Touching your heart and engaging your mind
Community
Film Festival
Photos taken by Melody Hoover
We had a great day at the movies at our Northern Nevada Jewish Film Festival. The all-day event went off without a hitch, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Temple Emanu-El and Jewish Nevada.
We had the help of so many — the dozen or so movie reviewers from TEE, JN and Temple Sinai, who watched a dozen or so movies to narrow the day’s film choices, Garrett Sutton, President of Sunn Stream and Executive Producer of the poignant and inspiring film “Symphony of the Holocaust,” who allowed us to show the movie without charging a license fee, and who, along with the film’s writer and director Greg Dehart, led us through a great Q&A after the showing, Michael Gorden who volunteered to run the tech and did it perfectly, the staff of the Automobile Museum who walked us through the process and set everything up for us, and all the other volunteers who worked so hard to make the day a success. Much credit goes to Jewish Nevada for the media coverage that put us in the news before and after the event without compromising our budget.
Of course, all the work in the world would not have made the day a success without those who attended. Thank you all for supporting what we hope will be the first of many collaborative film festivals for our Jewish community and the community as a whole.
For those who missed “Symphony of the Holocaust,” it’s available through Sunn Stream
www.sunnstream.com
Hanukkah Holiday Bazaar and Craft Fair
Our second annual Holiday Bazaar was a success! Thanks to the amazing Jan Carver and her skills at organizing, securing raffle prizes, enlisting vendors and rounding up volunteers, we had a great day. We made a very nice profit, which will enable us to grow the event next year — more vendors, more food items and wider advertising.
Profits are nice, but even more rewarding for Jan and the team of volunteers was the number of congregants who came to support us, about half of our congregation. We all had a wonderful time socializing with our friends, our vendors and the shoppers.
Much thanks go to Jan’s team of volunteers — Pam Brandman, Sue Edmondson, Florence Gold, Iris Frank, Judy Hirsch, Sue Liebman, Yudi Nadler and Idora Silver — not to mention others who also helped set up — Steve Carver, John Duerson, Steve Hirsch, Zena Lamp and Buff and Leonard Levine. John Duerson put everything back together on Monday, a huge task for which we’re extremely grateful.
Vendors were happy as well. Four already signed up for next year, set for November 2, 2025.
Watch for more programs. And volunteers are always welcome!
עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי
Am Yisrael Chai
Cars lined Manzanita Lane for the mile between Lakeside Drive and Plumas; the parking lot at Temple Emanu-El overflowed when hundreds came to support Israel and the Jewish community on Tuesday, October 10th. Representatives from every branch of government, from federal to State, to local and law enforcement, vowed to support Israel’s right to defend itself and to keep the Jewish community safe. Reno Police Chief Katherine Nance urged us to continue to gather for services and events, and promised extra patrols of Reno’s synagogues. RPD presence at the vigil was unmistakable, with cruisers along the street and in the parking lot.
Prayers and song were offered by Rabbi Benjamin Katz, Rabbi Richard Leibovitz, Zel Copeland and Mara Langer. Speakers included Stefanie Tuzman, President and CEO of Jewish Nevada (by video), and Marc Picker, Northern Nevada Council Chair. A video update by Israel Bachar, General Consul of Israel, detailed the current situation in Israel. At the end of the vigil, candles were lit in remembrance of the Jewish victims of the Hamas attacks and the devastation in Israel.
Mara Langer, both a congregant of Temple Emanu-El and Jewish Nevada’s Director Community Engagement for Northern Nevada organized the entire event. Thanks go to her and Jewish Nevada for making the event possible, and to Temple Emanu-El for hosting it. Thanks are also owed to the speakers — Nevada’s Chief of Staff Ben Kieckhefer representing Governor Lombardo, Molly Rose Lewis representing Senator Jackie Rosen, State Assemblywoman Angie Taylor, Reno Police Chief Katherine Nance, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam, Temple Emanu-El President Alan Liebman — the attendance of Commissioner Clara Andriola, and the support of Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto.