Excerpt from Rabbi Amy’s Annual Meeting Remarks

There is so much at Temple Emanuel to be proud of, especially in our educational programs. I want to especially lean into and help paint a picture of our Kesher religious school program: where we are, where we have been, and where we are going.  

Sundays at Temple Emanuel are buzzing. From classroom activities like Alef Bet Yoga to participating in our community holiday experiences like shaking the lulav and etrog, Kesher students and families are engaged and come ready to learn.

One of the things that I am most proud of from this year and excited about for years to come is student engagement in leading t’fillah, prayers. Every time we gather for Kesher, we pray together. Through this t’fillah time, our students are getting comfortable in the sanctuary and begin from an early age to understand that they can be “pray-ers,” people who know how to pray and feel comfortable with prayer. We encourage this by having students of all ages, even before they are prayer proficient, to come up and help lead the community. This creates a warm and supportive environment in which to learn prayers and it also supports Hebrew and prayer learning when students are ready to begin the process of decoding and reading Hebrew.

We are also working hard to build community and friendships at Kesher. One example of this is our midweek Kesher program, where we start the afternoon together with snacks and community time which includes games and getting-to-know-you activities. This has begun to break down the grade level silos and expand opportunities for connections and peers within this older elementary age group. New this year we also had mixed-grade Hebrew groups allowing 4th and 5th graders to study together with a teacher. This mixed-grade grouping allowed for flexibility and creativity in teaching Hebrew and also building our upper elementary community.  

Kesher also participated regularly in the life of the Temple Emanuel. One of my favorite examples is Kesher’s participation in the Jewish Festival. Our students participated in the educational offerings this year at the Jewish Festival, our younger students by singing on the social hall stage and our older students and teens creating presentations about what they have been learning in Kesher and what being Jewish means to them.

Teen involvement after B’nai Mitzvah remains a hallmark of engagement at Temple Emanuel. From Madrichim who guide our younger students at Kesher to teen advocates on the Washington DC Religious Action Center’s L’taken

weekend, our teens have access to a variety of ways to continue their engagement in Jewish life at and beyond Temple Emanuel. We are grateful to our partners in the community, especially the Greensboro Jewish Federation, who help make trips like L’taken and March of the Living possible.  

And to the littlest ones among us. One of my passions is working with Families with Young Children to help them connect and enter Jewish life seamlessly and intentionally. This year, we launched our regular monthly Tot Shabbat and Shabbat Together dinner on the second Friday of the month. This predictable and age-appropriate experience is a powerful tool for recruitment of new families to Temple Emanuel and also has unlimited potential in building out meaningful intergenerational opportunities.  

And who could forget Purim and Hanukkah, too! I loved the chance to help our community celebrate these holidays in new ways and with a lot of ruach. Our Hanukkah celebrations were many - from a Hanukkah themed Tot Shabbat with a huge blow up Hanukkah menorah to a Kesher Hanukkah festival with stations of games, arts, crafts, to our 1st annual Hanukkah Crafts, Cocktails and Conversation, we had something for everyone.  

Purim was incredible, too! Our Kesher Purim carnival and Sunday morning Purim spiel involved the entire community, from the ECEC bake sale, to the Jewish Festival raffle, to the Brotherhood sponsored hot dog and hamantaschen, and Project Hamantaschen! It was heartwarming to see so many generations dressed up, having fun together, and celebrating the story of our people’s strength and resilience.

I have many hopes and dreams for our future at Temple Emanuel.  To name just a few for the year ahead, in collaboration with the education committee, we will be focusing on these main areas:

• Growing our teen community, offering renewed pathways for involvement

• Continuing to align our temple and educational goals

• Solidifying our curriculum and communicating it with the community

• Adding additional Family learning opportunities

• Fun!  We need joy like no time before in Jewish history.

Thank you for an incredible first year at Temple Emanuel and to many more years to come!

Rabbi Amy Hertz

Rabbi Educator