Mission & History
Mission:
1. Cultivate innovative and participatory approaches to worship, spirituality, ritual, and practice that resonates with our diverse congregation.
2. Provide exceptional educational experiences for all ages.
3. Champion and pursue social justice and social action as ethical and moral imperatives in pursuit of tikkun olam, repairing our broken world.
4. Strengthen connections to the Jewish people worldwide and advocate for the State of Israel as a just and secure homeland for the Jewish people and all its inhabitants.
5. Foster open dialogue and understanding on complex issues, including Israel and current events, while respecting diverse viewpoints within our community.
6. Enrich our worship and community through music and the arts.
7. Warmly welcome and fully integrate interfaith families and non-Jewish members, celebrating the rich tapestry of our congregation.
8. Nurture a culture of philanthropy to ensure our temple’s financial stability and growth.
9. Develop strong leadership and plan to secure our temple’s future.
10. Grow our membership while maintaining our down-to-earth, heimish (warm and informal), atmosphere.
11. Build bridges between Jewish and non-Jewish communities in our area, promoting understanding and cooperation.
Through these endeavors, we strive to create a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive Jewish community that enriches the lives of our members and positively impacts our broader society.
Vision Statement:
Temple Emanuel is an inclusive and progressive Reform Jewish community. Our vision is to be a spiritual home rooted in God, Torah, and Israel; where tradition meets innovation, and where everyone can find their unique path to Jewish engagement.
See the Timeline: 70 Years of Temple Emanuel
– With thanks to Sandra Fleishman, David Fishback, Rabbi Adam, Phil Magenheim, and the 70th Anniversary Committee.
March 2024
Temple Emanuel Policy on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
March 2022
Temple Emanuel is committed to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where all congregants, staff, board of trustees members, committees, volunteers, and guests feel welcome, accepted, respected, and valued, and to a nondiscriminatory approach that provides equal opportunity for employment and participation in all of its activities.
Temple Emanuel embraces, encourages, and is committed to advancing its community’s diversity in age, race, ethnicity, family or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and cognitive ability, mental health status, political affiliation, religion, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics.
Temple Emanuel values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is actively committed to taking steps that will advance those principles in every aspect of our congregation.
Temple Emanuel’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are applicable, but not limited, to all of our practices and policies on membership, religious practices and rituals, employment, education, and other Temple operations.
All members and staff of the Temple Emanuel Community have a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect at all times, and their conduct must be equitable and inclusive with regard to all activities.
Temple Emanuel is committed to modeling diversity, equity, and inclusion for the entire reform Jewish community and maintaining fair and equal treatment for all.
History
Temple Emanuel is the oldest Reform Congregation in Montgomery County, Maryland. Formally organized with 28 member families in August 1952, we affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now Union for Reform Judaism) in March 1953.
Temple Emanuel engaged Rabbi Leon Adler as our first full-time rabbi in July 1953, and he continued to serve the congregation until his death 35 years later. In 1988, Temple Emanuel welcomed our second spiritual leader, Rabbi Warren Stone, who stayed with us until his retirement in 2020. Rabbi Adam Rosenwasser joined Temple Emanuel as Senior Rabbi on July 1st, 2020, bringing with him a passion for creating meaningful Jewish experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds.
In worship, we use the Reform prayer book Mishkan T’filah, which gives new spiritual content to our services. Every Shabbat morning, there is lay-led Torah and Tanach study followed by a Minyan.
The Temple offers opportunities to share both joys and sorrows. We celebrate together baby namings, consecrations, B’nai Mitzvah, confirmations, weddings, and other life affirming events. We also join in consoling one another in times of illness and mourning.
The congregation is in many respects a partnership between its members and its professional staff. Neither could function without the other. Volunteers serve on Temple committees dealing with the range of Temple activities: fund raising, publicity, the Religious School, the Early Childhood Center, buildings and grounds, religious services, adult education, social action, the Green Team, and others, as well as Women of Reform Judaism and the Temple Brotherhood. Our teenage members have access to their own youth lounge, and they participate in KESTY, our youth group. Whatever talents or interests you bring with you, there is a place for you in the Temple family.
