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November-December 2025 "Matthew Eshed"by Marcia Muskat Matthew was raised in the same building in Stuyvesant Town where his mom, Suellen, was raised. He attended the same P.S.116 and J.H.S.104 that Suellen and his Uncle Len attended. And he always took pleasure thinking himself to be part of a family dynasty. Matthew’s maternal grandparents were amongst the founding members of East End Temple. And just like his mom, Matthew attended Religious School at its E. 23rd St. location (aka the Bank Building). He studied for his Dec. 2003 bar mitzvah at its E. 24th St. location (aka the Coffee Shop). And he was one of the first to achieve that mitzvah in its current space on E. 17th St. Matthew knows…
~ For all upcoming Sisterhood events, please see the main Sisterhood page ~ November-December 2025 "Looking Forward to Thanksgiving and Chanukah"by Sisterhood Leadership Team member Ellen Ettinger As we welcome Thanksgiving and Chanukah, we focus on gratitude for our community and activities. We hope you will join us for our exciting, fun programs coming up. We also send wishes to you and your families for a joyous, happy holiday season. As always, we are busy preparing activities to keep us connected and active, and that brings us together. STARTING OUR NEW YEAR IN COMMUNITY Speaking of connections, we began the year with three Sisterhood-led programs, with a burst of attendance. After running Mah Jongg games for three years, East End Temple…
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November-December 2025 "Our Messy Magical Miracle"by Brian Lifsec There’s a moment during Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidrei), usually approaching hour two, when I wonder how we all keep doing this. Not the fasting or the praying, but the showing up. Again and again, year after year, for one another. East End Temple is far from perfect. The sound system fails, the door sticks, and every new idea arrives without quite enough people to support it. But after years of sitting through services, meetings, and one too many finance committee debates, I’ve realized that our messy is the magic. The sacred lives in the small stuff, the repairs we can afford, the hugs in the lobby, the shared eye-rolls, the way…
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November-December 2025 "Thanksgiving in Tumultuous Times" While Thanksgiving is officially a secular holiday, in some ways, it could not be more Jewish in nature. We eat, we drink, we’re surrounded by family and friends, and we practice gratitude — a deeply Jewish concept — even when it is not easy to do so. We begin each morning by reciting the prayer Modeh Ani, literally meaning “I give thanks,” followed by Nissim b’Chol Yom, “The Daily Miracles.” These blessings include gratitude to God for allowing us to awaken each day, for creating the earth and all of its beauty, for clothing the naked, and for freeing the captive — one that takes on deeper meaning now that the Israeli hostages have…
November-December 2025 "Finding Joy in Community When the World is Upside Down"by Mindy Sherry, RJE It was our first Shabbat B’Yachad of the year, a night filled with song, laughter, and the kind of energy that only comes from being together as a community. Early in the service, a 2-year-old was dancing in the aisle, twirling and clapping along with the music as her mom danced beside her. At one point, an usher handed her a kippah that matched the bow in her hair. The little girl examined it, then handed it to her mother. Without hesitation, the mom placed the kippah on her head. The little girl looked up, her face full of wonder, and said, “You’re Jewish!” In…
East End Temple has signed on to a number of “friends of the court” briefs and other letters: Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety (Supreme Court) Communal Letter to National Education Association President Becky Pringle 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…
November-December 2025 "Going All Out for Chanukah" Every December, it looks like someone spilled a Chanukah catalogue in my home. Chanukah menorahs and flashing blue lights, decals and stuffed animals, and even a toy robot which spins and sings “Dreidel Dreidel” and “Al Ha Nisim.” We're not quite at the point of having inflatable sufganiyot at our front door, but we might get there soon. Kitsch, perhaps. Hilarious, absolutely. And quintessential of American Judaism and its pride in belonging. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan first suggested expanding Chanukah and its presence in the public square to the grandeur and garishness of Christmas in America. If winter holidays made Jews feel different in painful ways, why not add to the joy that they…
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, Director of Congregational Learning Mindy Sherry and Asst. Dir. of Congregational Learning Tehilah Eisenstadt: 10/28/25 - Jewish Federations of North America blog, "How Nostra Aetate transformed Catholic-Jewish relations 60 years ago" 10/24/25 - Religion News Service, "A ceasefire on Simchat Torah restored our spirit. Now, Jews need to recover our joy." 10/7/25 - Jerusalem Post, "Commemorating October 7, celebrating Sukkot: A complicated 'time of happiness' - opinion" 10/2/25 - Stars and Stripes, "Help to honor Jewish soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice" 9/2/25 - Jerusalem Post, "Reform Judaism and Zionism: The danger of misrepresentation - opinion" 8/14/25 - National Catholic Reporter, "Pope Leo XIV has the…
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…
Shanah tovah! The Men’s club welcomes you to the High Holy Days and autumn season. We are excited for all upcoming events. For those unaware, the “Men’s” Club is not just for men -- our events are for all congregants of EET, interested parties, and friends. We are always expanding our programs to better serve EET and its congregants. The Men’s Club now recognizes those in bereavement buy planting trees in Israel and providing minyan members at shiva (upon request). We provide candlesticks, alongside kiddush cups from the Sisterhood, in EET bet mitzvah gift bags. We help EET with small “IKEA-sized” needs, such as the dishwasher in the kitchen, to help EET and its staff avoid larger professional costs. Monthly meetings are usually…
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 Sisterhood-Helene Spring 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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[The Book of Remembrance is also available as a printable PDF] MEMORIALIZED ON THE TREE OF LIFE Anna AlmanMorris AlmanCharles BaderSamuel BeckerEsther BershonPvt. Arthur A. BierCharles BirnbaumBella CukierwarMaurice CukierwarBenjamin DimitmanIda EdelmanSamuel EdelmanDorothy A. EhrenreichAnnie L. FeinJennie GordonLouis GordonShelley Anita GorenSusan Helen GorenSamuel Gruber Max HeibergerRalph M. HolzmanIda HorowitzMorris HorowitzElla KesslerBernard R. King Myron KrugmanRose KrugmanShirley Kaplan LandauSidney LandeJacob LiebermanSarah LiebermanSamuel MaitFlora MorgensternLouis MorgensternLeonard NewmarkLucille NewmarkCelia Perlow Joseph PolanskySarah PolanskyLorence L. PollenBarnett RosalskyPesha RosalskyRose RothEmma RudingerJulius RudingerIsaac SertnerNorma SertnerNettie SperberAaron SteinRose SteinIda SussmanMamie WassermanEphraim WeissteinSarah WeissteinBilly Youchah MEMORIALIZED ON THE MEMORIAL BOARD AAllan AbramsRobert AbrahamYetta AdelmanDr. Hyman AlexanderJoseph AlexanderMildred Alexander Sarah AlexanderNorman AltszulerRita AltszulerHarry AmerRose Amer Dr. Joseph S. AmsterWanda H. AschermanAdela AusterIsrael Auster B May Hartley BarclayWade Crawford Barclay Eugene…
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…