It seemed like any other Sunday. Kathy Kagan and her family went through their usual routine without any thought. They got ready at their downtown home, and they traveled uptown for Religious School. And then they noticed. Nobody was at Temple Emanu-El. The doors were locked. The block, usually buzzing with students and families on Sunday mornings, silent. They forgot there was no Religious School.
“We were so in our routine…We didn’t even realize it was a holiday weekend. It’s happy place for us to come to,” Kathy said. “We love Temple Emanu-El more with each year that passes.”
Kathy and her family arrived at Temple Emanu-El after having tried a different synagogue. They were looking for a synagogue that met their family’s needs and understood their background. Kathy’s husband did not grow up Jewish.
They quickly knew they found the right Jewish community. “Within the first service… I said to myself ‘This is great.’ Every event after that has confirmed for me that we are in the right place and my family felt the same way,” Kathy said.
When Kathy and her family joined Temple Emanu-El they were determined to “jump in with both feet.” Her sons are proud religious school students. They have built deep, meaningful relationships with their religious school peers. Before Kathy and her family left New York for the summer, her older son met up with his religious school friends for a day of barbecuing and playing games.
“In an interesting way, he feels closer to religious school friends than the kids he sees every day at school,” Kathy said.
For Kathy and her husband and sons, the music and traditions of Emanu-El have become part of the melodies of their family life. Their sons sing liturgical tunes, Havdalah melodies, and HaTikvah around the house. Kathy is regularly surprised at the scope of Jewish knowledge her sons bring home from religious school.
As Temple Emanu-El marks 180 years, Kathy and her family hope to continue to be part of the temple’s legacy for years to come. “We hope it continues to be a warm, bright light and beacon for the Jewish people.”
