Category: Education

CHANUKAH GIFT GIVING PROGRAM

Hello! My name is Maddy Sussman, I am the Temple Emanuel’s annual Chanukah Gift Giving Program Chair 2024. For those who are new to TE, the Chanukah Basket Program is a wonderful tradition that Temple Emanuel has been doing for many years, bringing together people of all ages to give back to the community during the holiday season. We are very excited about the program as it benefits so many families and it is also fun for TE kids and adults.  To make this year’s program successful, we need your help!

TE Chanukah Gift Giving program will be held Sunday, December 15th in conjunction with the Hebrew school.

We are collecting items for children and adults that will be packaged into gift baskets, to be distributed by Jewish Family Services, ‘r Kids, Fair Haven Community Health Center, JCARR and other local agencies.

The following items have been requested:

  • Gift cards for teens: Target, Walmart, Dunkin’ Donuts, Amazon, etc.
  • Items for infants and toddlers such as diapers, rattles, pacifiers, bottles, bibs, wipes, towels/blankets, onesies, winter caps, soft books, ointments and lotions 
  • Books for kids of all ages, NEW or VERY lightly used
  • Hats, mittens, scarves, and socks for kids of all ages
  • Trucks, cars, sports items, hair ribbons, nail polish
  • Art supplies, including crayons and coloring books
  • NEW toys for all ages, especially small sized, playing cards, small puzzles, board games
  • Personal care items for teens
  • Adult socks, gloves, and personal care items
  • Small and medium size gift baskets and containers (any material)
  • Quality of items is more important than quantity. When you are choosing things please give things you would give to your own child.

Starting on Wednesday, November 6th, these items can be dropped off in the bin located in the lobby.

Please bring donations prior to the program whenever possible, but feel free to bring additional things on the morning of the program as well.

If you would like to help or have any question, please contact Olga Markus

Thank you!

Maddy

Annual Chanukah basket program

Introduction to Judaism Class begins Sept 18th

Introduction to Judaism Class will begin on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. The first two weeks are in person, most subsequent sessions will be online. This class will allow you to learn more about your Jewish heritage or prepare you or a loved one for the process of conversion. This is a combined course offered under the auspices of the New Haven Board of Rabbis and Cantors, with a number of synagogues co-sponsoring. This 20+ week class explores the basics of Judaism, including history, prayer, sacred texts, and holiday celebrations.

Each student will need a rabbinic sponsor. 

The cost of the class is $72 for members of an area Jewish congregation, or $180 for non-members.

Advanced registration required

TE Teens Reflect on Their Experiences at L’Taken Seminar

Earlier this year, seven TE teens were able to attend the L’taken seminar of the Religious Action Center in Washington, DC with Rabbi Farbman. We are grateful to TE’s Rabbi Brieger Youth Fund, Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven, and Barbara Rosenthal Memorial Fund for making this trip possible for our teens. Below are some of their reflections on their experience.

Sarah: This February, I was privileged to take part in a very transformative and life-changing four-day seminar called L’taken, meaning “to repair.” The annual program is run by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. It is held in Washington DC, where hundreds of Jewish teens come together from across the country to learn about the many prevalent issues negatively affecting our society and to lobby on Capitol Hill urging congressmen/women to support and pass important/essential bills. We also included an insight into how Reform Jewish beliefs relate to the importance of passing the bills. The topics included reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, gun control and safety, mental health, antisemitism. My group specifically focused on encouraging officials to pass a bill allowing better mental health resources for students throughout the country.

In addition to lobbying and learning about our country’s prominent issues, we were able to visit many museums and monuments throughout DC. We visited the Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol, the MLK Memorial, and the Air and Space Museum. The most powerful experience for me was visiting the Holocaust Museum. Thanks to the Barbara Rosenthal Fund, I was able to visit the museum for a second time. Walking through it again still gave me chills. Seeing the individual names and pictures of victims throughout the halls always makes it very hard for me to understand how such a terrible massacre could have existed. The museum itself has great importance in our society today. Its purpose is not only to memorialize the millions of victims heartlessly murdered during the Holocaust but to also educate people on its terrible existence and how it can be prevented in the future. The world must learn, reflect, and never let it happen again.

Maya: The L’Taken seminar was an amazing experience that I am so grateful to have participated in. I am usually not very interested in topics of policy and government, but this program was engaging, fun, and showed me that standing up for issues that I am passionate about is so important. Writing a speech about mental health policy in the United States and its intersection with Judaism to later present to our district representatives gave me the chance to shed light on an important issue that I care about. It also allowed me to figure out how I am personally connected to a much larger and widespread issue throughout the nation, as well as learn about my friends’ perspectives in order to collaborate on the speech. Not only did this program teach me so much about policy in the US, it also was so amazing to see and connect with so many other Jewish teens from around the country. During Shabbat services, it was interesting to hear so many familiar melodies that we sing at TE, as well as variations of them that other people in the room were more familiar with. This, as well as meeting new friends during group activities and meals were great ways to connect with other people throughout the program.

Lucy: L’taken was an amazing weekend and such a worthwhile experience. I got so much closer with all of my peers at TE and we all learned so much. I’m so grateful that I was able to participate. During the program, I learned so much. One night we did a lobbying simulation where we got to be in smaller workshops based on what we were most interested in and got a chance to lobby our senators and representatives. For my speech, I chose to write about criminal justice reform with an old friend from Congregation Mishkan Israel, the congregation that we went to the event with and did most of our programs together. I gained so much useful knowledge about public speaking, working quickly and under pressure. After our trip, I decided to join the Religious Action Center’s teen social justice fellowship and I am excited to continue to work with them. 

Katie: I had a fantastic time at L’taken. I really enjoyed working with my peers on this incredible experience. We had the privilege of hearing from many different influential speakers, including Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker who survived being held hostage in the Colleyville synagogue. His bravery gave significant meaning to why we were all there, which was to start and create change. Our goal of learning to influence and make change was challenging at times, but the L’taken staff helped us advocate for our important causes and made it fun and interesting. Additionally, I made a lot of new friends and improved my connections with my peers. I am extremely thankful to everyone who made this trip possible, I gained lots of new leadership skills that I will use going forward. 

Adult B’nei Mitzvah Class at Temple Emanuel starting January 15, 2023

Earlier this year we celebrated 100th anniversary of the first American Bat Mitzvah, and many of TE members shared their personal stories of celebrating Bat Mitzvah as an adult. Some of our members grew up in Jewish homes but did not have a traditional Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony. Some have joined the Jewish people as adults. Over the years, some have expressed the desire to celebrate this milestone as an adult. This is your chance! Rabbi Farbman will be teaching this Adult B’nei Mitzvah class beginning in January – please sign up to join this class!

Sundays | Jan 15, 22, 29; Feb 5, 12; Mar 12, 19, 26; Apr 23, 30.
11 am – 12 noon.

To sign up, please follow this link!

Hebrew for Adults: starting from the beginning

This 10+ session course is offered to those looking to learn how to read Hebrew and feel more comfortable in the synagogue services.

Sundays | October 23 & 30, November 6, 13 & 20, December 4, 11 & 18, January 15, 22 & 29, February 5 & 12.
10 am – 11 am (after the Asephah).

PLEASE REGISTER BY OCTOBER 21. PLEASE CONTACT OLGA MARKUS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

Temple Emanuel School Expansion

Our TE religious school is growing! Come any Sunday morning to the Asefah where students and parents gather, sing and study together. The kids are excited to be there, the parents are engaged, and Jewish learning is a truly joyous experience.

Though our new school building is only 5 years old, we need additional classrooms to accommodate our growing enrollment. This year, all 4 classrooms and the library were occupied, and every nook and cranny of the building is being used as additional classroom space.

Dave Pokras, an architect and a member of TE, designed a plan to add 2 classrooms behind the long wall of the social hall, accessed by a door near the kitchen end of the swing space. Construction has just begun and our hope is to have it completed before the next school year begins.

Fundraising is off to a great start – we need to raise $250,000, and 75% of the total has already been pledged by several very generous members! This leaves a balance of about $60,000 to get to our goal.

Our school is our synagogue’s vanguard. The wonderful children who come to school each week are our future, and the future of the Jewish people. This project is not only a school project – it is our commitment to the future of Temple Emanuel, and the future of our people.

We hope you will be generous, and feel the excitement that Rabbi Farbman, our Religious School director Olga Markus, our teachers and leadership bring to this effort. Our TE school is now well known throughout the community – and we are assuring its continued growth and success.
Thank You!!!

I would like to support the TE campaign for expanding our school!

A brief video from ground breaking ceremony on May 3rd

Temple Emanuel Annual Scholar in Residence March 8-10, 2019

RABBI URI REGEV, President of ‘HIDDUSH – For Religious Freedom and Equality in Israel’.

Friday, March 8  

•5:30pm Tot Shabbat Welcome Shabbat with joy and songs (for under 5s & their families)

•6:00 pm Shabbat dinner – Please RSVP for dinner/lunch online

•7:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service. Rabbi Regev will speak on “The Challenge of Pluralism in Israel: Can Israel be Truly Jewish and Democratic?”

Saturday, March 9

•10:00 am Parashat Pekudei – Torah Study with Rabbi Regev.

•11:30 am    Dairy lunch.  RSVP for dinner/lunch

•12:30 – 2:00 pm “Kotel, Conversion, and Rabbinic Blacklists: What Are the Effects of the Latest Conflicts on Israel-Diaspora Relations?”

Sunday, March 10

•10:15 – 11:45 am  “Israel heading to the polls April 9: How will the elections impact Religious Freedom and Israel-US relations“

About our Speaker: Rabbi Regev serves as the President and CEO of the educational and advocacy Israel-Diaspora partnership, “Freedom of Religion for Israel” and of its Israeli counterpart, “Hiddush— For Freedom of Religion and Equality ”. A past President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, Rabbi Regev served as founding chair, and later as executive director and legal counsel, of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the advocacy group established by the Reform movement in Israel.

This weekend is generously supported by an Anonymous TE Leave a Legacy Donor.

A year of the Mensch

By Olga Markus

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin

 

As a teacher and a member of Temple Emanuel Religious School faculty, I love this quote for it expresses a deep truth: the best education happens when we make it a part of who we are. This year, as we are getting ready to open our doors to our new and returning students and their families, we strive to create meaningful ways to embrace new experiences, to gain valuable lessons, and to acquire new skills and perspectives along the way.

At the end of last year, our faculty decided that in the true spirit of the TE community, ‘Be A Mensch’ would become an overall theme for our 2018-19 school year. “Mensch“ is a Yiddish word meaning “a person of integrity and honor”. Being a “mensch” is not at all related to success, wealth or social status. A mensch is many things and one simple thing.  A mensch does what is right – because it is right – towards family, community, towards strangers, at home and in public.  When people behave with honesty, integrity, consideration and respect, they themselves prosper, as does society at large. By spreading mensch-like behavior we can make our society happier, healthier and more successful. In the framework of our school this year we are planning to have school-wide and grade-specific programs that will encourage all of us to be respectful of ourselves and each other, of our beautiful building that we all share, and of those who put in numerous hours and much effort to keep it clean, safe and welcoming for all of us. We will continue to engage with our Jewish traditions and wisdom, and to learn from them how to be more aware and respectful of each other’s needs and personal spaces. We hope to become mensches who have courage to do the right thing, to stand up for what’s right, and to admit when we are wrong.  We want our students to care about their community, about Am Israel, and about the world.

There are, of course, different recipes for making mensches, but I know together we can come up with a good one!

Ben Zoma (a 2nd century CE Jewish teacher) said: “Who is wise? He who learns from every person.” (Pirkei Avot 4:1). Education comes in all shapes and from all sources. Everyone has something to teach. A key to growth is being open to learning from all different types of people. Our students are blessed to have so many role models among TE members. We call them different names – elves, angels, volunteers – but it all comes down to being true mensches in the deepest meaning of this word.

There is so much to look forward to in the new school year at Temple Emanuel! Our last year’s junior teachers became full members of the faculty, and we are so proud of the four high school seniors serving as true role models. We can’t wait to see all of our students and madrichim, and to welcome new families. Our school year begins on Sunday, September 23rd with a sukkah build at 9:30 am, followed by a community potluck lunch in the sukkah. We will also be celebrating Simchat Torah and welcoming new students to our Hebrew school on September 30th at 6:00 pm – hope to see you all there!

We look forward to new experiences that will involve our students and their families in true learning through doing, being, engaging.

iEngage at Temple Emanuel: Jewish Values and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A Shalom Hartman Institute Lecture and Study Series led by Rabbi Michael Farbman

Through video lectures, text study, and lively group discussion, we are pleased to bring the world-renowned faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute into the Temple Emanuel community this fall.

The Video Lecture Series Jewish Values and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict explores one of the most divisive issues affecting the Jewish people today. Through the study of Jewish narratives about Israel and the unpacking of the complex meanings of peace in Jewish tradition, participants are invited to explore the ideas and values that animate different attitudes toward the conflict and how these values shape their own political understandings. Though a common political platform may not be attainable, this course strives to achieve a shared respect for our differences.

Each session includes text study and discussion led by Rabbi Michael Farbman, and video lectures and roundtable discussions with leading Hartman scholars.

Sundays | 10:15 – 11:45 am

Nov 11 & 18, Dec 2 & 9, Jan 6, Feb 3, 10 & 24, Mar 3 & 31, April 28, May 5 

 $36.00 per person. Registration is required. To register for class, please follow this link.

It is Temple Emanuel policy not to prevent any of our members from participating for financial reasons. Please speak to Rabbi Farbman confidentially.

 

Olga Markus, Religious School Director

Olga Markus was born and raised in the former Soviet Union and played an active role in resurgence of Jewish life and practice there in the early 1990s. Olga holds a Master’s Degree in Russian Language and Literature and an MA in Religious Education from University of London. Olga has over 20 years of experience as a Jewish educator and non-profit professional, with diverse international involvement in Jewish education, project and grant management, and vision-driven program design. In her professional career Olga worked as Senior Educator at West London Synagogue in London, UK; Regional Director of Education for the World Union of Reform Judaism in Russia; Educator in Residence at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington DC, and Assistant Executive Director at the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations in New York City. She is passionate about Jewish learning, values, practice, Israel, and community life. Olga is proud to be  a member of Temple Emanuel community and is excited to work with dedicated TE lay leaders and professional team to help TE Religious School go from strength to strength.