Shabbat and Holiday Services

Shabbat Service

Friday, March 24 at 6:15 pm (in-person indoors or live streamed)

Friday night services will be held indoors in the Sanctuary, where masks are optional and everyone is expected to be vaccinated and boosted (if eligible).  

We invite you to celebrate a special moment with us.

Would you like to celebrate a special occasion for your family? Consider sharing it with the congregation by sponsoring an Oneg following Friday night services at WRT.

Torah Study

Saturday, March 25 at 9:00 am (in-person in the Sifriyah or Zoom) 

Each Shabbat morning we gather informally to read and discuss the week’s Torah portion. The morning begins with a brief Shabbat service at which mourners who wish to say Kaddish are warmly welcomed. The group is led by volunteers, with clergy participation. No prior experience with Torah is necessary.  

Sharing Shabbat

Saturday, March 25 at 9:00 am (offsite)

This Saturday, Sharing Shabbat and WRT Family Mitzvah Corps will be volunteering with Grassroots Grocery (formerly Mott Haven Community Fridge) to sort, package, and deliver fresh produce to our neighbors in the Bronx who don't always have easy access to fresh fruit and vegetables. If you would like to participate, please RSVP at this link, where you can also get more information: https://www.grassrootsgrocery.org/wrt-produce-party

Programs and Special Events

Adult Learning: Introduction to Talmud

Thursday, March 23 at 10:15 am (Zoom)

Join Rabbi Blake and fellow learners for a weekly deep dive into the spiritually nourishing and intellectually challenging world of the Babylonian Talmud. For this midwinter learning series, we will explore signature Talmudic passages that shed light on Jewish philosophy, ethics, observance, and law, with a focus on the content and form of rabbinic thought and debate. No prior text/Hebrew experience is required. All are welcome.

KICKING UP YOUR SEDER A NOTCH with WRJ

Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 pm (on-site in the CJL or Zoom) Led by Rabbi Harra Person, Chief Executive Officer Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), Author of Mishkan HaSeder

Join us for a spiritual kick off to Judaism's favorite holiday. Rabbi Person will lead us in thoughtful discussion dealing with what's on our plates. We will nosh, share recipes and explore together! An informal fun filled kick off for the Passover season! You may attend in-person in the WRT CJL or join via Zoom.

Please take a COVD test before you attend.

Parental Bereavement Group

Wednesday, March 29 at 11:30 am (Zoom)

This Support Group meets to create community for those in mourning over the loss of a parent, and to help find comfort and process feelings of loss through caring discussion and in sacred Jewish context.

Led by Jane Slevin, LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Westchester Jewish Community Services), and Cantor Laura Stein, LMSW, a social worker who specializes in spiritual care. 

WRJ Women’s Passover Seder - "Our Cup Runneth Over”

(if only the pouring would stop--we would take a sip and clean up the mess!) 

Thursday, March 30, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at WRT

Led by our Senior Cantor Amanda Kleinman, Cantor Danielle Rodnizki, Rabbi Sasha Baken and Rabbi Leah Citrin. Featuring our multi-generational Timbrels Choir. Hosted by Women of Reform Judaism with honored guests from the Scarsdale-Hartsdale Interfaith Council.

Catered by Standing Room Only. All meals are gluten-free. Everything is nut-free. Please click below to RSVP by March 27th.

MRJ Blood Drive

Sunday, April 2, 9:00am - 1:30 pm in the CJL

MRJ is hosting its Annual Blood Drive in partnership with Kol Ami, in memory of Alan Broadwin z'l, who was instrumental developing many of the MRJ programs in the past few years. Blood donors are urgent needed. On average, nearly 42,000 blood components are used by patients daily. Walk-ins are welcome, however appointments are suggested.

Passover Festival Service

Thursday, April 6 at 10:00 am

Meditation Lab

Beginning Friday, April 7

8:30 - 9:00 am: via Zoom

11:00 - 11:30 am: in-person at WRT

Norm Goldstein, a WRT congregant who has practiced and taught meditation for over 20 years, joins Rabbi Blake and Rabbi Baken in leading weekly meditation sessions, in two formats, weekly for 7 Fridays ( April 7 to May 19). Don’t miss your chance to engage in mindful awareness with your rabbis and this transformational coach (www.coachnorm.com).

RSVP for in-person sessions to Lisa Vega at WRT: lisa.vega@wrtemple.org.

Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3793384936?pwd=Vm1QV0lZQkVWQ2orYTlyQjRIcVpCZz09

Rabbi Jonathan Blake in conversation with prize-winning investigative reporter and best-selling author Jodi Kantor

Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Jodi Kantor is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and best-selling author whose work has revealed hidden truths about power, gender, technology, politics and culture.

In October of 2017, she and Megan Twohey broke the story of Harvey Weinstein’s decades of sexual abuse allegations. Their work helped ignite the #MeToo movement, shift attitudes, and spur new laws, policies and standards of accountability around the globe. Together with a team of colleagues who exposed harassment across industries, they were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, journalism’s highest award.

The movie, She Said, based on her New York Times best-selling book entitled She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, is now streaming on Peacock. This event is made possible by a grant from The Rabbi Jacobs & Susan Freedman Fund for Innovation in Jewish Life at Westchester Reform Temple. There is no charge for this event, but please RSVP by May 1st, using the button below.

2 Amazing WRT Trips to Israel for WRT Congregants ages 6+

Run by J²Adventures, we will offer an adult-only trip led by Rabbi Blake, and a family trip led by Cantor Kleinman, with special moments of gathering all together as a WRT community in Israel. These 12-day trips (including travel days), December 20-31, 2023, will provide memories for a lifetime. Please note that Adults and Families will register separately, even though both groups are traveling at the same time.

Registration is now open! Watch the information session here.

STAND UP FOR ISRAEL AS A JEWISH, DEMOCRATIC STATE

Rabbi Blake recently returned from a trip to Israel where he joined over 250 Reform Rabbis from around the world in meeting with Knesset officials, Jewish leaders, and in joining with hundreds of thousands of Israelis who are peacefully protesting a recent set of initiatives that would undermine a pillar of Israeli democracy, which is its independent judiciary. Supporters of Israel who care about the preservation of its democratic institutions, representing a broad swath of Israelis and her allies, from across the political spectrum from right-of-center to left-of-center, have denounced these proposed “reforms” as a harmful lurch away from democracy that would undercut Israel’s credibility, security, and economic vibrancy. 

Following his trip, Rabbi Blake offered remarks and a slideshow of powerful images, during Shabbat services at WRT on March 3rd. The presentation can be viewed by clicking here.

WRT joins with our Reform Movement partners and the Israel Religious Action Center in making it easy to express your support for Israel as the world’s only Jewish State and the Middle East’s only democracy. Click on this link to reach out to Knesset leaders to convey your words. You can also adapt the language provided here to contact your local and national elected officials in Congress. 

Together, we will stand with Israel and for democracy. 

Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World)

Welcome the Stranger: Refugee Resettlement

Sunday, March 26, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm, Westchester Reform Temple

Representatives from Westchester Jewish Coalition for Immigration and HIAS will join Rabbi Jonathan Blake, Rabbi Sasha Baken, and Sharon Stiefel in discussing the process and volunteer opportunities for refugee resettlement. A light lunch will be served. Please rsvp no later than March 24 to sharon.steifel@wrtemple.org.  

Scarsdale Food Scrap Recycling Drive

Sunday, March 26, 9 am – 12 pm and Thursday, March 30, 8:30 am – 9:45 am, Westchester Reform Temple



Stop by WRT where volunteers will be offering the opportunity to register for Scarsdale curbside residential food scrap pickup and purchase a village-approved bin. You can also learn more about food scrap recycling, as well as WRT and the Reform Movement’s commitment to sustainability. Visit the Scarsdale Village Food Scrap Recycling/Food Scrap Composting site to learn more, to register, or to purchase your bin.  

Cooking4HOPE - Hot Meals

Monday, March 27, 10 am - 12 pm, Westchester Reform Temple Kitchen

Sign up to join other members of the WRT community to cook a hot dinner, make sandwiches, and pack sandwich bags for HOPE Community Services. You can also sign up to bake desserts to be included in the sandwich bags, to shop for groceries, or to deliver the sandwiches to HOPE.  Sign up here.

Empty Reusable Bags and Non-Perishable Food for Mt. Vernon Food Bank

Now through March 31, 2023

Our Mt. Vernon Food Bank, one of our Cooking4HOPE partners, has an immediate need for empty Fresh Direct (or similarly sized reusable bags). If you have extra empty bags, please drop them off anytime at the entrance of the garage of 65 Hutchinson Blvd, 10583 by the end of March so we can bring them to Mt. Vernon. And, if you are clearing out non-perishable food supplies (pasta, canned goods, etc) for Passover or spring cleaning, the Mt. Vernon food bank will be happy to receive these as well. Please drop off at the same address and email Yoel.magid@gmail.com when to expect food drop offs.

Passover Donations: HOPE Kosher Food Pantry

Now through April 5, 2023

HOPE Community services, which has the only kosher food pantry in Westchester County, provides Seder plates and Kosher for Passover meals for kosher clients throughout the week of Passover, including members of our own WRT community.  As a partner of HOPE Community Services, we can help HOPE raise the necessary funds to meet these needs. This Passover, as we say the words “let all who are hungry come and eat,” let’s be able to say we were part of feeding those hungry.  Donate here and select “Kosher Program” under “Campaigns/Programs” and please indicate “WRT – Passover” in the notes. If you would like to make a donation directly through WRT, you can do so by donating to the WRT Housing and Food Insecurity Fund and noting that the donation is for Passover.

WRT's music series for the 2022-2023 calendar year.

We know that music has immense power to connect us, lift us up, and inspire us, and what better way to be in community than to experience the beauty of music with fellow congregants and leading Jewish artists, cantors, and composers! To discover our wonderful artists in this series, please visit the website, https://bit.ly/3MSTYfV

Visit the Jewish Learning Lab (JLL)

For WRT members: If you would like to receive notifications of birth announcements and deaths within the WRT community, please email receptionist@wrtemple.org with your full name and email address. Please specify if you would like to be added to one or both of these notification lists.  

For more information about Inclusion at WRT, click here.

For more information about Our Jewish World, click here.