We are so glad you are considering Temple Sinai as your Jewish home and sacred community. Membership at Temple Sinai is a sacred commitment. When a person or family officially signs up as a member, you and the community enter into a covenantal relationship that includes spiritual, personal, and communal growth. There are five pillars: Committing to your own growth through learning; showing up for others; engaging with members of the community through friendship, hospitality and deeds of loving-kindness; paying dues; and volunteer service.
The Five Pillars of Membership
1. Showing up – Kehillah (“Community”):
We celebrate with one another throughout life cycle moments; we show up when others are in need and we reach out to sustain relationships in the community.
2. Learning – Torah (“Teachings”):
Learning can take many forms, as each of us moves forward in our own Jewish journeys. We have much to learn from one another and through pursuing a deeper knowledge of Jewish tradition, values, and history. Learning is part of growth, and helps us refine our own “Torah” to live in the world.
3. Engaging and Hosting One Another – Chavurah (“Friendship Circles”), Hachnasat Orchim (“Hospitality”), Gemilut Chasadim (“Deeds of Loving-Kindness”):
Promoting warm hospitality and forming relationships with individuals and groups within the synagogue builds genuine bonds of caring. This community is like extended family, people to whom we give and from whom to receive in times of joy or need. Acts of kindness within the community strengthen all of us to do our work in the world with full hearts.
4. Making a Financial Commitment – Terumah (“Contributions”):
We give financially to ensure that we can continue to serve the spiritual, communal and pastoral needs of our members and support a vibrant Jewish community in Reno. Like any non-profit, we have expenses, salaries and building costs to pay, and generous support from the community, at whatever level, helps us thrive.
5. Volunteering – Avodah (“Service”):
We are a community that values and encourages people to bring their talents to bear on who we are and what we do. Please indicate on this form and, in initial conversations with synagogue leaders, mention your unique gifts and interests so that you may be involved in a way that fulfills both our needs and yours. In a small community, gifts of time and acts of service are equal in importance to financial support, whether during prayer services, in organizing events, or sharing of your interests and professional expertise with others.
Membership also includes these benefits:
- Discounted fee for ALL Temple Sinai Events
- Discounted fees to Temple Sinai Hebrew School, Sinai School and Adult Education
- Reduced plot fees for the Hebrew Cemetery
- Reduced rates for renting our Social Hall
- Clergy participation in life cycle events
We sincerely hope you will help us get to know you better by making an appointment with a member of the Chair of the Membership Committee, with the rabbis, the Temple president or by calling 775-747-5508.
