Belong. Connect. Grow.

The Sisterhood of East End Temple brings together women in all stages of life in friendship, leadership, and intellectual and spiritual growth. We listen to women’s voices and promote their interests, passions, ideas, and concerns. Together we engage in tikkun olam by producing timely and relevant programming, fundraising, and advocating for social justice, while nurturing the life of the congregation, its leaders, and the community at large.

Join Sisterhood today!

We are happy to announce that we can offer a few different options to make an annual dues donation to Sisterhood:

To pay online, by credit card or e-check (must be logged in to your ShulCloud member account for e-check option), please click here. As the temple does pay a fee for all online payments, we do ask that you include any fees in your payment, although not required.  You will receive a receipt of your donation by email.

To pay with a paper check, please click here. Your cancelled check is your receipt.

For more information, email us at sisterhood@eastendtemple.org.

2022-2023 Programs

As we adjust to our changing circumstances, such as meeting virtually versus meeting in person, we will continue to update this page with locations and links. Programs are open to all and will take place at the temple (as per any updated Covid-19 guidance), unless otherwise specified.  Please send any questions and RSVPs to sisterhood@eastendtemple.org, except where noted.

Ongoing Programs

Food For Families
Sundays at 12:00pm: April 16
For almost 30 years, multiple generations of our community have made meals to feed hungry New Yorkers. Advance sign-up will be required (look for the link in an upcoming eblast). All participants must be age 12 or older (ages 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult) and must observe COVID safety rules, including:
— wearing masks and maintaining appropriate distancing
— showing proof of vaccination
Each participant should bring five loaves of whole wheat bread and 16 pieces of fruit (preferably apples and oranges) and wear a hat to comply with Department of Health regulations. We’ll be making sandwiches to donate along with fruit to City Harvest to feed hungry New Yorkers. 

Getting to Know You — First Wednesdays Lunchtime Speaker Series (Zoom)

May 3 — Vickie Rubin
Hear Vickie speak about her memoir, Raising Jess: A Story of Hope, an award-winning, heartwarming, inspirational story, that describes the joy and challenges of caring for her daughter who was born with a rare chromosome disorder.  Vickie started writing her humorous blog in 2020, about the same time we were all told, “Don’t Leave the House”!

• Zoom meeting link
• Meeting ID: 829 4470 0776
• Passcode: 997704
• Dial in: 646-558-8656

Women’s Rosh Chodesh Study and Discussion (Zoom)
Sundays at 10:30am: April 16
Sarah, prophetess and first matriarch of the Jewish people is legendary for her enduring faithfulness to God and her commitment to her husband Abraham. She is also the only woman in the Torah whose name gets changed by God! Explore the life and times of our first matriarch as our Women’s Rosh Chodesh Study and Discussion gets under way this season, with some fresh perspectives on the “Sarah Story.” Enjoy your favorite morning beverage as we share readings and lively discussion led by Fern Stampleman, Elissa Macklin and Laurie Treuhaft.
No prior knowledge necessary! Registration required (see links below). All reading materials emailed to registrants in advance of each date. 
March 12: To register, click here

Stitch-A-Thon
~ will return next year ~
Gather for a while with other stitchers. Show off your latest projects; get help from our experts; make a hat or scarf for our Cold Weather Project for donating to New York’s needy.

Mah Jongg Lessons and Play
Wednesdays: April 19, May 17 from 11:00am-1:00pm (in person)

Interested in learning to play mah jongg or finding people to play with? While we are continuing to offer lessons and play virtually (using RealMahJongg.com), we have now created a monthly in-person game, and will continue to review additional scheduling possibilities. If you are not already a Sisterhood member, please consider joining/renewing now.

• Registration required (maximum of 25 players per session)
• ​​​​​​​Please bring a cash donation of $5 to play or $10 for a lesson, as well as a 2022 mah jongg card
• Coffee and tea will be available. Masks are recommended but not required.​​​​​​​

Sisterhood Board Meetings (Sisterhood members only)
Wednesdays at 6:30pm: April 26, June 7. Times are subject to change; be sure to RSVP
All Sisterhood members are invited to join our bi-monthly board meetings when we share thoughts about our upcoming and past events, social action initiatives and what we can do to support each other and the EET community. RSVP requested to sisterhood@eastendtemple.org.

Scheduled Programs

Helene Spring Library Event 
Our annual celebration of our beautiful library includes a featured author speaking about their book, followed by a book sale and signing, and our always-popular homemade dessert buffet. Our featured author for the 2023 Helene Spring Library Event was Lynda Cohen Loigman, whose novel, The Matchmaker’s Gift, is an intriguing, delightful dual-timeline story with a dose of magical realism. 

Lilith Seder (in person)
Tuesday, April 11 at 6:00pm

We look forward to praying, singing and dining with you, in person*, as we all participate in the telling of Passover story, with a focus on the women’s role in that story.  We will sing songs written by Debbie Friedman, pray with personalized prayers and feminized language from our own Haggadah and honor four women of valor. Open to all members of the Sisterhood of East End Temple, who may bring one guest over the age of 13. Note that due to limited space, guests will be put on a waiting list until April 1.
*We may consider adding a Zoom component.  Please send an email to sisterhood@eastendtemple.org if you would attend a Zoom seder and not come in person.

For more information and to sign up, please click here. Space is limited, so early sign-up is recommended.

Sisterhood Shabbat (in person and Livestream)
Friday, April 28 at 6:15pm
As East End Temple celebrates 75 years of providing a spiritual and connecting Reform community, the Sisterhood of East End Temple, formed at the same time the temple was founded, celebrates its rich history.  Our Sisterhood Shabbat this year brings together the women of EET who have worked tirelessly to provide inspirational, educational and fun programs and meaningful initiatives, and reviews where we have been and where we are going in prayer, song and special presentations.  Join us for a celebratory oneg with dinner and dessert, along with a retrospective of the past and our dreams for the future.

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Engaging in tikkun olam – our fundraising and advocacy programs
Sisterhood supports a number of worthy causes for those in need as well as temple staff, clergy and building projects.  If you are interested in donating to any of our funds and/or honoring a loved one, please refer to the Contribute page.

Birthday Fund
In its 10th year, Jodi Malcom chairs this outreach fund supported by donations honoring Sisterhood member birthdays, the birthdays of their loved ones, and other life events. Monies are directed to two local organizations selected annually that support the lives of women and girls. Last year, donations were given to Hot Bread Kitchen‘s Bridge Training Services; and CASA-NYC, court-appointed special advocates which give free legal help to vulnerable children within NYC’s Family Court/Foster Care system.

Food For Families Funds
Led by a team of Sisterhood women for almost 30 years, we gather to make meals to feed hungry New Yorkers, which are picked up and distributed by City Harvest. Donations to these funds are used to buy the meal-making ingredients and materials.

Helene Spring Library Fund
A jewel of the temple, our library houses an extensive collection from which temple members may browse and borrow. Named for one of EET’s founding members, who is both a past temple president and Sisterhood president, we raise funds to keep our library beautiful and well-stocked.

9th Annual “Help Our Library Grow” Initiative

Our 9th annual Help Our Library Grow Initiative is underway. We have ordered a variety of recently published books that are on display in our Helene Spring Library. 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. To see the list of books available and how to sponsor them, please visit the Help Our Library Grow page.

Sisterhood Leadership Development Fund
We are dedicated to creating leaders who can develop programs to enhance our EET community and to raise funds to support meaningful projects.  Women of Reform Judaism, along with other leadership organizations, provides us with access to many development tools, from conferences to training presentations.  Monies in this fund will be used to take advantage of those tools in order to support the enhancement of leadership skills of current Sisterhood members and to develop future Sisterhood leaders.