Annual Appeal

August 2023—Av 5783

Dear Friends:

A few months ago, a woman came to our minyan to say Kaddish for her father.  She was new to our community. Our morning minyan regulars did what they always do: welcomed her, befriended her, asked what brought her here, and then invited her to stay for breakfast, where they continued their conversation.  It turns out that her name is Jodi Rudoren, and she is the Editor in Chief of the Forward.  She lives in New Jersey but continued coming to our daily minyan whenever she was in town, and then she wrote about it.

    What I found there was remarkable…[T]his minyan is truly thriving. Instead of

    the awkward worrying over will-we-get-to-10-people-in-time-for-the-first-kaddish

    that I’ve experienced in several places, in my five mornings at Emanuel…there

      were never fewer than 25. And it’s fun.  Minyan starts at 7 a.m. but people show

      up as early as 6, ostensibly to help set up but really to schmooze. 

The morning minyan is a microcosm of our whole community: thriving, warm, welcoming, and here for anyone who enters.  Temple Emanuel is a positive energy story about what is right with our world.  In a cold world, warmth.  In an impersonal world, being known and cared for. In a divided world, finding a shared humanity.  

This past spring, over several Shabbat mornings, we celebrated our members Through the Decades inviting all who had joined in each decade from the 1930s through the 2020s for a special Aliyah.  Each of the Aliyot was robustly attended.  A recurring refrain we heard from you, our members, is that your relationship with Temple Emanuel is among the longest-running and most meaningful connections in your life.  You went to pre-school or religious school here, or your children did. You got married here, or your children did.  You celebrated lifecycle moments here, you paid a loving farewell to loved ones here, you found community, friendship and caring here.

     Where else do you find love, friendship, relationship, community that lasts a lifetime? 

Temple Emanuel is here for all of us.  This is our opportunity to be here for Temple Emanuel by supporting our Annual Appeal.  It is extraordinarily expensive to run a thriving synagogue.  Our expenses include maintaining an aging building; safety and security to protect us; hybrid operations to connect us; professionals to engage us from newborn to 101, and financial support for our members who cannot pay full dues.  All of that takes resources.  Our Annual Appeal is the linchpin of our financial health, making  up 24% of our annual budget.  We could not do what we do without our Annual Appeal.  Which means we could not do what we do without you. 

We ask for your generous support of our Annual Appeal this year so Temple Emanuel can continue to be a blessing to us all, through all the decades of our lives. Thank you!

Shana tovah u’metukah,

Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz         Tim Mahoney         Amy B. Klein and Adam Suttin
                                                          President                   Annual Appeal Co-Chairs