Lessons for Today, Learned from Yesterday
UPB/Anniversary Shabbat – January 16, 2009

Tonight we honor the very beginning of our congregation. On January 18, 1952, “The Suburban Temple of Greater Detroit” held its first Friday Night Sabbath Service. They met at Burton School, with a borrowed ark from Temple Beth El, using copies of this Union Prayer Book, borrowed from both Temple Beth El and Temple Israel.

The early 1950’s are certainly the “good old days” for my generation and the generation of our parents. Coming out of WWII, we remember an active economy that promised better times despite the looming international threat of Soviet communism. Detroit was booming and the automobile carried us into the suburbs. In those “good old days” life was simple-- we all knew the social rules of civility and propriety. A growing middle-class was purchasing homes and taking vacations, and there was a place in that socio-economic expansion for a Jewish community that was more and more confident that they were becoming real Americans. And while there was still an overt and accepted prejudice that precluded Jews and Negroes from jobs and housing and country clubs—at least for our community, it seemed to be getting better.

In the early 50’s a number of Jewish pioneers were leaving the cultural security of the city, venturing into the northern neighborhoods of Huntington Woods, Royal Oak and Oak Park. Reform and Conservative Jews were prepared to cut their ties to the city-synagogues and establish their own congregations. Thus The (meaning the one and only) Suburban Temple of Greater Detroit was organized, and they gathered for its first service on Friday night, January 18, 1952.

I’m sure that for the handful of families who first met to plan their new temple, there was great apprehension and trepidation. Not only would they be making a significant financial commitment, but it would require spending a great deal of time, effort and energy to interest and then organize other families. They would have to raise funds to cover initial expenses for rental and publicity, and in their very near future they knew that they would have to bring in a rabbi and build a building, and staff it, and maintain it. It was a venture into the unknown with so much depending on factors that were, for the most part, out of their immediate control.

I suspect that fundraising was their primary concern—to build-up a bank account that would enable them to search for a rabbi, purchase property, engage an architect and then maybe, break ground for a building. I’m sure there was debate over which project had priority, which would better ensure the others. I’m sure they were worried if families would really pledge the necessary funds-- and would they then come through on their commitments? They believed that they were doing the right thing at the right time, that their vision of a Suburban Temple could become a reality, and then grow and prosper. But on that Friday night of January 18, 1952, sitting on folding chairs in Burton School and holding borrowed books—I have to believe that many in that room were thinking “What have I gotten myself into?”

What they had going for them was that, already friends, they trusted the men and woman around them. They shared a common vision, and were bound together in a mutual commitment to the future of their temple. And they succeeded in building their congregation because this was something they were doing for themselves and for their children. And in spite of the apprehension and trepidation that surely all of them felt, the fear of failure was simply not a factor as they organized themselves and planned for the future. And I suspect that none of those folks ever thought that looking back, these would be “the good old days.”

They organized with the right priorities. They brought Rabbi Frank Rosenthal to Oak Park in that first year, under whose leadership they secured property and made plans for a Sanctuary, Social Hall and offices. With Rabbi Milton Rosenbaum the first phase of the synagogue was dedicated, to which was later added the Religious School wing now named in his memory. And it all began on folding chairs in Burton School with borrowed prayerbooks.

We have come a long way since then. Next week we’ll dedicate Mishkan T’filah, our third generation of congregational prayerbooks. Our worship today is substantially different in both style and content from Classical Reform of fifty years ago. So much about our congregation has changed in these 57 years, though our values and principles and priorities have not. And entering our 58th year, we will need to remember those values and principles and priorities if we are going to get through these days of apprehension and trepidation.
Like all of Michigan, we are affected by the downturn in our economy. Like Southeastern Michigan, we have been hit particularly hard by jobs lost and cutbacks. Many of our families have been directly affected, and some of them are struggling. Remarkably, we’ve had very few families leave the congregation because of financial hardship. And as our families have been forced to reduce their spending, so have we. And though we know that this year and next year will strain our resources, we are nevertheless committed to serving our membership well, and maintaining the quality of our programs.

57 years ago, our founding families sustained themselves with their commitment to a vision. They knew what kind of congregation they wanted, they laid out the qualities that their temple would present and promote. They were not dismayed by the difficulties they faced because they were mutually determined to make it happen, and they believed that the end was worth the effort required. So we are determined that despite our present difficulties, we will support and serve each of our families, and we will maintain the vitality and viability of our congregation.

Each generation faces its own problems, but we can learn from those who came before us. We have inherited from our founding families a firm commitment to a vision of excellence, and the dependability and determination of our membership. We have always been resilient in the face of hardship, and responsive to the needs of our families. In that, nothing has changed in these 57 years. And because our future will be directed by our congregation’s values, principles and priorities, I am confident that we will weather this economic downturn, and become stronger for the effort. And in coming together with a sense of purpose as we look ahead, and an honest pride in where we’ve been, I am confident that we are and will remain, a place of safety and surety to our members who are themselves struggling.

Last week as we ended the Book of Genesis, we declared chazak, chazak v’nitchazek—words that are, in these days, becoming increasingly important: “Be strong, be strong, and we will strengthen each other.”

Rabbi Joseph Klein
Temple Emanu-El