~ For all upcoming Sisterhood events, please see the main Sisterhood page ~

May-June 2025

“Our Year in Review”
by Sisterhood Leadership Team member Judith Lorber

This was a busy year for the Sisterhood of East End Temple, with programs ranging from social to spiritual, all with a focus of building multiple communities within East End Temple. Some programs were women-focused, while others aimed to meet the interests of the EET community at large. All programs are inspired and created by a collaborative community of women.

Reviewing Our Special Programs This Year – In March and April

• Birthday Fund Grant Recipients – Sisterhood transforms donations by East End Temple members in honor of their birthdays and the birthdays of loved ones, into annual grants of $500-$2,500, supporting non-profit organizations that improve the lives of women and girls in New York City. In 2024, we provided grants to each of Girl Scouts of Greater NY Troop 6000 and City Living NY. In March, leaders of these two organizations educated us on the ways they help youth aging out of the foster care system or families living in temporary housing.

• The Annual Helene Spring Library Event – Our featured speaker for our 21st Helene Spring Library Event was Elizabeth Graver, discussing her award-winning novel Kantika, followed by book sale, signing and dessert buffet.

• Sisterhood Shabbat – During our annual shabbat, we honored the ways in which we create community, with women leading prayers and songs from the bimah, followed by a delicious dinner.

• Docent-Led Tour of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – As a collaboration between Sisterhood and Men’s Club, about 30 participants were led through the moving exhibit, “The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do.” 

• Potluck Lilith Seder – At our annual tradition of a seder by women and for women, we danced, prayed, sang and dined, led by guest Cantor Xan (Alexandra) Weiser.

• Nechama: Post-Abortion Care Packing – Over 30 people gathered to pack backpacks with comfort supplies, such as sanitary napkins, snacks, socks, and water, to be delivered to people who volunteer to ensure that women are not alone before and after their procedures.

Some Other Memories of the Past Year

• Welcome Back Vision Boarding – An intergenerational workshop

• Mah Jongg Games and Tournament Style Play – People come from around the city to join our twice monthly Mah Jongg games, plus one tournament-style fundraising game a year.

• Food For Families – Another banner year with volunteers making over 10,000 meals to feed hungry New Yorkers!

• Women’s Rosh Chodesh Study and Discussion – Over the course of four months and lay-led, we studied about our final two matriarchs, Leah and Rachel.

And more…

• Getting To Know Our Community, interviews of fascinating EET women
• Stitch-A-Thons, knitting and crocheting for the Cold Weather Project
• Shake Your Soul: The Yoga of Dance
• Claim Your Hebrew Name and blessings

And Coming Up….

• “May The Fourth Be With You” Picnic – Sunday, May 4 at 12:00pm, hosted by Sisterhood and Men’s Club. Sign up here.

There’s so much to do and have fun with Sisterhood! Check our web page regularly for dates of all events, updates and links. Please let us know if there is any way we can support you. Email us at sisterhood@eastendtemple.org. We keep busy to keep you connected!

Food For Families
by Celia Vimont

We had another incredible season making meals for hungry New Yorkers this year. Thank you so much to our hard-working volunteers, who made more than 10,000 meals this season. We’ll see you again next season, which starts October 5. The Food For Families committee welcomes our new members, Melanie Kletter and Julie Lansky. I will be returning to regular sandwich-making duty after many years on the committee. See you in the fall!

Library Buzz
by Barbara Ringel

Our 21st annual Helene Spring Library Event was as delightful and successful as it promised to be. Our sanctuary was filled with enthusiastic guests, coupled with many Livestream viewers who joined us. We were treated to a wonderful talk by noted author Elizabeth Graver, who spoke about her novel, Kantika, a 2024 National Jewish Book Award winner. It is a multigenerational saga that follows a once-elitist wealthy Sephardic Jewish family in Istanbul, whose devastating losses force them to flee to Barcelona, Cuba, and finally to Queens, New York, where there is reinvention, healing, love, and always family as home. The audience was captivated by the story, loosely based on Elizabeth’s grandmother’s experience, as evidenced by the abundant number of questions posed to Elizabeth at the conclusion of her talk. She enthusiastically responded to them all and generously spoke further with many guests who purchased copies of the book at our reception. As always, guests were treated to our sumptuous dessert buffet, with all items made by our Sisterhood members. Elizabeth gave our desserts a rave review.

As summer approaches with vacations and more time for reading and relaxation, please make a stop in our library to browse, check new additions and classics, and borrow books for a three-week period. Self-checkout is a simple process: sign the card at the back of the book and include the due date, place it in the checkout box on the shelf, and you are good to go. Returns should be placed in the return basket on the shelf. Have a wonderful summer made richer with books.

Judaica Shop
by Fran Kolin

At the East End Temple Sisterhood Judaica Shop, we try to feature lovely articles of Judaica at reasonable prices. We sold many items this year, and I hope you were all pleased with your purchases. At this time of year, we look toward our “down time” in the summer months. If you knit or crochet, our long-running Cold Weather Project collects your handmade hats and scarves for distribution in the colder months. We provide the yarn for free and ask that you bring it back made into hats and scarves for adults. We even have a small selection of knitting needles and crochet hooks to make it easier for you to participate in this mitzvah. We look forward to your donations for this effort all throughout the year, so there is no deadline. Have a wonderful summer and see you in September.

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March-April 2025

“Sisterhood Welcomes Spring”
by Sisterhood Leadership Team member Ellen Ettinger

The Sisterhood of East End Temple is delighted to welcome in the Spring, with a variety of programs.  Check out the EET website calendar or Sisterhood page for more details.

HOW DO WE BUILD COMMUNITY?
All of our regularly scheduled events are growing communities. You can play in our Mah Jongg games, dance at the Shake Your Soul yoga dance sessions, study our matriarchs at Women’s Rosh Chodesh programs, prepare meals for hungry New Yorkers at Food for Families, or create hats and scarves at Sunday Stitch-a-Thons.  And you can meet members of our community at our Getting To Know Our Community lunchtime Zoom sessions. Our upcoming programs feature Jamie Silver, partner in a hedge fund company, investor in women-owned businesses and active parent in our Religious School, and Marilyn Kirschner, a fashion journalist. All are welcome to join any of these programs in fun, learning and service. 

MARCH SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Sunday, March 9 at 11:00am — meet the recipients of the 2024 Sisterhood Birthday Fund Annual Grant for a presentation and discussion with two organizations Girl Scouts of Greater New York Troop 6000, and  City Living NY which serve vulnerable girls and young women in NYC, and the importance of our Birthday Fund donations. Refreshments will be served for those who will be joining us in person. For more information and to register, click here.

Sunday, March 16 at 2:00pm — our Annual Helene Spring Library event, when our speaker will be Elizabeth Graver, a National Jewish Book award winner and author of the novel Kantika, followed by our wonderful dessert buffet. For more information, see the “Library Buzz” column below.

Friday, March 21 at 6:15pm — celebrate the Sisterhood of East End Temple, with members of the community participating in special prayers, songs, and personal reflections. And we all share a special candle lighting and delicious oneg Shabbat.

Sunday, March 23 at 11:15am — the Sisterhood and Men’s Club of East End Temple are co-sponsoring a special docent-led guided tour of the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s exhibit, “The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do.” As of this writing, registrations are full, but please contact Ellen Ettinger to put your name on a waiting list.

APRIL SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Thursday, April 17 at 6:00pm is our Women’s Lilith Potluck Seder, when we use our own customized Haggadah and, through prayer, song and dance, tell the story of Passover from a feminist perspective.  For more information and to register, click here.

Friday, April 24 at 6:15pm – Celebrate with fellow congregants and their families at this heartwarming “Claim Your Hebrew Name Ceremony” during the Shabbat service.

Saturday, April 26 at 2:00pm – we will be leading a Nechama (Comfort) Post Abortion Packing project, where we will be filling backpacks with supplies getting delivered to women who have had abortions. Check your emails for more information and for how to donate to this mitzvah event.  And then afterwards, join Men’s Club for their Red Wine Tasting and Reception at 4:00pm. Registration and payment required, please click here to RSVP.

There’s so much to do and have fun with Sisterhood! Check our webpage regularly for dates of all events, updates and links. Please let us know if there is any way we can support you. Email us at sisterhood@eastendtemple.org.

Food For Families
by Celia Vimont

Thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers who helped us make 1,243 meals on February 2. City Harvest picked up the meals (consisting of two sandwiches, fresh fruit and a granola bar) and delivered them to hungry New Yorkers. The need is great – City Harvest estimates that nearly1.3 million New Yorkers are struggling to feed themselves and their families.

A special thank you goes to the NYU Community Fund, which has provided us with a very generous $2,000 grant this year to help us purchase food for our program.

Please join us for our last two sessions of the season, March 2 and 30, from 11:30am-1:30pm. Advance sign-up is required (https://signup.com/go/ZEeEpgn). All participants must be age 12 or older (ages 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult) and everyone must wear a mask. Each participant should bring six loaves of whole wheat sliced bread and 20 pieces of large fruit (preferably apples and oranges) and wear a hat to comply with Department of Health regulations. Food For Families is a great way for teens to get community service credits.

Your donations to Food For Families through Sisterhood (https://eastendtemple.org/contribute/) help us buy supplies to make meals.

Library Buzz
by Barbara Ringel

Our 21st Helene Spring Library Event, always a highlight of the year, is just a couple of weeks away, Sunday, March 16, at 2:00pm. It is with great pleasure that I will introduce noted author, Elizabeth Graver, who will discuss her outstanding novel, Kantika, a 2024 National Jewish Book Award winner. The novel is a multi-generational saga of a Sephardic family forced to flee their wealthy elitist life in Istanbul after unimaginable loss. They must travel to Barcelona, then Havana, until they finally settle in Queens, New York. It is a tale that explores loss, displacement, endurance, and family as home, a story of reinvention, healing, and love. The main character, self-reliant Rebecca Cohen, ties the story together with her tenacity through grief and multiple challenges, yet holds the family together, maintaining their faith and traditions. Elizabeth’s talk will be followed by a Q & A, after which we will gather in the social hall for our always highly anticipated homemade dessert buffet and book sale and signing, at which you will have an opportunity to speak further with Elizabeth. This promises to be a wonderful afternoon event, and I do hope you will be there. There is no charge for this event, and all guests are welcome. Looking forward to seeing you March 16.

Judaica Shop
by Fran Kolin

After the harshness of this winter, it is a relief to know that Spring will be here very soon. Purim has the delicious highlight of tasty hamantaschen. You can also order chocolate-dipped macaroons for your seder! Passover, a holiday traditionally celebrated at home, is represented at the Judaica Shop with lovely Seder plates, whimsical inflatable matzah balls, a lucite matzah box, some Haggadahs to check out, and a few other goodies. Come take a look, and shop The Shop.

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January-February 2025

“Winter Is Upon Us Once Again: Setting the Restart Button“
by Sisterhood Leadership Team member and Community Development Co-Lead Fern Stampleman

Making its yearly return to Sisterhood programming on Sunday, January 12, is Session #1 of the Rosh Chodesh Women’s Study and Discussion Group,in person and on Zoom. Featuring the last of the Genesis matriarchs, Session #1 is “A Tale of Two Sisters: It Begins At The Well.” Our ever-popular impromptu schmooze/potluck breakfast starts us off! Co-leaders Elissa Macklin and Laurie Treuhaft and I are excited to explore the life and times of Rachel and Leah. We look forward to the insightful surprises fellow inquirers can’t help but bring to the table. You are always welcome to bring a friend. NO prior knowledge required. Background information emailed in advance of each time we meet. Session #2: February 2.

Stitch-A-Thon also returns on January 12, open to everyone who can or wants to stitch. Participants help needy New Yorkers keep warm with hand-made hats and scarves. Donated yarns may be picked up at the Temple office. Next session, February 2, following Rosh Chodesh. Program Lead: Fran Kolin.

In addition, Fran will begin interviews in January for “Claim Your Hebrew Name,” a program initiated by her last year! To make an appointment, contact Fran at: thekolins611@yahoo.com

On January 15, Ellen Ettinger, program lead for Getting to Know Our Community, hosts Susan Schwalb, an artist recognized as one of the foremost experts in silverpoint and metalpoint drawing. We had the pleasure of viewing Susan’s work when it was exhibited in East End Temple’s Social Hall. Then, on February 5, Tehilah Eisenstadt, Assistant Director of Congregational Learning at East End Temple, will be Ellen’s guest talking about her life, education, experiences, and interests.    

For more details about these programs, or to contact program leads, and more, check out our Sisterhood page

Wishing everyone a Happy secular New Year and a Happy Chanukah as we light all nine candles on January 1. May the light we bring into the world now, strengthen and sustain us throughout 2025. 

Food For Families
by Celia Vimont

Our 2024-25 Food For Families season has been a great success so far. In November we made 1,577 meals and in December we made 1,794 meals. All meals are picked up by City Harvest trucks and distributed to hungry New Yorkers that day.

We will be taking a break in January, and we’ll be back February 2 for our next session, followed by March 2 and 30. Advance sign-up is required (https://signup.com/go/ZEeEpgn). All participants must be age 12 or older (ages 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult) and everyone must wear a mask. Each participant should bring at least five loaves of whole wheat sliced bread (six loaves per person would be greatly appreciated) and 20 pieces of large fruit (preferably apples and oranges) and wear a hat to comply with Department of Health regulations. Food For Families is a great way for teens to get community service credits.

Your donations to Food For Families through Sisterhood (https://eastendtemple.org/contribute/) help us buy supplies to make meals.

Library Buzz
by Barbara Ringel

I am delighted to announce that our 11th annual Help Our Library Grow Initiative is now underway. This initiative enables us to add new, well reviewed books to our collection, and we are enthusiastic about the books being offered. We are grateful to the many members whose generous donations have enriched our collection in the past, and we hope the tradition will continue. The initiative provides a wonderful opportunity to donate a book in someone’s honor or memory, and every donated book will have a bookplate with donor’s name and in honor of/in memory of, inscribed on the bookplate. All the books will be displayed in the library. Please see the complete list of titles, author, price, and donation form with payment instructions. A list is also posted on the temple bulletin board downstairs. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Our 21st annual Helene Spring Library Event, always a highlight of the year, will take place Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 2:00pm. Elizabeth Graver, our featured author, is a 2024 National Jewish Book Award winner for her outstanding novel, Kantika, which she will discuss at our event. It is a multi-generational saga of a Sephardic family forced to flee a wealthy elitist life in Istanbul after unimaginable loss, and they must travel to Barcelona, Havana, and finally to Queens, New York. It is a tale that explores loss, displacement, endurance, and family as home, a story of reinvention, healing, and love. The main character, self-reliant Rebecca Cohen, ties the story together with her tenacity through grief and multiple challenges, yet holds the family together maintaining its faith and traditions. We will be selling copies of the book that Elizabeth will sign at our dessert reception. Save the date, Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 2:00pm for this not-to-be missed event.

Judaica Shop
by Fran Kolin

In the coldest days of the winter, the Sisterhood Judaica Shop takes on the special task of giving out free yarn to knitters and crocheters who turn it into hats and scarves for New York’s needy. If you have those skills, we invite you to get busy and create warm winter accessories for our Cold Weather Project. Stop by The Shop to collect some yarn and do a mitzvah – and join us for our in-person Stitch-A-Thon when we knit together on 1/12, 2/2 and 3/2, 1:00-3:00pm. Also, get ready for our Hamantashen Sale for Purim (3/13-14) — you can place your orders now right HERE!

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November-December 2024

Make Sisterhood Part of Your New Year: 5785
by Sisterhood Leadership Team member Marcia Muskat

For the fourth year in a row, Sisterhood member Rachel Shapiro took the lead at September’s Welcome Back Family Event. As present as ever, Rachel had everyone — young and not so young alike — creating personal vision boards that spoke to their New Year’s hopes and dreams. And the pizza, compliments of the EET Men’s Club, certainly didn’t disappoint.

As you contemplate your hopes and dreams for the New Year, make Sisterhood part of your New Year, starting with:

Meeting Our Leadership…
Sisterhood Board meetings 6:30pm Nov. 6 & Dec. 11
Come to Sisterhood meetings to help plan programs, pick up leadership skills and make new friends. Sisterhood members are always welcome.

Mah Jongg Fun and Games…
Weekday Learn & Play 11:00am, Nov. 7 & 14, Dec. 5 & 12
Learn the game or find people to play with at twice monthly Thursday morning games.
Sunday Mah Jongg Fund Raiser 10:00am Dec.15
Win top-score prizes at the 2nd annual 4-hour special Mah Jongg event with brunch. Buy raffles for causes worth supporting.
Evening Mah Jongg Game 7:00pm Jan. 22
By special request from many of our players, an evening of Mah Jongg is coming your way.

Partake in Social Action…
Food For Families 11:30pm Oct. 27, Nov. 17 & Dec. 8
Be part of a community (ages 12 and up, 12 -15 accompanied by an adult) that makes meals to feed hungry New Yorkers, a labor of love for more than 30 years.

Meet the Community…
Getting To Know Our Community (Zoom) 12:00-pm Dec. 4
Tune into our first interview of the season with Dr. Louise Klebanoff, a general neurologist who has served as Vice Chair of Clinical Operations for the Department of Neurology at Weill Cornell.  Louise will share her thoughts about neurology, medicine and her love of all things NYC.

For more information and to register for our events, go to the Sisterhood page of the EET website

The Sisterhood of East End Temple 

Belong. Connect. Grow.  
Member of  

Food For Families
by Celia Vimont

Thank you to all our volunteers who helped us kick off a successful start to the 2024-25 Food For Families season on September 29. We made 1716 meals that were picked up by a City Harvest truck and distributed to hungry New Yorkers that day.

Our next Food For Families session will be on Sunday, October 27, please note new time: 11:30am to 1:30pm. Advance sign-up is required (https://signup.com/go/ZEeEpgn). All participants must be age 12 or older (ages 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult) and everyone must wear a mask. Each participant should bring at least five loaves of whole wheat sliced bread (six loaves per person would be greatly appreciated) and 20 pieces of fruit (preferably apples and oranges) and wear a hat to comply with Department of Health regulations. Future dates are: Nov. 17, Dec. 8, Jan. 12, Feb. 2 and March 2. Food For Families is a great way for teens to get community service credits.

Your donations to Food For Families through Sisterhood (https://eastendtemple.org/contribute/) help us buy supplies to make meals.

Library Buzz
by Barbara Ringel 

I am delighted to announce that I have confirmed noted award-winning author, Elizabeth Graver, as the featured speaker for our 21st Helene Spring Library Event, March 16, 2025. Elizabeth is a 2024 National Jewish Book Award winner for her outstanding novel Kantika, which she will discuss at our event. The novel is a beautifully written multi-generational saga that follows a Sephardic family in the early 20th century as they move from Istanbul, where they have been a wealthy privileged part of the Sephardic elite but now find themselves victims of unexpected, unimaginable loss, to Barcelona, to Havana, and finally to Queens, New York. It is a tale that explores loss, displacement, endurance, and family as home, a story of reinvention, healing, and love. The main character, self-reliant Rebecca Cohen, ties the story together with her tenacity, through grief and hope, as she faces multiple challenges yet manages to hold the family together and maintain its faith and traditions. We have a copy of Kantika in our library, and we will sell copies of the book that Elizabeth will sign at our reception. I look forward to hearing her share her exceptional novel, and I know she will be warmly welcomed.

Judaica Shop 
by Fran Kolin

In the darkest part of the year, Chanukah gives us the chance to enjoy more light as we kindle the Chanukah candles! Sisterhood’s Judaica Shop will be prepared with many lovely candle options for your celebrations. We will have dreidels, chanukiyahs, small puzzles, decorations, and chocolate gelt to enhance your holiday experiences. We will also have a new 16-Piece Wood Chanukah Play Set, featuring a printed table scene, frying pan, latke, jelly doughnut, wooden gelt, dreidel, menorah, and nine candles. Come take a look, and shop The Shop!

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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 are given to a local NYC organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls. We are giving $2,800 to two organizations: Girl Scouts Of America Troop 6000, a unique program serving families living in NY’s shelter system, providing weekly meetings where girls make friends, earn badges and learn skills at no cost; and City Living NY, which supports and empowers 21-year-olds who have “aged out” of the NY foster care system, with mental health counseling, safe furnished apartments, and college and job assistance. 

This year, Andrea Viders joins Jodi Malcom as Birthday Fund Co-Director, focusing on recipient selection and organizing meetings between our donors and recipients to hear about the people that benefited from their outreach. 

Our Annual Welcome Back Family Event will take place on Sunday, September 15, led by Rachel Gibbs-Shapiro, with snacks provided by Men’s Club. Join our fun-filled workshop where we’ll be building a collage-based vision board to help us make change – for ourselves or our families. See more information on our main Sisterhood page. 

Mah Jongg is back, with twice monthly daytime games on Thursdays, starting September 5. All levels are welcome, and lessons are offered by our volunteers, led by Marcia Muskat.  Learn now so that you can win prizes in our Morning of Mah Jongg coming up in December. Be part of this growing community! 

By listening to one another’s voices, we collaborate, create leaders and come together in multiple communities. Check out our upcoming programs here.  

The Sisterhood of East End Temple 

Belong. Connect. Grow.  
Member of  

Food For Families