Introducing the L’Dor VaDor Society

Members of all ages make legacy gifts! In addition to including Temple in a will, designating Temple as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or 401(k) is also simple and easy to do.

If Temple already is in your estate plans, please let us know so we can share our appreciation and recognize you in the L’Dor VaDor Society. If you’d just like to learn more, please contact Lisa Horowitz, Executive Director, at lhorowitz@tdhs-nw.org or (206) 693-3368.

Introducing the L’Dor VaDor Society: a promise to Future Generations

When you make a legacy gift – one that Temple will receive in the future – you confirm your place in Temple’s 123-year-old history and ensure that our community remains vibrant for generations to come.

What will your legacy be? Two couples share their stories.

Stephanie Carmel and David Oder

We joined Temple in 2002, when our kids were three and five years old. We were looking for a Jewish community, liked the Rabbis, and took a “leap of faith” as we knew no one at TDHS and had no family in Seattle.

Almost two decades later, some of our fondest memories are of Sunday School mornings, sitting in the Seattle Chapel during the service, and hearing all of the kids singing prayers in Hebrew by heart.

We decided to make a legacy gift as our way of making an investment in the future of Reform Judaism in Seattle. As a first-generation family, we have been so impressed with the way Temple leads in the Seattle community and we are honored to be a part of it.

What do we imagine Temple will be like in 2050? We hope that future generations are enjoying time with their families at Temple, people are making lifelong friends just as we have, and the sun is still shining through the Moses window during Friday night services in the summer.

Emily and Aaron Alhadeff

Both of us grew up at Temple – literally – with Aaron first attending services in a baby carriage and Emily listening to her dad blow the shofar for decades. While we first met at the JCC preschool and attended JDS together, going to Sunday School each week was a huge factor in our maintaining a constant friendship. It’s always been our second home.

As adults and parents, we’ve watched our Temple experience go full circle. Our sons are surrounded by extended family in the same seats where our parents and grandparents sat, and are repeating many of our best childhood memories, while also creating their own.

While our roots run deep, it’s Temple’s leadership role in the Jewish and greater community that inspires us to invest in Temple today, and to have made a legacy gift, for the future. We not only hope that our kids and their kids have the same feelings of belonging and safety as we’ve had; we want that sense of home and tradition for everyone – including those who didn’t grow up here.

How do we imagine Temple in 2050? Temple isn’t a place; it’s a way of being. We see our strong congregation standing for the same core values it does today - progressive, open, accepting, innovative, and dynamic.