Author: Rabbi Michael Farbman

Preparatory work has begun!

imageWelcome to the Temple Emanuel OneCampus Blog! We will give timely updates on progress toward creating our new building addition, renovating our current sanctuary building, and creating our new TE home.
As you may know, last week a pipe burst in the attic above the building entryway. Drywall, ceilings, electric and water will need to be rebuilt. Progress in the first few days: our contractor has completed initial clean up of the hallway, closets and bathrooms. We are down to studs (see picture). Temporary walls and ceilings and electric will be completed this week to allow us to use the building. More permanent changes will be coordinated with the new construction.

Construction plans for the new addition are complete. The construction contract is signed and work is progressing. A large maple tree on the site of new construction has been removed, with select portions saved for future furniture and keepsake slices. Temple Emanuel is nostalgic – – and we want to keep contact with our past!
Next the septic and grease trap will be relocated/replaced. Pat Panza of Panza Enterprises is coordinating the new work with the restoration made necessary by the damage due to water/freeze. Foundation work to IMG_4027follow.

Financial Picture
OneCampus is projected to cost between $525,000 and $550,000. Our plan is to raise sufficient funds to pay for this, without needing to take a mortgage. Our efforts have been encouraging.
To date, synagogue members have contributed $257,400. In addition,  members have pledged another $178,000. Thus if all pledges come in, we have secured $435,400 to date from our community. In addition, the New Haven Jewish Foundation has pledged a matching grant of $75,000, bringing that total to $510,400!!
Thus, if all pledges are honored, we need to raise an additional $14,600 – $39,600. To come across our finish line, we are hoping that every synagogue family will participate, and contribute what you can. So many of our community have been so generous – really a wonderful showing, so we do hope everybody will catch the excitement.
One other important effort: Rise Siegel and Rita Brieger are leading a drive to support the new Rabbi’s Study construction, to honor our former loved and respected Rabbi, Jerry Brieger. We are trying to find and contact more than 500 former students of Rabbi Brieger – – to make a contribution to the Rabbi Gerald Brieger Study. An anonymous donor has offered a matching grant of $3,600 toward this effort. Please help us – – if you have contact information for your children, grandchildren, friends who studied with Rabbi Brieger – – both children and adults – -please pass this contact information to Rise or Rita. We plan a special ceremony to open the study, and a plaque acknowledging all who contribute.
So please: if you have not made a pledge for OneCampus, please send a check or pledge to the Temple Emanuel office. Please send contact information for Rabbi Brieger’s former students (adults and children) to Rise or Rita. And Catch the Excitement – – OneCampus takes us to our future!

digging for septic

drying the rooms

CANCELLED: Purim is coming – and so it the legendary TE adult Purim party! See you March 7th!

 Due to the recent flood damage in our building we regret to have to cancel this year’s party. Please come to the TE megillah reading on Wednesday, March 4 at 4:30 pm, and don’t forget to wear your costume for our family service on Friday!

     Temple Emanuel’s MargaritaSpiel! An adults-only Purim party – a laid-back Purim tribute to the music of Jimmy Buffett.
Wear your Hawaiian shirts (and costumes). Register today!

 

TEMPLE EMANUEL HOSTS BLOOD DRIVE THURSDAY MARCH 12 • 1 – 6PM


blood driveTemple Emanuel will host a Red Cross Blood Drive on Thursday, March 12th from 1-6pm.
Donors are needed!
“Be one of the millions who help save lives!”
Please save the date and contact Adam Spiewak to be placed on the contact list to schedule a slot.
Volunteers are needed:
1. To make calls to encourage/solicit donor signups and then to remind the donors of their appointments.
2. To develop an interest sheet of names of people who would likely be donors.
3. For two hour shifts on the day of the drive: setup and breakdown (extending the hours to 11:30am -7:30pm on THURSDAY, March 12th).
4. To bake goods or other food / refreshments for the canteen
THERE ARE MANY EASY WAYS TO BE INVOLVED!
Contact Nancy Weber or Adam Spiewak, or e-mail TikkunOlam@TempleEmanuel-gnh.org for more information or to volunteer.

Walking in someone else’s shoes…

DSC_8607Last week together with a team of TE volunteers I participated in a poverty simulation organized by United Way and Jewish Federation as part of the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Lifeline campaign. I was assigned a role of a nine-year old boy, Roland, who lives with his father (who has a full time job and a paid off car), his 20-year old sister (who is in college and works part time) and her one-year old baby. We were given the details of the family income and expenses, as well as food stamps info and a little background. Having quickly added up the money, it was obvious that we were a little short but things looked pretty stable! And then the simulation began. Four weeks were squeezed into four 15 minute periods, and things began to unravel rather quickly. DSC_8453As our ‘family’ of three (plus a baby) – in reality, three grownups (plus a cute doll) trying to analyze the situation and act accordingly – desperately tried to keep afloat, we failed miserably. It wasn’t just money – it was life itself! I was ‘taken’ to a juvenile detention center, my ‘nephew’ was taken by CPS and we were almost evicted from our home. Oh, and we never managed to get any food.

I watched people of all ages in that room, picking up the pace as they went along, overwhelmed and bewildered as the evening progressed. And while I know that some of what happened to my ‘family’ that night was done to demonstrate the point, it was also shockingly clear that it was not so far-fetched at all! As we left that night, all of us knew that we had to renew our efforts – as individuals, as religious communities and as a society at large. The next simulation is scheduled on Feb. 22 at Mishkan Israel – I highly recommend you find time to participate, even if you feel you know all about the struggles and the challenges.

The third week of February this year is Temple Emanuel’s week at Abraham’s Tent, the remarkable program of collaboration between the faith communities all around New Haven and Columbus House, providing shelter, food and human interaction for 12 homeless men throughout the winter months. We cook, and we share the meal with the men. We listen to their stories, and we share ours. Every year I am humbled and inspired to do more. This year we are looking for additional volunteers (male) to spend the night as chaperones – so if you can stay up for one night, please get in touch with Ronda Stiekman. Remember, no matter what you do to make this world a little better, you will ALWAYS receive a lot more than you are able to give.

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Strength—Gevurah

IMG_9867-001“Hazak Hazak V’nit Hazek”

“Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened”

This is the phrase we say when we reach the end of each book in the Torah. It is also this month’s Mussar trait. What is strength? Some definitions include: endurance, resistance, capacity for exertion, power, force, might, vigor, potency, energy or fire power.

At this moment, the strength that concerns me is not the power to move mountains, but the strength one needs to overcome our greatest challenges. In Mussar thought, this would be an inward look at the self. But what does this mean for a congregation?  I believe this is the strength to overcome obstacles, to develop an awareness of what needs to be done and then to change things as a result of that understanding. We are in the midst of great change at TE. Adding new families and a new addition to the sanctuary building is a huge and exciting amount of change to take in. It means there will be times when everything doesn’t go as smoothly as it should or that things have to be adapted to the situation at hand. It means keeping track of all the details. It means that not everyone will agree on the details of where we go next.    I am confident that we have the strength to get through these changes if we do it as a community – together.

A form of the word gevurah – gibor – means “hero” in Hebrew. This next year at Temple Emanuel is going to challenge us all to be heroes who turn our obstacles into strengths. I will be looking for TE’s heroes to help me meet these challenges.

With apologies to Dwight D. Eisenhower:  “The spirit of man is more important than mere physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a congregation more than its wealth.”

Family Shabbat Dinner at TE – Friday, February 13 at 6 pm.

SHABBAT reception BEGINS AT 6:00PM, dinner will be served at 6:30 pm followed by Shabbat Service at 8. (Please note that there will be a Tot Shabbat Service for our youngest members and their families at 5:30, allowing all generations of TE families to have Shabbat dinner together!)

Please fill out the form below by February 9th.
No family will pay more than $45 to attend. Children 5 and under are free.

A Taste of Honey – an evening of inspired learning and teaching- Saturday, January 31 – 7:00 pm at the JCC, featuring TE band and choirs!

Taste_of_Honey_Header_resize1524__1_1Community learning at its sweetest.

Join us for the 19th annual A Taste of Honey, a community-wide celebration of Jewish learning that includes fascinating sessions, havdallah, keynote speaker

Debbie Friedman

 New York Times film critic A.O. Scott, plus the Debbie Friedman Memorial Tribute Concert with the TE band and inter-generational choir. Cost $18; Students/Seniors $12.
Online registration and entire schedule coming soon at http://www.jccnh.org/taste-of-honey

RESCHEDULED – NEW DATE! Adult Education Part II Prayer: Discussion and reaction to changes in the new Reform prayer book.

IMG_1575Adult Education Part II
Prayer: Discussion and reaction to changes in the new Reform prayer book.  Come and join the learning and conversations facilitated by Rabbi Steven Steinberg.  The second in the adult ed series will be held at the home of  Jim and Jean Silk on Saturday, February 28 from 3:00-4:30 pm.  Everyone is welcome; no need to have attended Part I.

mishkanWe will look at Mishkan Tefilah and consider it in the light of previous Reform prayer books. Why is it so heavy–what conclusions can we draw from its new physical manifestation? What prayers do or do not resonate for you in the prayer book? Is it a meditation text? Should one follow the text or wander into the alternative readings? At several places at the bottom of a page it gives the reader a choice of what to read or how to move one’s body and comments, “For those who choose.” How does its “pietism” compare to the current Reform Platform? How does the prayer book define Shabbat in contrast to the traditional understanding of Shabbat? What does it suggest about Reform worship and how we might pray as Reform Jews?

POSTPONED: TE's First Annual Coffee House – February 21, 7:30-10 pm

Chase Away the Winter Blues At a Temple Emanuel Coffee House

Come listen to our own local musicians, support our own artists. An adult evening with friends, food, entertainment & art!

Saturday, February 21, 2015, 7:30 – 10 PM

Coffee and Desserts (BYOB)