THE HAILE SHUL, ROUND SYNAGOGUE

PREFACE

From September through December of 2024, I worked on a proposal for a new non-denominational synagogue in Grand Rapids, Michigan called The Haile Shul — to be named after my mother, Haile Sandra Zuppke Plafkin. That proposal is published here.

PROPOSAL

My mother died in 2017 at the age of 81, after a long struggle with dementia, and I believe prematurely. I view her cognitive decline as a result injustice and anti-Semitism experienced in Grand Rapids. 

Our family was dragged into Probate and Circuit Court when I was a young girl. Through this my parents were stripped of their rights and assets, incarcerated and dehumanized. The State removed me and my brothers from our parents without cause, or with the real cause being bias and greed. Properties and assets owned by my parents, including the Grand Rapids Bolt & Nut Co., Inc. were taken from them and effectively given to non-Jewish families. My parents never recovered from these traumas, which I believe impaired their health and took years off their lives. I previously stated that my mother suffered because she was “a Jewish woman giving birth to Jewish children.” What I mean by this is that the Christian Judges who used the Courts to undo our family were aware of and in opposition to my mother’s Jewish fertility and growing family.

THE MEANING OF SHUL

Shul is Yiddish for school. Yiddish is a hybrid dialect incorporating German and Hebrew. Over time shul came to mean synagogue and is associated with a place to gather, pray, and learn. 

THE ROUND SYNAGOGUE

The synagogue sanctuary will be a fully round worship space. The architecture will reference the center of human creation and life: the female womb.  In this way, the synagogue will tell a deeply personal and sadly universal story about women. On the personal side, my mother was forcibly sterilized in 1975 through the above-referenced court actions. She was under court guardianship and I was thirteen years old. This trauma contributed to my coerced abortion less than two decades later. On the universal side, since 1973 women across the globe have been told that abortion is the best defense against poverty and inequality. And prior to 1973 women of color and other non-desirables were illegally sterilized and subjected to coerced abortion. By design and content, The Haile Shul will refute cultural attacks on child-bearing and on women and girls. This Shul will stand as an international symbol for women, family, and the truly productive future that female health and fertility comprise. 

PLAFKIN FAMILY CAMPUS

As a home for this Shul, I propose establishing an approximately 36 acre campus downtown to be named after my parents. This campus will include the Haile Shul (Round Synagogue), two mikvaot (separate for men and women), administrative and work offices, exquisite meandering gardens, educational facilities, a Rare Book room for illuminated manuscripts, lodging for international guests, and a Michelin-starred kosher-certified restaurant. A new Torah scroll will be commissioned for the Haile Shul.

THE RESTAURANT

The restaurant will feature Ethiopian fusion cuisine, as my mother was named for Ethiopia’s last emperor, Haile Selassie or Lij Tafari Makonnen.

THE LEARNING CENTER

The Haile Shul will be a fully functioning synagogue with daily prayer in Hebrew and English and a center for scholarly engagement related to the Hebrew Bible, including literary traditions emanating from the Hebrew Bible. Traditional Hebrew Torah leyning (chanting) will occur on the Sabbath (Saturday), Mondays, and Thursdays. When in Grand Rapids, I will leyn and teach regularly. Other persons will be engaged to insure this aspect of synagogue functioning year round.

A CENTER FOR MUSICAL LITURGY

The Shul will serve as a center for Jewish liturgical renewal, commissioning and hosting new work. Live music will be offered daily year-round without entry costs. Musicians will be invited from all countries and every genre to compose new Jewish liturgical music as the Shul provides an intimate venue, contrasting other Grand Rapids spaces, such as the Van Andel Arena, DeVos Performance Hall, and proposed Acrisure Amphitheater. The Shul may approximate the seating capacity of Royce Hall at St. Cecilia’s Music Center which has 600 seats, yet be configured to accommodate performances for audiences of 50-200 persons.

Through music, this Shul will offer the community what William Congreve promised in The Mourning Bride, “to soften rocks and bend knotted oak", to “move things inanimate” and “inform living souls”.

THE MIKVAOT

Mikvaot is plural for mikveh, a word meaning ‘to gather’ and first recorded in the Book of Genesis where waters are gathered to form seas and thereby, land.  Mikveh as a ritual space and activity emerged later. One of the world’s oldest Mikvaot is in Syracuse, Sicily and was rediscovered between 1977-1989. It was built around 600 CE and hidden or buried around 1492. The Mikveh stands as a symbol of holiness. It is constructed as a reminder that boundaries have personal and social consequence, historic meaning, and transcendent dimension.

SETTING THE STAGE

As shared with Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and others, this project presupposes permanent housing for all unhoused persons in Kent County, including Grand Rapids. Counting persons who sleep in shelters as housed is unacceptable. This means a 100% housing solution to insure permanent and dignified housing emphasizing ownership rather than rental. In this and other ways, this project will benefit those who live nearby while attracting visitors from afar.

ABOUT ME AND MY ROLE

I will serve as lead designer, artist, educator, and dreamer for this project, having the final word on all content. When built and ready, I will serve as permanent Creative Director for the campus and its programming. 

CONCLUSION

Though denied the opportunity to enjoy her in life — and give her Jewish grandchildren — I hope to honor my mother’s memory through this work of art and spirit. I also hope to honor the memory of my beloved father who suffered greatly and was misunderstood by many, including his own children. The musical emphasis of this program is an ode to his memory. While the short title for this project is The Haile Shul, the campus that will be a home for this significant synagogue shall bear my father’s name.