, books on virtually any topic. She bought them, borrowed them and discovered them in every nook and corner wherever she found herself. She read many and lovingly shared others. Every book had its home, either with her or ..read more

Rabbi Ariana Silverman Rosh Hashanah 5783 Sermon - Hope This summer a faculty member of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem spoke to my cohort of rabbis about Jews…and climate change. She stated very simply to me and to my colleagues that our role right now is to be hospice rabbis for our entire congregations. The destruction of our planet is inevitable and there will be unimaginable suffering, death, destruction, and loss. And rabbis are called to care for people when they are suffering. So we must now prepare for an extremely difficult future of shock and grief.  In some ways, I ..read more

IADS Library: An Intentional Approach By Vadim Avshalumov     As a part of our building renovation, we decided to build a library adjacnt to the main sanctuary. First, we had to design the shelves, which we did with the help of our interior designer Laavu. Then we had to buy the wood, and we decided to use reclaimed oak wood, which we purchased from a local non-profit called Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit. Parenthetically, I’ll note that the wood was actually from Congregation Shaarey Zedek, which donated the wood when they renovated the small chapel a while back. Anyway ..read more

IADS Annual Meeting - Sunday, December 10, 4 PM ANNUAL MEETING INFORMATION: The Board of Directors voted to recommend for consideration by the Congregation at the Annual Meeting the following items:  Election of the following Directors for terms as stated: For a 3-year term (1/1/2024 – 12/31/2026) Renewing Board Member: Phil Neuman Election of the following Officers of the Board of Directors for terms as stated: For a 1-year term (1/1/2024 - 12/31/2024) President: Rick Wiener For a 3-year term (1/1/2024 - 12/31/2026) Vice President: Andy Doctoroff Treasurer (renewing): Ian Robinson (Bo ..read more