Birmingham Temple

{{Short description|Humanistic Jewish synagogue in Detroit, Michigan, United States}}

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Birmingham Temple

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| religious_affiliation = Judaism

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| rite = Humanistic

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| leadership = Rabbi Jeffrey L. Falick

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| status = Synagogue

| functional_status = Active

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| location = 28611 West Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Detroit, Michigan

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| country = United States

| map_type = Michigan

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| map_caption = Location in Michigan

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| administration = Society for Humanistic Judaism

| coordinates = {{Coord|42.4991|-83.3304|type:landmark_region:US-MI|format=dms|display=title,inline}}

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| founded_by = Rabbi Sherwin Wine

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| established = 1963 {{small|(as a congregation)}}

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| year_completed = 1971

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| website = {{URL|chj-detroit.org}}

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}}

The Birmingham Temple, officially the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit, is a Humanistic Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 8611 West Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Detroit, Michigan, in the United States. The synagogue was founded in 1963 as the Birmingham Temple in Birmingham, a suburb of Detroit.

History

The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit was founded in 1963 by Rabbi Sherwin Wine (formerly an assistant rabbi at Temple Beth El) and eight founding families, who originally intended that the congregation would be located in Birmingham. The temple originally followed many Reform practices but within six months decided to drop most of these (as well as all mentions of God in the services), and began to pursue a humanist philosophy.{{cite book |author1=Olitzky, Kerry M. |author1-link=Kerry Olitzky |author2=Raphael, Marc Lee |title=The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-313-28856-2 |pages=180–181 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=weL9M46TcU8C&pg=PA180 Excerpt available] at Google Books.{{cite book |author=Bolkosky, Sidney M. |title=Harmony & Dissonance: Voices of Jewish Identity in Detroit, 1914-1967 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8143-1933-8 |pages=398–400 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=6bqSd47qpdAC&pg=PA398 Excerpt available] at Google Books.

The congregation's first services were at Eagle Elementary School, and then at Highmeadow School, in Farmington; later services moved to the Masonic Temple, Birmingham Unitarian Church, and from 1965 to 1971 at Frost Middle School in Livonia. Finally, in 1971, the temple moved to its current location on Twelve Mile Road in Farmington Hills. The temple began publishing the journal Humanistic Judaism in 1967. According to Sydney Bolkosky, the temple "sought to define a primarily secular Jewish identity" and "steered a clearly liberal political and humanistic moral course."

In 2003, Tamara Kolton was appointed as senior rabbi of the congregation. Sherwin Wine died in an automobile accident in 2007.{{cite web|author=Tippen, Molly |url=http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2010/07/31/news/local_news/doc4c54d092a64d2227333346.txt?viewmode=fullstory |title=Female rabbi thrives at Farmington Hills temple |publisher=theoaklandpress.com |date= |accessdate=2012-03-12}} In 2013, Jeffrey Falick became the new rabbi of the congregation.{{cite web|url=https://www.shj.org/NewsRabbiFalick.html |title=Society for Humanistic Judaism: Rabbi Jeffrey Falisk to Lead Birmingham Temple |accessdate=2013-10-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012014816/https://www.shj.org/NewsRabbiFalick.html |archivedate=2013-10-12 }}

References

External links

{{official website|https://www.chj-detroit.org/}}

Category:1963 establishments in Michigan

Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States

Category:Farmington Hills, Michigan

Category:Humanistic synagogues in the United States

Category:Jewish organizations established in 1963

Category:Synagogues completed in 1971

Category:Synagogues in Michigan

Category:Society for Humanistic Judaism