Friday, November 10-Sunday, November 12, 2023

• Friday, November 10

  Share Shabbat services with us at 7:30 p.m., led by Rabbi Meir Bargeron.  Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, will give the D’var Torah. Orin Reynolds, a Seattle-based musician who grew up at the Temple, will be our guest musician. 

  A Torah scroll will be presented to Jeremy Klotz, director of Goldman Union Camp Institute, our regional URJ camp in Zionsville, in appreciation of our long association with the camp. Many campers and Rabbis from Achduth Vesholom spent memorable times at GUCI.

  A festive Oneg Shabbat will follow the service.

• Saturday, November 11
  • Celebrate Shabbat during our morning Torah service at 9:45 a.m., led by Ron Friedman with Rabbi Meir Bargeon, followed by a Kiddush luncheon. (RSVP for lunch requested) Find out more
  • During a family-friendly evening, join us for a pizza dinner at 5:30 p.m., followed at 6:30 p.m. by an evening song session and Havdalah with Orin Reynolds. (RSVP for dinner requested) Find out more
• Sunday, November 12

  A Community Open House for congregants and the greater Fort Wayne community will be held from 1 to 5 pm:

  • Take a docent-led Jewish Heritage Tour by trolley. Developed with ARCH, the tour focuses on locations related to Jewish life in Fort Wayne from the early days of Jewish immigration to the present. Tours will leave the Temple at 1:30 pm and 2 pm. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Ages 12 and up only. Tour is approximately 2 hours. A self-guided tour will be available later this year.
  • Visit the Goldman Memorial Museum in the Madge Rothschild Resource Center for its grand opening. Highlights include a timeline covering 200 years of Jewish history in Northeast Indiana; an exhibit about the Jewish holidays; and a Torah remnant that survived the Holocaust.
  • Discover more about Jewish traditions and community. Docents will be available to answer your questions.
  • Experience klezmer-inspired music performed by a String Quartet from the Fort Wayne Philharmonic
  • Enjoy a nosh that includes Jewish favorites for holidays and year-round.
  • Learn more about the Temple’s partners on the Rifkin Campus.
• Special Programs During Our 175th Season

  Special programs during the year include:

  Jewish History and Art Illuminated: 175 Years of Congregation Achduth Vesholom

  November 11, 2023 to January 28, 2024 at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art

  In 1848, the first Jewish congregation in the state of Indiana was founded here in Fort Wayne: Congregation Achduth Vesholom. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art is proud to present its history in Jewish History and Art Illuminated: 175 Years of Congregation Achduth Vesholom.

  Originally founded as a burial society, Congregation Achduth Vesholom, also known as “The Temple,” has moved to five different worship spaces and employed almost 25 rabbis. The Temple has been a central voice for Fort Wayne’s Jewish community and has witnessed several waves of Jewish immigration, weathered the effects of the Holocaust, and observed the founding of the State of Israel, all while offering spiritual leadership and learning, and participating in civic life.

  This exhibition was curated by Sharon Eisbart, Owner of Sharon Eisbart Corporate Art, and Dr. Wendy Soltz, Assistant Professor of Public History at Ball State University, and made possible with art and Judaica loans from Congregation Achduth Vesholom and a grant from the Dr. Harry W. Salon Foundation.

  Sunday, November 19 – Reception at 2 pm and Lecture at 3 pm at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art

  Please join us for a free public lecture on Jewish History and Art Illuminated: 175 Years of Congregation Achduth Vesholom with Michael Brown, Executive Director of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society, and Dr. Wendy Soltz, Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Public History Program at Ball State University.

  Mr. Brown will tell the story of “Achduth Vesholom: A Jewish Congregation at the Frontier of Indiana History.” Dr. Soltz, Co-Curator of the exhibition, will discuss “Illuminating Congregation Achduth Vesholom’s 175-year History,” covering the concept for the exhibit, her research, and how the art and Judaica help tell the story of the congregation. It promises to be a day of enlightening information and joyous celebration.

  Please make a reservation by Monday, November 13. Seating is limited and first-come, first served.

  Coming in late 2023 and early 2024:

  • A mitzvah project to encourage tikkun olam (repairing the world) by helping 175 foster children in Northeast Indiana
    • Hot Topics Shabbat on Friday, October 27 – our guest will be Juliette Smith, founder and director of Fostering Hope for Children
    • Mitzvah Day on Sunday, December 3
    • Mitzvah Day on Sunday, January 14
    • Find out more about the mitzvah project

  • A Beit Café evening directed by Maestro Robert Nance and featuring entertainers from our Temple family on Saturday, February 3, 2024 (NEW DATE).
  • Scholar-in-Residence Weekend with Rabbi Dr. Gary Zola, Executive Director Emeritus of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, on Thursday/Friday, February 22-23, 2024.

  • Dr. Wendy Soltz will discuss her Indiana Synagogue Mapping Project on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 2 p.m. at the ACPL Genealogy Center. The program is presented by the Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society in conjunction with the Temple’s 175^th Anniversary season. She will talk about what has been accomplished since she last presented the project in 2021. Wendy is an Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Public History Program at Ball State University, as well as a Temple member.

  We are grateful to the Dr. Harry W. Salon Foundation for its generous support of our celebration events. We also thank our 175th Anniversary sponsors.

  Volunteers also will be needed for the celebration weekend and other events. Please contact the Temple office to offer your help.

  Past 175th Season programs include:

  • Rabbi Moshe Druin, a Torah scribe (sofer) joined us on Tuesday, May 2 at 7 p.m. to demonstrate this ancient skill while working on the Temple’s sacred scrolls. Find out more

  • Shira Kline, also known as ShirLaLa, joined us as our Musician-in-Residence on Friday/Saturday, August 18-19, including Shabbat and additional programs for our families with young children. She incorporates music, interactive storytelling, imaginative play and spirituality to enrich and inspire.
    • Find August 18 programming
    • Find August 19 programming
  • An art exhibit in conjunction with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation (at both UU and CAV) of Hilarie Couture’s Unity with Variety portraits with a panel discussion and reception on Sunday, August 20. Find out more