Categories
Announcement

Interested in joining? New to the area?
We’d enjoy meeting you.
Please Email or call (607-723-7461) to schedule a visit

Special Appeal:
Help Rebuild Beth Israel, Jackson, MS

Urgent CHOW Donation

Pay Dues Here

Thank you for supporting our Synagogue

Upcoming

  • Friday, January 16
    • 5:30pm: Kabbalat Shabbat Service
  • Saturday, January 17
    • 9:30am: Shabbat Morning Service
    • 12:15pm: Kiddush
    • 6:00pm: Havdalah (Zoom only)
  • Monday, January 19
  • Tuesday, January 20
    • 4:30pm: Torah in our Times Discussion
    • 5:30pm: Minyan Service
  • Friday, January 23
    • 5:30pm: Kabbalat Shabbat Service
    • 6:00pm: Community Shabbat Dinner
  • Saturday, January 24
    • 9:30am: Shabbat Morning Service
    • 12:15pm: Kiddush
    • 6:00pm: Havdalah (Zoom only)
  • Monday, January 26
  • Tuesday, January 27
    • 4:30pm: Torah in our Times Discussion
    • 5:30pm: Minyan Service
  • Friday, January 30
    • 5:30pm: Kabbalat Shabbat Service
  • Saturday, January 31
    • 9:30am: Shabbat Morning Service
    • 12:15pm: Kiddush
    • 6:15pm: Havdalah (Zoom only)
  • Tuesday, February 3
    • 4:30pm: Torah in our Times Discussion
    • 5:30pm: Minyan Service
  • Friday, February 6
    • 5:30pm: Kabbalat Shabbat Service
  • Saturday, February 7
    • 9:30am: Shabbat Morning Service
    • 12:15pm: Kiddush
      • Ice Cream for Breakfast Day: Ice Cream Kiddush
    • 6:15pm: Havdalah (Zoom only)
Synagogue Life

Categories
Fundraising

Special Appeal
Help Rebuild Beth Israel
Jackson, MS

Dear Temple Israel community,

I am writing to you with the hope that we can respond meaningfully together to the tragic act of antisemitic arson in Jackson, Mississippi this past Shabbat (January 10, 2026). As you likely have heard, this synagogue is the only one in Jackson and was once before set on fire when their rabbi acted in support of the Civil Rights movement in 1967.

This time, the synagogue building was largely destroyed, yet the community promises to persevere and Jewish communities around the world are making donations to support their efforts to rebuild and continue to be a home for Jewish life in Mississippi.

Just like other congratulations jumped in to help Temple Israel to rebuild 10 years ago, it’s our turn to repay their generosity by helping Beth Israel in Jackson, MS rebuild after the arson attack this past weekend.
You can make a direct donation to the Beth Israel website, or you can call the office (607)- 723-7461 to make a donation to Temple Israel for this purpose, and then we will make a collective donation to Beth Israel.

Let us take inspiration from the words of Psalms we recite on holidays as part of Hallel:


מְקִ֥ימִ֣י מֵעָפָ֣ר דָּ֑ל מֵ֝אַשְׁפֹּ֗ת יָרִ֥ים אֶבְיֽוֹן׃ לְהוֹשִׁיבִ֥י עִם־נְדִיבִ֑ים עִ֝֗ם נְדִיבֵ֥י עַמּֽוֹ׃
G-d raises up the disregarded from the dust, lifts up the needy to sit with the generous, with the ennobled generous ones of G-d’s people.

L’shalom,
R’ Micah

Categories
Education

New Class with Rabbi Friedman

Hebrew with the Weekly Parsha

This class will be a unique chance to intertwine language, learning and meaningful engagement with the stories and commandments of the Torah. Whatever your background, you will gain new knowledge in the Hebrew language as well as explore new layers of the Torah. 

Mondays, beginning January 12, 2026, 6:30pm, TI Chapel

Categories
Education

TI/TC Joint Adult Education for January
Sunday, January 11, 10:00 AM
at Temple Concord

Great Jewish Short Stories read live, in person! by Charles Berman, Andy Horowitz, Ben Kasper, and Deb Williams, with Steve Gilbert serving as the emcee. A voluntary contribution between $5 and $20 is welcome, and reservations are most helpful and appreciated; you may RSVP to Temple Concord 607-723-7355 or to Temple Israel 607-723-7461.
Categories
Education

Tuesday Torah in our Times Discussion

Tuesdays, 4:30 PM, TI Chapel
(prior to Minyan service at 5:30pm)

This is an evolution of a space for conversation, learning, and community-building that Rabbi Friedman has been facilitating on and off over the past 15 months. The goals are tri-fold: to bring Torah into conversations with issues and topics that are relevant in current events, to build relationships and community through substantive conversation about Torah and contemporary issues, and to move beyond the polarized and partisan tone and tenor of public discourse about current issues through grounding ourselves in ancient Jewish teachings.

Categories
Announcement

January 2026

Letter from the Rabbi

Dear Temple Israel Community,

Happy secular New Year to you and yours! I hope the first few days of 2026 have found you well and, if you’re local, that you’re enjoying the beauty of the snow as well the comfort of warm indoors.

As you likely saw in a message I shared during Hanukkah a few weeks ago, Rav Talia and I have come to the difficult decision that I will not be continuing in my current full-time capacity as the rabbi of Temple Israel into a fourth contract-year. The past 2.5 years of serving this remarkable synagogue community have been a time filled with meaning and connection and I am deeply grateful to each of you for your part in sustaining this congregation. Now, I am looking forward to another 6 months filled with deepening in our efforts to strengthen our local community, care for each other, and embrace our relationship with Torah, Mitzvot, and Judaism!

January at Temple Israel will be filled with wonderful opportunities for coming together! In our weekly Torah reading cycle, we will begin Sefer Shemot – The Book of Exodus – which recounts the foundational story of our ancestor’s redemption from enslavement in mitzrayim and our reception of the Torah. As we celebrate Shabbat each week, we have a warm group who gathers together to pray and to engage with the parsha. Beginning on Monday January 12th, I will be offering a new opportunity to engage with the weekly Torah portion and to strengthen your foundation in reading Hebrew for meaning.

Many of us, if we learned Hebrew as children, were taught to pronounce the words, but not how to understand the meaning conveyed by them. This class titled Hebrew with the Weekly Parsha will be a unique chance to intertwine language learning and meaningful engagement with the stories and commandments of the Torah. We will gather weekly, in-person and by Zoom, on Monday evenings from 6:30 – 7:45 pm and everyone is invited to participate. Whatever your background, you will be able to gain new knowledge in Hebrew language as well as to unpack new layers of the Torah. You can commit to participating on a weekly basis or simply when you are available. Please, think about coming to learn with me!

Learning has long been a central pillar of Jewish life and, in addition to this new Hebrew with the Weekly Parsha class, there are many other educational events at TI this month. Torah in Our Times resumes this Tuesday 1/6, Hadassah Mativetsky’s class in partnership with the Pardes Institute on the Torah of Being an American Jew will meet for a third session and can still be joined. We also look forward to the January TI/TC Adult Ed Session on Great Jewish Short Stories hosted by Steve Gilbert on 1/11! Last but not least, on 1/21 our regular Hebrew School program will resume as Binghamton University student teachers return to town.

Finally, we are working to put together a couple special Shabbat meals. We have another Community Shabbat dinner scheduled January 23rd and if you would like to help prepare, please reach out. Shabbat Dinners offer a great chance to connect with others in our community across generations. On the first Shabbat of February, we will celebrate Ice Cream for Breakfast Day with Ice Cream at our Shabbat Kiddush, an original Upstate New York informal holiday.

Here’s to a 2026 with ongoing growth and connection for all in our community!

L’shalom,

Rabbi Micah R. Friedman

הרב מיכה שמחה פרידמן 

Categories
Announcement

January 2026

Letter from the President

Dear Members and Friends of Temple Israel,

A historic decade

As we enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century, I wish each of you a Healthy and Happy New Year 2026. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the rebuilding of our Temple Israel building after our prior edifice was destroyed by a severe winter storm. We will mark this anniversary with a gala celebration in July. Watch for details, please volunteer to help in one of many ways, and plan to join us for this joyous occasion!

Temple Israel has been blessed throughout our 140-year history with dedicated volunteers who come forward to meet the evolving needs of our congregation. Making the courageous decision to rebuild, undertaking the daunting task of fundraising, and then managing the myriad details from the first shovel to installing the torah scrolls in the ark — all was accomplished by dedicated volunteers. Maintaining the rhythm of Weekday, Shabbat, and Holiday Services requires participation on the bimah, in the pews, and behind the scenes. New ideas are always welcome, and special programs can always be added when we take the initiative to make them happen. 

We are always looking for volunteers!  As a New Year’s Resolution, I urge you to find one or two new ways that you can support our synagogue to keep it a vibrant center for education for young and old, prayer and consolation, life cycle events, and social connection; for us and for future generations. When the Nominating Committee comes calling, please say “Yes” to an invitation to serve.

As Rabbi Friedman has informed us, he will be ending his tenure as Temple Israel Rabbi at the end of June. We have appreciated his scholarship, compassion, and dedication and wish him and Rav Talia great happiness in the next phase of their life together. We look forward to continuing to study and pray with his leadership while our search committee seeks a successor. 

Upcoming educational programs include Rabbi Friedman’s continuing weekly exploration of Torah in our Times on Tuesday afternoons, and a new adult learning session designed to enhance our understanding and appreciation of our prayer services, as well as our periodic Adult Education events held jointly with Temple Concord. Don’t forget to buy your tickets for the Temple Israel 2026 Lottery Fundraiser. Just $25 buys you hundreds of chances to win, six days a week, all year long, and every ticket sold helps Temple Israel.

Maintaining the health of our pluralistic egalitarian congregation is more crucial than ever, as a bulwark against the rising tide of antisemitism in the world. To operate Temple Israel 365 days every year, we rely on your participation, your Annual Dues, and your generous donations to our standing funds and fund-raisers. We appreciate your donations – large or small – to celebrate a simcha, memorialize a loved one, wish someone a speedy recovery, or just want to give to sustain your synagogue. Let’s fulfill our New Year’s Resolutions together!

Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year 2026,

Art

Arthur B. Siegel
President – Temple Israel

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