Blog

In this week’s Torah portion, there is a brief but exciting discussion about how the priests in the Temple used to take out the trash. Okay, maybe not exciting-in fact, it has always seemed to be one of the more useless (throw-away?) sections of the Torah. But this week, the descriptions of how the priests needed to dress in certain clothes, only touch certain items, and carefully insure the cleanliness of themselves and the space around...Read more...

This is a week when the whole world feels different, strange and new. Everyone's lives have been upended, each of us adjusting to the new rules that seem to come out so quickly they're nearly impossible to track. Some of us are still trying to figure out which rules specifically apply to us, if there are loopholes, if there are rules that apply to others but won't affect us.

It seems fitting, then, that this is the week when...Read more...

3/21/2020

DEAR TEMPLE ISRAEL FAMILY AND FRIENDS:

In addition to the two preschool teachers that tested positive this past week for COVID-19, two other teachers have also tested positive. Teacher #3's last day in the building was on March 12; she is at home recovering and the family is self-quarantining. The fourth teacher's last day in the building was on March 9; she is no longer symptomatic. It...Read more...

To our families with children that attend Temple Israel's Education Center:

The wellbeing of your child is of the highest importance to us at TI's Education Center, so we take many precautions to decrease to spread of infectious disease, including daily sanitation and cleaning of play equipment and high touch surfaces, regular handwashing and the exclusion of staff and children who are sick. In recent weeks we have all been...Read more...

As we make progress on our phased renovation and replacement projects throughout the Temple’s nearly 60-year-old buildings and grounds, it’s good to review where we’ve been and where we’re going. In addition, as all of the facility projects are funded through donations by you — our supportive congregant donors — it’s important to recognize and celebrate all we’ve already accomplished!

Actually, I’ve been stopped a...Read more...

The past few years have shown the biggest increase in anti-Semitic acts in many of our lifetimes. Whether you’re looking at the statistics published by the ADL, or merely thinking back over all that has happened — the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, the cemetery desecrations, the bomb threats — we are all deeply aware that these are difficult times to be part of the Jewish community. And in our own congregation, as we’ve chosen to...Read more...

Looking back at my first year as President of the Board of Trustees, I am in awe of what we have accomplished together. Our well-attended Gala was so much fun and raised money for many important programs. Reinvigorating our volunteer committees has turned great ideas into action, providing for even better programs, policies and member experiences. The Temple office was renovated with new carpet and furniture for the first time since 1992. We...Read more...

By Rabbi Amy Feder

Tisha B’av is probably the holiday that, if you grew up in a Reform congregation, you were the least likely to have ever celebrated. And not just because it usually falls in the middle of July (the 9th of Av), a time when most of us are in full summer break mode and not spending as much time at synagogue.

Tisha B’av is the most solemn day in Judaism, an entire day of mourning. The book of Lamentations is...Read more...

By Emilie & Christopher Fan

Eleanor Chih-En Docter Fan is quite a mouthful of a name for a six month old. And just imagine when she has to sign her name on standardized tests, for her driver’s license, or on her first mortgage. Right now, she is known by most just as “Ella.”

Eleanor means bright, shining one and she certainly brings that light to our lives each and every day.
Chih-En means to cultivate...Read more...

By Rabbi Amy Feder

For weeks, our daughter Molly has been telling people how excited she is that this year, her birthday is on a Jewish holiday: Tu B’Shevat. But after telling countless classmates, teachers, and grocery store clerks, she finally asked me: what exactly is Tu B’Shevat?

My...Read more...

It is a funny thing to be connected to a person you've never met. A person who died 15 years before you were born. However, my entire life I have felt a strong connection to my great-grandfather, Michael Fadem, or Mike, or Pop, as his grandchildren lovingly referred to him. My great-grandfather held many jobs throughout his life. However, the job he held the longest was his position as Executive Secretary (Executive Director) of Congregation...Read more...

By Claudia Hall
(Read aloud by Claudia from the Bimah during her conversion to Judaism on August 18, 2017)

When did I become a Jew? As a convert, it’s a long story, and as a retired minister it’s a really long story. In hindsight, the seeds were planted early. I was raised in fundamentalist Christianity, and I knew I was meant to be a religious leader, but I was told that God would never call a woman to ministry, so I was...Read more...