A Message From Rabbinic Intern Jules

Greetings RTFH Family,

I recently checked out the book Sharing Shalom by Danielle Sharkan and Selina Alko during a library visit with my son. The book follows the elementary school-aged Leila, who attends Hebrew School each week. One day, Leila and her mother show up to Hebrew School to find that their synagogue has been vandalized. 

Leila decides to hide her Jewish identity. She hides her Magen David necklace, refrains from eating her lunch of bagels and lox, and ties back her curly hair. These actions don’t help Leila feel better about what happened, but they do make her notice that in fact, everyone is different. Hiding her Jewish identity does not make her any less Jewish; it just makes her sad. The book concludes with Leila deciding to be proud of her Jewish identity and returning to her synagogue to find that all her friends from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds have rallied in support of the Jewish community. 

It can feel like the safer choice to hide our Jewish identity, but it does not help solve antisemitism. During yesterday’s press conference regarding hate crimes in our area, the rabbi of Congregation Machane Chodosh said that with just a bit of "water and pressure," the hateful symbols of antisemitism were erased. Thank you to everyone who showed up to yesterday's press conference, with only hours notice! We are stronger because we stood together. Now is the time to make clear that we will not be intimidated by anonymous vandals who are trying to spread hate. We will proudly show that we are a united and resilient Jewish community and that we embrace and love our Jewish identity.

L'shalom,

Rabbinic Intern Jules Ilian

Shabbat Evening Service 

Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm

Find strength, spirituality, and community at Shabbat Services.



Services are live-streamed at rtfh.org/live and on our Youtube Channel

Elana Arian at RTFH

We had so much fun this past Saturday,

when Elana Arian came to RTFH!

We learned new songs and teachings,

and young and old sang together with joy.

This was our last big fundraiser of the year, and we are still just a bit shy

of our $14,000 goal. If you weren’t there, but you’d like to experience the ruach (spirit), or you’d just like to help keep our Temple strong, consider

contributing $18 (or more), and register for the concert as a livestream

participant. Within 24 hours, we will send you a link to the concert (available through May 31). We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Donate

Many thanks to the Elana Arian Concert Committee, our choirs,

and to our sponsors:

Don't Miss Events

In honor of Shavuot, RTFH 20s & 30s will be having a cheese tasting in MacDonald Park on Tuesday, May 12th, at 6:30 pm. We will be trying fun and obscure cheese flavors and reviewing them. We will also be exploring Shavuot rituals. This event is open to congregants and community members.

Shavuot Seder

May 12 at 7pm

Join us for a fun, educational, and interactive Shavuot Seder. The favor of a reply is requested by May 6, 2026. 

Finding Refuah (Healing) Through Kintsugi

Read this beautiful article by WoCo President Jaime Kinyon, "Finding Refuah (Healing) Through Kintsugi." It’s all about responding to brokenness, as well as our wonderful community at RTFH.

Forest Hills Chamber Music Series

Piano Quartets

Sunday, May 31 at 2:00pm

Concluding Concert in the 2025-2026 Series

The Reform Temple of Forest Hills (RTFH) welcomes back Ari Evan and the Forest Hills Chamber Music Series! Enjoy world-class musicians and music of the highest caliber in our sanctuary with its fine acoustics. The mission of the series is to highlight pieces written by a Jewish composer paired with works of the same instrumentation. We are proud to share live, top-quality chamber music with the Queens community.

Israel Day Parade

Sunday, May 31 at 11:30am - 4:00pm

Manhattan

This year, RTFH marches with ARZA, The Association of Reform Zionists of America. If you’d like to go, email cantorpincus@rtfh.org and REGISTER – there will be ice cream at the finish line, but registration and t-shirts are required!

Our ToFHY Spring trip will be to the Crayola Experience and Hershey Park on June 13th-14th! This trip is open to 7th-12th-grade students. The cost of attendance for this event is $100. Included in the cost of this event are: tickets to both experiences; travel via charter bus; dinner on Saturday night; breakfast on Sunday morning; stay at a hotel (Ramada by Wyndham Harrisburg/Hershey Area); and a plethora of (allergy-friendly) snacks for the bus. Spaces for this event are limited, so please sign up your teen before spots run out. The final day for signup is May 10th, unless spots fill up sooner.

Thank you for supporting RTFH