Welcome to Temple Ahavat Achim

Charlotte Gordon

 I am a convert to Judaism and so when I first started coming to TAA, I worried that people would not accept me. I could not read one word of Hebrew and I had no idea how to follow the Shabbat service. My son was an infant who wiggled around and seemed to cry during every Amidah. I did not know the difference between Shavuot and Sukkot. Now, I feel like TAA is my home away from home; I have gone to Israel with a group from the congregation. My son has been bar-mitzvahed and is a helper in the Hebrew School; I am learning how to chant from Torah. Sometimes, I think all of this could only have happened at TAA.

In my first year at TAA, people I did not know (then) helped me when I was lost during services. Our rabbi taught me Hebrew. Gradually, I came to know people’s names. I met their children, their parents. Older members of the congregation took me under their wing and taught me their traditions. I went to bar and bat mitzvahs. I went to the community Passover Seders. When my father died, it seemed like the entire temple came to my house and sat shiva. Never before had I felt such a strong sense of community.

I am typical of many Americans – a half-breed; my dad was Jewish; my mom is not – and I did not know where I belonged. But at TAA, I have learned how to bake a challah and how to sing Torah trope, how to follow traditions and how to change those traditions. Being a member of TAA is like joining a huge inter-generational family. After services, my son munches on bagels and hangs out with his friends while I talk to all the people I have come to know and love. TAA is a place we are proud of, a place that has helped me accept my Jewish heritage, a place that has helped me raise my son and a place that has taught me where I belong – right here, at Temple Achavat Achim.