High Holidays 2026 – Elul Appeal

Dear WJC Family,

Close your eyes and think of three fond memories of the High Holidays. I am willing to bet that those memories involve family and synagogue. 

It’s true for me as well: 1) My Grandma Shirley’s chicken soup; 2) standing in front of the ark with Tami and our boys during Neilah, praying for blessings in the year to come; 3) sitting between my parents in my childhood synagogue and leaning on my father with his tallis wrapped around me. All of these moments are about the connection of family.

Ideally, our relationship with the synagogue is a reflection of familial love and care as well. When I address my messages to you “Dear WJC Family,” I mean it. Like a family, WJC is a place to feel sheltered, loved, and (very often) fed. Synagogue is a place to feel like we belong even when we disagree. It is a place to feel supported and to give support to others. A family is built on the profound connections of dedication and support given to each other – the same is true for a synagogue.

Our WJC family members share resources, energy, and talents to create a space to be and do Jewish together. In doing so, we have created a place to connect and to the divine – our Jewish spiritual home, a place to “rest, connect, and renew.”

Tami and I believe deeply that we should support the communities and institutions we love. That is why our pledge to the Elul Appeal is the largest charitable gift we make each year.

As we launch this year’s Appeal, I hope you will join us with a gift that is meaningful to you.  The Elul Appeal now provides nearly 20% of our annual operating budget, making it one of the most important ways we sustain everything our congregation does. 

Whether this is your first gift or you have supported the appeal for many years, every contribution matters. If you have never participated before, we hope this will be the year you join us. If you have been a faithful donor, thank you. Your generosity has helped make WJC what it is today. Like all of you, WJC is feeling the rising costs of nearly everything. If you are able, I ask you to consider increasing your gift from last year. Whether it is a first-time donation or a modest increase, your generosity strengthens the bonds of our community and helps ensure that WJC remains a vibrant spiritual home for everyone.

Your support makes it possible for us to:

• Offer outstanding worship, educational, cultural, and social programming for every stage of Jewish life. Last year alone, we hosted more than 200 services, classes, speakers, trips, and community events.
• Create meaningful shared experiences, from our family retreat at Camp Ramah Nyack to our Purim Spiel, Moth Story Night, and dozens of celebrations of Jewish life, including an unforgettable Adult B’nai Mitzvah.
• Welcome new families into our congregation while nurturing the lifelong relationships that make WJC feel like home.
• Provide diverse spiritual experiences, from traditional services to Renewal prayer, Shabbat Yoga, and Rhythm & Ruach.
• Meet the ever-growing costs of security so that our synagogue remains a safe place for Jews to gather, pray, learn, and celebrate.
• Advance the priorities of our Strategic Plan, including accessibility initiatives, introductory Jewish learning opportunities, and expanded teen programming.
• Build bridges with our neighbors through programs such as our Community Thanksgiving Service and Learning with Neighbors, strengthening relationships that help combat antisemitism and foster understanding.
• Invest in exceptional teachers, speakers, and curriculum for our children and teens. This year we are especially proud to serve as a pilot site for Dara Horn’s Tell Institute curriculum on antisemitism, which I will have the privilege of teaching to our seventh graders and teens.

Perhaps now more than ever, it is essential that we come together with purpose and generosity to strengthen our Jewish community. That commitment begins here, at home, our WJC home.

Your gift to this year’s Elul Appeal will help ensure that our congregation not only endures but continues to grow as a place where every person who comes through our doors, be they long-standing members or those joining us for the first time, can find connection, meaning, and a sense of belonging.

May this High Holiday season bring each of us renewed connections with our families, with one another, and with God, and may we continue building this extraordinary community together.

With blessings,

RJA

 

MAKE YOUR GIFT TO THE ELUL APPEAL HERE