
175th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate this milestone anniversary as Indiana’s oldest Jewish congregation during our “175th Season” of events from summer 2023 through winter 2024!
Exciting programming is coming as part of the Temple’s 175th anniversary celebration, including a visit by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, and a Scholar-in-Residence program with Rabbi Dr. Gary Zola, Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.
We’ll mark this significant milestone as Indiana’s oldest Jewish congregation with a festive weekend on November 10-12, 2023, featuring Shabbat programming, a Havdalah concert, and a Sunday open house for the community.
Musical programs, art exhibits, and educational offerings will be held during our “175th season” that begins in spring 2023 and continues through winter 2024. During our first event on Tuesday, May 2, we learned about the ancient process of writing, repairing and caring for a Torah scroll with Rabbi Moshe Druin, a sofer.
Find out more about upcoming events:
Friday, November 10-Sunday, November 12, 2023
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Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, will give the D’var Torah during our Shabbat service. Orin Reynolds, a Seattle-based musician who grew up at the Temple, will be our guest musician. A festive Oneg Shabbat will follow the service.
Several possibilities are under consideration regarding our donation of a Torah scroll to an emerging congregation or URJ summer camp. Depending on the recipient, we hope to present the Torah at the service to a representative.
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- Morning Shabbat service, followed by a Kiddush luncheon
- Evening Havdalah program with Orin Reynolds
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Sunday activities will be open to congregants and the greater Fort Wayne community:
- A new Jewish Heritage Tour (including self-guided option and trolley tour with docents) currently under development with ARCH that focuses on locations related to Jewish life in Fort Wayne from the early days of Jewish immigration to the present.
- Open house at the Temple with docent-led tours
- Grand opening of the Temple’s Goldman Memorial Museum in the Madge Rothschild Resource Center
- Entertainment by a String Quartet from the Fort Wayne Philharmonic performing klezmer-inspired music
- Refreshments, including some Jewish treats.
Thank You To Our 175th Anniversary Committee:
Co-Chairs: Kathy Sider and Beth Zweig
Fran Adler
Rabbi Meir Bargeron
Jamie Berger
Nancy Dicker
Janet Finkel
Stephanie Gottesman
Norm Greenberg
Ronnie Greenberg
Dawn Hammond
Marie McFadden
Marcia Reynolds
Cheryl Schorey
Samara Sheray
John Stein
Jon Tam
Donna Tourkow
Irene Walters
Mimi Zelman