September-October 2024 Faye White-Willinger… Doing What Comes Naturally by Marcia Muskat Faye was raised a non-practicing Catholic in Milwaukee. During Faye’s freshman year at U Penn (Nursing ’88-BSN), she found herself close with lots of Jewish friends and their holiday traditions. In 2003, Faye married Jewish. And much to her mother-in-law’s delight, felt the need to raise her children Jewish. Union Temple of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (now part of Congregation Beth Elohim/CBE) became pivotal. Faye was so active in the Religious School that she eventually co-chaired and directed (hiring Mindy Sherry). Adding to the momentum, Faye “audited” RS classes, studied Torah and sang Hebrew prayers alongside her son, Robert. And when Faye needed people most – during her separation from…
~ For all upcoming Sisterhood events, please see the main Sisterhood page ~ September-October 2024 L’Shanah Tovah – Connections, Collaborations, Leadership, and Giving by Sisterhood Leadership Team member and Programming Lead Suellen Eshed What a summer it’s been! In June, the Sisterhood of East End Temple leadership was represented at the Women of Reform Judaism Fried Leadership Conference in New Orleans. It was inspirational to sing, pray and learn with hundreds of women dedicated to Sisterhood, Spirituality and Social Justice. In July, our Sisterhood held a dinner to celebrate our accomplishments. The leadership team then began working on strategic planning, while reviewing our new leadership model. We chose two recipients of our Birthday Fund, where donations made in honor of a birthday…
East End Temple Men's Club Sisterhood of East End Temple Sisterhood Programs Sisterhood Columns
September-October 2024 Extending Our Reach: Living Our Values Through Actionby Co-President Brian Lifsec At East End Temple, our community is strongly committed to social justice and helping those in need, guided by our faith’s teachings of compassion and integrity. As we approach significant moments in our religious calendar, I want to highlight how our collaboration with other organizations and houses of worship to support New York’s newest immigrants reflects these core values. This letter follows my earlier communication where I emphasized "broadening outreach" as a key focus for our temple. We are excited to share that our temple has been awarded the Pathways Trailblazer Award from HIAS, the world’s oldest and only Jewish refugee organization, for our outstanding work in…
Read the latest columns from our clergy! From the Rabbi's Study Cantor's Notes
September-October 2024 Read Cantor Olivia's recent opinion piece from the Jerusalem Post: "Washington Post misleads readers with anti-Israel biased headline"
September-October 2024“The Torah of Travel: Reflections from spiritual journeys by our educators and clergy” Part II: Chesed (Kindness) Always Wins – What I Learned This Summer in The BubbleBy Director of Congregational Learning Mindy Sherry, RJE We live in a competitive world, and we compete for almost everything -- jobs, sports, grades, getting into college. This summer, I spent some time at URJ’s Crane Lake Camp, or as we like to call it, The Bubble. Crane Lake was an independently owned sports camp until it was purchased by the UAHC (now the URJ). When Crane Lake transitioned to a URJ camp, they kept many of the traditions, including competition. To this day, campers continue to compete in tournaments with…
East End Temple has signed on to a number of “friends of the court” briefs supporting the right for inmates to sue for damages based on religious discrimination: Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety DACA State of Texas, et al. v. United States of America, et al. DACA Vidal v. Duke *DACA Amicus 2nd Circuit DACA Amicus 9th Circuit El Paso County Texas et al v Trump et al 2019.05.01 Border Wall Amicus ND-Cal 2019.08.22 Border Wall Amicus 9th Circuit DACA Amicus SCOTUS 20-828 FBI v Fagaza Amici Curiae Brief in Support of Respondents 19-71 FNU v Tanvir Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents Fuqua v Raak (CA9) Amicus Brief Loving v Morton (CA2) Amicus…
by Rabbi Josh Stanton September-October 2024"The Torah of Travel: Reflections from spiritual journeys by our educators and clergy" Part I: Interfaith Mission to Poland I had never seen a Christian cry for Jews at a gas chamber. But in front of the still-operable gas chambers at the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland, I saw several burst into tears at the fate that had befallen our people and others who were enslaved there. It was part of an interfaith mission to Poland with 24 Evangelical Christian leaders and 6 Jewish professionals this July. It was convened by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago in collaboration with Wheaton College, perhaps the premier Christian college or university in the United States. A unique aspect…
Torah portions (text only): https://www.sefaria.org/topics/category/torah-portions List of bet mitzvah prayers with Mishkan T'filah (Shabbat) page numbers For blessings/prayers, click the audio player under each title to hear the blessing/prayer sung/chanted Torah blessings: Blessing before Torah reading Blessing after Torah reading Haftarah blessings: Blessing before Haftarah reading Blessing after Haftarah reading Prayers: Adonai S'fatai (Trad.) Aleinu (1st paragraph) Aleinu-V'ne'emar (conclusion) Avot V'Imahot Barchu (Siegel) Chatsi Kaddish (Evening) Ein Kamocha-Av Harachamim Friday Night Kiddush G'vurot (with winter and summer insertions) Hallelu (Sufi) Kedusha (Shur) Ki Lekach Tov-Eitz Chayim (Trad.) Ki Mitzion/Baruch Shenatan L'dor Vador (Zim) Lecha Adonai Nisim b'Chol Yom (Morning Blessings) Shema (Pik) Shema (Trad.) Shema-Echad-Gadlu Tallit Blessing V'ahavta (first paragraph) V'ahavta (l'maan tizkeru) V'Shamru (Rothblum) Yehallelu-Hodo Al Eretz
Being a member of Sisterhood helps to create a community and a sense of belonging, connecting and growth, for the benefit of us all. By listening to you and your interests and passions, we create meaningful programs and initiatives which connect us to each other and the greater community. Your annual dues contribution is used to fund our programs, support our religious school, sponsor social justice initiatives, and so much more. If you are a member of East End Temple, your annual contribution to Sisterhood was included on your bill. Thank you for checking the box! Otherwise, we welcome your contribution or your gift of membership for a friend or family (starting at $36) through our online form. Checks are also…
Recent articles on pertinent topics by (or featuring) Rabbi Josh Stanton, Cantor Olivia Brodsky, and Director of Congregational Learning Mindy Sherry: 9/19/24 - City and State New York, "Opinion: An argument for what political party Jewish voters should stick with" 9/9/24 - Haaretz, "Opinion: In America and Israel, Hamas Has Successfully Turned Jews Against Each Other" 8/21/24 - The Jerusalem Post, "Forging bonds of faith: A Rabbi's journey with evangelical Christians in Poland - opinion" 8/5/24 - The Jerusalem Post, "Washington Post misleads readers with anti-Israel biased headline - opinion" 7/30/24 - eJewish Philanthropy, "The American Jewish community needs a new interfaith strategy" 5/24/24 - Religion New Service, "Bearing witness to the horrors of this war means remembering the pain…
from The Ukrainian Institute of America:What can I do? Stay informed with credible sources of news like The Atlantic Council UkraineAlert. Contact your state and local representatives and let them know you support the strongest measures possible to constrain Ukraine's aggressors. Find your congressional representatives with this link. How can I help? The Afya Foundation (our partner organization for whom we have collected medical supplies for many years) has an Amazon wish list of urgently needed items. The items will be sent directly to Afya, and they are packing pallets of supplies to send to Ukraine. The World Union for Progressive Judaism has launched the Ukraine Crisis Fund to support the Ukrainian Jewish community. To learn more and/or to make a donation: https://wupj.org/give/ukraine/ HIAS…
September-October 2024by Jeffrey Hahn, Men's Club President During the last two years the Men’s Club has revived itself with many social events, tours, Israel Day Parade marches, food competitions, and parties for all EET members and guests. These picnics, walking tours, game nights, contests, etc… are back again this year! We look forward to the Fall alongside the Sisterhood for the Annual Welcome Back Family Event on Sunday, September 15 (see our Calendar for more details). At the end of September, Game Night returns, featuring Boggle, Neanderthal Poetry, and other fun games with pizza and drinks. We also have future walking tours, movies, and brunches planned in the fall. And as the High Holy Days get underway, the Men’s Club will construct…
We have ordered a variety of recently published books that are on display in our Helene Spring Library. The titles and prices of the books that are available to be sponsored are listed below, and we hope members will continue their tradition of donating book/s of their choice. All books will have member’s name and in honor of/memory of inscribed on the bookplate. For online payment, click here (make a donation to the Sisterhood Library Fund and add a note with the title of the book you would like to sponsor). If paying by check, click here for a printable form and complete the coupon at the bottom. Thank you for your generosity. [Books that are crossed out have already…
For bet mitzvah students if you're not at home, or to listen to recordings of different prayers: https://eastendtemple.org/torah-and-prayer-resources/ A word about "bet mitzvah": Last spring, following careful study, the Central Conference of American Rabbis issued a recommendation that Reform communities use the term “Bet Mitzvah.” Bet is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and does not have a gendered connotation. It stands for Bar, Bat, or B'Mitzvah at the same time and provides our children and their families with the flexibility not to share more of their gender identities than they would like to at their Jewish coming-of-age ceremonies. Bet also references the Hebrew word for “home,” so that the term Bet Mitzvah references the “Home of Mitzvah.” Bet mitzvah at…
The Boomers of East End Temple (BEET) is a chavurah (group) formed to build connections among the baby boomer (officially defined as born between 1946 and 1964) community. We look to schedule programs that may interest the generation who grew up through massive social changes which strongly influenced who we are today. During these programs, most of which are open to the general baby boomer community, we enjoy sharing special memories unique to our generation as well as educating and supporting each other as we continue on our current life's journeys. One of our most popular events is our intimate (members-only) Friday, Shabbat potluck dinners where we share our thoughts on a boomer-related topic, ensuring that everyone gets to know…
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Thursday, April 17 at 6:00pm (in person and Zoom)Open to Sisterhood members using she/her pronouns, plus one guest (ages 13 and older)Click here to register, indicating whether you will join in person or on Zoom. Indicate name(s) of participants.Led by Cantor Brodsky, everyone participates in reading from a Haggadah written especially for us, focused on the women in the Passover story, praying in feminized Hebrew. We sing songs and dance with tambourines, honor women of valor, use a Miriam's Cup for water and place a symbolic orange on the seder plate. If attending in person, space is limited so please reserve as soon as possible and indicate your contributions to the potluck dinner or seder items. If you are not…
Dear Fellow Congregants: It is thanks to the foresight and generosity of those who came before us that EET has entered its eighth decade with strength and vibrancy. We are grateful to them for establishing a spiritual home that cultivates relevant Jewish life through connected community. Now it is our turn to make certain our tradition continues for generations and that EET continues to be a beacon for downtown Jewish life. The EET Legacy Circle will bring together members like you and us, who are eager to help ensure our Jewish community’s future for generations to come by naming East End Temple as a beneficiary in their estate plans. Planned gifts of all sizes can play a significant role in…