Eve S.’s highlight of the week is Canasta Tuesdays at Temple Emanu-El. For Eve, the card games are a chance to connect with friends she treasures. The group shares different perspectives on politics, family, and life. Eve’s “canasta ladies” have become close friends, and occasionally they attend events together at the Streicker Cultural Center.
“It’s amazing to be with these women,” said Eve, a member of more than 40 years.
Long before she became a seasoned canasta player, Eve was a student at Temple Emanu-El’s Religious School, where she forged friendships she still maintains. Her early years at Temple Emanu-El fostered a strong sense of identity, community, and service to the temple and the greater New York City community.
Eve and her daughter are regular volunteers for the temple’s Sunday Lunch Program. For several years, they have served as shift co-captains, organizing volunteers and ensuring that clients who rely on Sunday Lunch receive a warm, nutritious, and delicious meal. Sunday Lunch is also an important time for her daughter to learn from members of different ages, backgrounds, and experiences.
“It’s so important to bring together different generations while doing good in the community,” Eve said.
Eve’s legacy of involvement has been passed down to her children. Her daughter Ella and son Jack both serve on the temple’s Teen Philanthropic Committee, a group of teens that allocates $10,000 from the temple’s Philanthropic Fund to charitable causes. Ella is the group’s co-chair.
“Giving them agency to make philanthropic decisions has been great for them to experience,” Eve said.
For Eve, what makes Temple Emanu-El special is the people: the friendships formed over the canasta table, during Sunday Lunch shifts, and in the pre-event chatter of Streicker Cultural Center events. It’s a community she hopes to remain deeply rooted in and continue building for the rest of her life.
