5101 US-42 • LOUISVILLE, KY 40241 • (502) 423-1818

Securing Our Future in Action

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Pictures of the current roof repair at The Temple ensuring our Temple’s future!

Imagine…A Temple that is thriving! Membership has grown! Young families abound! Our Rabbis engage everyone! The organization is purposeful! Kids love being Jewish! Traditional AND innovative services! Our fiscal house is in order! Adult education is compelling! New events draw new faces! The Temple makes us proud! All are welcome! Staff delivers! BOT is active & productive! The Temple is lively!  Our future is secure! The Secure Our Future campaign was established in 2014 with a goal to raise $5,000,000.  While steadily progressing towards that goal, we already paid off the mortgage, retired a deficit accrued over a decade and resolved several deferred maintenance and restoration issues.  New donations will now help grow our invested endowment assets to ensure a successful and sustainable future into the next generation.

URJ President Rick Jacobs on The Temple’s 175-year Legacy

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URJ President Rick Jacobs shares his thoughts with current Temple President Matt Schwartz about The Temple’s 175-year legacy. They spoke from inside the Temple Archives about the Temple’s founding role within the Reform movement, the state of the movement as part of the world Jewish community and The Temple’s wonderful legacy and opportunity. Rabbi Jacobs was visiting The Temple to celebrate the 175 year anniversary, as we welcomed a large crowd to Friday night Shabbat service. Listen to his perspective on The Temple.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs is president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the most powerful force in North American Jewish life. The URJ leads the largest and most diverse Jewish movement in North America, with almost 900 congregations reaching nearly 1.5 million people. Immediately after his nomination as URJ president, Newsweek placed him at number seven on their 2011 list of “America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis,” describing him as “magnetic” and “known for prioritizing social justice … and rethinking worship to engage the disaffected.”

Under the dedicated and creative leadership of Rabbi Jacobs, the URJ is engaged in the ongoing implementation of the URJ’s strategic 2020 Vision, a bold and ambitious action plan for the future of Reform Judaism structured around three core priorities: Strengthening Congregations, Audacious Hospitality and Tikkun Olam (social justice). Deeply committed to the State of Israel, Rabbi Jacobs has studied for two decades at Jerusalem’s Shalom Hartman Institute, where he is now a senior rabbinic fellow.

Religious School Parent Open House

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We welcomed over 60 parents and grandparents into our Religious School classrooms this morning for our annual Parent and Grandparent Open House!

THE CHESTER B. DIAMOND RELIGIOUS SCHOOL MISSION STATEMENT:
Our learning community strives to create a caring atmosphere of friendship while encouraging meaningful understanding and a dedicated commitment to Jewish life – in school and at home. The wonderful teaching faculty is diligent that all classroom experiences are valuable and nurture a positive Jewish identity. In addition, our goal is for each student to participate in enjoyable experiences that are part of Temple life, be exposed to and internalize our biblical stories, and to embrace Jewish culture as well as Reform ethical beliefs and values.

Fleischaker Frockt Meditation Chapel and Memorial Garden Dedication

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On Sunday, November 11th the Fleischaker Frockt Meditation Chapel and Memorial Garden were rededicated.

In 1905, the Frankel family paid for the construction of a chapel on The Temple’s cemetery grounds in honor of Henry U. Frankel.  In recent decades, the structure became unstable and unsafe and was in need of significant repair and restoration.

Richard Frockt, a Past President of The Temple, and his family stepped up as generous donors to provide a solution and significant opportunity for our cemetery.  Their donation helped restore the structure itself while still honoring its historical legacy.  There is also a new garden and promenade which will lead to the chapel.  In recognition of this generous gift, the restored structure and garden will be rededicated as the Fleischaker Frockt Meditation Chapel and Memorial Garden in memory of Johanna Fleischaker and Janet Frockt.

Family Shabbat with 7th and 8th Grade and Tot Shabbat

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Thank you to all that attended our special Family Shabbat service led by our 7th and 8th grade Religious School students and Tot Shabbat!  Check out more at our Facebook Page!

Family Services are held during the school year when our Religious School classes take turns leading services. These “Family Services” are usually held on the second Friday of the month and take place after a Family Shabbat Dinner. Led by the older students, only one service is held for the entire congregation. Twice a year, usually at the beginning and end of the school year, we hold a more relaxed and informal “Blue Jean Shabbat”.

#ShowUpForShabbat at The Temple

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More than 500 people joined us for #ShowUpForShabbat on Friday, November 2.  You can read Rabbi Rapport’s introduction and sermon with the link below.

Show Up

Words of Welcome for Solidarity Shabbat & Standing Together Against Bigotry and Hate
A Sermon In Remembrance of Lives Lost in Pittsburgh
Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport
November 2, 2018

Download Now!

Representatives from AJC’s 22 offices across the United States reached out to clergy, diplomats, local government officials, and other civic leaders to encourage them to participate in the #SHOWUPFORSHABBAT campaign, while the organization’s 11 international offices worked with partners in over 35 Jewish communities around the globe to launch similar initiatives locally.

Other local, national, and international Jewish organizations encouraged their members to participate in the campaign. Synagogues welcomed the influx of attendees at their Shabbat services with explanatory programming.

And Now & The Seeds of Compassion by Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks
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Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks: I wrote this poem just moments after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. It was read at the Jewish Community Memorial Service Sunday evening in memory of the 13 Americans who were murdered last week–2 at the J’town Kroger and 11 at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

And Now…

In the Beginning

God created

the heavens and the earth

and now…

there is darkness on the face of the deep

and the earth is void

of righteousness and compassion.

And God divided

between the heavens above

and the heavens beneath

and now…

the heavens are filled with cries of suffering

and the seas could never contain

the oceans of innocent blood.

And the Holy One

Blessed Be

gathered together the waters on earth

and now…

upon the dry land there is

grass and trees bearing fruit

and anger bearing hatred and death.

And on the fourth day

The Lord God illuminated

sun and moon and stars

and now…

darkness threatens to overcome

the power of light

and the forces of evil and war unite.

Then the Eternal One

called forth living creatures

to swarm in the heavens and in the seas

and now…

the skies are filled

with weapons of destruction

and violence clouds the very air we breathe.

And the Creator

of all the world said

Let us make animals and human beings

and now…

human beings have become as animals

that demand domination over all God’s works

and kill and destroy what they cannot control

But on the seventh day

God rested from all labor

and God blessed the work of Creation

and now…

we must live that blessing

we must turn from death and war

and learn again the message of hope and love and peace.

And now…

let there be peace

let there be light

let there be promise

let there be love.

This poem was written in response to Mayor Greg Fischer’s call and was read at the Metro Hall this morning for Louisville’s Moment of Solidarity.
I wrote it in honor of the Mayor’s ongoing, unstinting efforts to make Louisville a City of Compassion and in memory of the 13 Americans who were murdered last week–
2 at the J’town Kroger and 11 at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

The Seeds of Compassion

May the tears shed for these souls,

gunned down in a war against hope,

water the seeds of compassion. 


May the oceans of prayers and words,

spoken against violence and hatred,

overflow into healing and unity. 


May the commitment of the caring and just, 

roll down into action like water,

to righteousness as a mighty stream. 


That our grief may turn into healing,

our mourning into joy for the world,

Never Again to weep for those slain.


We must counter violence with votes,

fight hatred with love,

conquer fear with friendship,

overwhelm terror with the forces of light and good.


May the tears shed for these souls,

gunned down in a war against hope,

water the seeds of compassion.