The Jewish high holidays start on Monday, Sept. 22.

Hundreds gathered in West Bloomfield to hear a former Israeli hostage speak.

On a recent Tuesday evening inside Michigan's largest synagogue, a couple of singers took the stage as a piano player opened with a melodious intro. Across from them was a long row of chairs draped in Israeli flags with photos of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

"I'm coming home, coming home," they sang to hundreds of congregants inside Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Sept. 9. "Tell the world, I'm coming. ... No matter what it takes, I'm coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday."

Among those listening in the crowd sat Ofir Engel, 19, an Israeli teen who was held hostage for 54 days by Hamas, kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the de

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