Temple Emanuel

5th Annual Mystery Scotch in the Sukkah
2025-10-09 19:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | In Person – Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
5th Annual Blind Scotch Tasting & Dinner in the Brezniak Sukkah!
Hosted by Temple Emanuel Brotherhood – open to all!
Join us for an unforgettable, spirited evening in the sukkah with:

Unlimited blind tastings of top-shelf scotch (guess what’s what!)
Rami’s buffet dinner + non-alcoholic drinks
Your own custom tasting glass to take home

Admission

$50 per person

2nd Annual Raffle – Back by Popular Demand!
Purchase raffle tickets to enter one or more of many prize bundles, each worth $250+! Last year, 6 prizes totaled over $3,000 in value! Past prizes included rare spirits, golf outings, fine dining, Red Sox tickets, and more.
How it works:

We will have several prizes, each with its own “fishbowl” or separate raffle.
Drop as many tickets as you like in each “fishbowl”—one ticket for a single chance at a single prize and additional tickets in one fishbowl for better odds at a single prize.
Per below, buy 12 tickets for half price!
One prize per person (if you’re drawn more than once, pick your favorite prize won, and we redraw the other.)
Must be present at the final scotch reveal to win. If you leave early, leave your ticket and designate a friend to accept on your behalf.

Raffle Tickets

$12 each or $72 for 12 tickets ($6 each; half-price!)

Over 120 people attended last year! Reserve early for yourself and a friend—this event may sell out!
Register Here→
Questions, contact Josh Ehrenfried

Lunch in the Sukkah
2025-10-10 12:00 - 13:00 | In Person – Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
The TE community is welcome to bring their own lunches to the Brezniak Sukkah. Enjoy our Sukkah with the TE community!
The Sukkah will be open for members to eat lunch from 12-1pm on October 10th.
No registration required.
Contact LauraSue with any questions.

Erev Simchat Torah Celebration
2025-10-14 18:30 - 20:00 | Leventhal-Sidman Community Court, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Join us for a community celebration in the Leventhal-Sidman Community Court, featuring Hakafot led by the TE Children’s Choir and Tizmoret Teen Band!

Teen Ice Cream Party after Simchat Torah
2025-10-14 19:30 - 20:30 | Solomon Youth Lounge, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Come and join us in the Solomon Youth Lounge for ice cream after Simchat Torah services!
All Temple Emanuel teens, grades 6-12 ,and parents are invited to join.
No RSVP required.

Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls with Dr. Sidney Kadish
2025-10-18 12:45 - 13:45 | Slater Conference Room, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Since then, they have been intensely studied. We will inquire about how they were found and studied, what they tell us about Jewish life 2000 years ago, and what they mean to us today. Join us in the Slater Conference Room after Shabbat morning services for this incredible program.
Session Dates: 10/18, 11/22, 11/29, 12/6, 12/13
Register→
About Dr. Sidney Kadish
Dr. Sidney Kadish was born in Butler, NJ. His Hebrew education began with home schooling, and later he attended Camp Massad, a Hebrew speaking camp in the Poconos. After grade school, he attended Yeshiva University HS. He obtained a BA from Columbia (1963) and an MD from U of Chicago (1967). After internship, he came to Boston for a residency in Radiology at Mass General Hospital. After Army service, he returned to New England and served as a radiation oncologist, principally in Worcester. He retired in 2013 and has been a member of the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement (HILR) where he gave a course on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He has been married to Helen for 43 years and has 2 grown children, Michael and Emily. Sidney has been a member of Temple Emanuel since 1976.

Brotherhood Wellness Series: Strengthening our Mental Well-being by Building Resilience and Managing Stress
2025-10-20 18:00 - 19:30 | Benjamin Vestry, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
We are all facing stress from work, family and current events. How do we manage to keep our heads above water? The goal of this session is to give our participants the tools they need to build resilience and manage stress and trauma.
Schedule:
6:00 pm – Light Dinner
6:30 pm – Lecture and Q&A
Register→
About the Speaker
Dr. Irle Goldman has been a clinical psychologist and teacher of psychotherapy for the past 50 years. He tries to help people become our “best selves” by tuning in to our hopes, our talents, our possibilities…instead of just noticing our challenges and disappointments and failures.

You, Too, Can Cantillate: Learn to Read Torah
2025-10-20 18:15 - 19:30, 2025-10-27 18:15 - 19:30, 2025-11-03 18:15 - 19:30, 2025-11-10 18:15 - 19:30, 2025-11-17 18:15 - 19:30 | Slater Conference Room, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
There is a rich history to Torah Cantillation. During these sessions you will learn not only methodology, but the history behind the creation of the cantillation system. At the conclusion. anyone who so wishes will have the opportunity to chant Torah on a Shabbat morning, Shabbat Mincha, or weekday morning service.
A reading knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Session Dates: October 20, 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24
Register→
View the teaser below!

Loud and Clear: Leadership Perspectives of a Senior Israeli Air Force Pilot with Brigadier General (ret.) Iftach Spector
2025-10-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Gann Chapel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Brigadier General (ret.) Iftach Spector, a distinguished former fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, is regarded as one of the leading flying aces in the history of the IAF. He is also an expert on organizational performance and military tactics.
Spector has served, among other roles, as Commander of the Ramat David and Tel Nof Airbases, as Head of the Air Operations department and head of the F-16 induction project. He participated in the 1981 attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak.
Spector invented the “HALO” system, an avionics system for helicopters operating on the battlefield, whose core features have been adopted in many military forces worldwide.
In 2003, Spector was a signatory of the of the “Pilots’ Letter” in which he and 27 other pilots stated their refusal to bomb targets in the West Bank and Gaza when collateral damage would likely be severe.
Spector holds a bachelor’s degree from Tel Aviv University, and a master’s degree from UCLA. In 2023, he received a doctoral degree from Bar-Ilan University for his dissertation titled: “The Richthofen Symptom: Task Focus – Contributions, Costs, and the Harms of Excess.”
His 2009 memoir, “Loud and Clear,” is available in English. He is also the author of a prize-winning novela.
Register→
Sponsored by the Israel Connections Committee

Yasmin Garfunkel in Concert
2025-10-22 19:30 - 20:30 | Rabbi Samuel Chiel Sanctuary, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Join Yasmin Garfunkel (soprano) and Silvia Gerszkowicz (piano) from Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a concert celebrating the beauty of Sephardic songs in a chamber-like style. The evening will also feature a special selection of songs in Yiddish. Don’t miss this poetic and musical journey, free of charge!
Register→

History of the Jews in the Americas
2025-10-22 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-29 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-11-05 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-11-12 19:30 - 21:00 | In Person – Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
History of Jews in the Americas, 1492-present will be the subject of a course this fall with BU Professor Deeana Klapper. We will examine the history of Jews and Jewish communities in North America, South America and the Caribbean over 500 years. Taking a thematic and chronological approach, we will consider the diversity of American Jewish culture and American Jews’ engagement with other sectors of society.
Session dates: Oct. 22, 29, Nov. 5, 12 and 19, and Dec. 3.
The fee is $125/person for all sessions.
Payment can be sent via Venmo, Zelle, or by check. Instructions will be sent in your registration confirmation email.
Register→
Contact Sandy Remz with any questions
Sponsored by Minyan Ma’or

Community Shabbat Dinner
2025-10-24 18:30 - 21:00 | Adelson Community Hall, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Join us for a joyous Fall Community Shabbat Dinner on Friday, October 24th as we come together to celebrate Shabbat with great food and community spirit. Enjoy a delicious meal and connections with others from our Temple Emanuel Family.
The program will begin with Shabbat Alive services at 6:30 pm. We will then all join together for dinner in Adelson Community Hall. Special reserved tables will be available for all new 2025-26 TE members. We look forward to seeing you.
Pricing:
Adults: $36 each
Children: $18 each
Registration is now closed. Please reach out to LauraSue HERE to join the waitlist.

Cradles to Crayons Clothing Drive
2025-10-26 - 2025-11-09 | In Person – Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Have clothes for kids ages 0-12 that you don’t need anymore? Come donate new or gently used: Clothing, Jackets, Shoes, PJ, Socks (new), and Underwear (new)! There will be donation bins in the front vestibule and next to the Rabbi Marshall R. Lifson Library. Help families to get the everyday essentials their children need!
There will be an event on November 9th for 6th-8th graders to help sort all the donations!

Family Ice Skating with Brotherhood
2025-10-26 12:15 - 14:00 | Warrior Ice Arena, 90 Guest Street, Boston, MA, 02135, United States
Immediately after Religious School, bring your child with you for An Afternoon of family fun! Public ice skating at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton!
Public skating starts at 12:30pm and ends at 1:50pm. Warrior has “ice walkers” for children and adult beginners as well as skate rentals ($6) for those who need to rent. Adults and children are both welcome. We’ll provide lunch at Warrior so everyone can grab a bite before skating.
Only $9 per person including admission and lunch!
Register→

Sisterhood Fall Fundraiser featuring Comedian Ophira Eisenberg
2025-11-02 09:00 - 12:30 | Adelson Community Hall, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Join us for a fun-filled morning with Ophira Eisenberg, a standup comedian, writer, and host of the award-winning comedy podcast Parenting Is A Joke.
Ophira has also hosted NPR’s Ask Me Another where she interviewed and played games with hundreds of celebrities including Rosie Perez, Yo-Yo Ma, Roxanne Gay, Nick Kroll, and Chelsea Handler. She appears frequently as a storyteller with The Moth and her stories have been featured in The Moth Radio Hour and the Moth’s best-selling collections.
Enjoy a delicious, seated buffet brunch, great company, and laughter. Shop a small group of boutiques, including both favorites and new vendors, and take a chance on a fabulous raffle!
RSVP by October 23rd!
Boutiques, Hor d’Oeuvres, and Raffle Sales at 9:00 AM
Brunch Buffet and Ophira at 10:30 AM
Please note NO recording is allowed at the event.
Register→
Donate & Buy Raffle Tickets→
Become a Sponsor→
Help support the causes and nonprofits that Sisterhood champions!
Proceeds support Sisterhood and Temple Emanuel programs, as well as community initiatives including Newton Food Pantry, Project Manna, and Leket Israel
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Platinum Level Sponsors
Levine Chapels
The Village Bank
Diamond Level Sponsors
Catering by Andrew
Gold Level Sponsors
Pestex Inc.
Central Steel Supply
Silver Level Sponsors
Fox’s of Newton
Marquis Jewelers
Waterstone at Wellesley
West Newton Hearing Center
Bronze Level Sponsors
Fenway Group
Zayde’s Market

Close Reading: Sons and Daughters by Chaim Grade - A Jewish Novel Taught by Dr. Susanne Klingenstein
2025-11-06 18:30 - 19:30, 2025-11-13 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual
The sharp Yiddish novelist, Chaim Grade, described the falling apart of the orthodox world in Eastern Europe in the 1930s. Sons and daughters of rabbis get out of the shtetl, but the fathers claw them back through guilt. Grade’s characters are incredibly alive; they are goofy, mad, heroic and wise. The novel is long, learned and confusing, so we will read it together at the clip of 50 pages each week, accompanied by one of discussion each week to help understand the religious world of the Lithuanian rabbis.
Class dates: Nov 6, 13, 20, Dec 4, 11, 17, 30, Jan 8, 15, 26, 29, Feb 5
All classes will meet on Zoom.
Cost: (Scholarships available)

$180 for Temple Emanuel Members
$250 for Non-Members
This class is now at capacity.
About Dr. Susanne Klingenstein
Dr. Susanne Klingenstein is an Associate at the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University. She served as professor of Writing and Humanistic Studies at MIT, as Lecturer in the Humanities at Harvard Medical School, and as Director of the Communication Curriculum in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. She the author of six books, her new book on Chaim Grade will be published in the spring of 2026. She has offered courses at TE since 2006 and is a popular, sought-after teacher.

First Friday @ Shabbat Alive! Sushi Shabbat
2025-11-07 18:30 - 20:30 | In Person – Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Join us for a spectacular Shabbat Alive! Service followed by a First Friday favorite sushi Oneg.
What is First Friday? Start with an inspiring musical Shabbat Alive! Service in the Rabbi Samuel Chiel Sanctuary, then stay for a beautiful post-service Oneg filled with delicious food and fellowship.
Who is First Friday for? First Fridays are for everyone, age 0 on up!
Why come to First Friday? To lift your spirit. To be inspired by ancient words animated with new melodies. To connect with a community of friends – old and new. To stand generation to generation, together.
View the First Friday 2025-26 Calendar HERE→

Soulful Grandparenting: How Your Jewish Life Stories Can Impact Your Grandchildren’s Jewish Identity
2025-11-09 11:00 - 12:15 | Slater Conference Room, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
With Dasee Berkowitz
Grandparents have a hidden treasure they unearth every time they share a personal or family Jewish life story: the active transmission of values. Dasee Berkowitz, sought-after educator and facilitator and author of Becoming a Soulful Parent: A path to the wisdom within, will show grandparents how sharing family stories — where they came from, challenges and successes that the family has experienced over the years — can greatly impact grandchildren, especially when done in partnership with the parents. Dasee will also present creative ways to transmit these treasures to grandchildren — through letter-writing, informal conversations, and video.
Register→

Brotherhood Family Event - Historical Toy Train Collection Open House
2025-11-09 13:30 - 17:00, 2025-11-16 13:30 - 17:00 | In Person – Other, MA, United States
As a kid did you enjoy watching model trains going around complicated track routes? Do you still like model trains? Do your children enjoy them? On November 9, Brotherhood member, Lew Schneider, is opening up his basement for a historical toy train collection open house.
On display is a large 20 X 10 foot O gauge operating layout plus two smaller HO layouts. Much of the historical collection are trains and over 50 stations from the 1920s and 1930s. There are dozens of operating clockwork and electric toy trains built in the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, Russia, and Denmark.
The visit will include talks describing the operating and static displays followed by questions and answers.
There will be two open house sessions; each limited to 25 participants as follows:

1:30 pm – Open House for families with children 9 years old or younger
3:00 pm – Open House for families with children 10 years old or older along with adults without children

Registration is now closed.

Founding Editor of The Times of Israel, David Horovitz, in Dialogue with Seth Klarman
2025-11-10 20:00 - 21:30 | Rabbi Samuel Chiel Sanctuary, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
From his perch as founding editor of the online newspaper “Times of Israel,” David Horovitz reports daily and editorializes regularly on events in Israel. His conversation with CEO & Portfolio Manager of The Baupost Group, Seth Klarman, will be wide-ranging; from the carnage of October 7, 2023, to the release of the last living hostage last month, to the ramifications of this period for Israeli society now and far into the future. With David’s keen reporter’s eye, crisp and clear communication style, deep knowledge of history, and unique lens on Israeli society and political life, this conversation will bring all of us closer to the trauma Israelis have been experiencing for the past two years – the horrific massacre, multifront wars, terror and rocket attacks, everyday life disrupted, politics and protests on hold. And the unanswerable questions of what will be for Israel going forward, and what will be for all of us.
Register→
About the speakers
David Horovitz
Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. Launched in 2012 and based in Jerusalem, The Times of Israel is the world’s most-read English-language news website covering Israel and the Jewish world. Independent and non-partisan, it also publishes in Hebrew, French, Arabic and Farsi. Horovitz was previously editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post (from 2004-2011). Before that, he was editor and publisher of the award-winning newsmagazine The Jerusalem Report. In 2014, he was awarded Bnai Brith’s lifetime achievement journalism award. Horovitz has written from Israel for newspapers around the world, and is a frequent interviewee on CNN, the BBC, Sky, and other TV and radio stations.
He has conducted landmark interviews with a succession of Israeli and international figures, including all of Israel’s recent prime ministers, Presidents Barack Obama (when he visited Israel as a candidate) and George Bush, as well as Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin and, to the particular delight of his children, Paul McCartney. In 2020, he interviewed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Horovitz is the author of 2004’s “Still Life with Bombers: Israel in the Age of Terrorism,” and 2000’s “A Little Too Close to God: The Thrills and Panic of a Life in Israel,” both published in the US by Knopf.
Seth A. Klarman
CEO & Portfolio Manager
The Baupost Group
Seth Klarman is the CEO and Portfolio Manager of Baupost, having overseen the firm’s investments since its inception. He is the author of “Margin of Safety” and editor of the Graham and Dodd classic “Security Analysis, Seventh Edition.” He graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a B.A. in Economics and was a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School (HBS). Seth currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Broad Institute. He is also Vice Chair of Beth Israel Hospital’s Board of Managers and a member of their Board of Trustees. Seth is a member of HBS’s Board of Dean’s Advisors and co-chairman of The Klarman Family Foundation. In 2020, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Share-a-Shabbat
2025-11-14 18:00 - 22:00 | In Person – Other, MA, United States
Share a Shabbat dinner at home with Temple Emanuel members!
Join us for our fourth Share-a-Shabbat as members of TE will gather in each others’ homes to light candles, say Kiddush, share challah and enjoy Shabbat dinner together.
Hosts and their TE guests will choose one of the following Shabbat experiences: Spend Shabbat dinner with close friends, get to know acquaintances better, meet new friends, or a combination of these choices.
Both hosts and guests are welcome to select a blended Shabbat experience by attending Shabbat Alive and then enjoying a Share-a-Shabbat dinner!
All hosts will serve pescatarian or vegetarian dinners, so that everyone, no matter your level of kashrut, will be comfortable eating together.
Hosts will let their guests know what time to arrive.

Registration has closed.

Questions? Please contact us at Share-a-Shabbat@templeemanuel.com or check the FAQ.

Talmud Class with Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Micah Goodman
2025-11-15 08:30 - 09:20 | In Person – Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Join us in person at our Talmud class with Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Micah Goodman as we kick off our year of Hartman learning at Temple Emanuel as part of our Hartman Learning Initiative.
Please note: Micah will also be delivering the sermon during Shabbat morning services beginning at 9:30 am, and teaching us again post-Kiddush. Details here.
Topic – The Artificial Intelligence Revolution vs. The Vision of Theodor Herzl
