Mourning with Monterey Park
Dear Friends, We awoke this morning to the horrific news of the shooting deaths of at least ten and the injury of at least ten more during the celebration of the Lunar New Year in Monterey Park, California, a predominantly and historically Asian American community, with a sizable Latino and Hispanic population, too. While no […]
Our Annual Purim Mitzvah: Mishloach Manot for the Troops
You may think it’s too early to prepare for Purim. For our Tikkun Olam volunteers, it’s the perfect time to assemble packages for those serving abroad. Mishloach Manot (sharing sweets) is one of the customs we enjoy the most during Purim. For many years, Tikkun Olam has partnered with JWB Jewish Chaplains Council®, to send […]
Tikkun Olam: Stitch’n Time Gives Back
Stitch’n Time, Tikkun Olam‘s knitting and crocheting outreach program, donated 200 sets of handmade hats and scarves to Educational Alliance’s Knots of Love initiative at the Manny Cantor Center. Knots of Love collects handmade hats and scarves for families who are seeking asylum and currently housed in the Lower East Side during the winter. The […]
Rabbi Davidson Published in The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post published an article by Rabbi Joshua Davidson, which was featured in both the December 13, 2022 print and online editions. ‘Yes, but…’ The words of a liberal Zionist American rabbi As a rabbi, I am a committed Zionist – not in a religious sense that views the land as a divine […]
A Message from Tikkun Olam President Susan Kaufman to the Thanksgiving Dinner Volunteers
On Wednesday, November 23, 2022, Temple Emanu-El hosted over 130 guests from the Carter Burden Center, The Isaacs Center, Lenox Hill House, Sanctuary for Families and The Children’s Village/Inwood House. Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who gave their time the day before Thanksgiving! I would like to express my extreme gratitude to […]
Tikkun Olam in the News
Our Tikkun Olam Volunteers and Project Leaders had a wonderful time assembling over 1500 packages containing over 15,000 items for communities in need on Sunday, November 13. Over 80 community members came together for the first time since the last Mitzvah Day two years ago, and all of them arrived ready to make a difference. […]
Rabbi Davidson’s Response to Thomas L. Friedman’s “The Israel We Knew Is Gone”
Originally printed in The New York Times: A Senior U.S. Rabbi: ‘Israel Is More Than Its Government’ To the Editor: Re “The Israel We Knew Is Gone,” by Thomas L. Friedman (column, Nov. 5): Mr. Friedman’s concerns about the potential effect of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition on Israel’s future are legitimate. Should the ideologies of his […]
Emanu-El Downtown: Celebrating Sukkot
“Cast your bread on the water, and one day it will come back to you.” This dose of biblical study came courtesy of my kids’ new PJ Library book, Nuri and the Whale. The original text is from the book of Kohelet/Ecclesiastes. Kohelet is traditionally read on the Shabbat that falls on Sukkot, the harvest […]
“The Power of the Tongue: Thoughts on Today’s Rising Antisemitism”

Shabbat Sermon by Rabbi Sara SapadinOctober 29, 2022 | 4 Cheshvan 5783Parashat Noah It has been said that the Jewish people have survived over thousands of years, and through countless eras of oppression and persecution, not on account of our power, or our position, or our prosperity, but on account of our words. The […]
Torah Commentary by Bettijane Eisenpreis: Parashat Noach – October 29, 2022
And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves, else we shall be scattered all over the world. The Lord came down to look at the city and tower that man had built, and the Lord said, “If, as […]