Temple Emanu-El Community Seder
Please join us on Friday, April 7 at 6pm for this year’s Temple Emanu-El Community Seder. We’ll gather on the third (yes, third!) night of Passover for a Seder dinner, singing, story, and friendship.
We ask that everyone who would like to attend bring a Kosher-for-Passover dish to pass. For folks whose names start with A – G, please bring a salad; H – S, please bring a main dish; and T – Z, please bring a dessert. Drinks, matzah, and the ceremonial foods of the seder plate will be provided. Nervous about bringing a Kosher-for-Passover dish? Don’t be! We’ll be publishing more information and guidance in the coming weeks.
For more information, please contact Rachel in our Temple Office (585-461-2000, ext 203; emanuelrochester@gmail.com). We hope you’ll come celebrate with us!
RSVP – Please! – for our Third Day Seder
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.
This Week at Temple Emanu-El
Model Seder Volunteer Opportunity
Wednesday, Mar 29, 5 – 8pm at the JCC
Shabbat Service
Friday, Mar 31, 7pm in person in the Erdle Lounge at the JCC – Zoom option available
Chevre Torah Study Online
Saturday, Apr 1, 10 and 11:05am via Zoom
A Taste of Jewish Mysticism
Tuesday, Apr 4, 11am in the Erdle Lounge at the JCC
Hospitality Team Meeting Online
Tuesday, Apr 4, 7:30pm via Zoom
Upcoming Classes – All Are Welcome
A Taste of Jewish Mysticism
Tuesdays: Apr 4, 11, 18, and 25, 11am at the JCC
Rabbi Drorah Setel will lead this series which will give participants a broad overview of the history and teachings of Jewish mystical traditions, beginning with the Hebrew Bible and continuing to the present day. Session topics are: Early mystical teachings, Medieval mysticisms, Hassidic movements, and Modern mysticisms. Sponsored by Temple Emanu-El and Lifespan.
Exploring Jewishness
Wednesdays beginning April 19, 7-8pm via Zoom
This course offered by Rabbi Drorah Setel provides an opportunity to examine the diversity of Jewish life and to engage with Jewish history and traditions from multiple perspectives, examining how Jews are a culture, ethnicity, nation, nationality, race, religion, and more. This class is intended for anyone who wishes to understand Jewish identity as a multifaceted experience, whether learning about Judaism for the first time or wishing to bring their earlier learning up to date.
Our Covid-19 Policy
We value the health and safety of all who worship, celebrate, and learn with us. We want to take care of each other and are particularly conscious of protecting the most vulnerable among us. For that reason, we ask that attendees at our in-person services, celebrations, and events (whether held indoors or not) wear masks. It is essential that masks be worn properly, as described by the CDC.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Rabbi Drorah Setel’s March 7 JOFEE Message
One of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life happened unexpectedly. I was visiting my brother at his college in Maine and he wanted to show me one of his favorite places, a lake at the end of a forest path. For some reason which I can’t remember, we went at night. It must have been around the new moon because when we got there, all that was visible in the sky was a dome of stars reaching to the horizon all around the lake. I’d never seen a sky completely full of stars in that way and the experience was both thrilling and terrifying because it seemed so unworldly. Or perhaps I should say, un-earthly. In that moment I understood how the Hebrew word for awe, norah, also implies something frightening. The feeling of moments like that are hard to put into words, but I know that what made it so significant was the sense I had of being part of something so much larger than myself and so beyond my ordinary experience. I don’t think that it was a coincidence that this experience happened in an outdoor setting….
