AMAZING things are happening HERE!
During difficult times and times of joy, we are HERE for YOU. We are HERE to connect. We are HERE to learn. We are HERE to help. We are HERE to explore. We are HERE to celebrate. We LOVE having you HERE. YOU BELONG HERE!
Liz Wiener Neale Vice President
Allen Geller President
Scott Nussbaum Vice President
Tammy Szerencsy Secretary
Richard Blatt
Lauren Borkon
Jacqueline Covey
Frank D’Ambrosio
Lynne Falkowitz
Deborah Glennon
Jana Grotas
Charles Berman
Howard Berrent
Amy Braunstein
Irwin A. Cantor
Jonathan Cheris
Richard Evans
Rabbi Michael A. White
Rabbi Ilana Schachter
Cantor Sergei Schwartz
Cantor-Educator
Elena Schwartz
Steven Halpern
Jeffrey Sklar Executive Vice President/Treasurer
Amy Pepper Vice President
Charles Weiss Legal Counsel
Adam Weinschel Vice President
Daniel Marvin
Charlotte Hollander
Norman Hollander
Ginny Jordan
Bert Kraus
Maribeth Kraus
Rob Kuppersmith
Michelle Golden
Dr. Steven Goodman
Barbara M. Kessler
Richard C. Laskey
Martin Marlowe
Daniel S. Reich
Danielle Massari
Adam Mesh
Anne Niesenbaum
Gil Vilkas
Leslie Wollin
Tracy Zimmerman
David Schwartz
Michael Shaffet
Sandra Tankoos
Carol B. Weinstock
Howard J. Weisler
Toni Wiener
Lauryn Berger
Rachel Bloom
Adam Gass
Julie Krystal
Lindsay Dayan
ECC Director
Dina Kwasnicki
Lee Mirrer
Executive Director
Director of Youth & Teen Engagement
Heather Murray
Director of Operations & Technology
Adrianne Rubin, PhD
Director of Membership & Engagement
In order (for a person) to sing, their soul and their heart must burst into song. One of the conditions of prophecy was the necessity for the prophet to be in a state of joy, even while in a time of suffering.
Rabbi Kalonymos Kalman Shapira wrote these words in the Warsaw Ghetto, probably in 1942, in response to the question “How can we celebrate Passover here? How can we sing songs of liberation now?”
Rabbi Shapira was given the honorific title Eish Kodesh, The Holy Fire, and his words teach us why. Even in our people’s darkest hour, and in his personal darkest hour—he watched his son murdered by the Nazis and he knew he would not survive the Ghetto—he taught his people to continue to affirm life. Even as he watched Nazi evil consume his people, he taught them to sing.
The question put to the Eish Kodesh resonates this year, after the massacre of October 7th, after Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel, after we American Jews have faced unrelenting hatred and bigoted accusations in every part of our culture and society. And his response must also be ours. Even now, we must sing our songs. We must find strength and hopeful optimism in our community, especially now.
After October 7th, our Temple Sinai community proudly expressed our love for Israel in its time of need. We sent supplies, resources, messages of solidarity and more. We offered numerous learning opportunities and became better versed in the complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict, we supported our college students as they faced an onslaught of anti-Israel vitriol on campus, and we made certain that our temple’s children, at every age, were taught the power and the beauty of Jewish peoplehood and the centrality of Zionism to our Judaism.
People noticed. While most synagogues are continuing to shrink and suffer financial hardship, Temple Sinai grew this year. Out of the uncertainty, anxiety, and grief of our post-October 7th reality, grew a deeper, richer, more robust commitment to our temple, our people and our homeland.
Perhaps most importantly, we sing. At every opportunity, we heed the Eish Kodesh’s admonition to celebrate the blessings of our faith and community. If October 7th taught us anything, it reminded us of Temple Sinai’s vital importance: a sacred embrace, an invitation to greater learning, a kinship with other Jews in an often hostile world, for every generation. Thank God for our proud, strong, vibrant Temple Sinai of Roslyn. Thank God for your continued support and affiliation. May we go from strength to strength.
L’Shalom, Rabbi Michael A. White
A group of congregants traveled to Washington, DC with Cantors Sergei & Elena Schwartz to take part in the March for Israel on November 14, 2023.
Our Religious School students wrote notes that were packaged with the hats.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists waged the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
With our clergy at the helm, Temple Sinai immediately came together - holding a prayer vigil, raising money for Magen David Adom, and pivoting from holding a gala in celebration of the temple’s 75th Anniversary, to a fundraiser in support of MDA.
As of this writing, the terrorists are still holding 134 men, women, and children in captivity.
#bringthemhomenow
Our teens made and sold 100 “Stand with Israel” bracelets, raising
An empty chair for the hostages at the Intergenerational Women’s Seder hosted by Friend of a Friend
We focused our fundraising efforts on Magen David Adom, Israel’s version of the Red Cross. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to match donations up to $44 million.
Our goal was to raise $250,000, which would cover the cost of two much-needed ambulances.
To date, the Temple Sinai community has donated $345,000
While in Israel on a mission trip, Rabbi Schachter was able to visit MDA and was excited to pose in front of one of the ambulances that was purchased with the funds raised by Temple Sinai!
319 people attended our Support for Israel Fundraiser on November 16, 2023. Our speakers for the evening were Dagan Cohen, who leads the Shinshonim program at the Sid Jacobson JCC, leaders from Magen David Adom, who presented their lifesaving work, and Sinai’s own, Louis & Jana Sheinker, whose son Ethan is a Lone Soldier serving in the IDF.
Rabbi White reunited with Aryeh Myers of MDA while in Israel on a mission trip in January.
Rabbi White also spent time with Ethan Sheinker, who is protecting our beloved Israel as a Lone Soldier in the IDF.
In February, Cantor Elena Schwartz went on a mission trip with the World Union for Progressive Judaism.
In early May, Rabbi Ilana Schachter went on a solidarity mission trip to Israel. She left a note from Temple Sinai on a tree of hope and wishes on Kibbutz Nir Oz. The tree stands in front of the house of a family taken hostage on October 7.
Martin & Phyllis Biener were founding members of Temple Sinai.
Creating legacy from generation to generation
One of the things that makes Temple Sinai such a special place is the families who are with usgeneration after generation. We look forward to including other multi-generational families in our materials throughout the year.
Thank you to the Biener/Weinstock family, the Reich family, the Weinschel family, and the Wiener/Neale family, for sharing some of their special Temple Sinai memories.
Their daughter, Carol, married Stanley Weinstock in the Sanctuary on March 29, 1970. They joined Temple Sinai in 1971.
Carol & Stanley raised three children, Jason, Caryn, and Andrew. Andrew and his wife Jara joined Temple Sinai in 2011. His brother Jason and wife Lora followed in 2012. On May 18, 2024, Andrew & Jara’s daughter Amelia will become Bat Mitzvah.
Betty and Marshall Reich joined Temple Sinai in 1955. Their son, Danny, became Bar Mitzvah in 1966.
Danny’s four children, Scott, Leslie, Andrew, and Jesse, all grew up at Temple Sinai
Alan and Barbara Weinschel joined Temple Sinai in 1974 - 50 years ago!
Their son, Adam, became Bar Mitzvah in 1985. Adam and his wife, Leah Tobin, joined Temple Sinai in 2012.
Their son, Henry, became Bar Mitzvah at Temple Sinai in 2019. Daughter Phoebe became Bat Mitzvah in 2022.
Toni & Henry Wiener joined Temple Sinai in 1984. Their daughter, Liz, became Bat Mitzvah in 1993. Hailey, daughter of Liz and husband Jeffrey Neale, became Bat Mitzvah in 2023.
Richard & Jill Barry
Stuart Bayer
Marlene Bittman
David & Stacee Blatte
Lawrence & Barbara Blatte
David & Lauren Borkon
Richard & Amy Braunstein
Howard & Ellen Brecher
Susan Broxmeyer
Jonathan & Ann Cheris
David & Michelle Cohen
Ron & Irene Cohen
Josh Cook & Anna Tuman
Milton & Shirley Cooper
Richard & Fara Copell
Stephen & Jacqueline Covey
Frank & Sharon D’Ambrosio
Jay & Sherri Eisenstadt
Gary & Lynne Falkowitz
Donald & Ellen Feldman
Susan Fenton
The Sinai 75 campaign will ensure that Temple Sinai continues to serve as a place through which Jewish values and Jewish pride can be handed down, from generation to generation.
Thank you to those who generously donated to the campaign.
Steven & Sheryl Goodman
Jeffrey & Suzanne Gould
Woody Greenberg
Michael & Jane Groothuis
Aaron & Jana Grotas
Douglas & Leslie Hirsch
James & Ellen Hochfelder
Virginia Jordan
Eric & Marnee Kaltman
Neal & Nancy Kaplan
Robert & Cindy Kaplan
Eric & Felice Kobrick
Andrew & Maribeth Kraus
Bert & Paula Kraus
Howard & Rosalind Kroplick
Jeffrey & Pamela Krugman
Rob & Alyssa Kuppersmith
Lowell & Fern Kwiat
Dennis & Kathy Lazar
Robert & Donna Liebowitz
Jason & Erika Lipetz
Joshua Greene & Esther Fortunoff Greene
Michael & Linda Fox
Leonard & Marlene Freeman
Adam & Perri Gass
Allen & Nancy Geller
Todd Glickman
Daniel, Rebecca and Sarah Golden
Seth & Michelle Golden
David Goldman & Caryn Hirshleifer
Adam & Elyse Goldsmith
Marty Litt & Debra Schutzer-Litt
Ira Malin & Janet Serle
The Massari Family
Ardith Mederrick & Family
Adam & Jessica Mesh
Charles & Cathy Miller
Jonathan & Cathy Miller
David & Laurel Nachman
Michael & Ronna Niederman
Anne & Keith Niesenbaum
Irene Ackerman
Richard & Jill Barry
Howard & Marjorie Berrent
David & Stacee Blatte
Lawrence & Barbara Blatte
David & Lauren Borkon
Richard & Amy Braunstein
Howard & Ellen Brecher
Clifford & Jacqueline Cooper
Milton & Shirley Cooper
Todd Cooper & Vicki Rosenberg Cooper
David & Laurie Finkelstein
Scott & Emily Nussbaum
Amy Pepper
Stephen & Lila Redlich
James & Ilene Robbins
Rory & Wendy Rosegarten
Robert & Jodi Rosenthal
James & Carol Rotenberg
Jane Scal
Michael & Monelle Schiavo
Perry & Sheri Schorr
Thomas & Madelynn Schwarz
Lawrence & Judith Shulman
Michael Sirowitz
Sharon Sklar
Jeffrey & Kelly Sklar
Howard & Amy Smith
Andrew & Jacalyn Stern
Linda Stern
Regina Stone
Deborah Sussman Living Trust
Michael & Tammy Szerencsy
Richard & Karin Tanenbaum
Gil Vilkas
Adam Weinschel & Leah Tobin
Alan & Barbara Weinschel
Andrew & Jara Weinstock
Stanley & Carol Weinstock
The Wissner-Goldman Family
Joel & Rhonda Wolf
David & Leslie Wollin
Dean & Cara Woodhouse
Michael & Gerri Zetlin
Michael & Gerri Zetlin A premium category of membership A special thank you to our 2023-2024 LEV Society members
Adam & Perri Gass
Jeremy & Brooke Geller
Todd Glickman
Seth & Michelle Golden
Joshua Greene & Esther Fortunoff Greene
Steven & Sandra Harris
Neal & Nancy Kaplan
Ronald & Cynthia Katz
Marty Litt & Debra Schutzer-Litt
Ira Malin & Janet Serle
Veronica Nasary
Mindy Nelkin
Keith & Anne Niesenbaum
Scott & Emily Nussbaum
Amy Pepper
Robert & Jodi Rosenthal
James & Carol Rotenberg
Howard & Robin Schechter
Jeffrey & Kelly Sklar
Linda Stern
Alan & Barbara Weinschel
Charles & Robin Weiss
Richard Yaspan
Throughout the year, the Temple Sinai calendar is filled with holiday celebrations that bring our community together for reflection, joy, music, and delicious food!
In March, our Temple Sinai family came out to Rise Against Hunger!
People of every age group worked in two-hour shifts in a friendly competition to see which group could pack the most meals!
In the end, we made 18,000 packets of rice, beans, and spices which were sent to the Phillippines.
Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, is one of the tenets of Temple Sinai.
Even the youngest members of our community perform acts of kindness.
We love preparing brunch for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House!
1,162
total hours of community service were performed by teens through our SULAM Teen Programs in 2023-2024
23 teens gave up their Saturday night plans once a month to create and distribute food and hygiene kits to 30-40 homeless men and women of NYC each month. This year, due to safety concerns following October 7, we pivoted to stay local for a portion of the year, and our teens increased the number of kits packed to 60 a month to serve a local food pantry/homeless shelter. The total number of meals and hygiene kits provided this year was 350.
24 teens give up their Sunday mornings to mentor and support children through the Department of Homeless Services.
In October, we held our Gleanings morning at the Queens County Farm! It was the perfect activity for the Global Day of Loving Kindness. We harvested about 15 crates full of peppers and eggplants that were donated to the food insecure through Commonpoint Queens community centers.
A small thing, but in a dissonant world, every moment of harmony counts--and if we share music, we might just shout in anger a little less and sing in unity more. Or so we can hope.
- Jon Meacham, Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation
Music is an integral part of our temple. From sacred music to jazz, our membership is enriched by the wide variety of musical offerings brought to us by our Cantors Sergei and Elena Schwartz. If you leave a Friday night service unable to get a tune out of your head, you’ve enjoyed a beautiful shared experience.
This year’s musical highlights included:
• Several services featuring the music of the Temple Sinai Community Choir
• An evening with Maestro Elli Jaffe, noted Israeli classical composer and conductor
• Celebrations of Jewish Peoplehood, with Israeli music accompanying guest presentations
• Purim Speakeasy & Karaoke Night
• Celebrating Jewish People, Art & Music with the Oren Neiman Trio
• Concert with opera star Denis Sedov
• Piano Dedication Celebration with a concert by our own Alon Yavnai
Alon Yavnai and the Cantors with opera star Denis Sedov
Our cultural experiences are not limited to musical programs. Throughout the year, Temple Sinai is proud to present best-selling authors, compelling films, talks by prominent members of the Jewish community, art shows, theatre visits, and a variety of museum experiences.
We Celebrated Jewish Peoplehood all year long! The committee chairs join Kelly Sklar after her talk about AFTAU
Cantors Sergei & Elena Schwartz with renowned Maestro Elli Jaffe
Docent & Congregant Jackie Covey leads our group through the Modigliani Exhibit at the Nassau County Museum of Art
Congregant Ronna Niederman was our docent when we toured the Chloé exhibition at the Jewish Museum
Jewish Heritage Tour of the Baltics
July 29 - August 11, 2023
2
9 cantors congregants
1 incredible trip + =
Beautiful Riga, Latvia WE ARE HERE
Temple Sinai of Roslyn 425 Roslyn Road
Roslyn Heights, New York
United States of America 11577
At Taharot Hakodesh Synagogue (Choral Synagogue), the only remaining synagogue in Vilnius, Lithuania
Learning the Pillerkaar, a traditional Estonian folk dance
On the stunning grounds of the Kadriorg Art Museum in Tallinn
Two
January
8th & 9th grade
New Orleans Service Learning Adventure
10th & 11th grade Washington, DC L’Taken Social Justice Seminar
From the little ones in our Early Childhood Center to the oldest members of our Temple Sinai family, we are always ready to learn and expand our minds!
While children in the ECC learn their A, B, C’s, our younger Religious School students are learning their Alef Bets!
Temple Sinai teens experience a variety of learning opportunities with members of the clergy team.
Our Religious School Family Programs and our unique B’Mitzvah Program give parents the chance to learn alongside their children.
Friend of a Friend’s Wine, Women, & Wisdom and Brotherhood’s Scotch & Sacred Text, provide members with the opportunity to learn with our outstanding clergy.
Sixth Grade students in our Holocaust & Jewish Resistance Class recently visited the Holocaust Museum & Tolerance Center with their parents.
Sadly, the war in Israel has provided us with opportunities to hear from those who have been personally affected by the atrocities.
In January, Nova Music Festival survivors Shira Cohen and Eden Shmuel shared their heartbreaking testimony of that horrific event and what they went through to survive the attack by Hamas.
LINDSAY DAYAN Director
A Note from Lee Mirrer, Executive Director:
I am honored and inspired to be supporting our TSECC team led by Lindsay Dayan, Audra Needle, and Michelle Smithson. We are grateful for the committed members of our Parent Faculty Association who invest their expertise, enthusiasm, creativity, and time to create memorable experiences for our ECC families. At TSECC, our kesher, our connection, is the keystone upon which our community continues to grow and thrive. With 138 students enrolled in 2023-24 - a record number - the TSECC makes significant cultural and revenue contributions to Temple Sinai.
Our ECC team is committed to listening for understanding and structuring uniquely meaningful experiences, for not only each and every child, but for their families as well. Our young learners are introduced to Judaism in a caring, compassionate, joyful and safe environment with educators committed to linking daily experiences that cultivate an enthusiasm for learning. The team is nurtured by the support of our broader Temple Sinai clergy team and staff, who help foster innovation and community, providing the TSECC team with the leadership and resources to perform at the highest levels.
We have an exceptional faculty of dedicated, passionate, and experienced educators, achieving unprecedented stability during a time in which early education programs have struggled to retain their best. Our educators are intentional and invested, and truly enjoy getting to know each child, appropriately challenging and supporting them, helping them feel seen and heard, and enabling them to build the skills to navigate the social and emotional hurdles that are part of growing up.
TEMPLE SINAI EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
Our TSECC and Religious School partnered on an ECC expansion which began during the 2023-2024 academic year. Our strategic facility utilization supported a 16% increase in enrollment this. ECC classrooms were retrofitted in the lower level of the Religious School, enabling the Religious School to use these classrooms on peak enrollment days. Our teachers and administrators in both programs demonstrated adaptability and partnership to create smaller toddler/2’s classes whose environments are conducive to customizing experiences based upon the unique interests and needs of each child.
In partnership with PJ Library, we are once again able to subsidize opportunities for ECC class parents to engage with each other and continue to deepen their connections.
Our ECC held both a Chanukah Ball and a Passover Seder catered by V&Z in our elegant ballroom. We hosted over 300 children and their family members, who engaged with our clergy team and professional staff.
Our Pre-K program continues to grow despite UPK opportunities. Over the past four years Pre-K enrollment increased nearly 300%.
Award-winning author and Jewish early childhood educator, Sue Topek, provides our teachers with Judaic curriculum and support in their educational approach, along with monthly story time for our ECC children.
Our PFA continues to plan and support major programs and events including our Scholastic Book Fair, which generated over $6,000 in sales this year.
CANTOR-EDUCATOR
ELENA SCHWARTZ Religious School Director
223 hours of in-person learning
172.5 hours of Hebrew tutorials
TEMPLE SINAI RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
2023-2024 BY THE
238 students including 5 Kadima students
50 of Israel education with Shira Yaron, our ShinShinit from Israel hours
8 Mitzvah Education programs offered Sharing Shabbat Sharing Shabbat
6 Sharing Shabbat programs
144 Hineni students
120 families participated in Family Education Programs in Grades K-6
132 students cooked Jewish foods with Morah Paula
56 students participated in the Holocaust & Jewish Resistance class
168
587.5
20 hours preparing students for their Milestone Services
47 students received hours of B’nei Mitzvah tutoring
15 Prayer Resource Binders created Torah Resource Binders created
DINA KWASNICKI Director of Youth & Teen Engagement
SULAM TEEN PROGRAMS uniquely engaged teens Over engaged in regularly scheduled MONTHLY programs engaged in regularly scheduled WEEKLY programs regularly scheduled programs throughout the year On average, each student participated in teens attended one-off programs throughout the year
120
99 40
2023-2024 BY THE NUMBERS
30
2
4
teen families rejoined Temple Sinai for the sole purpose of involvement in Teen Programs
teens are working as interns in temple offices, the ECC, & Religious School classrooms
An average of teens attend monthly SORTY Special Events including Sushi in the Sukkah Chanukah Laser Tag Puppy Party... and MORE! students on average attend weekly Starbucks Hours with Dina
More than students in temple-wide, intergenerational programs participated
70
10-12
70
average creative & engaging programs per month participants at teens in leadership roles
2-3
ADRIANNE RUBIN
Director of Membership & Engagement
Sinai’s own Jackie Covey, was our docent for the spectactular Modigliani exhibit at the Nassau County Museum of Art
It has been an exceptionally active year for Adult Engagement, a year filled with meaning, connection, and solidarity with our beloved Israel. While we had numerous programs and events mapped out for this year, many more were added in the aftermath of October 7, and in response to the ensuing war and rise in antisemitism. As always, our Rabbis offered new perspectives on timeless issues, including their classes A Jewish Approach to Death and Mourning as Inspiration for Holy Living and Antisemitism on Stage. Our spirits have been uplifted by impactful films and theatre, beautiful museum exhibitions of Jewish artists and designers, enlightening authors’ talks, and world-class musical programs brought to us by our Cantors. Sinai Tribes continue to foster friendships between congregants, while very special intergenerational bonds were formed during a series of ECC Shabbat services to which our senior temple members were invited. The power of belonging to an engaged community has never been more resonant.
Make Me a Match • A Jewish Approach to Death & Mourning as Inspiration for Holy Living • Happy Hour
• Wednesday Morning Meditation • Antisemitism on Stage • Scotch & Sacred Text • Wine, Women, & Wisdom
Lisa Belkin: Genealogy of a Murder • Brad Kolodny: The History of Jews on Long Island: 1705-1918
• Daniel Gross: A Banker’s Journey: How Edmond J. Safra Built a Global Financial Empire • Meryl Ain: Shadows We Carry
David White: Campus Conversation • Shaya Lerner: Anti-Zionism vs. Antisemitism
Conversations with:
Rabbi Meir Azari, Gil Hoffman & Steven Windmueller • “Hear Their Story” (Nova Music Festival Survivors’ Testimony • Adi’s Story
Light Classical Concert • Mom’s the Word • Light Jazz Concert • Cantorial Concert
Golda • Tour of “Modigliani & the Modern Portrait” at the Nassau County Museum of Art • Tour of “Mood of the Moment: Gaby Abhion and the House of Chloé”at the Jewish Museum • Prayer for the French Republic • Jackie Covey: “Beyond Modigliani and Chagall: More Jewish Artists of the School of Paris • Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen • Melissa Klapper: “American Jewish Women as Changemakers: The History & the Legacy” • Joshua Greene and Panel: “Vladka Meed: A Model of Courage, Resistance, and Hope”
Every year, the Temple Sinai Social Action Committee disburses up to $7,000 to 15
different organizations whose causes include homelessness, the LGBT+ community, mental illness, cancer, domestic violence, Israel, and the Holocaust, among others.
We also take on many hands-on projects and collections throughout the year. In 2023-2024...
We raised funds for Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance, and blood bank service.
We sent requested supplies to the IDF
ROBYN SCHREIBER Chair, Social Action Committee
150 18,000
We had over volunteers put together meals of rice, beans and spice packets for Rise Against Hunger – an international hunger relief non-profit organization that coordinates the packaging and distribution of food and other aid to people in developing nations.
We sent toys to Israeli children who live on Kibbutz Kadri
We worked with HIAS and Hatzilu, non-profits that offer assistance to Jewish families and immigrantscollecting food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies.
We teamed up with our ECC families to donate Passover foods to families in need.
We partnered with the Mid-Island JCC on tikkun olam projects.
We helped fill food pantries for the Sid Jacobson JCC, The INN, and Giving is Living.
Our High Holy Days Food Drive collected 2,000 pounds of food.
We collected pajamas & books for kids through the Pajama Program
We prepared brunch for the families staying in the local Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park.
During our annual Coat Drive, we collected and distributed coats, hats, gloves, and scarves to local families in need
We delivered about 50 meals this year to local food-insecure families through our popular Cooking for a Cause mornings.
We harvested vegetables at the Queens County Farm for those in need.
We provided information about NAMI.
NORMAN HOLLANDER President
It has been a very exciting year for Brotherhood, a dedicated service arm of Temple Sinai.
Our program year began in September, when we brought a brand-new service to temple members. We arranged to have Pro Chef of Long Island, a mobile knife-sharpening service, set up shop in the temple parking lot. Nearly 150 knives were sharpened for our congregants, just in time for the High Holy Days. This was such a success, we are turning it into an annual event. Keeping with another tradition, Brotherhood constructed the Sukkah, as we do every year.
We are so appreciative of Rabbi Michael White, who joins us several times a year for the popular Scotch and Sacred Text program. The sessions are always insightful, informative, and fun. Brotherhood was also privileged to have Cantor Sergei Schwartz join us for an informative evening at Ben’s Deli, and Rabbi Ilana Schachter returned for our annual Pre-Passover Seder Incredible learning and good food are always the perfect combination.
This past February, Brotherhood hosted a Super Bowl Party at the temple, and in mid-May, we are co-sponsoring a Comedy Night with Friend of a Friend.
Our networking initiative, Temple Sinai CONNECT, led by Brotherhood past president Richard Blatt, now meets one evening a month. CONNECT continues to be an invaluable resource for temple members.
On March 22, Brotherhood was honored at the first-ever Brotherhood Shabbat Service. Many of our members participated in the service by opening the ark, chanting prayers, and doing readings. We are proud that the Brotherhood Shabbat Service will now be a yearly addition to the temple calendar.
Brotherhood looks forward to continuing to serve the needs of the Temple Sinai community.
Raised $1,000 Donated over $8,000 for Sinai Support through our third annual Super Bowl pool to causes including Camp Eisner, Men of Reform Judaism, Magen David Adom, the TSECC & more
Friend of a Friend had another fabulous year!
320 events every month 2-3
members
About half of our members attended at least one of our events.
These are some of the highlights from 2023-2024!
CHARLOTTE HOLLANDER & LESLIE WOLLIN Co-Presidents
10
women decorated the Sukkah
At our Sukkot Brunch indoors, our Ushpizin, Lynn Fishkind & Loryn Solomon, shared their Jewish journeys.
Amy Zuflacht chaired this year’s Religious School Holiday Boutique. It was even more special this year because we also sold items from our Judaica shop. Our annual latke parties were also a big hit with the kids!
• We wrote Purim cards for IDF soldiers that Cantor Elena brought to Israel on her mission trip.
• The proceeds from our annual Purim postcard sale were donated to Magen David Adom.
In November, we had our annual holiday luncheon, planned by the one and only Barbara Blatte. We enjoyed good food, fun grab bag gifts, and the camaraderie of being with other FOF members.
85
women attended our annual Intergenerational Women’s Seder. It was another moving, spiritual, and fun evening, where we sang, danced, and ate!
We took a fascinating and educational tour of Coe Hall, followed by a delicious lunch.
Carolyn Lituchy, held not one but Writers’ Workshops.
2
Paula Kraus graciously hosted our first Wine, Women, & Wisdom of the year in December. Cantor Elena led the discussion on the importance of happiness.
women prepared and delivered meals for Cooking for a Cause.
25
20 women led the congregation in prayer, song, & dance at the Friend of a Friend Shabbat Service.
JEFFREY SKLAR Executive Vice President/Treasurer
Our collective strength as a community is derived by cultivating deep connections through worship, engaging programs and events, and impactful Tikkun Olam projects. All of what we do is driven by our members –by YOU!
Our approach to budgeting ensures that decisions are guided by Temple Sinai’s Mission, and that they support the financial health of our institution and our community.
Temple Sinai operates on a fiscal year which ends on June 30, 2024. Therefore, please note, stated income is projected.
• In the wake of October 7th, our Temple Sinai community proudly expressed our support for Israel in numerous ways. One avenue was through our members’ profound generosity, which resulted in more than $345,000 being raised for Magen David Adom, Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross. Our members’ donations were more than enough to purchase two ambulances, and to provide other needed resources and supplies.
• During a year in which many synagogues experienced a reduction in membership, our Temple Sinai family continued to grow. Temple Sinai’s tiered membership model, introduced in 2022-2023, continues to resonate with both current and prospective members. Our total member households have increased from 765 in 2021-22 to over 800 this fiscal year.
• Our Early Childhood Center was comprised of 128 happy and engaged children this year, the highest number of students on record at Temple Sinai. Enrollment increased by 18 children or 16% over last year and will achieve its budgeted revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
• Through the generosity of our members, over $900,000 was pledged in honor of Temple Sinai’s 75th Anniversary Campaign, which coincided with the 75th Anniversary of the State of Israel. In addition, 12 families made a three-year commitment to LEV Society membership to provide continuous support to help sustain our temple.
$1,850,000
(Simcha Fund, Sinai Support, Memorial Book, Kol Nidre, Book of Life, Book of Remembrance), Sinai 75 donations are NOT included.
Membership dues cover just over half of the cost of operating Temple Sinai. Additional income is critical to elevating the experiences of our members through the scope and quality of our programs and operations. As the beacon for progressive Judaism on Long Island, we rely on your generosity and commitment for today and as a cornerstone of the financial and cultural foundation for future generations.
