Join Us in Celebrating Hanukkah 5785
Hanukkah Candle Lighting Together: Dec 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, and Dec 1, 6:15 pm – 6:30 pm via Zoom
We will gather each evening during Hanukkah (except for Friday, Dec 27 and Sunday, Dec 29) at 6:15pm for a short but sweet Zoom get-together to light our candles together, sing a song, and share stories – about 15 minutes each night. For more information, click here.
Shabbat Service, Hanukkah Candle Lighting, and Potluck Dinner: Dec 27, 6pm at the JCC
Our service will be led by Rabbi Drorah Setel accompanied by Charlene Sommers. Participants are asked to bring a dish to share along with an ingredient list to help those with dietary concerns. [No meat, poultry, or shellfish, please, and vegan and gluten-free options are always welcome.] For more information, click here.
Hanukkah Party: Sun, Dec 29, 4 – 7pm at the JCC
Join us for our annual Hanukkah party! Bring your menorahs and candles, and meet with us us for communal candle lighting, songs, and stories. Our intergenerational party will be family-friendly and designed for all ages. For more information, click here.
קהילת עמנו אל
K’hilat Imanu El – Our Emanu-El Congregation
תורה
Torah
Study
עבודה
Avodah
Celebration
תקון אולם
Tikkun Olam
Mending the World
Shalom and thanks for visiting our Temple Emanu-El website
We are a Reform Jewish Congregation in Rochester, New York. Our members are Jews by birth, Jews by choice, and those drawn to Judaism, including multiracial, LGBTQ+, and interfaith households. We see ourselves as a family, where everyone’s participation is sought and appreciated. We invite you to attend our services and events, and share in our warm, informal approach to Reform Judaism.
Coming Up at Temple Emanu-El
Shabbat Service
Fri, Dec 6, 7pm at the JCC
Chevre Torah Study Groups Online
Sat, Dec 7, 10am and 11:05am via Zoom
Family Fun – Shine Bright!
Sat, Dec 7, 9 – 11am
Spiritual Practices Team Meeting Online
Tues, Dec 10, 7pm via Zoom
See Our Full Calendar of Services and Events
Rabbi Drorah Setel’s Nov 19 Message
One of the things that most mystifies me about our current political climate is the apparent absence of empathetic imagination on the part of so many. Two thousand years ago, Hillel instructed, “What is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a).” For the large Christian majority in this country, the New Testament writer Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12).”
Our Covid Policy
We are following the Covid risk for Monroe County as reported by the U.S. Covid Tracker on the CovidActNow website:
—When the risk of Covid is low, masking at Temple Emanu-El is optional.
—When the risk of Covid is medium, masking at Temple Emanu-El is required. We urge attendees to use N95 or KN95 masks. Masks will be available for those who need one.
—When the risk of Covid is high, we will meet via Zoom only.
TigerChat – Aiding Communication
TigerChat is a phone app that’s been developed by the Center on Access Technology at RIT. The app allows you to converse with or listen to another person or group using automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology that converts spoken words into typed text. You can read our services as they happen! The app was designed to work on the RIT campus, and RIT has extended it so that it now also works in the JCC.