Temple Israel, where a driver rammed a truck into the building before dying in the attack, is one of the country’s largest Reform houses of worship and the largest in metropolitan Detroit.
About 3,500 families — more than 12,000 members — belong to the temple, according to its website.
The temple is in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., where about one-quarter of the 65,000 residents are Jewish, according to Arthur Horwitz, the former executive editor and publisher of the Detroit Jewish News. The temple was founded in 1941, according to the temple’s website.
Howard Lupovitch, a history professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who specializes in the history of the Detroit Jewish community since 1967, said the temple was founded to show commitment to the creation of a Jewish state. The original members broke away from a congregation that did not at the time prioritize Zionism, Professor Lupovitch said.
The size of Temple Israel’s congregation stems from its focus on Jewish ritual, song and joy, he added. “One of its important rabbis said, ‘Let’s make it seem like summer camp, because that is where Jewish kids learn to love Judaism,’” Professor Lupovitch said.
The strategy worked. On an average Friday night, more than 1,000 congregants might attend services.
Temple Israel also includes a nursery school and a religious school for children in prekindergarten to 12th grade that meets on weekends and afternoons, according to its website.
Robyn Canvasser, a Temple Israel staff member, said she had worked there for 22 years.
“It’s a joyous, happy, wonderful place,” she said, adding, “What we teach is love, kindness and acceptance of everyone — that differences are good.”
Metropolitan Detroit has about 80,000 Jewish residents and 45 synagogues and temples, according to the Jewish Federation of Detroit.
When droves of Jewish families left Detroit and moved to the suburbs in the 1960s, Professor Lupovitch said, there was concern that the community would disband and grow diluted after a generation. More than 50 years later, “the suburban Detroit Jewish community is vibrant,” he said.
Ms. Canvasser said that her temple would continue to be an integral part.
“I am horrified that someone has tried to destroy the sanctity of this place,” she said. “But I don’t think they will succeed.”
Katherine Rosman covers newsmakers, power players and individuals making an imprint on New York City.
The post Temple Israel Was Founded in 1941, Dedicated to the Formation of a Jewish State appeared first on New York Times.
