Temple Emanu El has been such a great fit for our family. You can't beat the new location, but more important is the warmth of its membership, staff, and clergy. At a time of such significant increased membership growth, Temple Emanu El's personal attention to detail, follow through with the membership process and religious school experience has been outstanding. The Shabbat and holiday services we have attended with our children are meaningful. For our family, it's the right place at the right time.
Jodi and Jeff Elman
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The first time my family attended services at TEE was 7 years ago. We were "shul shopping" after moving to Cleveland and had heard that TEE was a warm and welcoming community. At that first service, we were enthusiastically greeted by several board members and given the honor of lifting and dressing the Torah. The rumors we had heard were confirmed by our experience. We joined TEE shortly thereafter and feel very connected to the TEE family. I am committed to giving new and prospective members the same feeling of Kehila (connection) that my family has experienced these past 7 years.
David Sperling
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I joined Temple Emanu El after getting married in 1976. While I did get to know people, I had no intentions of getting personally involved.
Flash forward to the early 1990's when I was asked to join the board. To my surprise, the years that followed have become probably the most fulfilling of my life. I worked side by side with some very talented, dedicated and caring individuals. We always worked as a team and, although we did not always agree, we were always supportive of one another.
My involvement grew way beyond anything I could have imagined, from board member to executive board member to temple president. During my years of leadership, we pushed hard as a group to define our future. We feel a great pride that we were able to relocate the congregation to Orange Village and establish a highly competent staff that not only represent our values but has the vision and character to continue the congregation's growth.
Beyond my years as president of the congregation, I continue to be involved and offer support and guidance where and when appropriate. My dreams are that we continue to work as a family to provide and support one another on each of our Jewish journeys.
Dennis Hershey
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We have been members since Madison, our oldest, was one year old. Seven years later, I can truly say we have found our Jewish home at TEE. We enjoy all aspects of the temple from the preschool, religious school, the clergy and our fellow congregants. We've developed great, long lasting friendships that will continue for a long time to come.
Sheryl and Cary Chaitoff
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My husband and I joined Temple Emanu El in 2006 just after the birth of our first son. We picked the temple because the congregation was warm and inviting. Our son now attends the preschool. The teachers definitely carry on with the warm and inviting feeling. The staff at the preschool were very open and willing to help meet the individual needs for our son. Temple Emanu El feels like a family to us.
Staci Greenberg