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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

  • 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.

    • Morning Shabbat service, followed by a Kiddush luncheon
    • Evening Havdalah program with Orin Reynolds
  • 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