While it's summer plenty of folks are traveling to the mountains, beaches, and bucket list destinations, but traveling to Israel is unlike any journey you will take. You can find beaches, mountains, and good food around the world, but traveling to Israel is a transformative experience. When the Confirmation class returned from their trip, I heard only how much the ten days spent together were the most memorable of their lives. They're not alone. When we travel to Israel together as a TE family, we create bonds and memories that strengthen our Jewish identities when we return. That is why we believe that travel to Israel is a pillar of Temple Emanu-El's success. In June 2024, I'll lead the next group of adults and families to Israel for a transformative ten-day journey. This itinerary is very different for folks who have traveled with TE to Israel in the past. We will experience different cultures within Israel and do activities that have only recently opened-like snorkeling in the … [Read more...]

Before leaving for Israel with 27 of our Temple Emanu-El teens (TE's inaugural, post-Confirmation class, Schiffer Teen Israel trip), more than a few people good-naturedly questioned my sanity. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" they would ask.   And when I assured them that I did, they would (half-seriously) follow up with a very frank, "Why"? The short answer is that I am absolutely sure that the single best thing to deepen, cement, and connect to a tremendously positive Jewish identity is this type of trip.   It is the type of experience that begins to define who a person is at their core. Not just any trip to Israel, but one that has been carefully crafted to allow participants to bond with the land and her people, with their congregation and their peers, with their rabbi, and with their Judaism. And the timing…the timing can not be understated.   This type of trip is most effective before they go off to college, and to travel with the institution that they (and their … [Read more...]

Over the last 10 days, I've been living vicariously in Israel. Rabbi Spike, along with parent-chaperone Stacy Bedsole, and 27 teens from our Confirmation class, were in Israel for the experience of a lifetime. This was the inaugural journey of the Schiffer Family Teen Israel Trip-a unique opportunity for Temple Emanu-El teens to deepen their friendships and their connection to their Jewish identity with a highly subsidized trip to the holy land. As your rabbis, we operate under the assumption that Temple Emanu-El's involvement with Israel and Zionism is a given, but it's worthwhile to remind ourselves why we care so deeply about Israel and traveling to it.  First and foremost, Israel is the only Jewish state in the world, dayeinu. Experiencing the Jewish state firsthand is something most of our ancestors, or even great-grandparents, thought they would never see in the last 2,000 years. However, Israel is also the perfect backdrop, classroom, and laboratory for bringing back Jewish … [Read more...]

While the synagogue may "slow down" over the summer as your rabbis are busy writing programs, education classes, and sermons, we're taking some time to recharge, study, and vision too.  Meanwhile, another reason we switch to a new pace is that many of our congregants are enjoying their own summer speed of taking day trips or vacations, sending kids to summer camps (day, overnight, Jewish, sport, art, music, etc.). Some are working (full-time, part-time, as needed, in the home, outside of the home). Others are retired and enjoying the warm weather.  One thing we know that still happens all summer long: Judaism! Judaism in the synagogue is alive and well with the casual vibes of our summer services and Torah studies. Your rabbis are here to elevate your spirit all summer.  One of your rabbis (that would be Rabbi Spike), has spent the last five days and will spend about four more with our inaugural group of Confirmation students who are in Israel on the Schiffer Teen Israel Trip! They are … [Read more...]