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 …
When you name Congregation Emanu-El as a beneficiary of your estate you express your continued commitment to the temple and provide valuable support for all areas. These gifts may be made by designating the temple in your will or living trust. You may also name Congregation Emanu-El as a beneficiary of a paid-up life insurance policy, a retirement plan, or IRA, by revising the beneficiary designation form. Your personal advisors can suggest the best ways for you to include Congregation Emanu-El in your estate plans. You may also be able to achieve your philanthropic objectives as well as increase your current income with a Charitable Gift Annuity or Charitable Remainder Trust. Emanu-El offers a wide range of gift planning opportunities, and you may also be able to reserve a dedication or a memorial in anticipation of a future donation.
The Heritage Society is an honorary group formed to recognize those devoted members and friends of Emanu-El who have included a gift for the Congregation in their estate plans. All bequest intentions (with the exception of a contingent bequest), life-income, and planned gifts qualify one for membership in this esteemed society. Members of The Heritage Society receive invitations for exclusive events and are listed annually in the development newsletter, Window.
Have you included a gift in your will or trust to Temple Emanu-El? Please take a minute to fill out this form so we can thank you for your lasting commitment to our community, and invite you to become a member of The Heritage Society.
You may also contact Gila Drazen, Development Operations Manager, at or 212-507-9525 to discuss bequests, personalized gift planning and membership in The Heritage Society.
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 Gila Drazen, Development Operations Manager, at or 212-507-9525. 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
