Brisket & Beyond Blog

B'nai Moshe is proud that one of our B'nai Moshe family has landed on the Forward50 list of influential American Jews.

Mikhl Yahsinsky, son of Debbie and Gary Yashinsky, has been named to this illustrious " machers and shakers list."

Some other prominent names who appear on the list are:  Congressman Adam Schiff, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, ADL Director Oren Segal, sports pundit Max Kellerman, Poway Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman.

Fluent in seven languages, Yashinsky, 31, has directed opera, taught Spanish, written and directed plays, and performed rap in Yiddish. In 2019, he appeared as Mordkhe the Innkeeper in the Folksbiene’s smash-hit revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, and now is starring in the Folksbiene’s revival of “The Sorceress.”

To read more about this "Yiddish Renaissance Man" CLICK HERE

Beginning February 1 and running on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month B'nai Moshe will offer a Shabbat experience unlike the traditional sanctuary service.  We will focus on Jewish concepts such as beginning each morning with expressions of gratitude with words and song.  We'll begin at 10 a.m. in the Klein Chapel. 

We'll explore how prayer is important to each of us. Our mission is to fulfill and nourish our individual spirituality.  We may hum, we may meditate, we will sing with unbridled passion, and in doing so will create a community that is comfortable and welcoming.

We'll learn about prayer in a meaningful way so as to strengthen our understanding and meaning of the prayers we may have been reciting for decades but with no meaning, 

There is no need to wear a suit or tie, a dress or skirt.  This is come as you are with the key word being come.  You'll leave feeling enlightened and fulfilled and looking forward to the next Shabbat Experience.

Join us on February 1 at 10 a.m.  Let's experience Shabbat together.

If you were at B'nai Moshe on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, you may have taken notice of something we believe to be unique and it happened at B'nai Moshe.  It is unique not only in metro-Detroit but we would not be going out on a limb to say in the nation. 

Quite possibly, because of the inclusive family atmosphere at B'nai Moshe, you may not have even given it a second thought.  And in many ways, not noticing might actually make this all the more special.

I am speaking of the gabbai on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.  The job of the gabbai is a difficult and important role.  The gabbai is sort of the quarterback of the torah service.  The gabbai calls up (in Hebrew) each person who is given the honor of an aliyah to the torah.   There are several prayers which must be said, adding the Hebrew name of the honoree and saying a mishabeirach (prayer of good health) for the previous honoree.  The words are quite different on the high holidays than they are on shabbat.  It's not easy, to say the least.

B'nai Moshe's lead gabbai on the second day of Rosh Hashanah was Yael Plotnick.  Yael is a 21-year old student at the University of Michigan and has grown up at B'nai Moshe.  Even more impressive was that Yael took on this same role last year when she was but 20.  Usually the role of the gabbai is given to a member of the clergy or a seasoned male ritual leader.  At B'nai Moshe this role was filled beautifully by a 21-year old female and we couldn't be prouder.

We'd love to hear from any other synagogue in the country or world who can boast such a claim.

These opportunities can only exist in a synagogue that is open to change and is blind to traditional gender roles.  Congratulations Yael on a job well done!