What Does Temple Sinai Mean to Me?

On May 14th three of our Chai School students were Confirmed.  Rabbi Glazier asked each of the Confirmands to prepare a speech on the topic above.  Here is the first speech, from Eli Rachlin:

Ever since I moved to Vermont from France in the year 2001, Temple Sinai has been the place I have most associated with Judaism. Now while I know that is a fairly obvious statement, I think that it has the most to do with what the temple means to me. Although my first memories of Jewish holidays or traditions do come from the age of 4 or so in France, whether it is the search for the afikomen or the lighting of Hanukah candles, the most memories, and certainly the most vivid and meaningful, come from here.  

Coming every Sunday, Wednesday, Tuesday, or Thursday for Hebrew school may have not always been how I would prefer to spend my afternoons, but looking back, I really do value the knowledge I received about my heritage, as well as the ability to meet up with others in the Jewish community in my area. Now it is true that for the past five summers I have gone to a Jewish camp, but in truth I don’t go to that camp for Judaism as much as I do for the people that go there. 

It is here that I find more of an association with my Jewish identity, most of all because here is where I had my Bar Mitzvah. And when I think about my Bar Mitzvah, I am reminded of how in no way could I have been prepared for that special day if it weren't for all the amazing people at Temple Sinai that got me there. Beginning with learning the Hebrew alphabet and how to read in the younger grades, and then the prayers of the service in 4th and 5th grades, and then learning how to chant in the year leading up to my B’nai Mitzvah, it really shows me how that fantastic was a culmination of everything that was given to me by this great establishment. 

And I think overall, that is what Temple Sinai means to me. To be a place of giving. Temple Sinai is more than just a place that holds the Torah, or a Sanctuary for prayer, or school for Jewish education. It is made up of a congregation, or community, that gives back to all that are a part of it in order to create a richer and more meaningful tradition that I myself have benefited from.