Mission Statement

Union Temple is an egalitarian, inclusive Reform Congregation, spanning the generations. Founded in 1848, ours is the oldest Jewish congregation in Brooklyn. We are a house of worship, using our strong musical program to enhance the meaning of our services; a house of study for adults and children of our religion and our heritage; and an intimate community of mutual support for our members. We reach out to the diverse communities of Brooklyn and warmly welcome individuals and all types of families to join us. As a congregation we are dedicated to Tikkun Olam, the repairing of our world, through the pursuit of social justice and active participation in the larger Jewish and general communities.

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

Belonging to a diverse and lively Jewish community.

Top-notch religious education for your children at our Sunday School. (Family membership is required after Grade 4)

Personal Bar/Bat Mitzvah instruction for your child from Rabbi Linda Goodman.

Rabbi Goodman’s service for funerals, hospital visits when your family is in need. (Non-Temple members may contract separately with the rabbi, depending on her availability.)

Pastoral counseling and community support in times of distress.

Your loved ones’ names read at services for Yahrzeit.

First preference to Temple members for openings in the Union Temple Preschool program.

Discounted rates for your business to advertise in the monthly Temple newsletter.

Free parking for Temple events in the garage adjoining our Temple building. Historical Overview Union Temple is the first Jewish congregation to have been established in all of Brooklyn and Long Island, officially founded in 1848 by a small group of German and Alsatian Jewish immigrants living in Williamsburg. We are a member congregation of the Union of Reform Judaism, and understand our tradition as a dynamic, ever-expanding and evolving faith. We invite you to celebrate our past, share our present, and be a part of shaping our future.

As the first Jewish congregation established in Brooklyn and Long Island, Union Temple has a long and proud history of service to the Jewish community, and to the Brooklyn community at large. Officially founded in 1848, the congregation originated in what was known as the Village of Williams- burg, one of a number of principalities that at the time comprised what we now know as the Borough of Brooklyn.

Though Jews had been living in New York since 1654, the polls show that by 1848 the Jewish population was still relatively small. The census of 1859 showed about 50,000 Jews in the United States, out of a total population of about 23 million. The first Jewish inhabitant of Williamsburg, one Adolph Baker, settled there in 1837. A handful of Jews followed in subsequent years, crossing over the East River from Manhattan, settling in the vicinity of lower Grand Street. According to the congregation's oral tradition, the more pious of these early Wil- liamsburg Jews would row across the river to spend Shabbat with their families in Lower Manhattan, then row back after dark on Saturday evening. However by 1846, these Jews had established themselves as a community, and took to holding Shabbat services in various private homes. They were of German and Al- satian descent. The congregants designated as their first synagogue the home of Moses Kessel on North Second Avenue, now known as Marcy Avenue. They named the synagogue Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim and elected as their first officiating minister, David Barnard, who previously had been listed in the Village Directory as a He- brew teacher. Nathan Klotz was elected the first president. At the time the congregation worshiped according to Orthodox ritu- al.

In 1860 the congregation purchased and remodeled a church building on South First Street, and subsequently opened a Day School. The Day School offered elementary education in English and German, and included both secular and religious subjects. The Day School offered elementary education in English and German, and included both secular and religious subjects. Beth Elohim—The Keap Street Temple The school closed when free public education was instituted in Brooklyn.

Soon K.K. Beth Elohim had outgrown its building, and a new synagogue was built on Keap Street in 1876. For many years it was the largest synagogue in Brooklyn, acquiring the nickname of The Keap Street Temple.

While K.K.Beth Elohim was growing, a number of Jews in central Brooklyn establish a congregation in keeping with the Reform Movement, brought to America by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. This congregation was founded in 1869, and incorporated in the following year as Temple Israel. Services were held in the Y.M.C.A. building on the corner of Fulton Street and Galatin Place until 1872, when the congregation purchased a former church building on Greene Avenue. In 1891 the congregation consecrated its magnificent new building on the corner of Bed- Temple Israel on Bedford and Lafayette ford and Lafayette Avenues, and several years later, added a second building for school and youth activities. Temple Israel built a reputation as one of the finest synagogues in the Eastern United States. It flourished under the rabbinic leadership of such giants as Rabbi Leon Harrison, later of St. Louis, and Rabbi Martin A. Meyer, later of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco. Also among the congregation’s rabbis were Rabbi Nathan Krass and Rabbi Judah Leon Magnes, each of whom subsequently was called to the pulpit of Congregation Emanu-El, in Manhattan. Dr. Magnes ultimately went on to become the founder and first president of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

As Temple Israel grew in size and stature, K.K. Beth Elohim continued to flourish as well, eventually adopting the reforms introduced into American Jewry by Isaac Mayer Wise. During the tenure of Rabbi Isaac Schwab in the mid-1870's, and in response to the wishes of many of the younger congregants, K.K. Beth Elohim adopted as its official prayer book, Minhag America, written by Dr. Wise, who by that time had established him- self in Cincinnati as a giant in the building of the Reform Movement of Judaism. He became the founding rabbi of the Isaac Mayer Wise Temple on Plum Street, the founder and first president of the Hebrew Union College, for the training of Reform rabbis in America, and the founder of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the brain trust of the Reform Movement in North America, now known as the Union for Reform Judaism.

Both congregations, Temple Israel and K.K. Beth Elohim, had prominent and active memberships. They were active in all areas of communal endeavor. They created various agencies of Jewish philanthropy in Brooklyn, such as: the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, the Jewish Hospital, the Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities (which later merged with the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies), the Hebrew Educational Society, the Hebrew Free Loan Society, and the Ladies' Hebrew Benevolent Society.

In 1921 Temple Israel and K.K. Beth Elohim decided to merge into single Reform congregation, and incorporated into what is now known as Union Temple of Brooklyn. By that time, the center of Brooklyn Jewry had shifted away from Williamsburg, and moved westward toward Flatbush. The newly-merged congregation decided to build a new home at 17 Eastern Parkway. The newly-built eleven-story community house was dedicated on the eve of Sukkot in 1929. It was also in 1929 that Dr. Sidney S. Tedesche began his long and distinguished ministry as rabbi of Union Temple. Once the community house was dedicated, a grand- scale sanctuary had been planned for the corner of Eastern Parkway and Plaza Street. Unfortunately the stock market crash in 1929 scuttled those plans, and a parking lot for use by Temple members was built instead. Worship took place within the Community House, and during the High Holy Days the congregation worshiped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In 1942, a theater on the lobby level of the Community House was converted into a sanctuary, modeled after the synagogue in Essen, Germany, which had been burned by the Nazis. The Temple is situated in a prime location in Brooklyn. Across the street is the Brooklyn Li- brary, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The Grand Army Plaza is a large traffic circle, built around an impressive arch, branching off into numerous boulevards and Prospect Park from its various directions. The planners of the entire area intended for the scheme to be rem- iniscent of the Champs Elysées in Paris. They succeeded.

Union Temple's membership always has engaged in pursuits of tzedakah, justice, and gemilut chasadim, acts of loving kindness. During the Second World War, the Sisterhood Sewing Group was turned into a Red Cross Workshop, which produced thousands of surgical dressings for our service- men and women. The Temple also ran a Red Cross Blood Bank Station, and held itself in a state of readiness as an Emergency Disaster Relief Center. In addition, a number of congregants served in the armed forces, nine of whom made the supreme sacrifice. A notable highlight during the post- War years was the connection with the Brooklyn Dodgers, whose home, Ebbets Field, was located near the Temple. Each year on Thanksgiving, the entire Brooklyn Dodgers team would come to the Temple to share Thanksgiving with hundreds of Jewish orphans that the Brotherhood would bring to the Temple for the day. That tradition of tzedakah and gemilut chasadim continues to this very day, through the exemplary devotion of the members of our Social Action Committee, and indeed, through all the members of our remarkable congregational family, in such programs as: support of the HOPE Program, a job training foundation based in Brooklyn. The annual food drive at Key Food , Food Pantry Collections during the High Holy Days and Sukkot, clothing drives, volunteering at the Hebrew Union College Soup Kitchen and the congregation also contributes generously to the annual Passover Appeals conducted by the Federation Joint Passover Association and the New York Board of Rabbis.

Union Temple's rabbinate has included some of the most distinguished scholars of our time. The following is a record of those who served the congregation from the time of its merger.

Rabbi Simon R. Cohen, 1921-29 (Emeritus 1929-42) Rabbi Sidney S. Tedesche, 1929-54 (Emeritus 1954-62) Rabbi Alfred L. Friedman, 1954-64 Rabbi Jay H. Kaufman, High Holy Day Rabbi, 1950-1970 Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, High Holy Day Rabbi, 1971-1996 Rabbi Dr. A. Stanley Dreyfus, 1964-1979 (Emeritus 1979 - 2008) Rabbi Charles Mintz, 1979-81 Rabbi Jay J. Sangerman, 1981-83 Rabbi Neal Borovetz, 1983-88 Rabbi Dr. Selig Salkowitz, 1988-92 Rabbi Dr. Linda Henry Goodman, 1992-present Rabbis Kaufman and Schindler served the congregation in their capacities as Acting President and President respectively of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism) during the High Holy Days in order to accommodate the large overflow crowd at that time of year. Even when the overflow service was no longer needed, Rabbi Schindler continued to lend his wisdom and expertise to the High Holy Day services as he shared the pulpit with the congregation's rabbis each year until his retirement from the Union in 1996. Our late Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Dr. A. Stanley Dreyfus, was truly one of the giants of the Reform Movement. As Instructor of Rabbinics at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Dr. Dreyfus had helped to educate several generations of rabbis. The former chair of the Liturgy Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, he had authored and edited many of the Reform Movement’s prayer books and Torah commentaries. As the expression would have it, he was a gentleman and a scholar, and we were blessed by his presence. Our current spiritual leader, Rabbi Dr. Linda Henry Goodman, was called to our pulpit in 1992 as the first woman to serve as Rabbi of our congregation. Rabbi Goodman is a musician, a social activist, a teacher to our children and adults alike, and works with great devotion to nurture our congregation, imparting her own love of our Jewish heritage, and her commitment to social justice. Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman

As the Rabbi of Union Temple, I am delighted to welcome you to our wonderful congregational family, and to tell you a bit about myself. I hope you will find fulfillment and joy here in our midst.

The source of my inspiration as a human being, and as a Jew, flows from two streams. One is music. Before I entered Rabbinic School, music was my profes- sional pursuit, both as a pianist and teacher of techniques of music (theory, ear training, keyboard harmony, and the like). I was privileged to serve on the faculties of the Mannes College of Music and SUNY Purchase. At a certain point, however, the other stream of my inspiration began to sound a bit more loudly. That was the call for social justice, and the call for us to do whatever we can to create a better society for ourselves and future generations. It is one of the foundation stones of Prophetic Judaism, upon which the Reform Movement is built, and it continues to inspire me and move me to action. This, coupled with my passionate desire to study the history and texts of Jewish tradition, continues to drive my Rabbinate, and my love for Ju- daism and the Jewish People, and my desire to serve it.

I am a proud native New Yorker. As such, it is a particular honor for me to have been elected as the first woman to serve as President of the New York Board of Rabbis. I have fought for many years for women’s rights, particularly in the areas of reproductive choice and health care. I also am an out- spoken advocate for marriage equality, in New York State and around the country. I also serve on the Clergy Advisory Board of Concerned Clergy for Choice in Albany.

After my ordination by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1985, I became the first woman to serve on the rabbinic staff of Temple Emanu-El of New York, where I learned an enormous amount. From there I went on to serve as Rabbi of the Nassau Community Temple of West Hempstead and Hillel Director and Jewish Chaplain at Adelphi University, and also on the Jewish Studies faculties of Molloy College and New York Theological Seminary. I also have served on the Board of Trus- tees of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and also on the CCAR’s Committees on Jewish Sexu- al Values and Resolutions, and also on the Board of the Women’s Rabbinic Network. I also hold an M.A. in Hebrew Literature and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Hebrew Union College. Since 2005, my hus- band Steve (Rabbi Stephen Wise Goodman) and I have been studying each summer at the Shalom Hart- man Institute in Jerusalem. I have just begun a 3-year program, the Rabbinic Leadership Initiative, at the end of which I will become a Senior Fellow of the Hartman Institute. Steve and I have a gorgeous (!) son named Philip, who is a graduate of Binghamton University. Emma Goldin Student Cantor

As the new student cantor at Union Temple, I am overjoyed to welcome you to our community and to share a bit about myself. I hope you will be able to find a home away from home here at Union Temple, such as I am beginning to find.

I grew up at Congregation B'nai Tikvah in the San Francisco Bay Area. From a young age, I was mentored by my cantor and was very active in my synagogue choir. From my father, who was President of our synagogue and an advocate for social justice in the community, I also learned the importance of community. From my mother, who is a Jew-by-choice, I learned the importance of choosing Judaism and actively incorporating my practice of Judaism into my daily life. While my love for music undoubtedly began in the synagogue, I also began per- forming in musicals at age four. Beloved composers like Leonard Bernstein, Ste- phen Sondheim, and Jason Robert Brown all contributed to shaping both my musical and Jewish identi- ties.

I attended college at the University of California, Davis, leading weekly Shabbat services at Hillel and also working as a cantorial soloist at Congregation Bet Haverim. While studying Religious Studies and Music, I twice received the Don Kunitz Jewish Studies award for my undergraduate research and enjoyed working as a research assistant for the UC Davis Sociology Department. After college, I spent two years exploring: working as an actress, a cantorial soloist, a Hebrew School teacher, and spending time in Isra- el as a volunteer for the Israel Defense Force. In my heart, I knew I needed to follow my lifelong dream of becoming a cantor. I am currently a third year student at the Hebrew Union College’s Debbie Fried- man School of Sacred Music. I am thrilled to be joining Rabbi Goodman as a member of the clergy team at Union Temple, and I am so grateful to have found such a warm and welcoming community to call home.

Mindy Sherry

Director of Youth and Family Engagement

As I was growing up in Miami, FL, my thirst for Jewish Education began when I was quite young, and continues today. My passion for working with people led me to a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. After college, I worked at Temple Judea in Coral Gables, FL, for over nine years before returning to school for graduate study.

I now hold two Master’s Degrees: one in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education, and the other in Jewish Nonprofit Management, both from The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. My experiences in developing a passion for Jewish Education taught me that children learn by doing. Children appreciate the Jewish experience if they actively participate in it. I believe that Jewish educators facilitate learning by providing students with opportunities for involve- ment in hands-on learning activities, and by mentoring them to appreciate the values of Judaism, they are learning by doing. As children become adults in the Jewish community, they remember these experiences and stay connected with Judaism and Jewish causes. It is my hope to help our children develop strong and enthusiastic connections. I look forward to working with each and every one of them. Shabbat at Union Temple

Our Friday Evening Services take place during the course

of each month according to the following schedule:

1st Friday: First Friday Family Shabbat

6:00 Snacks

6:30 Kabbalat Shabbat

Pot luck dinner follows

2nd Friday: 6:30 Kabbalat Shabbat

Oneg to follow, and watch the schedule for guest speakers

3rd Friday: 6:30 Kabbalat Shabbat

Pizza to follow

4th Friday: Fourth Friday Late Shabbat

7:00 Dinner

8:00 Service

9:00 Oneg & Program

(Programs presented by members of our congregation.)

Please note: On the 4th Fridays of holiday weekends in November, December, and May, services are

early Kabbalat Shabbat services at 6:30, followed by an Oneg.

Dues, Fees, and Other Charges 2013 - 2014

DUES SCHEDULE Annual Quarterly

Category Dues & Building Fund Dues & Building Fund

Family over 30 1370 + 150 = $1,520 342.50 + 37.50 = $ 380.00

Family under 30 785 = $ 785 196.25 = $ 196.25

Single Parent over 30 1155+ 150 = $1,305 288.75 + 37.50 = $ 326.25

Single Parent under 30 725 = $ 725 181.25 = $ 181.25

Single over 30 730 + 150 = $ 880 182.50 + 37.50 = $ 220.00

Single under 30 250 = $ 250 62.50 = $ 62.50

Out of Town 220 = $ 220

TRUSTEES

Trustee Fund $120 (September $60 and March $60) Trustee Contribution $150 ($37.50 Quarterly) MAZON $ 3.60 (September)

HIGH HOLY DAY TICKETS There is no charge for High Holy Day tickets. The Temple mails tickets to members, who may request additional tickets at no charge for friends and family. OVER RELIGIOUS SCHOOL

Fees include all books and supplies. Grade Fee

Kinder Kef $300 per student (members)

Kinder Kef $350 per student (non members)

1 - 2 $550 per student (members)

1 - 2 $700 per student (non members)

3 - 4 $800 per student (members)

3 - 4 $950 per student (non members)

5 - 8 $800 per student (members)

After grade 4, all students and parents must join the Temple

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Preparation $ 550

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Hospitality $ 275

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Social Hall Rental $ 1,000

FINANCIAL CONCERNS? We will discuss it with you in confidence.

BOOKS The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Editor, W. Gunther Plaut $ 45 Gates of Repentance (High Holy Day Prayer Book) $ 25 Mishkan T’filah (Shabbat Edition) $ 36

DISCOUNTS Members receive substantial discount on Union Temple Preschool fees

Union Temple of Brooklyn 17 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11238 Phone: 718-638-7600 Fax: 718-783-9151 [email protected]

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

(Please print all entries legibly)

Date______

1. Name Male Female First Last

Hebrew Name Date of Birth______month / day / year Work Number Work Fax Number ______

Occupation ______

Cell Phone Number Email Address ______

Anniversary ______



1. Name Male Female First Last

Hebrew Name Date of Birth______month / day / year Work Number Work Fax Number ______

Occupation______

Cell Phone Number Email Address ______

Anniversary ______

Home Address

City______State______Zip Code______

Home Telephone Number Home Fax Number ______

Secondary Address______

(summer/country home) City______State______Zip Code______

Secondary Telephone Number

OVER

Do you have someone in your immediate family who is Jewish (one parent, child or spouse), or have you converted or are you in the process of converting to Judaism? ______

CHILDREN'S INFORMATION

1. Name Male Female First Last

Hebrew Name Date of Birth______month / day / year



2. Name______Male Female First Last Hebrew Name Date of Birth______month / day / year

3. Name______Male Female First Last Hebrew Name Date of Birth______month / day / year ______List other children on a separate page ______Please enter the name of a parent if he/she is not part of the membership unit:

Name Mother Father ______First Last Address ______

Home Number Work Number ______

Cell Phone Number Email Address ______YAHRZEITS B Please enter all names in English and indicate if you prefer notification on the Secular or Hebrew date.

English Name Hebrew Name Anniversary Relationship First Last of Death (Date) to Member

Do you want to observe the Secular or Hebrew Date? (Please check one) Secular Hebrew _____ PLEASE RETURN TO UNION TEMPLE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

UNION TEMPLE MEMBERSHIP DEPOSIT FORM

DUES SCHEDULE Category Annual Quarterly Dues & Building Fund Dues & Building Fund

Family over 30 1370 + 150 = $1,520 342.50 + 37.50 = $ 380.00 Family under 30 785 = $ 785 196.25 = $ 196.25

Single Parent over 30 1155 + 150 = $1,305 288.75 + 37.50 = $ 326.25

Single Parent under 30 725 = $ 725 181.25 = $ 181.25

Single over 30 730 + 150 = $ 880 182.50 + 37.50 = $ 220.00

Single under 30 250 = $ 250 62.50 = $ 62.50

Out of Town 220 = $ 220

Name (Member 1):______

Name (Member 2):______

Applicable Membership Category: ______of the total yearly amount of: ______

I am making a Dues Deposit (2 quarters payment) of: ______

Please mail deposit check to Union Temple, 17 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238

Payment Policy: Dues are billed every 3 months, in September (the beginning of the Temple’s fiscal year), December, March and June, for the three following months. Your deposit is applied to the first two quarterly bills, starting with the next billing cycle, unless you are joining in the first 30 days of any given quarter (If you are joining in September for instance, your deposit will be applied to the Sept & Dec. billing cycles. If you are joining in October your deposit will be applied to Dec & March billing cycles). Any questions please call the office 718-638-7600.

No one will be turned away because of inability to pay full dues. If there are financial concerns, our Temple Presi- dent or Treasurer will work with you in confidence to make alternative arrangements.

Please return this form with your application packet