Community

We welcome this opportunity to introduce you to our kehilla (community), and hope that you will become an active participant in creating a sacred community and sharing wisdom from person to person and generation to generation.

We are a warm and welcoming, egalitarian Conservative synagogue located in Woodcliff Lake, Bergen County, New Jersey, affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.  We have over 500 individual and family memberships drawn from over 40 towns, including: Hillsdale, River Vale, Upper Saddle River, and Woodcliff Lake.

While we each may be starting at a different point in our Jewish knowledge and observance, our vision is to be a socially responsible kehilla of Jews who learn and grow together.  Although one must be Jewish to be a member of a Conservative congregation, we warmly welcome interfaith families, non-Jewish partners, and individuals interested in Judaism.

Temple Emanuel offers a wide variety of religious, educational, and social opportunities for our members.  Our services feature both Hebrew and English, with our rituals made even more joyful through music.  Friday nights rotate among a contemporary Shabbat evening service, a participatory musical service with band accompaniment called Shabbat Yachad, and a Shabbat Service of Comfort and Healing.  In addition, Early Family Services are held monthly for families with young children.  From our Bikkurim ceremony, welcoming babies born in the current year, to our Community of Caring phone calls to home-bound seniors, Temple Emanuel meets a broad range of congregants’ needs.

Our Early Childhood Program focuses on giving our children a strong foundation on which to grow socially, emotionally, academically and spiritually.  Jewish education is a family affair, and the Religious School and synagogue are integrated in many ways, through Shabbat and holiday celebrations, social action, adult education, and family programs. We are proud to be a sponsoring synagogue of the The Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies, a regional, supplemental high school for students in grades 8-12.  We believe that Jewish education is a life-long endeavor and offer assorted adult education classes and speakers. Sisterhood, Men’s Club and synagogue-wide social programs have included Wine Tastings, Purim Carnival, Book Club, monthly Shabbat dinners, Sukkah Social and Congregational trips to shows and museums just to name a few.

Please stop by and say hello. Our clergy and staff will be glad to spend time with you and show you around. You can contact the office by phone at 201-391-0801 or the Membership Chair via e-mail at membership@tepv.org. We would love to answer your questions and provide additional information about our community.