‘We’ve done our best with you’

June 14, 2023

“WE’VE DONE OUR BEST WITH YOU,” Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told our graduating high school seniors as they gathered in our sanctuary. “You have been given all the tools to lead productive Jewish lives — and to make a difference in the world. And this is it! From now on, Jewishly, you’re on your own.” Then the graduates approached the ark to receive individual blessings from Rabbi Hirsch, who spoke quietly to each one before they left the bimah. As part of our Religious School’s end-of-year siyyum ceremony, our clergy took the opportunity to honor not only our younger students, but…

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‘It was like we hit the double jackpot’

May 1, 2023

“IT WAS LIKE WE HIT THE DOUBLE JACKPOT,” recalls Melissa Glassman. When Melissa and Ken, who met as undergrads at Yale Hillel’s Kosher Kitchen, were looking for a preschool for their son, they fell in love with our Early Childhood Center — and were blown away the following night when they came for Kabbalat Shabbat services. “The rest was history,” Melissa says. Both of their children, Noah and Lilah, attended the ECC and Religious School before becoming b’nai mitzvah on our bimah. Now they wake up early on Sundays — no small feat for high schoolers — to support Rabbi…

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‘Lily was beside herself…’

April 1, 2023

LILY* WAS BESIDE HERSELF when her six-year-old daughter’s school notified her about an antisemitic incident in the classroom this past December. Another first grader reportedly told his classmates something along the lines of: “I hate Jews. All Jews should die. And everyone who celebrates Hanukkah — I want to kill.” This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to her family at their progressive private school, but it was certainly the worst. “I love my school and my kids are happy there,” says Lily, but she doesn’t feel that her daughter or the other Jewish families received enough…

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‘Climate change directly affects each of us’

March 1, 2023

“CLIMATE CHANGE DIRECTLY AFFECTS EACH OF US,” says eighth grader Julia Rosenthal. “And it’s something that’s in our power to mitigate.” She along with 27 other eighth and ninth graders from Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and Temple Israel of New York City, traveled to New Orleans over the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. In the pre-dawn hours of January 13, the group of teens departed for John F. Kennedy International Airport and landed in New Orleans just before lunch. This four-day trip, part of our post-b’nai mitzvah teen program, explored the complex and rich history and culture of New Orleans…

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Miami Vice

February 1, 2023

MORE THAN 100 EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER parents, teachers and guests gathered January 21 at Chez Zou for the “Miami Vice”-themed ECC Annual Auction raising some $120,000 to support our school. Emceeing the live auction was comedian Seth “The Zog” Herzog, a regular performer on NBC’s “Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” and the father of two ECC students. “It was awesome to see our parent community come together for such an incredible evening of fun in support of our school,” said Stacie Dattner, who co-chaired the auction with fellow ECC moms Hitha Herzog and Maria Selip. “The fabulous decor, the scrumptious…

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