Rabbi Michael D. Howald

Cantor Suzanne Bernstein

Bryn Biren, Felicia Otto

Co-Presidents

MAY 2024

Nisan-Iyar 5784

RESERVATIONS DUE BY MAY 10th

JOURNAL SUBMISSIONS DUE BY MAY 15th

To pay by check, please contact Jesse at TEMPLEISRAELGALA24@gmail.com

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TREE OF LIFE

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      One of Temple Israel’s most beloved traditions is the Community Seder on the first night of Passover. Named after Jennifer Straniere who planned and organized the Seder for many years, (and now lovingly managed by Jodi Siegel in her memory), this meal brings us together to celebrate the rituals, foods, and aromas of Passover. We may know the Haggadah and the songs by heart, we may prefer chametz to matzah and always pass on the gefilte fish, but we cherish this Seder because we are together. In those hours, no matter our disagreements, no matter our differences, we bring the ancient story of the Exodus alive in a company of friends working in harmony for a common purpose.

         We attend this Seder year after year, and others like it with family and friends, because moments of true and meaningful companionship are rare in our fractured and increasingly self-absorbed society. Today, the smallest differences in outlook tear friendships and organizations apart and we have increasingly lost the ability to really talk with one another. When I first came to New York in the 1980’s, for instance, I was impressed with the lively and loud conversation in city buses and subway cars. Now, silence prevails on public transportation as commuters and tourists alike stare at their phones, each totally engrossed in their own worlds of email, Wordle and Candy Crush.

         The Seder, however, requires us to work together, to listen to the voices of others and to raise our voices together in song. We may love the food (I do!), but we really come for the sense of community the Seder establishes. In that company, we welcome strangers, we listen when others speak, and we dare to raise our own voices even if, in other settings, we would prefer to remain silent. For that night, we are all friends, all working together and all devoted to retelling the foundation story of the people of Israel.

         It would be easy to take this companionship for granted. The Seder is one of our most ancient and beloved traditions. For millennia, after all, the people of Israel have gathered in social halls and homes to celebrate Passover. Yet, community is a gift and hard to find in a world that increasingly seeks to compel our gaze downward to our screens rather than upward to the face of the person sitting across from us. In Hebrew, a wonderful phrase captures the essence of this spirit: “Kabbalat Panim,” the “reception of the faces.” The translation may seem stilted in English, yet it points to what makes the Seder so special. On that night, we truly see one another in the glow of community. For those hours, we come to share and not to oppose or ignore. We lift our cups together, we read together, and we all see ourselves as if we went out together from Egypt. May that spirit sustain us until next year when we meet again for the first night of Passover! 

Bryn Biren

Felicia Otto

Amy Asin, the VP of the Union for Reform Judaism and Director of Strengthening Congregations, wrote something that really hits home. It addresses our comfort levels when it comes to change. A speaker is standing at the front of a room and asks people sitting in chairs- “Who wants change?” Every hand is raised. A person at the front of the room asks, “Who wants to change?” and not a single hand is raised. Then the speaker says, “Who wants to lead the change?” and the room empties out. Asin says that we are going to want the change, want to change and all of us need to lead the change.

The URJ is committed to the success of our congregations. There are hundreds of thousands of Jews who are not connected to a Jewish community. They want to educate their children, take care of aging parents, deal with finances and job demands, and enjoy comfort and safety in their communities. They want joy and meaning in their lives. However, they are not seeking the answers at Torah study or at weekly Shabbat services. There is a major disconnect between what they are looking for and what our religious institutions are offering. It is also true that at different points in the lives of families they are seeking different things.

If we want our temple - Temple Israel - to remain strong and become even stronger, these are some of the things that we are going to need to think about:

- Jewish content can be accessed in so many different ways today, they do not necessarily require each of us to get into a car. We do not necessarily need to be at the temple building to be engaged.

-The Jewish community is very diverse. One out of every 7-8 Jews is a person of color instead of the previously believed one out of every 30-40. Did you know that 72% of non-Orthodox marriages are between someone who identifies as Jewish and someone who is not? We need to provide for this broader population.

-People are marrying later and are having fewer children. We used to wait until the oldest child of family was ready to begin his/her religious education for the family to join the synagogue. These days, even if the family connects with a synagogue they may not be as predisposed to making the synagogue central to their lives as did those at the same stage a generation ago.

- For the first time in history we are seeing four or five generations of the same family active at the temple at the same time. The older generations want to keep things the way they are, they want to know why the younger generations won’t accept the established ways. On the other hand, we must provide for the needs of our younger families. Their needs are not the same. 

There is no easy solution to these issues. We need to try new things; we have to make every effort to not be judgmental of one another. What works for you may not necessarily work for your fellow congregant. 

The leadership of Temple Israel is aware of the various needs of all of our congregants, and we hope that people will be positive in attitude, willing to work to make changes that will benefit all of us going forward and can learn to be flexible.

 Who ever said that “ L’Dor V’Dor” - from generation to generation - was easy?

Bryn Biren & Felicia Otto

Co-Presidents

I was one of the countless women of my generation who never “had" a bat mitzvah. I began learning Hebrew in my 30’s as a cantorial student at Hebrew Union College. I learned at HUC that every Jew becomes a bar or bat mitzvah, a “son or daughter of the commandments,” when they turn thirteen, even if they have not taken part in any formal ritual. I had become a bat mitzvah at age thirteen and didn’t even know it!  

As I am sure you know, in Reform Judaism women as well as men  have the right and privilege to be counted in a minyan and called to the Torah for an Aliyah. In my second year of cantorial school, I read from the Torah for the first time. It felt like I had achieved a momentous milestone when I chant Parshat Kedoshim in the chapel at HUC, more than twenty years after I had the right and privilege as a bat mitzvah to do so. The first portion my younger daughter Miryam chanted was also Kedoshim. She chanted from Torah when she was thirteen. 

Our May 10th service will include a Torah service. We will read verses from Kedoshim from the Czech Torah scroll entrusted to our care by the Memorial Scrolls Trust. May the uplifting verses of Kedoshim inspire us all. I feel blessed to have these special connections to this parasha. 

Cantor Suzanne Bernstein 

SENIOR CHOIR

Sunday, May 5- 12 noon***

(***note special time)

Rehearsal

Tuesday, May 7- 7:00 pm

Rehearsal

Friday, May 10- 7:00 pm

Warm-up in Library for 7:30 p.m. Service

JUNIOR CHOIR

Friday, March 3 -Warm -up -6:30 pm

for 7:00 Family Service

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MAY 2024

NISAN-IYAR 5784

For calendar updates please check the Temple website.

To print or download a copy of this calendar, click here.

MAZEL TOV TO:

SUSAN SAPPIN & LORI WEINTROB honored at the Wagner College Holocaust Center;

New Grandparents LISSA & NEIL WINCHEL, and new parents Alexa and Chris on the birth of Harper Emilia;

SIM LENNER on receiving the Next Generation Award at the Nancy Avis L'Dor VDor Luncheon at the JCC;

SUSAN & STEWART MARKS on the birth of their granddaughter, Eliana Isabelle to Rachel Marks;

Former Student Cantor SHIREL RICHMAN on her Senior Recital at HUC.

GET WELL WISHES TO:

RHONDA TRONTZ-ALLEN recovering from the flu;

PAMELA ROGOZIN hospitalized with diverticulosis;

HOWAR MAZER dealing with lung issues;

SUE FREEDMAN hospitalized with a broken rib.

THINKING OF YOU:

BARBARA FRIED

BARBARA MENNA

RUSSEL KAMINSKY

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:



JOYCE & GARY COHEN

May 3, 2024

Glenda Kalish 

Abraham Pollak *

Arnold Wells *

Benjamin Sherman 

Etylda Berkowicz *

Frances Reiss 

James Gamble 

Joel Chernoff 

Julius Schneider 

Klara Berkowicz *

Markus Pollak *

Rosa Pollak *

Sofia Pollak *

Ettie Berman *

Rebecca Lauren Lipsitz *

Sidney Holzman 

Clara Hershenson 

Clara Schneider 

Elizabeth Greenfield 

Gary Singer 

Louis Melniker 

Sally Berger *

Stuart Feigelman 

Katherine Marks *

Michael Duskin *

Alan Bernard Sostek 

Anna Siegel 

Beatrice Kutell 

Ethel Gershansky 

Rose Kitoff *

Solomon Nison 

And we remember from the Holocaust:

Motel Kozlowski

Karl Wilhelm Johann

Ernst Sievert

Fanny Krueger

Szweja Riegler

Yafa Wroclawski

May 10, 2024

Alma Rothwein Jacobs *

Clara E. Silverberg *

Harriette Duskin *

Muriel Trachman *

Richard Litkofsky *

Barry Nadel *

Ida Shenman *

Milton Eisen *

Erwin Badrian 

Fay Schaefer *

Esther Goldman Dumont 

Ada Lauter *

Beatrice Lachman *

Jeffrey Cohen 

And we remember from the Holocaust:

Louis Reger

Bluma Reger

Hermann Alberts

Berta Eckert

Gittel Weissbrod

May 17, 2024

Augusta Berman Sostek 

Dorothy M. Melniker *

Dr. A.  Milton Jacobs *

Rea Silberberg

Ernest Beck 

Edith Marks 

Harold B. Blach 

Roslyn Klein 

Craig Lawrence Horn *

Suzanne Nadel *

Evelyn Orland 

Deidre Sostek 

Florence Hurkin *

Murray Gold *

Charlotte A. Braverman *

Rose Lipson 

Seymour G. Gollubier *

William Grodman 

And we remember from the Holocaust:

Hermann De Jongh

Otto Bluh

Dezso Bokor

Richard Loeb

Moise Almaleh

May 24, 2024

Itta Berlyand 

Ane Sussman *

Edith Gamoran

Etta Rabin *

Irene F. Carducci *

Iris Mushnick 

Dr. H. Edward Marshon *

Rita Feldstein *

Ruth Lewis 

William Brill *

Carole Lachman *

Irving Cohen *

Anna Katy Silverman *

Burton Cohen *

Gertrude Gross *

Leon Grossman 

Robert Selig 

And we remember from the Holocaust:

Waclaw Kafarowski

Jan Malanowicz

Marcus Katz

Lilli Leburitsch

Freidel Ofman

May 31, 2024

Dora Wolchok 

Peter Nash *

Beatrice V Dubrin Morse *

James A. Meyers *

Lee Pessah *

Ben Harris 

David Manger *

Eleanor Ecker *

Jesse Silverman *

Shirley Wolinitz-Sacoff *

Samuel Elrich 

Beatrice Gollubier *

Jonathan Young 

Marilyn Tanzer

And we remember from the Holocaust:

Josef Pistiner

Ludwig Glanz

Lajos Spitzer

Minna Laufer

Tomasz Cisowski

The Advance Payment Program allows members to pay in advance for Friday night program ads. Members usually deposit $100 (or less in some cases) and when an ad is placed, $5 is deducted. When the balance gets low (usually to about $10) an e-mail is sent reminding the member that they should consider adding money to their account. 

You may, if you wish, pay in advance for Friday night program announcements. For more details contact the Temple office or contact Deanna Feder at  dfeder19@aol.com to set up an account. 

DEDICATE A LEAF ON OUR

TREE OF LIFE

Click on the image below.

Dear Fellow Congregants,

As the Temple’s Fiscal Year comes to a close, please be sure to review you records to ensure that your Annual Commitment is up to date.  As a reminder, the Temple’s Building Fund of $1100 per member is scheduled to be honored during the first four years of membership.  If there were to be a ‘life-cycle event’ prior to that timeframe, it is required that the submission of the Building Fund be completed before that event takes place.

You are welcome to contact me directly at 347-631-9802 or JPerezRabin@gmail.com should you wish to discuss any matter regarding your annual commitment or satisfaction of your family’s Building Fund. 

Again, thank you for your on-going support of Temple Israel.

Jacqueline Rabinowitz 

Financial Secretary

Please consider becoming a member of our

KAVOD SOCIETY.

It helps to make membership available to all our families. Speak to our Financial Secretary to upgrade your membership.

A PARADE OF HOLOCAUST TORAHS

A GATHERING RECOVERED CZECH SCROLLS

Temple Israel is proud to have participated again in a gathering of scrolls on loan from the Westminster Trust.   The Trust recovered nearly 1,600 scrolls from a warehouse in Poland, where they had been stored after being sent in at the height of Holocaust.  

More than 60 scrolls from across the greater New York Area were present at Temple Emanu-el in Manhattan, and our Scroll #66 from Nachod was among them. 

The event was very moving.  Rabbi, Cantor, Karen & Jerry Gross, Cheryl Levine, Linda & Jerry Mulnick and Blanche Ricci attended.  Rabbi carried our Torah in the procession of Scrolls. 

Speaking with Westminster Trust Chair Jeffrey Ohrenstein, it still appears that our scroll was the only one that had the scroll’s pre-Holocaust Rabbi present at its dedication in its new home. 

We thank Chad Rachman for assisting Rabbi in the safe transport of our Torah, as well as being instrumental in the NY Post’s coverage of the event.  His pictures are below as well at the link to the article. 

https://nypost.com/2024/04/07/us-news/60-historic-torah-scrolls-that-survived-nazis-celebrated-at-nyc-synagogue/

Our 34^th Yom HaShoah Observance

This  year’s program:

Recovering our family’s Nazi-looted past

Presented by Dennis & Barani Guttsman

Since the 50^th Anniversary of Kristallnacht, Temple Israel has held a Yom HaShoah observance – missing only one year due to the COVID restrictions. 

Barani will be talking to us from Berlin, as she and Dennis inform us about their long journey to recover family heirlooms seized ty the Nazis. 

The program will be followed by a short service, where we remember the six million and say Kaddish for the villagers of Nachod, whose Torah resides in our Ark. 

Once again, we were able to sponsor the Jennifer Straniere Community Seder for Temple Israel members and friends and those from the community who might not have been able to attend. Jodi Siegel did a fabulous job arranging and carrying out Passover Dinner 2024. The food was delicious and the service by Rabbi Howald and Canter Bernstein was inspiring. Everyone enjoyed the traditional Passover fare, religious service, and convivial atmosphere of Temple Israel.   

For the last two months, Maxine Cohen has been collecting donations for the Kosher Pantry which enabled the JCC to purchase Passover supplies and foods for those in need. Thank you for your generous donations. You have made the lives of those Jews celebrating Passover a little easier this year.  

We want to thank the Nominating Committee which has worked diligently over the past few months to identify positions from those Sisterhood members in good standing. The Nominating Committee presented the slate of officers for the following year (2024-2025) at the General Membership Meeting on April 18. The slate will be voted upon at Sisterhood’s May 5 meeting. The slate was also e-mailed to each member one week after the April Meeting. Thank you to the Sisterhood officers and directors who served so well and so often during the past year. The Nominating Committee would like to thank all the outgoing Sisterhood Officers and Directors for their service during 2023-2024, especially those who are leaving their positions. 

On May 18, Sisterhood is sponsoring a Ladies Night out at 6:00 pm in the Social Hall. Please let Judy Lee know if you plan to attend (aninformedsource@aol.com). Everyone attending is requested to bring a dairy dish to share and a gag gift. It is going to be a fun night. 

Remember to send in your reservations for this year’s Gala on June 2nd. And don’t forget to place your ads for the Gala Journal. This is a wonderful event which supports our temple tremendously and gives us an opportunity to say “thank you” to those congregants and organizations who give so much to Temple Israel and help us to be the community we are. 

Please mark your calendars for Sisterhood’s End-of-Year Dinner on June 18. Contact Claire Guttsman (speechrose1@msn.com) or Sandy Feuerstein (bartenda23@aol.com) if you plan to attend. 

There will also be a Sisterhood /Brotherhood Installation on Friday, June 14, to install new officers. 

Congratulations to our members who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries: Bryn and Richard Biren, Linda and Alan Brill, Libby and Ira Gershansky, Karen and Jerry Gross, and Linda and Larry Hannibal. Please join us at services and the oneg on Friday, May 17th to help them celebrate!  

Congratulations to Sim Lenner on being honored by the JCC with a L’Dor V’Dor Award. The honor is well deserved.  

Thank you to Nina Rohan, Karen Gross, Inez Singer, Deanna Feder, Pamela Rogozin, Jane Adler, Esther Magid, Anita Zuckerberg, Judy Lee, Pamela Carlton, and others for helping with our Friday night onegs. 

Sisterhood activities always contain a Tzedakah component. At every meeting we collect donations to support worthwhile charities each month. This month Sisterhood donated to the American Parkinson Disease Association.    

We would like to welcome Joyce and Gary Cohen to Temple Israel and Joyce as a Sisterhood member.   

Pamela Carlton, Sue Freedman, Judy Lee, Anita Zuckerberg

Sisterhood Co-Presidents 

Brotherhood at Temple Israel continues….Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Well, Spring has finally sprung.  What a perfect time for current and future members of Brotherhood to get together to reestablish their commitments to our Temple. 

We continue to assist our Temple Sisterhood counterparts by helping with the Jennifer Straniere Passover Community Seder held on Monday, April 22^nd.    We have again organized and sponsored the distribution of the Yom Ha’Shoah yellow candles which will be used to commemorate the Shoah on May 5^th.  The candles that you receive are accompanied by an appropriate prayer for the occasion.

As we move forward, we would like to remind you of the variety of activities that will be taking place during the balance of the year. Later this month we will be sponsoring an off-site Sunday morning breakfast to provide an opportunity to enjoy interesting conversation in a relaxed setting.  Please watch for the invitation and plan to join with us.  In addition, we will also be coordinating with Sisterhood to sponsor an enjoyable evening of BINGO for all of our congregants.

Before the start of Summer, a Men’s Night Out Dinner will be scheduled upon selection of a venue.  And please save the date, July 21^st at 3:00pm for our summer BBQ with good food and some entertainment for our children who will be in attendance.  The cost will be $10 for adults and $5 for children. We are also planning to hold a 50/50 to help underwrite the cost of the event. 

Please join us in working together for our Temple family. You are welcome to pick an event that interests you and encourage others to assist in making it an inviting opportunity for our Temple members.

Wishing you a safe and healthy Spring season,

Alan Siegel & Bob Zuckerberg

It is hard to believe that we are in the last month of school for the year! Our school began many new traditions this year including: celebrating students of the month at Family Shabbat services, bringing two school alumni: Sim Lenner and Gennie Lopez in to teach music in our classes, and drama performances during our holiday assemblies and celebrations. 

This month students will share all that they learned in their reflections on the Bimah at our year end celebration on Sunday, May 19^th. A visit from our favorite neighborhood Ice Cream Truck will conclude the special day. 

Our year would not be possible without the support of the Parents who help out in our School Committee. Special thank you to Jen Rachman who facilitates our pretzel sales at dismissal and Sarah Sarfati who organized our two largest fundraisers this year. 

Next year, we are looking to bring more enrichment programming and assemblies into the building to teach Judaism and Holocaust Education. We are adding a third school alumni, Maayan Feldman, to our faculty as a Teacher’s Assistant.

We will be supporting the seven students who will become B’nai Mitzvahs between now and the end of next school year with B’nai Mitzvah projects. 

Thank you to all of Temple Israel for your support in making our school the best it can be!

Felicia Otto and Brooke Lopez

Religious School Committee Co-Chairs

MAY 18, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Temple Israel participates in this year's New York Landmarks Conservancy Sacred Sites Open House event. 

Click HERE for info and required

pre-registration form (free!). 

Invite friends for a guided tour. 

We are sorry if your name was inadvertently omitted. Please contact the Temple Office to update your membership information.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SPONSORING AN ONEG, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FLYER BELOW AT LEAST ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE OF THE DATE YOU ARE REQUESTING.

SUBMIT YOUR COMPLETED FORM TO SISTERHOOD VIA THE SISTERHOOD MAILBOX, OR GIVE IT DIRECTLY TO

SISTERHOOD CO-PRESIDENT JUDY LEE.

YOU WILL THEN BE CONTACTED BY A SISTERHOOD REPRESENTATIVE WHO WILL HAPPILY ASSIST YOU WITH ALL THE ARRANGEMENTS & DETAILS.

The Kavod Reception held on April 12th headed by this Committee was a successful event. Rabbi Howald and Bryn welcomed the Kavod Members. They discussed the history and the importance of supporting the Temple by joining Kavod and for members already in Kavod, to join at the next highest level.  A Taste of Honey Caterers provided delicious food and drink.  Robert Kipp provided wonderful keyboard background music that added a nice spirit to the evening.  We were pleased to honor the Members of the Kavod Society. 

The Membership Committee continues to arrange the monthly Tot Shabbat services.

We are working on scheduling two important intergenerational events for the Fall. We also discussed the possibility of working with Felicia and combining Membership with the School Committee to have an Open House either late Summer or early September. 

We discussed a variety of ways to incorporate the new families who will be attending the JCC school at Temple in the Fall. Further discussion will be held to determine ways to maximize our liaison with the new JCC families.

We will continue to talk with Jackie, our Financial Secretary, and the Executive Board regarding the proposal for possible new membership categories.

We continued our discussion about creating an updated Temple Israel logo and flyer. This would highlight the diversity of our Congregation as well as the varieties of the programs and events that occur at Temple. Our thought is to circulate the flyer throughout the Community and on social media.

Our next meeting date has been scheduled for Thursday May 16^th at 7:30 on Zoom.

Respectfully submitted,

Sandy Mazzucco

Claire Guttsman

Co-Chairs

Contact Blanche Ricci at branchtr.ricci@gmail.com

if you are interested in any Judaica Shop items.

The mission of the Dr. Ronald Avis Foundation for Temple Israel Reform Congregation is:

…. to provide financial support for young families seeking membership in Temple Israel, and to attract new young families by providing learning opportunities, family programming, and social justice initiatives.

************************************************************

Welcome to May!

We hope all of you will enjoy your summer and after the last class, we hope you will find a time to meet up with each other. It is also a good time to reach out to Felicia and Bryn about what committees you might be interested in working on next year. 

There will be a lovely event the last day of religious school. We look forward to seeing you all there. We are counting on you to attend Temple Israel’s Annual Gala on June 2. This year, we are honoring Larry Hannibal, Jim Rohan, and Jodi and Alan Siegel. Our own wonderful Avis Foundation, which supports so many of young families in so many ways, in addition to sponsoring many temple-wide programs, is also being honored.  Your presence at the event will be a wonderful way to show your gratitude to the Avis Foundation for helping to make your Temple Membership possible and to all this year’s honorees for all they do do for our Temple.

If you have any ideas about events you would like your children to attend next year, reach out to either of us and we will see what is possible. We will be providing another visit to the Jewish Heritage Museum and the Cutest Cookies and  a program with the wonderful woman who teaches our children about baking. We might do another Challah class again this coming year. 

Enjoy the warmth of May!

Sincerely,

Bryn Biren and Terry Baver

The story of the Dr. Ronald Avis Foundation for Temple Israel

Dr. Avis originally provided our wonderful Foundation to cover a portion of the membership cost for the first 6 years for young families with young children. Our congregation had been diminishing and he was looking for a way to help us all begin to grow. After meeting with Bryn and Terry a few times, more money was added so the families would also have the opportunities to experience programs for their children. Many wonderful events have been set up for the young families including museum visits, Chanukah cookie designs, a Challah class, a program at the Staten Island Holocaust Center, and many other experiences. The foundation has also helped cover the cost of the religious school teachers.

But then!!!! Covid happened!!!!!!

So the decision was made to use a portion of the foundation money to help all the temple members. The Avis Foundation began to create the zoom classes for the adults in our congregation. These classes are continuing and the foundation covers the costs of them all. The Avis Foundation also covered the cost of the 75th anniversary event. And the foundation is now working with Judy Pessah and the Adult Education Committee to help cover the cost of all the events and classes for the adults in the congregation. 

So: Our entire congregation has benefitted from the generosity of the Foundation. Thank you RON!!!!

Many Thanks to Rabbi Howald for his insightful programs— “Our People’s Prayer Book” and “The World to Come”.

Looking Ahead

Tuesday, May 14th on Zoom, at 7:30 PM.  “Trail of Philadelphia” Thinking about Jewish Diversity and Heritage, we will view a video to learn about the unique history of the Jewish community in Philadelphia, Pa.

Tuesday, May 21st  on Zoom, at 7:30 PM.  Book Discussion. “Don’t Forget to Write” by Sara Goodman.  This is the story of a “misbehaving” young Jewish woman who is sent to live with a great aunt, with interesting results!  Start Reading!

If you wish to learn more about Judaism on your own, take a look at the following:

 My Jewish Learning.com  You will learn one Hebrew word each day, and a wealth of information!

Watch “The Chosen” on Netflix TV or  Amazon Prime, to gain a great understanding of the historical relationship between Jews and Christians.

Go to ertflix.gr to stream a video, “The Fire Bracelet”,  a true story about a Sephardic family in Thessaloniki, Greece. This will be in Greek with English translations.

Looking forward to planning interesting programs starting in the Fall!

Judith Pessah

Adult Learning Committee Chairperson

Last chance to join the FUNdraising committee to learn line dancing on May 4, 2024. Please let us know that you can join us by emailing rhondata61@yahoo.com. See flyer attached.

Be on the lookout for dining at Jimmy Maxx. We will put the date out as soon as we confirm with Jimmy Maxx.

Rhonda Trontz-Allen, Karen Frey-Gamoran, Lissa Winchel

Co-Chairs

Contributions to Temple Israel as tributes, dedications or memorials are welcome and are published in the weekly Shabbat program.

Donations can be dedicated to the general Temple Israel Fund or to any of the following specific funds: 

• Adult Education Fund 
• The Jeffrey Ganz Building Preservation Fund 
• Caring Community Fund 
• Carole Lachman Memorial Fund
• Choir Fund 
• Confirmation Fund 
• Estelle A. Gootenberg Memorial Fund (for Torah Repair/ Restoration) 
• Gerald J. Lustig Memorial Fund (for Ark & Ark Doors) 
• Liheyot Fund 
• Membership Fund 
• Prayerbook Fund 
• Rabbi Marcus Kramer Memorial Library Fund 
• Shoah Education Fund
• Scholarship Fund 
• Rabbi Michael D. Howald Fund for Social Action and Tikkun Olam

A $5.00 minimum donation is requested for these funds. Checks for donations to any of these funds should be made payable to Temple Israel.

PRAYERBOOKS may be dedicated in honor or memory of a special person or occasion. For specific prayerbooks and donation amounts, look for the Prayerbook icons found in this bulletin

Please make checks for Donations to the RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND payable to that fund.

Donations in any amount may be made to SISTERHOOD OF TEMPLE ISRAEL or BROTHERHOOD OF TEMPLE ISRAEL with checks made payable directly to the affiliate organization.

For a leaf on the TREE OF LIFE in honor of a simcha, please scroll down. 

For permanent MEMORIAL PLAQUES on our Family Memorial Wall or Original Memorial Wall, please call the Temple office at 718-727-2231.

To see list of all recent

Tributes and Program

Donations to Funds...

JEWISH HERITAGE NIGHT

THURSDAY, MAY 30th