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WRT AT A GLANCE:
So many great events coming up!
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Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Lab Shabbat & Erev Simchat Torah
Friday, October 2 at *5:30* pm
*Please note the 5:30 service time is for our community Shabbat Service including JLL's "Lab Shabbat." Join us for a joyful Lab Shabbat in celebration of the Torah as we unwind
the entire Torah scroll, complete the annual cycle of reading, and begin anew.
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Simchat Torah/Sh’mini Atzeret/Yizkor Service
Saturday, October 3 at 10:30 am
Please come and be a part of our service celebrating a new cycle of Torah and remembering loved ones through the memorial prayers of Yizkor.
| | Programs and Special Events | | |
Sukkot “Ushpizot” Harvest Celebration
Thursday, October 1 at 10:30 am
WRJ Meeting, Study, Service in the Sukkah led by Cantor Amanda Kleinman followed by lunch at Noon. Join us for this update of the ancient custom of bringing harvest offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. Volunteer to make a dish including autumnal vegetables, fruits or grains.
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Chair Yoga Series at WRT
Thursday, October 1 at 2:00 pm
RSVP via email to receptionist@wrtemple.org or call the temple office at 914-723-7727.
WRT’s Caring Community sponsors this chair yoga series.
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Meditation with Norm Goldstein
Friday, October 2 at 11:00 am
Experience the benefits of mindfulness and meditation with us, as a set of tools to navigate stress, increase calmness and clarity, and to promote joy in our lives.
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Rosh Chodesh 5787 led by Cantor Amanda Kleinman
Tuesday, October 6 at 11:30 am
Join Cantor Kleinman and a diverse group of women for a monthly, midday infusion of study and sharing. We will be reading As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz. We will also ground ourselves in Jewish time with a short study around the Jewish calendar at each session. We will come together as a community to celebrate happy occasions,and to hold space for one another in times of challenge or healing.
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Book Talk with Barbara Josselsohn
Tuesday, October 6 at 7:30 pm
Our WRJ has joined the Jewish Book Council (JBC) as a member organization to show our support for Jewish authors. Our partnership with JBC officially kicks off on the evening of October 6th, when we are delighted to welcome Naomi Firestone-Teeter, CEO of the JBC, to WRT.
Barbara will discuss her book, The Secret Orphanage. In 1943, Protestant pastor André Trocmé, opposed to the Nazis but committed to nonviolence, crafted a scheme that saved 3,000 Jews, mostly children, during the French occupation. $18 includes a copy of the book, wine, cheese and fruit.
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October 7th Commemoration with the FIDF
Wednesday, October 7 at 7:15 pm
Westchester Reform Temple and Friends of IDF invite you to a commemorative event marking the third anniversary of October 7th, honoring those we lost and hearing firsthand accounts from IDF soldiers. Their job is to look after Israel. Ours is to look after them.
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Weekly Online Learning with Rabbi Blake: Hineni: Answering the Call A Seven Week Journey Through Talmud
Thursdays, October 8 – November 19, 10:15 am – 11:45 am (over Zoom)
"Hineni. Here I am." Abraham and Moses answered God's call with this word, which opens Yom Kippur worship. Drawing on Talmud, Torah, Prophets, and poetry, we'll explore reluctant leaders, catastrophic silences, and the Binding of Isaac. No Hebrew required. Rabbi Blake's online Talmud Shiur is recorded and open to all.
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Kabbalat Shabbat Services with Special Guests, Rabbi Michal Ratner Ken-Tor & Yarden Van Spier
Friday, October 9th at 6:15 pm
Please join us in welcoming special guests from Israel. Rabbi Michal Ratner Ken-Tor, who will offer reflections during services, serves as Regional Rabbi for the Megiddo Regional Council in Northern Israel.
Rabbi Ken-Tor will be joined by Megid HaRuach's director, Yarden Van Spier, an attorney specializing in elder law and kibbutz matters. Raised by a father who is a Jewish spiritual leader and life-cycle officiant, who served as its director of operations and on a family shlichut (emissary mission) in Chicago.
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MRJ - An Afternoon with Art Shamsky
Sunday, October 11, from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Art Shamsky was a member of the 1969 World Champion NY Mets and one of the most beloved Jewish baseball heroes. He is also a New York Times best-selling author and has launched his
3rd book, entitled “Met Stories I Only Tell My Friends”. During this wonderful event, he will relate some of these stories and
answer your questions.
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WRT JShop Pop-Up in the Lobby
Friday, October 16, from 9:30 am – 1:00 pm
Join us in the WRT lobby for shopping, Jewish inspiration, and community! Welcome two wonderful vendors: Shaye Isabel (jewelry and accessories) and WONNAFUL (accessories). Browse, connect, and shop with purpose: JShop is a not-for-profit supporting WRT and Israel.
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Caring Up, Down, and In: A Three-Part Series for Caregivers
Sundays, October 18, 25, and November 1, 2026, 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Join us for one, two, or all three sessions.
WRT's Caring Community, FreeBirds, WRJ, and MRJ invite you to this three-part series for anyone caregiving, anticipating caregiving, or supporting a caregiver. We may care "up" for aging parents or spouses, "down" for children or grandchildren, and "in" for our own emotional, spiritual, and practical needs. Caregivers are not alone.
To RSVP, please contact receptionist@wrtemple.org and indicate which session or sessions you would like to attend.
Please click HERE to learn more about each session.
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Janet Bond Brill, Author of Little Edna’s War: A true story of resistance, hope, and survival of the Holocaust
Thursday, October 22 at 7:00 pm
At seven, Edna Szurek smuggled food through the Warsaw Ghetto wall; by ten, she was Poland's youngest decorated resistance member. Drawing on USC Shoah Foundation testimony, this memoir by Janet Bond Brill, PhD, traces her journey from a shattered birthday to a POW camp. Presented by FreeBirds, open to all.
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New Member Happy Hour
Friday, October 30 at 5:00 pm
Join us for a New Member Happy Hour to meet fellow members, connect over drinks and good company. Kick off Scholar-in-Residence weekend with visual artist Rick Black. Sponsored by the FreeBirds, all are welcome!
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Shabbat B’Yachad (“Shabbat Together”)
Saturday, October 31 from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Join us for a congregational Service, Bagel Brunch, and Learning/Discussion with Rick Black. There will be a youth program for K - 5 students during the adult learning. Please RSVP below for the youth program below.
Mark your calendars for all of the upcoming Shabbat B'Yachad dates- December 5, 2026, January 23, 2027, March 6, 2027, March 27, 2027 & June 5, 2027
| | Visit the Jewish Learning Lab (JLL) | | | | Visit the Early Childhood Center (ECC) | |  | | |
For WRT members: If you would like to receive notifications of birth announcements and deaths within the WRT community, please email receptionist@wrtemple.org with your full name and email address. Please specify if you would like to be added to one or both of these notification lists.
For more information about Inclusion at WRT, click here.
For more information about Our Jewish World, click here.
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We hope you enjoy learning about all the wonderful events happening at WRT and this newsletter inspires you to join us!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out — we're always happy to help.
Danielle Feigenbaum, Director of Communications danielle.feigenbaum@wrtemple.org or 914-723-7727
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