Dear Friends,
The Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Temple Emanu-El is committed to the transformative power of ideas and learning. We believe that Jewish ideas and Jewish texts belong to each and every one of us and that we need not take Jewish sources literally to take them seriously. Now concluding its fifth year, the Skirball Center is about opening up new ways to live as a Jew in the 21st century. That's why, after fewer than four years, the Skirball Center now is an essential intellectual home to a wide spectrum of curious and searching Jews from every background and perspective. The Skirball Center works hard to maintain Judaism's passion and enthusiasm for learning, but we need your help to carry on this vital mission.
What Skirball is achieving is priceless, but we need your financial support. Temple Emanu-El provides in-kind contribution of our facilities and some additional support. However, our primary funding comes from tuition and a designated endowment which cannot cover the cost of our outstanding, unique, and expanding programs. Even with strong enrollment, tuition can never cover our educational expenses. Moreover, we have been committed to keeping our tuition costs low (and providing significant scholarships) so that there are no financial barriers to participation. We must continue to cultivate our talented faculty, advertise our courses, publish and mail our catalogue - all of which require enormous resources. The Skirball Center itself serves the greater New York Jewish community - and many of our students are woefully underserved. Almost half our students do not belong to a synagogue and those who do represent every stream of American Jewish life.
I am deeply grateful to the supporters listed below and hope you will join them to help us strengthen this program and Jewish life.
L'shalom,
Rabbi Leon A. Morris
|
Make an