Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Emily Eisbruch

Conversation Series Focusing on Making Challenging Ideas Accessible

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by Sarai Brachman Shoup

New Perspectives, Timely Conversations, a series proposing to make academic resources and challenging ideas accessible to the wider Jewish community, kicks off on October 11, 2026.  The three Fall 2026 offerings take place at the JCC Ann Arbor, noon – 1:30 PM. 

Sponsored by The Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation and organized by Deborah Field and Sarai Brachman Shoup, the series is grounded in Reconstructionist Judaism, which considers Jewish culture and beliefs as evolving rather than fixed. 

New Perspectives, Timely Conversations aims to provide fresh perspectives and raise new questions that allow the community to think differently about Jewish identity.

Most sessions consist of interview-style conversations with scholars, journalists, and educators about their work.  This Fall, one of the sessions is a film, an Ann Arbor premiere.

On Sunday, October 11, Dr. Elliot Ratzman, a research fellow at U-M’s Raoul Wallenberg Institute, and experienced organizer and activist, discusses “Zipporah’s Sacrifice:  Jewish Ethics and Race.” 

On Sunday, November 15, the acclaimed 30-minute Scenes From the Divide screens for the first time in Ann Arbor.  Scenes From the Divide explores the tensions among New York Jews over identity, history and responsibility surrounding the Mamdani campaign for mayor in 2024-25.  A facilitated discussion follows the screening.

On Sunday, November 22, Ann Arbor native and senior politics editor at Jewish Currents, Mari Cohen, discusses “The Anti-Defamation League and Today’s Crisis of Jewish Politics.”

RSVP for each session is required. Email sbshoup@gmail.com for the RSVP link.

Celebrating Alan Haber on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday

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Comments delivered by Rebecca Kanner (left) in honor or Alan Haber (right)

 הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה:

Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving humankind and drawing them close to the Torah.
(Pirkei Avot 1:12)

Alan Haber is a true disciple of Aaron.  He has lived his life loving and pursuing peace, loving humankind, and drawing us close to the Torah through the works of his hands and by example.

On July 29, Alan turned 90 and on behalf of the congregation, I am offering this appreciation to celebrate Alan. 

Alan is a forever activist.  Here are only a few highlights:
 
His activism started in the mid-1950’s.  Alan grew up in Ann Arbor and enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1954, where his father William Haber was the dean of LSA – at times, Alan’s activism made the two of them visible opponents.  It is no surprise that Alan did not graduate until 1965: he was one active activist!  While a student, Alan was a founder of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), and its first national president.  He was one of the authors in 1962 of the Port Huron Statement, an eloquent manifesto, proposing an agenda for a generation.  Alan was also one of the organizers of the first teach-in on the Vietnam War at the UM in 1965.

Alan has been described as Ann Arbor’s resident radical and also Ann Arbor’s reticent visionary.  His occupations have been listed as American activist and cabinetmaker.

Alan left Ann Arbor for Berkeley, California.  He told me once that passing a woodworking shop while walking in Berkeley, he smelled that wonderful smell of newly cut wood.  It drew him in and his life changed forever.  This is when he became both a woodworker and a “freelance radical intellectual”.  Berkeley is also where Alan met Odile Hugonot and they became lifelong partners in life and in their activism.  


When I met Alan in the 80’s at a New Jewish Agenda conference in New Jersey, he told me that as a woodworker, he was “an ark-ist”.  Our congregation became a beneficiary of his ark making.  When Alan moved back to Ann Arbor, with Odile, they joined the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Havurah.  With his skilled hands, Alan drew us close to our torah.  He made our ark and our Torah table, using members’ wood and working collaboratively with other congregants.  He designed our ark, in accordance with the instructions in the Torah for the building of the Mishkan.  Alan also made another smaller ark to hold the beautiful Megillat Esther we read from on Purim.  He made a Peace Table that has traveled the world.  At the Hague Appeal for Peace in 1999, several Nobel Peace Prize laureates sat at Alan’s Peace Table.  

Alan continues to pursue peace and on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he shared a political strategy towards a better way.  Alan is no longer a reticent visionary, he is a bold visionary.  He is truly a forever activist and we all benefit from his activism, love, and the model he is of creativity, intelligence, commitment, and enduring allegiance to his values and his dreams of a humanity abiding in peace.  
 
Alan, ad me’ah v’esrim.  We wish you health and joy in your pursuit of peace with justice.

Exhibit Showcases AARC Creativity

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Art works by Leora Druckman, Dale Sass, Janet Kelman, and Mollie Meadow.


One of the pleasures of being part of the Ann Arbor Jewish community is meeting people engaged in fascinating intellectual, political, musical, and artistic endeavors. Recently, the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (AARC) showcased the artistic talents of its members in an exhibit at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor. The range and quality of the work on display were impressive.


According to Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador, “Last year, the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (AARC) launched AARC Creatives, giving members of our community an opportunity to share their creative work and talk about their artistic process. This year, we wanted to build on that idea by creating an exhibit. Since the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation—the home of AARC’s High Holy Day services—displays artwork throughout its building, we asked whether they might be open to exhibiting work by AARC members. They enthusiastically welcomed the idea and generously offered some of their exhibition space.”


Many talented and creative people in the AARC community—artists, artisans, and makers working in a wide range of media—embraced the opportunity to participate. AARC Executive Director Elizabeth Brindley served as the point person and coordinator for the exhibit.  “ It’s been wonderful to see the immense talent of our congregants, and the variety of emotions and moments captured in their pieces,” comments Elizabeth.  “The High Holidays are a time for reflection, and I think our Art Exhibit added to the depth and meaning of our High Holy Days together.“

Here are some of the featured artists and artworks:

  • Alan Haber, a carpenter, exhibited a peace table that was used at The Hague Appeal for Peace in 1999 and hosted Nobel Peace Prize winners and, since then, notables of many faiths and traditions. 
  • Margot Neuhaus, a painter, sculptor, and photographer, displayed two photographs: Galapagos and Sandwater.
  • Leora Druckman, an emerging ceramic and multimedia sculptor, exhibited several examples of her work
  • Jack Edelstein displayed designs that incorporate the ancient symbol of yin and yang—also known as the Taijitu or Cosmic Dyad—an emblem of complementary polarity.
  • Janet Kelman, a glass artist, displayed a piece titled Rushing Water.
  • Paulo Neuhaus, a digital photographer,  displayed photographs of peonies in his Ann Arbor garden and a flamenco dancer in Málaga, Spain.
  • Idelle Hammond-Sass, a sculptor, jewelry maker, and painter, displayed a necklace and two watercolor paintings.
  • Janet Greenhut displayed a painting of a Tricolor Heron.
  • Mollie Meadow, a talented high school student (and our youngest participating artist),   displayed a ceramic vase she created at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
  • Sally Goldberg, a ceramic artist who is a member of the Ann Arbor Potters Guild, displayed a raku mask.
  • Dale Sass displayed a box made of select hardwoods

Alan Haber with his peace table. At left are photos by Paulo Neuhaus. At right is a mask by Sally Goldberg.

Love Hate, by Jack Edelstein

Painting by Idelle Hammond-Sass

Tricolor Heron by Janet Greenhut

Galapagos by Margot Neuhaus

See THIS LINK page 23 to view this article in the October 2026 Washtenaw Jewish News.

Creative Spirit at the AARC Beit Sefer

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Thank you to Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador for this article, which appeared in the April 2026 Washtenaw Jewish News. See page 7 HERE


 


 For the past several years, the children and madrichim (teen leaders) of the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation Beit Sefer have taken on an unusual and joyful responsibility: they write their own Purim spiel.
 
Yes — the entire thing.
Not just acting it. Not just rehearsing lines written by adults. But imagining, scripting, adapting, and producing their own interpretations of the Book of Esther.
 
At first glance, it might look like a fun educational exercise. And it is. But it is also something deeper.
 
In Reconstructionist Jewish education, we don’t simply hand children inherited forms and ask them to replicate them. We invite them into the creative process of Judaism itself. We encourage them to see that Jewish tradition has always been a living, evolving conversation.
 
The Purim spiel — historically irreverent, satirical, and playful — is the perfect vehicle for this.
 
Over the past few years, our students have:

  • Set the Purim story in modern times
  • Played with contemporary political satire
  • Reimagined characters with surprising nuance
  • Written jokes only their generation could write

In doing so, they’ve learned something essential: Jewish ritual isn’t static. It is something we participate in shaping. For example, the setting for this year’s spiel started out underwater and ended up on the beach. It incorporated a running tongue-twister gag about a Shushan shoe store. It reimagined Haman’s defeat not as a hanging but as a demotion from palace advisor to shoe shiner.
 
Our madrichim, too, become co-creators. They guide, encourage, and sometimes gently redirect, and resist the urge to control. The result is not always polished, but it is authentic. It belongs to them.
 
In a time when so much of Jewish identity can feel inherited rather than chosen, giving our children authorship matters.
 
Purim itself is a holiday of reversals — hidden identities revealed, power structures flipped, laughter used as resistance. When our students write the spiel, they are not only retelling the story. They are enacting it. They experience what it feels like to speak boldly, creatively, even subversively within Jewish tradition.
 
Perhaps most importantly, they experience joy – and not as passive entertainment, but as active participation. When they stand on stage delivering lines they wrote themselves, they are not just performing Judaism. They are practicing it.

Beit Sefer director Shlomit Cohen notes:

“I’d like to pay homage to Marcy Epstein, a teacher in the U-M Comprehensive Studies Program and a past director of the AARC religious school. As director, Marcy led the families in a workshop on writing the Purim Spiel. This is a tradition that continues to be going strong and is passed on from student to student. As the current director, I wanted to honor this successful tradition, so I allowed the space for the students to write and run the show with a highly dedicated parent, David Speyer.”


In both the Friday night service and the children’s Purim Carnival, the children, dressed up and with noise makers in their hands, sang a quote from Pirkei Avot:
 “Mi Shenichnas Adar Marbin Be’Simchah” 
”משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה”
Translation: “When the month of Adar enters, we are joyous.” – We had a very happy Purim indeed!
 
“Learning about our traditions, interpreting them in meaningful ways, and emphasizing joy and creativity are key to the AARC Beit Sefer experience,” says Shlomit.

About the AARC

The AARC is a caring, inclusive and music- and art-loving community of people who want to practice and study Judaism, or simply be around people who share a commitment to Judaism’s values. The AARC’s spiritual leader, Rav Gavrielle Pescador, is known for her warmth, her collaborative spirit, and her incredible voice and harp playing. You are invited to visit https://aarecon.org/ or email info@aarecon.org to learn more about the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation.

To learn more about the AARC Beit Sefer, where K-7th graders enjoy interactive, creative group activities as well as individual attention, please visit https://aarecon.org/what-we-do/learning/religious-school/  

A very fortunate three times Purim celebration!

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by Shlomit Cohen, AARC Beit Sefer Director

Judaism acknowledges the importance of our feelings: the Oy’s and the Ah! moments in our daily life, for example, by giving space and yearly practice to grief, in the month of Av, and to happiness and joy in the month of Adar. 

About the month of Adar – the month of Purim – the rabbis- (חז״ל) wrote:

״משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה״
When Adar enters, we increase in joy.

But Jewish writings have also asked the question regarding Adar: how can we order someone to be happy, and to rejoice? Especially in difficult times? 

The answer might be, specifically in challenging times like these, that we need to remind ourselves to rejoice and to be happy, as the Purim holiday teaches us:

  1. To congregate and gather as a community  – the importance of being together! (In contrast to what we all learned during pandemic about the pain of loneliness.)
  2. To make some noise when we hear the name of the wicked man – Haman.
  3. To play music as an expression of joy.
  4. To move and shake our bodies with dancing. 
  5. To be silly – by putting on costumes!
  6. To each delicious food – the sweet Hamentashen and sending the mishloach manot to friends and relatives, and the poor. Caring for the other is a joy!
  7. And even to drink – עד דלא ידע (until one does not know)

Our Purim costumes teach us the importance of being uplifted from the sorrow and pain of life, not by withdrawing from it, but with a sense of humor. And we have a whole month to practice it yearly!

And we cannot forget the importance of Jewish humor – our shared way of dealing with reality with a laughing eye. By practicing rituals and observing the holidays, we acknowledge and turn the difficult times in our shared history into a great gathering culminating in a festive meal.

Purim specifically and the month of Adar are great reminders for us to be happy! To have faith in God’s willing, good connections and a brilliant scheme, as Mordechai and Queen Esther teach us. That’s how bad luck can turn into good fortune. “Pur” – luck – can be changed. 

This year the AARC had bad luck or the misfortune of not reserving a space for our Purim celebration in advance. So instead of canceling the holiday all together, we decided to celebrate it twice, even three times!

  • First with the AARC Purim Kabbalat Shabbat – Friday night service on February 27, 6:30pm to 9:00pm
  • Second with a gathering for a Hamentashen baking party on Saturday, February 28 with a potluck at Carol Lessure and Jon Engleburt’s house, a long tradition for over ten years.
  • Third, on Sunday March 1 at Beit Sefer, the AARC religious school. 
    The kids read the megillah – in English! – make noise when the name Haman is said, and act out a purim shpiel (that took them 3 weeks of writing and preparation!). There will be song, dance, a costume parade, a questionnaire/quiz with prizes, Hamentashen… and more

The month of Adar is a truly happy, joyfully time of year! Happy Purim! 

Above: the AARC celebrating Purim in 2024

Above: the AARC celebrating Purim in 2016