B'Yachad

B’yachad, which means “together,” is the social heart of Temple Emeth. We plan, execute, and support activities and events that are of interest to all Temple members. Historically, B’yachad has been a combined Brotherhood and Sisterhood designed to “help achieve the religious, charitable, social, and educational goals of Temple Emeth.”

B’YACHAD Activities Include:

Social Events: We run various social events to build our congregational community, including: Family Outings; Minor League Baseball Games; Comedy Night; Artist-in-Residence; Middle Eastern Cooking; Opera events; Paint Night; Klezmer Concerts; Israeli Dancing and more! Of course, each event includes a meal/nosh and time for kibitzing and socializing.

Sunday Morning Breakfast Meetings: We have B’yachad Breakfasts, where our Temple community gets together for an informative presentation and lively discussion, while enjoying a bagel breakfast. Recent speakers/topics have included: Artist Andrea Strongwater, who presented Lost Synagogues of Europe; Rabbi Sirbu, who discussed Lessons from the Pandemic; Tom Meyers, who presented The History of Jews in the New Jersey Film Industry; Temple member Sam Gronner, who discussed his book, Loss & Legacy: The Half-Century Quest to Reclaim a Birthright Stolen by the Nazis; Historian Marty Schneit, who presented The Borscht Belt and The Lower East Side; and High School Student Laurence Fine, who presented on Youth Activism in Gun Violence Protection.

Please Note: We are looking forward to continuing our breakfast events in-person in the synagogue with bagels in the near future!

Here are our latest Sunday Breakfasts:

September 22, 2024 at 10:30 a.m.
B'yachad will offer Jewish Modigliani: Jewish Bohemian of Montmartre and Montparnasse. Amedeo Modigliani, painter and sculptor, was born in Italy to a middle class, cultured Jewish family. He spent most of his tragically short life in France among the avant garde artists of bohemian Paris. He is known for portraits and nudes in a contemporary style, characterized by the elongation of faces and figures. Come and hear about this quintessentially unconventional artist and see many of his ravishing paintings and expressive sculptures. Our speaker, Janet Mandel, taught in New Jersey’s public schools for 32 years, the last 18 of which were at Columbia High School in Maplewood, where she taught English, art history, and world languages and cultures. She was named runner-up for the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) Teacher of the Year award and was the recipient of the “Innovations in Special Education Award.” Now retired, Janet, an art educator, presents illustrated talks on a variety of art history topics for adults.

October 20, 2024 at 10:30 a.m.
Go back in time and see the first Jewish settlements in Newark, Paterson, Passaic, New Brunswick, Jersey City, and Trenton when Oscar Israelowitz speaks on Wandering Jews of New Jersey. See the old Bamberger's department store, Beth Israel Hospital, and the old Newark synagogues. Explore Jewish farming communities, including Woodbine, the first all-Jewish town in the world! Our speaker has degrees in geology and architecture, has had photographic shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Historial Society, and other venues, and is owner of Israelowitz Tours–Tours of Jewish New York City.

Fundraising and Donations
Contributions to B'yachad have been used to help the Religious School, provide gifts to the Confirmation Class and B’nai Mitzvot, Youth Scholarships, RAC Trip, Sukkah building and decorations, and to other Temple and community events.

We welcome your ideas, comments and thoughts, especially suggestions for future Breakfast Speakers and events. Thank you for your continued support.

Email us at byachad@emeth.org.