By Erica Slutsky | Communications Manager For three days at Temple Emanu-El, spanning donations, setup, and two boutique days, Project Prom not only brings people together, but grew out of the same need for generosity and community service that emboldens Tikkun Olam at Emanu-El. And so, this past April, close to 300 high school students …
“Just follow Norden’s instructions.” That’s the most important turkey carving tip from the seasoned volunteer carvers at Temple Emanu-El’s Thanksgiving Dinner. The Dinner isn’t for our members, but for those less fortunate who have nowhere to go on Thanksgiving. Our members coordinated volunteers, delegated, and prepared an entire meal for 200 guests — which involved …
A huge thank you to everyone: Wise Hall looked abundantly full on Mitzvah Day, when we all came together as one Temple community to volunteer, side by side. In the space of a morning, we accomplished an amazing mitzvah: 2,200 gift packages were assembled with love, ranging from dignity kits to Purim treats for the …
From the appetizer to the delicious desserts, which included Thanksgiving cupcakes festively decorated by our volunteers, cinnamon doughnuts and a chocolate and vanilla parfait topped with fresh blueberries and raspberries, this Thanksgiving meal was a special way to share the warmth of the holiday with those who would otherwise be alone. All of our guests …
For over 180 years, Temple Emanu-El has been a spiritual home, a place of celebration, comfort, learning, and connection. Today, you can help ensure that our community remains strong for generations to come.
Planned Giving is a powerful way to support what you love, maximize your impact, and reduce your tax burden—all while preserving your values for the future.
Gift in Your Will or Trust
Leave a dollar amount, a percentage, or the remainder of your estate to Temple Emanu-El.
Retirement Plans (IRA, 401(k), 403(b))
Name Emanu-El as a beneficiary—this is one of the most tax-smart ways to give.
Life Insurance
Name Emanu-El as a primary or secondary beneficiary, or donate a policy you no longer need.
Other Options
Depending on your goals, you might consider:
We’re happy to talk through what’s right for you. No commitment required.
Simple: Most gifts take just minutes to set up.
Flexible: You can adjust your plans at any time.
Impactful: Your legacy helps secure Jewish life, learning, and leadership.
Tax-Wise: Many options reduce estate or income tax, helping your gift go further.
When you include Emanu-El in your plans, you become part of the Heritage Society—a warm, welcoming community of members who are building the future of Jewish life.
Heritage Society members enjoy:
Memorial Hall Tablets: Throughout Emanu-El’s history, dedications and memorials have offered our members and friends a meaningful way to sustain cherished bonds. One of the most popular ways to perpetuate a memory continues to be through the dedication of a Memorial Hall Tablet. On either side of Emanu-El’s majestic Cassell Lobby on Fifth Avenue, two Memorial Halls remember beloved members of the Emanu-El family. The dedications are expertly carved and become part of the temple structure. These tablets are available for inscription with gifts beginning at $36,000 and may be reserved to be paid over time or through a bequest.
Glass Panes: More recently, a new option utilizing the historic wood-and-glass windscreen at the rear of the sanctuary was introduced to hold names. Leaded glass panes, in differing sizes and in different physical locations on the windscreen panels, can be dedicated for living or deceased members. Names are permanently etched into each panel and become superimposed on our sacred space beyond with the warm glow of lighting from above. These panes are available for inscription with a gift beginning at $100,000 and may be reserved to be paid over time or through a bequest.
Please contact Cindy Cutler, Chief Development Officer, at or 212-507-9577. to discuss these dedications and memorials, and other possibilities.
Temple Emanu-El is unique in allocating funds raised on Yom Kippur and throughout the year for programs and services for those in need. Each year, the Congregation donates 100% of the funds raised by the Philanthropic Fund to worthy local and global causes.
Your gift to the Philanthropic Fund provides support for:
Championing Israel’s Future
Strengthening the Jewish Experience
Helping Vulnerable New Yorkers
Providing International Humanitarian Aid
To make your gift by credit card over the phone, please contact Gila Drazen in the Development Office at 212-507-9525.
Daniel Bloch Jeydel’s speech on the importance of the Philanthropic Fund during Yom Kippur 5785.
More Powerful Together. A gift to the Temple Emanu-El Philanthropic Fund is an affirmation of our long-standing congregational history of impacting lives.
“…our involvement in the messiness of the world…Though the world may at times appear to be deaf to Torah’s message of justice and compassion and peace, in this synagogue we shall proclaim it, and act upon it, and do what we believe must be done, to beat this broken world back into shape.”
Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson
Rosh Hashanah, 5778
