Alan Small Award

Every good synagogue is not simply professionally driven, but relies on the participation, enthusiasm and passion of its membership, lay leadership and volunteers. On Shabbat Shuva the Saturday morning between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Temple Adath honors its volunteers with “Alan Small Awards”. Alan Small was the epitome of selflessness and volunteerism. A young man who was one of the great young men of our congregation, who died much too young. He demonstrated in his lifetime the meaning of voluntarism. He was a man who was not afraid to roll up his sleeves and do whatever was necessary to help Temple Adath. Those who receive the award are nominated by members of the congregation for their active participation and commitment to synagogue life.

Citizen of the Year

The annual Citizen of the Year is a high profile, community-wide event, at which individuals who have distinguished themselves in either their fields or for their voluntarism are honored by Temple Adath as Citizens of the Year. The event features profiles of the honored individuals, remarks from each of the honorees, and an elegant catered dinner. Often, honorees enjoy mingling with those in attendance before the dinner begins.

For each event, the honorees are: one nationally known person, and three to four local individuals. Past national honorees include Mitch Albom, Nobel Laureate Elie Weisel, Mario Cuomo, Henry Winkler, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Larry King, Rudolph Guiliani, Jack Kemp, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Thomas Golisano, and Bob Costas among others. Past local honorees include Joanie Mahoney, Debbie L. Sydow, Ph.D, David Shiroff, George Wladis, Coach Jim Boeheim, Ken Shaw, Dr.Gregory Eastwood, Carol M. Baldwin, John Blasi, John A. DeFrancisco, Michael Falcone, Patricia J. Neuman MD, James T. Walsh, Dolph Schayes, Daniel N. Mezzalingua, and Corrine R. Smith among others. 

ABC

We are known as “people of the book”. One of our newer programs is ABC, Authors, Bagels and Coffee. Several Sunday mornings during the year an author is welcomed to our community frequently with local ties to talk about a book he or she has written.

Tikun Olam

Tikun Olam is a serious Jewish concept of fixing a world that sometimes is so broken and fractured. It is done in not always large impressive programs, but things a bit more subtle and even quiet. If you walk into the Temple building, one of the first things that you will see is a basket of toiletries labeled, “Operation Soapdish, Do A Mitzvah, encouraging us to bring travel size toiletries for donation to local women’s shelters”. It was a program created by a young woman in our youth group, Hillary Koldin on her own initiative that those little toiletries that most of us acquire when staying over night at a hotel and frequently have no use for, that we bring them to the Synagogue and distribute to places like Vera House and local shelters. Over the many years this program has been in existence, we have delivered thousands of such packages.

Also in our slate foyer as you walk into the building is a large basket to feed the hungry. Temple Adath through its USY program on Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur participates in the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaims Operation Isaiah Program. We are proud to be one of the founding members of that program. We have gathered over the years tons and tons of food which we distribute to the food bank of Central New York and the Inter-religious Food Consortium. The program however is not simply reserved for Yom Kippur, but it is an ongoing project.

As you walk into the foyer, you will also see a shopping cart. An Intiative put in place by Mary Nelson, now CEO and president of Mary Nelson's Youth Center, for members to bring in school supplies for local students in need. She began her career by organizing the Back-to-School Barbeque 10 years ago as part of an effort to reduce violence in her neighborhood.

Temple Adath is proud to be a covenant partner with Syracuse Habitat for Humanity.  Through our Habitat committee, members of the congregation have participated in the building of homes and other events in fulfillment of the mitzvah of "tikkun olam"; to repair the world.  In addition to general construction work, Temple Adath has been a contributing member to Syracuse Habitat's Faith Build program, which brings together congregations of different faiths to build homes for people in need.  Partnering with Syracuse Habitat for Humanity is just another way fo members of the Temple Adath community to "put their faith into action."

All of these things are just but a further indication that words and prayers ring hollow, if we do act out on the prophetic message, “to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, protect the orphan and the widow”

Samuel & Jeannette Yellin Scholastic Award

The award is named for the late Samuel and Jeannette Yellin. Sam Yellin believed very strongly in Temple Adath and Jewish education and was an active participant in the Temple Men’s Club, the Seniors Group and Board of Directors. His wife Jeanette distinguished herself for years by working in the Judaica Shop. The Yellin Award is presented to a youngster from Temple Adath who attends the Epstein High School and demonstrates a special passion for the synagogue.