Committees
Please take a minute and read about our Temple Committees.
If one of these committees interests you, please call the chairperson.
Adult Education Committee
Budget Committee
Dues Committee
HaSifriyah - The Jewish Community Library Committee
Investment Committee
Membership Committee
PTO
Religious Practice Committee
Religious School Committee
Social Action Committee
Social Committee
Youth Committee
Adult Education Committee
The adult education committee arranges periodic programs for Sunday mornings with outside speakers who present on relevant or interesting Jewish topics while a light community breakfast is served. The committee also assists the rabbi in identifying topics for the perhaps six Saturday lunches dubbed “Shmooze N’ Shabbat.” Adult Education opportunities include the rabbi’s on-going classes on basic Judaism, Shabbat Shiur/study, Israel Chavurah/discussion, the annual learn to read Hebrew in Less than a Week, and study with the parent hours of our Religious School’s Parent-Child Connection.
Sandy Venner, Chairperson
Budget Committee
Loren Goldstein, Chairperson
Chesed Committee
The Chesed (Kindness) Committee is a newly-formed (2009) committee at Temple Emanu-El. We are exploring the ways in which we can provide comfort and support to each other in times of need, as we face life cycle events. It is “in-reach” within our congregation, as opposed to “out-reach” outside of the congregation.
We are in the process of defining our mission for this committee and for the greater membership; we welcome new members, your thoughts, and new ideas about spreading kindness.
Sharyn Russell
Eric Jacobs
Dues Committee
We are a small group of individuals who are responsible for implementing the Religious School Fees & Temple Dues Policies. We work with congregants in the strictest of confidentiality when a need arises for dues reductions.
Congregants complete the Dues Reduction form & submit it to the committee for review. The committee meets about once every 2 or 3 months to review these applications & also to review the status of collections & to ensure that those households who have committed to monthly payments are on track. As the need arises, phone calls are made to follow-up.
Chairperson, TBD
HaSifriyah – The Jewish Community Library Committee
HaSifriyah is operational and open to all members of the congregation. Almost all of the books are now computer-catalogued and are available for checkout. The library committee is looking for members to assist in cataloging the remainder of the books, maintaining the collection and staffing the circulation desk (primarily during Religious School hours on Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons). We will also be working with the Religious School to schedule each class for library time.
Although the library currently contains almost 3,000 titles, many are out of date or need to be replaced. Obtaining new books is a priority for the library this year, and fundraising assistance is greatly needed.
Paula Breger, Chairperson
Investment Committee
This Committee meets four times in the year at 4:00 p.m. to evaluate and discuss the Temple’s Endowment Funds. Guided by a professional manager the Committee buys and sells equities and bonds in order to maximize the Temples’ returns. It operates under the Prudent Man Law and attempts to balance the investments in the Temple’s Portfolio. There are two openings in the Committee.
Stuart Mandell, Chairperson
Membership Committee
With our “Windows to the future” project in the works, our Temple seems to be buzzing with new optimism for our continued growth, therefore we need to “reach out” or “outreach” to prospective and new members. We want our new members to feel as connected as we do to our Temple community. There is very little of a time commitment -perhaps an e-mail or a phone call or two or delivering a welcome basket. It is truly an exciting time to be a part of this committee.
Michele Howard, Chairperson
PTO
Our Temple Emanu-El Religious School PTO organizes and leads fund raising activities that help to monetarily support and expand the regular school curriculum. Past-organized activities have included the annual basket auction as well as the book and artisan fair at Chanukah. The funds are used to support Family Connection classes, adult Torah classes and field trips. Important relationships are forged between parents through the PTO. These relationships serve to enrich the friendships of our school families and expand the Jewish identity of our children. Volunteers are needed for this worthwhile committee.
Chairperson, TBD
Religious Practice Committee
The Religious Practices Committee meets periodically with the rabbi to oversee the role of worship or services, ritual, and prayer in the congregation, and to support Jewish practices in all aspects of our lives. At times the committee serves as a sounding board for the rabbi; at other times the committee serves as the congregation’s messengers to the rabbi for resolving issues, questions, or ideas for expanding religious lives of our members. Members of the RPC have an opportunity to engage with the rabbi and learn at a personal level how we can strive to make congregational and individual “practice” of Judaism continue to have meaning for our members.
Bob Bender, Chairperson
Religious School Committee
Members of the Temple Emanu El religious school committee are temple community representatives to the supervising body of the religious school. They have the responsibility to oversee the educational, social and spiritual needs of the students and their families by working in a collaborative way with the religious school administration and staff.
The mission of the religious school committee is to assure quality of education for the students through the supervision of the curriculum, supervision of the administration and the teaching staff, fundraising to supplement the budget for educational enrichment and provide ongoing support to the administration and teaching staff.
Elizabeth Rose, Chairperson
Social Action Committee
The Social Action Committee currently conducts three main activities per year. First, Project Ezra, on ongoing program of the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, involves various activities on Christmas Day. In the past Temple members of delivered Meals on Wheels to homebound residents of Haverhill, helped to serve Christmas Dinner at Mitch’s Place, a homeless shelter in Haverhill, and served as babysitters during Christmas Eve services at local churches. A second activity under the direction of Ross Moldoff has been to serve Easter Dinner at Mitch’s Place.
Our largest activity is Mitzvah Day, to be held in April under the direction of Janet Kopel. This involves the Religious School students performing various mitzvoth, including making “lotions and notions” bags for the homeless shelters, writing letters to our troops overseas, and making gifts for nursing home residents, among other activities. A group of adults under the direction of Sandy Venner and Patricia Herman use the day to beautify the Temple grounds for Spring.
The Social Action Committee also works with the Rabbi and the Clergy Association of Haverhill, when certain situations arise. You do not have to been on the Committee to participate in any of the above activities, and new members are always welcome.
The Social Action Committee is not the only Temple group that performs mitzvoth. I would also like to note that the Temple Sisterhood, under the direction of Marilyn Goldberg, performs a yearlong mitzvah, in preparing meals for Mitch’s Place. This is an excellent example of other Temple organizations, such as the Religious School, performing mitzvoth throughout the year.
Mitch Kroner, Chairperson
Social Committee
I am very excited to announce a brand new committee to Temple Emanu-El. The Social Committee! The committee will organize a different activity every month in and around our temple and community. If you are new to our temple, this is a great way to jump in, have fun and get involved. If you are a “seasoned” member, we would love to hear your ideas and help.
Mindy Lichtman, Chairperson
Youth Committee
Youth Committee oversees programs for 5th – 12th graders. Jewish youth are encouraged to participate in programs that foster learning, worship, community service, and socialization from within our community as well as from all over the northeast region. The primary focus has been on our senior group; HEFTY (Haverhill Emanu-El Federation of Temple Youth) which is 8th-12th graders. The Committee is responsible for interviewing advisor applicants, and meets 3 times/year to keep apprised of youth programs, issues, or concerns. At the meetings, the annual calendar is reviewed, programming feasibility and logistics are discussed, and safety policies are established. Our Committee offers support to the Advisor in implementing programs by assisting with transportation, chaperoning, obtaining food, supplies, etc. A parent of each HEFTY Board member is encouraged to join the committee each year.
In an effort to expand youth programming, we have had parent volunteers run programs for 5th-7th graders, TEJY (Temple Emanu-El Junior Youth). However, for the past 2 years, the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation provided grant money for programming amongst Jewish youth in the Valley for this age group, which will continue for the current year. A student representative from each Temple and sometimes a parent or Committee member, along with me, attends the Valley meetings and helps to plan and implement the events. Program participation and evaluation is reported to the Committee.
Trudy Zakin, Youth Commissioner