Temple Israel will honor Rabbi Micah Friedman with an installation weekend of celebration and community from Friday-Sunday, June 28-30. The events will blend worship, scholarship and festivities, The featured guest will be one of Friedman’s teachers, Rabbi Shoshana (Shani) Rosenbaum, co-director of the Beit Midrash of Hebrew College, the Boston-based graduate school training that seeks to inspire Jewish leaders through deep and pluralistic Jewish learning. June marks the end of Friedman’s first year in the Temple Israel pulpit. 

The weekend will begin with evening services on June 28 at 7:30 pm, which will be followed by an oneg. On June 29, services will begin at 9:30 am, followed by a kiddush, and conclude with song and Torah learning with Friedman and Rosenbaum. The celebration will continue with an installation program and luncheon on June 30 at noon. Tickets to the installation program and luncheon are available at $36 per person. There is no charge for the Friday and Saturday programs. To make a reservation and receive a ticket, contact the Temple Israel office at 607-723-7461 by Tuesday, June 18. Seating is limited.

“Rabbi Friedman has demonstrated a wonderful blend of serious, yet accessible, scholarship, spiritual service leadership and empathetic support and counseling to TI members and to the community at-large, and we are delighted to honor him with this installation ceremony,” said Arthur Siegel, Temple Israel president. 
“The entire community is welcome to attend these festive events at Temple Israel,” said event organizer Rhonda Levine. 

“The three-day celebration offers something for everyone,” added Co-chairwoman Bonnie Brown. 
Concurrent with the installation, Temple Israel will be replacing 1970s-vintage High Holiday prayer books with the recently published “Machzor Lev Shalem.” Dedication bookplates are available for donations at various levels of sponsorship, some of which also include free installation luncheon tickets. 

“‘Machzor Lev Shalem’ is a beautifully designed tool for Jewish prayer that will certainly deepen the experience of everyone who participates in our Yamim Noraim (High Holy Day) services,” said Friedman. “Like the ‘Siddur Lev Shalem,’ which Temple Israel uses for our weekly services, each page of the new machzor features modern translations, explanations and thought-provoking commentaries, as well as accessible transliterations.”

Those interested in participating in the machzor fund-raiser should contact the temple office for details. One can participate in the fund-raiser even if not able to attend the luncheon; all fund-raiser proceeds will benefit Temple Israel.

Temple Israel acknowledges a grant from The Community Foundation for South Central New York – The David and Virginia Eisenberg Fund, which helped to underwrite the installation program.