Thank you everyone for joining us as we honored Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport for his many years of service.
Watch on Youtube.
Event Description:
We are honoring Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport for his many years of service with a Celebration Party on May 21, 2022, It will be a wonderful evening and a time for us to express our appreciation for all that he has meant to the Congregation, its members, and the whole Louisville community.
The Days of Awe are upon us. Rosh Hashanah begins this Friday night and Yom Kippur just ten days beyond that. We have been preparing for this High Holy Day experience for so long it has seemed at times as if this moment would never arrive. But now we have all but arrived at our day of days. We have prepared New Prayer Books for our hands, Streaming Services for our eyes, the haunting melodies of these days through the voices of our socially distant choir for our ears, and now it is time to prepare our hearts for repentance and return.
Planning for the High Holy Days was always the plan. The entire month of Elul was to be dedicated to day-by-day reflection in preparation for the shofar’s call to return. This age old tradition has not traditionally included prerecording a video message from the governor, sending an HDMI cable to connect your computer device to the flat-screen TV, figuring out a way to gather your beloved collection of family and friends without actually physically gathering, or gathering all the ingredients for a holiday meal from touchless delivery at the grocery store.
These High Holy Days we have prepared in different ways, we know they will not feel the same once they arrive, but it is our hope that these days might be memorable for more than the pandemic which has created the need for all these preparations, but rather for the message of unity amidst adversity, and the strength of a community of faith which they have taught.
Shanah Tovah, from your rabbis, your Temple leadership, and from all your Temple staff who have worked so hard to make this High Holy Day experience one we will remember: for blessing and not for curse, for sweetness and not for sorrow, for beginnings and not for its end. May the One who has opened the gates of repentance and welcomed us in love through generations of our people, bless you all and those you love in this New Year and for many years to come.
L’Shanah Tovah, may it be a year of goodness and blessing for us all.
Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport
Rabbi David Ariel-Joel
Rabbi Rapport and the Interfaith Habitat crew after a long day of work.
The Jewish community and our community partners are building an Interfaith Habitat House this fall every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:30-3:30 pm.
You can sign up for morning or afternoon shifts by calling Habitat at 502-805-1407. Location is off Newburg Road behind Bashford Manor in a very family-oriented neighborhood.
On Thursday, July 18, Rabbi Rapport and his son Lev hosted over 40 students from the Governor’s Scholars program at Bellarmine University. They toured our prayer spaces and archives, asked questions about Judaism, and learned about Jewish mindfulness.
Rabbi Rapport has served the congregation since 1988. He teaches in a variety of adult education classes, as well as teaching the Religious School’s sixth grade class and the High School of Jewish Studies, guiding The Temple Confirmation Class, and working closely with Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. Each summer, he works with Jewish children during a two-week session at Goldman Union Camp Institute in Zionsville, Indiana. He oversees many congregational programs, serving as rabbinic liaison for the Brotherhood, the Temple Archives, and the Building Committee, among others. In all of these areas, he brings a particular commitment to social action and Tikkun Olam – repairing the world.
Rabbi Rapport teaches The Torah of Our Lives to our summer Temple Scholars.
10:50-12:00 pm with Rabbi Rapport
Rabbi Rapport teaches The Torah of Our Lives
The Torah and Traditions within Jewish Lifecycle ceremonies from birth to death and everything in between. Learn about the many customs, traditions (and a few superstitions) associated with every stage of Jewish Life. Birth, Bris, Baby Naming and ceremonies that begin our study of Torah – all this in just our first few years as a Jew! Special sessions on unique customs of Jews in other lands, Jewish food and music which accompany many life cycle events, as well as the evolution of Jewish Wedding and Funeral ceremonies from The Bible and until today. Each class is presented as a stand-alone lesson and all are welcome to attend.
MONDAY CLASSES
Adult education classes on Monday night are taught by our Senior Rabbis.
TEMPLE SCHOLARS
Join the Wednesday morning Temple Scholars Program.
TORAH STUDY
Discuss the weekly Torah portion on Shabbat mornings with Rabbi David.
MOVIE NIGHTS
Join members of the congregation each month on a Tuesday night for pizza and a movie.
SENIOR UNIVERSITY
Learn more about our annual Senior University program, an all-day learning experience for adults of all ages.
LGBTQ EQUALITY SHABBAT
Join us each year as The Temple commemorates the LGBTQ community during Pride month with an Equality Shabbat.
Thank you to all that attended our Bernheim Rabbis’ Shabbat Dinner and Services last week! What a great time was had by all!
Isaac Bernheim (1848-1945) was a Reform Jew, devoted member of The Temple, a Louisville distiller, and philanthropist who, in 1929, bequeathed 14,000 acres of land – the Bernheim Forest and Arboretum – to the people of Kentucky. To celebrate the man and his legacy, we have an Annual Sabbath service in the Classical Reform style led by Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport, and featuring a professional choir under the direction of Dr. Louie Bailey.
Shabbat (the Sabbath) is a key part of Jewish life; it is observed as a day of rest and spiritual rejuvenation. Shabbat takes place from nightfall on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. In the home and synagogue, blessings are made and candles are lit to welcome Shabbat and signify the start of the festival. The Kiddush prayer is recited to represent the holiness of the day. Blessings are made over wine and challah. (See information on Shabbat services with our new Guide to Jewish Services.)
CLASSICAL
Classical Services are held on special occasions throughout the year, celebrating our History as a founding congregation of American Reform Judaism, Founders’ Day, Isaac Mayer Wise’s birthday, and Bernheim Shabbat. They are led from the Sinai Edition of the old Union Prayer Book. Music from the Classical Age of Reform Judaism, is performed by The Temple professional choir.
Our very own Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport and Rabbi Gaylia R. Rooks joined 500+ Reform rabbis to celebrate the 130th birthday of the CCAR and the 200th birthday of its founder, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise at the 2019 Convention, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In addition to this major milestone, CCAR also celebrated the selection of its first female Chief Executive, Rabbi Hara Person and honored Rabbi Steve Fox, outgoing Chief Executive, for his 13 years of leadership.
What a wonderful celebration some of our rabbinic staff were able to be a part of as they show their continuing support for the Jewish community.
The Central Conference of American Rabbis is the Reform Rabbinic leadership organization. The CCAR enriches and strengthens the Jewish community by fostering excellence in the Reform Rabbis who lead it, in whatever setting they serve, and through the resources and publications we provide the Jewish community. CCAR members lead the Reform Movement on important spiritual, social, cultural and human rights issues, at the same time the CCAR creates and sustains the Judaism of tomorrow.
The CCAR enriches and strengthens the Jewish community by empowering Reform Rabbis to provide religious, spiritual, and organizational leadership as it:
Rabbi Rapport married Susan and Ray Allen in a mock Wedding Ceremony as part of his Torah of Our Lives Temple Scholars Class.
The Torah and Traditions within Jewish Lifecycle ceremonies from birth to death and everything in between. Learn about the many customs, traditions (and a few superstitions) associated with every stage of Jewish Life. Birth, Bris, Baby Naming and ceremonies that begin our study of Torah – all this in just our first few years as a Jew! Special sessions on unique customs of Jews in other lands, Jewish food and music which accompany many life cycle events. Additionally, learn about the evolution of Jewish Wedding and Funeral ceremonies from The Bible and until today. Each class is presented as a stand-alone lesson and all are welcome to attend. Please join!
Rabbi Rapport joined the Rotary Club on February 21 to speak about:
“Building Bridges In A Time of Division and Hate”
Religious freedom and interfaith cooperation in America stand at a crossroad. Americans as a whole profess increasingly warm and welcoming attitudes towards Judaism, Islam, and other minority faiths. And yet harassment, vandalism and attacks against Jews and hate crimes against other minorities are rising at an alarming rate. How will we respond to violent attacks on American synagogues, Nazis and Klansmen marching in our streets, and acts of vandalism against cemeteries and places of worship? This will define us as a community and a nation.
Louisville has a long history of religious cooperation and respect. This has carried us through difficult times before and can serve as a model for the trying times we are faced with today. Rabbi Rapport will lead an engaging conversation on the challenges of rising antisemitism in America. He will discuss its causes and conflicts, and what we as a compassionate community in Louisville can do to stand strong for the values of religious freedom and the strength of diversity which together make us one.
Learn more about Rotary Club at http://www.louisvillerotary.org/
Sermon by Rabbi Rapport on Founder’s Day Classical Shabbat, January 11, 2019.
Established in 1843 as K.K. Adas Israel, The Temple was a founding member of Reform Judaism’s Union of American Hebrew Congregations. It is now called Union for Reform Judaism. Additionally, it was an early proponent of Reform in American Jewish life. When Reform Judaism began in 1873, The Temple in Louisville was the second largest congregation in the movement.
By the 1880’s Congregation Brith Sholom was formed for the next generation of Jews to settle here in Louisville who separated from Adath Israel. Brith Sholom joined the Reform movement in 1920 and the two congregations enjoyed cordial relations for nearly a century before reuniting in 1977 to become The Temple of today.
5101 US-42, Louisville, KY 40241
(502) 423-1818
To contact a Rabbi about a confidential matter, please email CaringRabbi@gmail.com
