Price Family Preschool Of Temple Emanu-El

I recently photographed a Bar Mitzvah here and was met with such kindness, compassion, and respect by service members, employees, and especially Rabbis. They were able to recommend portraits with the family in the Synagogue prior to service to ensure time and even had ideas with posing or positioning that they know work well. I am very honored and feel blessed to have also watched and enjoyed the entire service as well.

They host a wonderful Senior Center for us old fogies (weekdays). They serve delicious healthy meals for a very reasonable contribution and lots of senior activities. Plus, some wonderful friendly folks attend. Ya'all drop by and make new friends. Ya Hear lol. All religions are welcome. Also, as a Reform Temple, it is also wonderful. A very caring, warm and knowledgeable Rabbi along with a very nice and friendly congregation.

Overall the congregation is warm, supportive and friendly. I think visitors get a good greeting and are welcomed well. There is good Jewish education from tots to senior adults and Rabbi Benj Fried is flexible and creative that I have experienced thus far, in terms of encouraging congregants to take leadership with different topics and ideas. His mind is sharp. He is very much a scholar and I can see him teaching at university one day. If you want to simply attend service you can. If you want to be involved and engaged you can. There is a lot of lifecycle support. They do an excellent job of supporting people when someone dies. From the moment of death through shiva and the entire year following, there is support in a number of ways. There are multiple groups using the site. The WRJ women's group is active - and even better now that there is weekly mahjong! Jewish holidays are well observed and there is ample space and time to learn the prayers and songs. Hebrew is taught. Interfaith couples are embraced and those who find that this is who they REALLY are, there is a conversion process that involves a long course and engagement. The Purim carnival, Artisan Fair, Sukkot, and high holy days observances - can I give a 10-star? Things are well organized, meaningful, educational, spiritual, welcoming. Rabbi Devorah Marcus, the senior rabbi, is very human and humane, warm, intelligent, good at pastoral care, a connector of people and very supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. The congregation is too. Rabbi Marcus has a lot to do! She could use another half of herself! Diversity, equity and inclusion is developing within the congregation. If you are a Jew of Color then you know Ashkenazi Jewish synagogues can be a harsh and unwelcoming place full of microaggressions where people tell you that you are not experiencing what you ARE experiencing. Ideally Black Jews and other Jews of Color are centered throughout a Jewish congregation and it is coming into full flower in TEESD. There was recently, for the first time, Saturday afternoon Kwanzaa shabbat that was attended by a few but enthusiastically received. Rabbi Benj Fried brilliantly tied together the cultural observance of Kwanzaa and the religious observance of Hanukkah with the Torah. When Kwanzaa shabbat moves into Friday night family shabbat with a packed social hall eating dinner together as part of it, that will reflect a movement away from the fringe to centering of Black/Jewish. The congregation participated in Juneteenth in 2023 in a very centering move. The congregation eagerly got behind that educational and social justice work. There are interfaith events for MLK Jr Day and a schedule of relevant films like "Shared Legacies". There is also a good sense of humor and Jewish values incorporated in the community as reflected through, for one example, conversation and insight about films like the Mel Brooks/Richard Pryor comedy "Blazing Saddles" and its use of satirical comedy to address and call out racism. The rabbi emeritus and his wife are beautiful souls who have reflected and been living examples of justice, peace and love, serving through civil rights action, and preaching and teaching about not only that but antisemitism and discrimination against LGBTQ+. Saturday morning Torah study is where you want to be if you want to delve deep into Torah. We often barely make it through two verses in an hour. But a good bagel with schmear and lox and some coffee helps energize your learning abilities. Board members are approachable and work hard to keep the congregation thriving. The admin to the senior rabbi reminds me of my horrible mean 4th grade math teacher, like something you see in a comedy movie. It won't change and could be offensive but it is moreso humorous. However the receptionist/front office person is cheerful, always friendly and helpful. The remainder of the staff are also professional, friendly people. Did I mention there often food and a lot of it? It lends to the warmth and the tradition. Be ready to go through security!

Such a welcoming and vibrant congregation! They are LGBT friendly and their family events are fun and engaging.

We attend the senior center M-F. They have a very nice program for people over 60. The activities include exercise, art, singing, photography classes and computer instruction among other things. All are welcome. It is a friendly and welcoming center. 9 AM -2PM.