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

An Appeal on Behalf of our Commonwealth

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Kentucky was hard hit last week by multiple tornados and we are just now beginning to reckon the scope of the damage and loss of life. At least 74 Kentuckians in 10 counties have died, thousands of homes have been destroyed. Governor Beshear has declared a State of Emergency, the National Guard has deployed rescue teams across the State, and President Biden is on his way to survey the damage tomorrow. It seems clear that this will be remembered as the worst tornado event our Commonwealth has ever endured and our friends and neighbors in Western Kentucky have been hardest hit. We offer our prayers and support, particularly to the cities of Mayfield, Dawson Springs, and Bowling Green where dozens have died and homes have been devastated. 

There will be much to do in the weeks and months ahead, but for now, the focus will be on rescue and recovery and The Temple can and must play a part in these efforts. We are gathering critical supplies for relief efforts, in partnership with the JFCS Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry, which we will be driving down to Mayfield thanks to the wonderful support of our BSA Scouts in Troop 30/30GT. And all of us can play a part.

Scouts from Troop 30/30GT will be organizing pickups for the critically needed items on the list below Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. We will be loading the supplies on “The Eagle”, Troop 30/30GT’s truck, which they will drive down to Mayfield, delivering them to needy families through the Mayfield-Graves County United Way.

Please bring the following items to The Temple Klein Center parking lot at the designated times where you will be met by Scouts from Troop 30/30GT who will help load your contributions and send them on their way to Mayfield.

  • Flash Lights and Headlamps
  • Batteries
  • Water
  • First Aid Medical Supplies
  • Utility Gloves
  • Gas Cans (empty because we cannot transport fuel that far)
  • New Socks
  • New Underwear
  • Gently Used: Blankets, Clothes, Coats, Shoes
  • Toiletries and feminine hygiene products
  • Diapers (Kids and Adult all sizes)
  • Baby Formula and Baby Bottles
  • Unwrapped New or Gently used Toys
  • Non-perishable Food
  • Paper products
  • Pillows
  • Sleeping bags
  • Tarps

For those of us who wish to make financial contributions to the relief effort, the Jewish Community of Louisville has identified the Kentucky Red Cross as a partner organization and established a fund for contributions which we can contribute to at: jewishlouisville.org/kentucky-tornado-relief-fund/.

And let us all pray for the strength and courage for those affected by this storm and for the will of our Commonwealth to rise up together and fulfill our motto: United We Stand, Divided We Fall.  May the Governor’s words become our own: “We are here for you, we love you, we are praying for you.”

Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport

Rabbi David Ariel-Joel

Hanukkah Menorah Lighting

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Thank you Everyone for joining us last night for Hanukkah! We had an Outdoor Hanukkah Menorah Lighting, Young Adult Crafts, Goodnight Tots, Religious School Centers, and Indoor Hanukkah Menorah Lighting.

We value your membership and appreciate your ongoing support of The Temple.   

Event Descriptions:

Hanukkah Menorah Lighting

As Hanukkah quickly approaches, all of us at The Temple wish you an early Hanukkah Sameach! As we prepare for this year’s Festival of Lights, we want to keep everyone informed on this year’s Hanukkah Menorah Lighting.

On Monday, November 29 and Sunday, December 5, from 5:15 – 5:30pm, we will gather in the Mishkan T’filah (our outdoor chapel, behind the Klein Center) to light up our beautiful Hanukkah Menorah! Everyone is invited for outdoor singing and a brief outdoor service, with hot chocolate and jelly donuts to follow provided by WRJ/Sisterhood. Please RSVP and let us know how many members of your household will attend. Masks are optional, as this is a completely outdoor event.

Young Adult Hanukkah Crafts & Cocktails

Join The Temple Young Adults on Saturday, December 4 in the Heideman Auditorium from 6-8 pm for a night of Hanukkah-themed crafting and cocktails! Decorate your own hanukkiah, dreidels, and other fun crafts while you mix and mingle with other Temple young adults. Our menu will include bagels and other pastries, hot cocoa, and a selection of wine, beer, and hard seltzers. Ages 21+ only, vaccination required. To RSVP, please fill out the form below. Limited spots are available! RSVP by Friday, December 3.

Goodnight Tots, Goodnight Shabbat

Please join us for a Tot Havdalah with arts and crafts, special treats, stories, and songs. Come Zoom in your pajamas to say goodnight to Shabbat (and the adults can then say goodnight to their tots).

RSVPs will be required in order for your tots to receive their special bags. Please make sure to save the date as this will be a wonderful family event!

Happy Hour and Dinner

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for The Temple’s Happy Hour and Dinner! We had over 140 Temple members attend. We enjoyed a beautiful night with music, delicious food, and wonderful company. Thanks to all who attended!

We value your membership and appreciate your ongoing support of The Temple.   

Event Description:

We’re excited to invite you to an incredible outdoor event where you can safely reconnect with other Temple members!

On Thursday, October 21, Happy Hour and Dinner starts at 5:30 pm in the back parking lot, by The Klein Center. You’re invited to enjoy food from a local food truck and a full bar, courtesy of Heaven Hill. The best part is – the night is free of charge – to show our appreciation for our Temple members!

Please mark your calendar – it’s an evening for-members-only to enjoy live entertainment, delicious drinks, food, and plenty of fun. Please be sure to RSVP here or call Santa at The Temple office 502-423-1818.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Your Temple Team
Avery, Benji, Craig, Gene, Santa, Sarah, Terry, Rabbi David, & Rabbi Rapport

Thank you to everyone who joined us for The Temple’s Happy Hour and Dinner! We enjoyed a beautiful night with music, delicious food, and wonderful company. Thanks to all who attended! We’re excited to invite you to an incredible outdoor event where you can safely reconnect with other Temple members! On Thursday, October 21, Happy Hour and Dinner starts at 5:30 pm in the back parking lot, by The Klein Center. You’re invited to enjoy food from a local food truck and a full bar, courtesy of Heaven Hill. The best part is – the night is free of charge – to show our appreciation for our Temple members! Please mark your calendar – it’s an evening for-members-only to enjoy live entertainment, delicious drinks, food, and plenty of fun. Please be sure to RSVP here or call Santa at The Temple office 502-423-1818. Looking forward to seeing you! Your Temple Team Avery, Benji, Craig, Gene, Santa, Sarah, Terry, Rabbi David, & Rabbi Rapport

Temple Support for United States Veterans

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Temple Support for United States Veterans Having a Difficult Time with the fall of Afghanistan

The Temple sincerely appreciates and supports all its members who served our country in the armed forces.  Right now veterans of all wars, but especially veterans who served in Afghanistan, report nationwide having a lot of emotions as we all watch images of those left behind in harms way trying to escape the Taliban.  The Temple offers prayers for every one of our veterans and for those persons from all nations still in harms way.  Additionally, the following resources might be of help for you or for someone you know struggling at this time.  

Rabbi David Ariel-Joel

This is the second in a four-part series about Afghanistan Veterans and how they can get help through VA. Read the other parts: Part 1: Afghanistan: How Veterans can reconcile service The second part of this series focuses on how those who served in Afghanistan can learn from those who served in Vietnam. While the conflicts are different, there are parallels. Each operation had U.S. involvement for about two decades. Both countries had a low initial amount of forces. Both later had a surge in forces. U.S. forces in both theaters fought an enemy that hid among the people. The U.S. participation in the Vietnam War started ending in 1973 with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. The U.S. withdrew, leaving the country to determine a path ahead. In Afghanistan, the U.S. withdrawal will leave Afghans to determine their own future. Emotions on Afghanistan When the announcement came that U.S. forces would leave Afghanistan this year, it triggered a complicated wave of emotions through those who served in the country. Air Force Veteran Scott Watson is one of them. Watson spent a year in Afghanistan from July 2009 to July 2010. He worked for Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan as the Afghan National Army fuels officer, the top level of the supply chain when it came to fuel. He spent a year separated from his daughter. “It was a mix of disappointment and relief,” Watson said about hearing the news. “I’m disappointed that we’re leaving, and I don’t feel like we’re done training the Afghan security forces. At the same time, I’m relieved that I don’t ever have to go see names of people that I know redeploying to this place where it’s just Groundhog Day every day.”

Happy Passover – Message from our Rabbis

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Dear Friend,

Happy Passover! May it be a meaningful Passover to us all!

Please take a moment to watch this short message from your Temple Rabbis

Our seders this year are:

  • Annual First Night Seder on Saturday, March 27 at 6:00 pm.
  • Congregation Second Night Seder on Sunday, March 28 at 6:00 pm.
  • Annual Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Women’s Seder on Thursday, April 1 at 6:00 pm.
  • Young Adult Seder on Saturday, April 3 at 6:00 pm.

We will also have Passover services on YouTube:

  • Passover Services: Sunday, March 28 at 10:30 am
  • Passover Yizkor Services: Saturday, April 3 at 10:30 am

Please join us for Passover as we strive to make this night special and meaningful!

Chag Sameach!
Rabbi David Ariel-Joel
Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport

Happy Passover!

Our seders this year are:

  • Annual First Night Seder on Saturday, March 27 at 6:00 pm.
  • Congregation Second Night Seder on Sunday, March 28 at 6:00 pm.
  • Annual Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks Women’s Seder on Thursday, April 1 at 6:00 pm.
  • Young Adult Seder on Saturday, April 3 at 6:00 pm.

We will also have Passover services on YouTube:

  • Passover Services: Sunday, March 28 at 10:30 am
  • Passover Yizkor Services: Saturday, April 3 at 10:30 am

Please join us for Passover as we strive to make this night special and meaningful!

Chag Sameach!
Rabbi David Ariel-Joel
Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport

Dear Friend,

Happy Passover! May it be a meaningful Passover to us all!

Please take a moment to watch this short message from your Temple Rabbis

The Temple is Getting Ready for Your Return

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The Temple is Getting Ready for Your Return. While our members continue to stay safe at home, The Temple staff has been busier than ever! In preparation for your return, we completed much-needed upgrades and improvements throughout our building and campus. Thank you for being a Temple member – we value your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you again in person soon!

Director, Producer, & Editor: Benji Berlow

The Temple is Getting Ready for Your Return. While our members continue to stay safe at home, The Temple staff has been busier than ever! In preparation for your return, we completed much-needed upgrades and improvements throughout our building and campus. Thank you for being a Temple member – we value your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you again in person soon! The Temple is Getting Ready for Your Return. While our members continue to stay safe at home, The Temple staff has been busier than ever! In preparation for your return, we completed much-needed upgrades and improvements throughout our building and campus. Thank you for being a Temple member – we value your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you again in person soon! The Temple is Getting Ready for Your Return. While our members continue to stay safe at home, The Temple staff has been busier than ever! In preparation for your return, we completed much-needed upgrades and improvements throughout our building and campus. Thank you for being a Temple member – we value your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you again in person soon!

A Year to Remember

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Dear Friends,

A Year to Remember

We hope and pray you find this message a source of pride and comfort. As we reflect on 2020, we can all agree, it was an interesting and challenging year to remember. Even during the pandemic, The Temple team rose to the challenge and creatively found new and safe ways to create positive, meaningful experiences, for all members of our Temple family.

Here are just a few of The Temple’s achievements:

  • We transitioned from in-person services and classes to Zoom and YouTube within one week. In addition to weekly services and classes, we engaged with our members every month with relevant programming, member bags, meal pick-ups, and more. We added many programs and invited more outside speakers, comedians, and local leaders than ever before.
  • We reimagined our High Holy Day Experience with Member Bags, customized prayer books, a special message from our Governor, and programming for all ages.
  • We worked collaboratively with the other synagogues in town to host a joint Havdallah Hanukkah Celebration, the first of many joint programs to come.
  • We continued life-cycle events and Tikkun Olam projects, following all CDC guidelines. We created a new Mitzvah Makers group and doubled the number of Tikkun Olam projects we normally do.
  • With the help of dozens of dedicated volunteers, we helped members in need with groceries, learn to use Zoom and YouTube, shop online, and get necessary medications and other essentials. We made sure that no member was left behind.
  • We wrestled with difficult questions about race and social justice in our community. Our Adult Education Committee began a monthly Conversation Series to continue the dialogue with partners, experts, and activists in our community.
  • We continued to open our doors and expand our community as 24 new families joined our Temple, and we welcomed back five additional families who rejoined.
  • In order to provide much-needed childcare for our ECEC families, we reopened our preschool during the pandemic while providing a safe educational environment. Our excellence was not missed by the larger community as The Temple Trager ECEC was named Best Preschool in Louisville by The Voice Magazine.
  • Our Religious School went online to continue engaging Temple youth with religious education. Moreover, we are proud that we were one of the few Reform Jewish Religious Schools in North America that not only stayed open virtually but also prolonged the school year to continue enriching our students. From Hebrew classes to baking workshops to Torah lessons, our students continued their education safely at home.
  • Throughout this pandemic, we worked diligently with our Board of Trustees to ensure that our budget and investments are financially strong.
  • We installed a new technology platform to improve back-office efficiencies and provide flexibility for our future.
  • We increased marketing and communications with our members, to maintain continuity for The Temple’s presence, throughout the pandemic.
  • Our maintenance team remodeled several areas of our Temple, thanks to many generous Temple donors. When we welcome our members back, you will be greeted by many enhancements.

Most importantly, we stayed safe and healthy and we will continue to maintain safety standards until we open our doors later in 2021.

Thank you to all of our Temple team members and volunteer leaders for a job well done in 2020 – and thank you to each and every Temple member for your continued support and commitment to our mission to be a center for Reform Judaism in Louisville and beyond.

We wish all our families a happy, safe, healthy 2021!
Rabbi David Ariel-Joel
Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport
Craig Goldstein
Reed Weinberg

BRO TALK with Max Shapira

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BRO TALK with The Temple Brotherhood
Tuesday, November 24 at 6:00 pm

Join The Temple Brotherhood for their first BRO TALK with Max Shapira, President of Heaven Hill Distillery.

from https://www.whiskeyuniv.com/s-max-shapira

Max Shapira was the only son of Ed Shapira, one of the five brothers who founded Heaven Hill Distilleries following the repeal of Prohibition. Max has been with Heaven Hill for 48 years and at the helm of the Bourbon Behemoth during a period of rapid growth and expansion and brand acquisitions which has made Heaven Hill the world’s second largest bourbon distiller by volume.

Dating back to 1935 five local Bardstown businessmen including Ed and David Shapira and Mr. Joseph L. Beam (Jim Beam’s cousin) put their heads and their wallets together and started a distillery. The Shipira’s initial investment was 40% of total and equaled $17,500 (Mr. Joe had a 20% share or half of that of the Shapiras at $8,750) into a company that had no still, no warehouses, no brand names and no inventory. That amount is the equivelent of $330,000 in today’s monetary value. On December 13th, 1935, the first barrel was filled at Heaven Hill Distillery. The name was taken from William Heavenhill, a farmer who previously owned the land where the distillery was built. An old wise tale claims that when one of the partners went and applied for the distillery permit he typed the name wrong as two words instead of one. From that point on the name stuck. Ed later went to all his other brothers and asked them to join him. Around 1939 the five Shapira brothers (David, Ed, Gary, George and Mose) all agreed to invest another $20,000 to buy out their partners and keep the business running. The Shapira Brothers were inducted posthumously into the Bourbon Hall of Fame as a collective group in only its second class in 2002.

Two of the sons of the five Shapira brothers followed in their collective fathers’ footsteps. Max L. Shapira (1943-present), Ed Shapira’s son, came aboard at Heaven Hill at the age of 28 in 1971. Max had graduated with his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard and worked on Wall Street for five years before coming back to join the firm. Max became the first member of all the Shapira grandchildren to join the family business. His cousin Harry Shapira (1947-2013) , who was David Shapira’s son would also go to work for Heaven Hill when he started in 1973.

Max Shapira , the son of Ed shapira was born in Louisville in 1943 and most of his childhood he grew up in Bardstown near the the Heaven Hill distillery. Shapira left the family and Bardstown to go to college. He earned his Batchelor’s degree at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia in 1965 and went on to earn his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1967. Among all his siblings and cousins in the Shapira family it would be Max that eventually assumed a leadership role for the second generation of Shapiras. He came aboard at Heaven Hill at the age of 28 in 1970 as the Director of Corporate Planning after five years at J. P. Morgan on Wall Street working in corporate acquisitions.

Early on in his days at Heaven Hill he was thrown into learning all aspects of the distillery business, he worked with his father side by side until his father’s death in 1982. The longest surviving of the five Shapira brothers was George Shapira who passed away in 1996. At that time Max took over as President at Heaven Hill. Shapira would become the Captain and pilot of the Heaven Hill ship guiding through both good and bad times.

It wasn’t an easy business to run at that time because the whiskey industry was at the bottom of all liquor sales in eighties and almost disappeared. But under Max’s stewardship Heaven Hill diversified. The made or bought a branded liquor product in all spirit categories. They actually started buying up other brands whean almost everyone else way selling. He encouraged Master Distiller Parker Beam to amp up research and development inside of Heaven Hill’s laboratories to find new products. They also built upon their current route structure to leverage their new and acquired products with their existing distributors.

In September 2018, Max Shapira became only the third recipient of the Kentucky Hall of Fame’s Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award. Only illustrious Bourbon leaders Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey and Bill Samuels Jr. of Maker’s Mark proceeded Max in earning the award. The award was named in 2015 for Parker Beam, who joined Heaven Hill in 1960 as a sixth-generation distiller in his storied family. He became Master Distiller in 1975 and earned numerous awards for distilling, aging and selecting some of the world’s most acclaimed Bourbons.

YouTube link for BRO TALK with Max Shapira: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99QUpebZcPY

Behind the Scenes with The Temple Staff

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Join us Behind the Scenes! While our members continue to stay safe at home, The Temple staff has been busier than ever!

For a peek behind the curtain of what goes on in a typical day, we created a quick video! While we may not see you in person, The Temple continues to facilitate an expansive array of educational classes, religious services, meetings, mailings, ZOOM calls, emails, technology advancements, building updates, membership, volunteers, Tikkun Olam, maintenance projects, fundraising, Covid-19 protocol, religious school, preschool, special events, inter-congregational alliances, etc. All require an enormous amount of legwork! In short, it takes a lot to run a congregation from a very small team and the goal is to continue to engage our members safely each month and maintain The Temple’s continuity in your life.

Thank you for being a Temple member – we value your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you again in person soon!

Behind the Scenes Video Director, Producer, & Editor: Benji Berlow

Join us Behind the Scenes! While our members continue to stay safe at home, The Temple staff has been busier than ever!

For a peek behind the curtain of what goes on in a typical day, we created a quick video! While we may not see you in person, The Temple continues to facilitate an expansive array of educational classes, religious services, meetings, mailings, ZOOM calls, emails, technology advancements, building updates, membership, volunteers, Tikkun Olam, maintenance projects, fundraising, Covid-19 protocol, religious school, preschool, special events, inter-congregational alliances, etc. All require an enormous amount of legwork! In short, it takes a lot to run a congregation from a very small team and the goal is to continue to engage our members safely each month and maintain The Temple’s continuity in your life.

Thank you for being a Temple member – we value your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you again in person soon!

Behind the Scenes Video Director, Producer, & Editor: Benji Berlow