|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Temple Judea is thrilled to be able to bring this creative option to members and school families in hopes of filling empty sanctuary seats this holiday season. “Congregants on Cardboard Cutouts” is a light-hearted fundraising opportunity designed to enhance the temple’s existing Zoom services virtual platform experience. Congregants will be “chai-lighted” on cardboard “look-a-likes” reminiscent of the “fans in the stands” now appearing at professional baseball stadiums throughout the country.
The upcoming Days of Awe services, to be led live by Rabbi Judith Siegal, Rabbi Jonathan Fisch and Cantorial Soloist Jodi Rozental from the Temple Judea sanctuary, would have otherwise been empty. Instead, the synagogue will be filled with “Days of Awe doubles”. Furthermore, we as a community are improving our virtual High Holy Days services overall for the betterment of our congregants with a host of production, upgraded video capabilities and prerecorded member moments of gratitude and sharing.
Ordering these Temple Judea “temple twins” is extremely simple. Members go on to judeagables.org to make their reservations. The website then prompts registrants to upload one high-resolution color photo per person in appropriate High Holy Day attire from the waist up. The temple’s vendor partner, Creative Hands Design Technologies, will then print, mount and cut out the individual “sanctuary stand-ins”. Each cardboard cutout contains a photo of just one adult or one child. Thus, when printed and placed within a seat it appears as though the temple is occupied by worshipers celebrating the Jewish New Year. “Congregants on Cardboard Cutouts” is a heartwarming connector offering participants a creative and unique avenue to support Temple Judea safely from home.
“Let’s stand together for Temple Judea — with cardboard, online and in our community of spirit.” Caroline Miller, Temple Judea President goes on to state, “at this unprecedented and challenging time, this fundraiser further serves as a way to build community and support the temple’s infrastructure when needed most”. Additionally, as a lovely token, after the holidays have passed, congregants can pick up their cardboard cutouts at Temple Judea via a drive-thru scheduled for October. However, if members chose to sign up their cutouts to display for High Holy Days and subsequent Shabbats, they may pick up in person when the synagogue reopens and families are together once again.
“While nothing can replace human interaction, displaying these ‘religious resemblances’ at least allows congregants to see themselves seated amongst their synagogue family throughout the holiest time on the Jewish calendar”, said Senior Rabbi Judith L. Siegal pictured above.
Now celebrating 72 years of Jewish Learning and Living in Coral Gables, Temple Judea is one of the largest Reform synagogues in South Dade with approximately 650 member families. Temple Judea’s mission is cultivating an engaging, inclusive and sacred Reform Jewish community by building lifelong connectedness to Torah, Israel and each other through worship, acts of social justice, learning and service, from generation to generation.
For more information, visit www.JudeaGables.org or call Danielle Spiegelman, Senior Director of Advancement, at 305-667-5657 x 2119.
Let’s fill the sanctuary: https://www.judeagables.org/form/Congregants-on-Cardboard-Cutouts.html
