Emanuel Congregation

If you’re looking for a place to mark Yom Kippur this afternoon, our 3:00 PM Yom Kippur Service with Yizkor is open to the public. All are welcome. Our afternoon schedule in comments.

May this day offer us time to pause, remember, reflect, and consider the year ahead.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah.

👧 Child Care Available During the High Holy Days!

Planning to join us at Emanuel for Yom Kippur? We want to make sure families know that our Child Care Program is available for children in K–3rd grade during Yom Kippur, from 11:00 AM–2:00 PM.

Children can be dropped off beginning at 10:50 AM in the Library.

If you have young children attending with you, we hope this offering makes it a little easier for the whole family to participate in the High Holy Days. ❤️

And a reminder for everyone: overflow parking is available in the lot directly across the street from Emanuel if our main lot is full.

We look forward to welcoming you and your family!

✨ Shabbat just got a little sweeter. ✨

Join Rabbi Sabath for a special ONEG as we celebrate the first Shabbat of the year together!

Come for Shabbat, stay for the schmoozing, sweet treats, and community. 🍷🍞

📅 Friday, September 18
🕯️ Following Shabbat Services which begin at 6:30pm

Bring yourself, bring a friend, and let’s start the new year together. 💙

L’shanah tovah!

🍎🍯 Shanah Tovah!

As Rosh Hashanah begins, we welcome a new year with reflection, hope, and intention.

The sound of the shofar calls us to pause and listen—to consider the year behind us, the people who have shaped us, and the possibilities that lie ahead.

May this new year bring sweetness, connection, growth, and peace to you and those you love.

L’Shanah Tovah U’Metukah — Wishing you a good and sweet new year! 🍎🍯

🎂 Happy Birthday to our Cantor Emerita Michelle Drucker Friedman! 🎶

Today we celebrate Michelle Drucker Friedman and wish her a birthday filled with love, laughter, joy, and all the things that make this next chapter so special.

Although Michelle is now enjoying a well-deserved retirement, we’re grateful that she remains a cherished and familiar presence in the Emanuel community. Her music, her spirit, her warmth, and the countless memories she helped create continue to be part of who we are.

Michelle, we hope your birthday is as wonderful as you are. We’re so happy to celebrate you today—and grateful that Emanuel will always be one of the places you call home.

יום הולדת שמח, מישל! 🎉
Wishing you a beautiful year ahead, filled with happiness, love, and unforgettable moments!

Worship, with everyone in mind. ❤️

We’re pleased to offer live captioning during Emanuel’s High Holy Day services this year as part of our ongoing commitment to making worship welcoming and accessible to all.

Live captioning provides a real-time written display of what’s being spoken during the service. A designated captioning seating area will be available for the best view, and our staff will be happy to help you find it when you arrive.

As this is our first year offering live captioning, we’re also learning alongside the technology—and that may occasionally include a transcription hiccup or two (especially when Hebrew enters the conversation! 😊).

We’re grateful for your patience as we take this step toward making our High Holy Day services more accessible to everyone.

L’shanah tovah!

Shabbat Shalom! 🌿

This week we read Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilech — “You Stand” and “He Went.”

Moses gathers the entire community before God: leaders and elders, women and children, those born into the community and the stranger among them. Everyone is included. Everyone is part of the covenant.

As Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi reflects, Nitzavim offers a remarkable vision of the Jewish people standing together across generations — past, present, and future — renewing our commitment to one another and to our covenant.

As Moses prepares to step aside and Joshua prepares to lead, the Torah also reminds us that what is asked of us is not beyond our reach. Torah is not “in the heavens” — it is close to us, in our hearts and in our hands.

As we approach the High Holy Days, may we find the courage to turn toward one another, renew what matters, and take the next step together.

Shabbat Shalom from Emanuel Congregation! 💙

The High Holy Days are coming. And our preparation begins this Saturday.

This Saturday evening, we gather for Leil Selichot—a beautiful moment of transition as we begin turning our hearts toward the High Holy Days.

Selichot means “forgiveness,” and the prayers of this evening invite us to begin the work that will carry us through the days ahead: reflecting on the year behind us, considering where we have fallen short, offering forgiveness, seeking forgiveness from others, and imagining who we want to become in the year ahead.

In Reform Judaism, this season isn't about simply declaring ourselves “good” or “bad.” It is an opportunity for honest reflection, meaningful change, and renewal.

Before Rosh Hashanah arrives, we pause.

We ask:
What do I want to leave behind?
What relationships need tending?
Where can I do better?
What kind of person—and what kind of community—do I want to help create in the year ahead?

Leil Selichot is our invitation to begin.

May this season of reflection open our hearts, deepen our connections, and prepare us for a year of renewal.

Shanah tovah—may the year ahead bring sweetness, courage, and the possibility of beginning again.

🕯️ Leil Selichot • This Saturday

Shabbat Shalom! 🌿

This week we read Parashat Ki Tavo, which begins with a powerful ritual of gratitude: bringing the first fruits of the harvest and remembering where our blessings come from.

But the Torah’s message doesn’t stop with gratitude. Ki Tavo reminds us that what we have is not ours alone. Our abundance carries a responsibility to others—to the stranger, the vulnerable, and those who may not have enough.

As we approach the High Holy Days, this feels especially timely. We are invited to pause, recognize the blessings in our lives, and ask: How can we turn gratitude into action? How can what we have help nourish our community and our world?

May this Shabbat give us time to appreciate what we have, reconnect with one another, and consider how we can share our blessings with others.

Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat Shalom! ✨

This Shabbat we read Parashat Ki Teitzei (כִּי־תֵצֵא) — “When You Go Out.”

"When you go out..." — Deuteronomy 21:10

This week’s Torah portion contains more individual commandments than any other portion in the Torah. These teachings address many aspects of daily life — from caring for others and returning what is lost, to creating safe communities and treating people with dignity and respect.

Parashat Ki Teitzei reminds us that Jewish tradition has long asked us to consider how our choices affect one another. The laws found in this portion reflect an ancient community working to create order, responsibility, and compassion — and they invite each generation to continue the sacred work of interpreting Torah’s wisdom for our own time.

As we move through the month of Elul, our season of reflection and preparation for the High Holy Days, we are reminded that growth begins with asking important questions: How do we care for those around us? How do we act with greater kindness and integrity? How can we help build a more just and compassionate world?

May this Shabbat bring moments of reflection, connection, and renewal.

Shabbat Shalom from Emanuel Congregation! 🌿

📖 Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19
📖 Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1–10