150 Years Strong

Temple Emanu-El turned 150 in 2022, and our congregation has enjoyed an exciting calendar of worship, learning and community. TE 150 has two main components: a year of celebration and community, and an endowment campaign to ensure that Temple is strong and vibrant for generations to come.

TE150 is now moving toward the final season of our celebration. The Rededication events from October 20 to Nov. 3, 2023, will include Futurescape, a weekend imagining the future of Temple and contemporary Judaism; opening of the Center for Living History; a tree planting project and our final event, Rededication Shabbat. Watch Temple communications for more details and a Guide to Rededication in the September/October Window.

ENSURING THE FUTURE

The Endowment Campaign works to secure the future of Temple Emanu-El by generating income from its corpus to support Temple’s annual budget. Gifts to our Temple endowment also enable future leadership to allocate funds where they are most needed.

For more information, contact Sandy Diamond, Senior Director of Congregational Advancement.

CELEBRATION AND COMMUNITY

The TE150 celebration will be highlighted by three anchor components, each focusing on a different aspect of Temple’s remarkable past and present, and hopes for the future.

Harvest, Fall 2022

The Harvest anchor was a celebration of Jewish values and justice related to food, including working to eradicate hunger and welcoming others to our tables. It kicked off with a special Sukkot Shabbat service and dinner on Oct. 14, 2022, followed by several events, including a cooking demonstration, a challah-braiding workshop, a festival celebrating tastes of our heritage, a symposium on food insecurity, and more.

Rededication, Fall 2023

We will rededicate ourselves to our core values and collectively envision the future of Temple. Planned events are:

October 15, Temple Emanu-El Cemetery and Mausoleum Tour: Interactive tour, with stations to learn about mourning rituals, that will help explore and honor Temple’s history

October 20, Shabbat with keynote speaker Steven Windmueller, Ph.D.: Dr. Windmueller is a foremost thinker on contemporary Judaism and American Jewish affairs. He will launch a weekend of ideas and exploration on the future of Temple and its relationships beyond its walls.

October 22, Futurescape: Today’s most innovative and creative Jewish thinkers and practitioners come together to help us imagine the community of the future, moderated by Rabbi Ana Bonnheim.

November 3, Rededication Shabbat

December 2, Planting of trees to honor Temple’s social justice legacy

Creations, Spring 2023

This anchor celebrated the arts and their power to building understanding among people, while also connecting us to the past. It culminated in the Light Years festival of art and technology, in which six regional and international artists shared their creations on Temple’s exterior walls and on the grounds, while members and visitors enjoyed food truck bites and inspiring worship on a beautiful spring night.

In addition to the anchor events, the TE150 celebrations will be undergirded by these values:

Documenting Our History and Rededicating to Our Future: The goal of this effort is to honor our history and inspire our future through the lessons and achievements of our remarkable past. Watch for a media wall launch in Fall 2022 with a multimedia timeline;  an interactive map that shows significant connections among the City of Dallas and Temple; a beautiful photo exhibit of members and staff; and a photo essay showing a year in the life of our community garden.

Torah, Worship, Music: All of our celebrations will be illuminated with the richness of our sacred Torah, the energy of communal prayer and the power of music to create connections among people and reach toward the Divine.

Social Justice: Temple’s legacy of social justice will infuse all our efforts and be deeply embedded in the anchor events and the Documenting Our History project.