On July 28, 1966, at 9:02 p.m., in the Conference Room of the Chase Manhattan Bank, Woodlands Community Temple was born. Committees for constitution and bylaws, finances, education, membership and publicity, social activities, building, and ritual and ceremonies were developed.

In August 1966, publicity was developed, a church site was searched to temporarily house the congregation, financial policies were developed and the commitment to create two groups for religious school education was agreed upon (ages 4-6 and 7-8). In the first financial report, a balance of $70 was reported. A budget was drawn up for an estimated starting membership of 20 couples: rabbi, $500; books, $25; use of premises, $150; income from tuition, $10 per student; office expenses, $125; total budget, $985. Projected membership for a year later was 60 families, with anticipated dues of $150 and expenses of $1000.

Later that month, the Calvin United Presbyterian Church at 600 Secor Road had agreed to host High Holy Day services. Westchester Reform Temple offered the use of a Torah. Woodlands had further decided they would seek the leadership of a rabbi from the Reform movement. Rabbi Dan Isaac, age 35, a college professor at Queens College was retained for the High Holy Days at an honorarium of $500.

On August 25, 1966, at the Chase Manhattan Bank, over 110 people gathered to hear about the plans for the future of the Temple. By the end of August, 83 families had become members. Thirty-four desks were purchased for the religious school. Guests were invited for the dedication ceremony, to be held Friday evening, September 9 at Calvin United Presbyterian Church.

For the High Holy Days, it was decided "not to interfere with the rabbi’s choice of sermon." Shabbat evening services would be held at the church and led by a rabbi once each month, with the other Friday nights being held at members’ homes.

By October, the Board of Trustees had held the first of many, many conversations to take place across the decades regarding too many mailings. 101 families now belonged to the temple, with 89 children enrolled in the religious school.

By the end of October, Rabbi Samuel Kehati was selected to serve as the congregation’s first rabbi. As well, services were donated by Cantor Ben Cohen. 

From Rabbi Peter Rubinstein (WCT rabbi, 1972-1981):

"We as a synagogue have lived a decade. It is, at the same time, an eminently long and comfortingly short span of years. Ten years is long enough for the first 1^st grade class begun at Woodlands Community Temple to be preparing for Confirmation this year, but it is not long enough for us to have convinced all our members of the urgent need for their participation in their children’s study. It is long enough for us to have celebrated this year the first wedding of one of our member’s children, but not long enough to revel at the birth of a grandchild. It is long enough for us to have mourned for individuals in our ranks but not long enough for any of our members to have experienced their senior years.

"A decade is long enough for us to ascertain that no part of any building will ever be named after anybody, but not long enough for there to be generous benefactors donating the amounts of money after which rooms in synagogues are habitually named. It is long enough for the congregation to have its longest tenured rabbi, but not long enough for either the rabbi or the congregation to speak of tenure. It is long enough for us to have some 35 member children in college, but not long enough for any of them to have garnished themselves with graduate degrees.

"The end of a decade for a synagogue is equivalent to the end of an individual’s teen-age years — the time when maturity is upon us and none of us is quite sure how we made it or whether we, indeed, want it.

"So the celebration of the first decade of a synagogue's life is at once a moment of disbelief — that we have come this far with substantial accomplishments and gains — and it is, as well, a moment of belief since the weight of evidence would permit no other attitude. We have progressed in numbers from no members with no children in our school to close to 300 members with over 400 children in our school. We have moved in place from a church on Secor Road to an embellished mansion on Worthington. We have moved in attitude from voluntarism to tentative professionalism. We have moved in religious disposition from ambivalent battles about ritual to education through ritual.

"Ten years is a very long time. It has been used well.

"Ten years is not long enough. Therein lies the inherent challenge to benefit from a future."

During the first ten years:

• The home of Elizabeth Ann Goertz (also known as "Pine Acres") at 50 Worthington Road was purchased.

• Services were held in the Sanctuary (known today as the Library).

• In 1973, the new sanctuary was dedicated.

• By 1977, maximum membership had nearly been reached.

• Concern was expressed that, as Woodlands grew, it might lose more and more of Woodlands’ unique character.

Along the way:

• The County Center had been rented for a "Country Fair."

• Religious school classes had been held at Maria Regina Catholic School.

• Kol Nidre appeals, auctioning of aliyot, and use of the Temple mailing list had been prohibited for fundraising. And yet, no other suitable way had been found to help either Woodlands or the major Jewish tzedakah organizations to raise funds.

• Developing a successful, sizeable Youth Group eluded temple leadership. In earlier years, it was attributed to small numbers of teenagers in the congregation, and later by a vacuum of temple leadership. But in 1977, with neither of those problems remaining, the Youth Group still struggled to build its program.  

1967-1968

• Continued to use the facilities of the Calvin Church.

• Hired first full-time rabbi, Stephen Forstein.

• Membership grew to 120 families (making Woodlands somewhat larger than their host congregation).

• Acquired first Torah, which had been seized by the Nazis from a congregation in Rakovnik, Czechoslovakia, during the Shoah (Holocaust).

• The Torah was brought up each week from the Church basement into its Sanctuary, where the Ritual Committee removed the baptismal font and reconnected the Ner Tamid (Eternal Light).

• Negotiations began to buy the 50 Worthington Road property.

1968-1969

• Sanford (Sandy) Ragins was installed as Rabbi.

• The temple moved into its new home on Worthington Road, having purchased the 2½ acres for $90,000, financed by a combination of building fund payments, a loan from the UAHC, and a mortgage from the Scarsdale National Bank.

• Membership grew to 170 families.

• Among the educational programs started that year was Rabbi Ragins’ highly popular Tuesday morning course in Jewish history.

• A membership ceiling of 300 families was established — hoping to retain the flavor of a small community temple and involve more of the membership in the synagogue’s activities.

• Planning visions for the future included improvement of the parking lot and the creation of a multi-purpose room.

1969-1970

• The membership grew to 184 families, with more than 250 children in the religious school, necessitating the hiring of a part-time administrator.

• A second-year cantorial student, Glen Groper, was added to the professional staff. His responsibilities included holidays, festivals, Friday nights, and Shabbat mornings during which a child became Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

• A "Freedom Seder" was attended by members and the general community.

• Adult Education was expanded to include Wednesday evening classes.

• Complaints were heard about holes appearing in the parking lot.

1970-1971

• Plans moved forward to build an addition onto the Worthington Road facility. Initial design for the Sanctuary provided for internal partitions that would allow the 250-seat room to expand to 700 for the High Holy Days. The cost would be approximately $250,000. When sufficient pledges could not be obtained, a more modest design was proposed and accepted at a cost of $135,000.

• The membership growth slowed, but the religious school grew. Additional classes

were created for the Seventh Grade, Eighth Grade, and the first Confirmation Class.

• The School Board was created.

• The Ritual Committee introduced Woodlands’ first siddur (prayerbook), featuring five

different services which were rotated from week to week.

• The Library opened.

1971-1972

• Paul Silbersher became the new cantor.

• Approval was given to build a new sanctuary/multi-purpose room.

• A "Subway Seminar" program attracted a steady following among members working in the city, who met once a month on their lunch hour.

• The monthly "Saturday Night Discussion Group" attracted large numbers of members.

• A series of weekend retreats devoted to study, prayer, sports, and socializing proved highly popular.

• Another Adult Education course on the study of Israel culminated in a two-week trip to the Holy Land for 20 members.

• A "Freedom Seder" was held, as well as an Ecology Teach-in.

• In the spring, the caretaker’s cottage went up in flames, necessitating a change in building plans to provide new quarters for the custodian.

• Rabbi Ragins announced that he would be leaving the congregation.

1972-1973

• Peter Rubinstein became the new rabbi.

• Saturday morning Family Services were introduced.

• The rabbi’s wife, Daniela, offered a Hebrew course for adults which proved to be so popular, a second section had to be added.

1973-1974

• In response to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in Israel, an emergency UJA drive raised $50,000 from the membership.

• Dedication of the new building took place on October 28, 1973.

1974-1975

• Three new classrooms were added to the building by refurbishing the basement.

• The first Congregational Seder was held.

• An annual Art Auction was established.

• And speakers from Project Ezra (an organization that looks after the welfare of Jewish elderly living on New York’s Lower East Side) came to Woodlands for the first time.

1975-1976

• Enough funds were finally raised to repair the driveway.

• Woodlands participated in Project Ezra for the first time by going down to the Lower East Side and working on crafts projects with some of the elderly Jewish residents there.

• Two couples who had returned from the Soviet Union discussed the plight of Soviet Jewry.

• 75 boxes of food were collected and donated to the people of Project Ezra for Pesach. The children wrote beautiful notes and drew wonderful pictures to accompany the boxes.

• 35 members us marched down Fifth Avenue along with tens of thousands of other Jews from the Greater New York area to protest the treatment of Soviet Jews.

• A blood drive collected 40 pints of blood.

• The second annual Congregational Seder was conducted.

• The Library moved to its current location on the ground floor.

• In April, a bus brought 35 people from Project Ezra to the temple and touched the lives of everyone. Sharing of songs, laughter, food and conversation between the elderly and the members and the children was one of the most memorable events in Woodlands’ history.

• In October, the annual picnic was rained out (again).

• In November, a Progressive Dinner was held.

• The question of the 301^st family was discussed in depth by the Board of Trustees at a weekend retreat.

• After the United Nations passed its resolution equating Zionism with racism, a committee was formed and a full-page advertisement printed in the Reporter-Dispatch deploring the resolution.

1976-1977

• Membership climbed to 283 families, with 400 children in the religious school.

• The new Ark and Reading Table were dedicated.

• Decentralized services were held in ten different members’ homes.

• The congregation again participated in the March for Soviet Jewry.

• "The Joint Adult Education Committee of the Rivertown Synagogues" sponsored community lectures on "Israel and the Third World."

• The Board of Trustees voted to make Woodlands a no-smoking facility.

• A Funeral Practices Committee formed to provide support for members during moments of loss and grief.

• In November, the Tenth anniversary dinner dance was held.

1977-78

• The first Confirmation Class Trip to Israel.

• An Intergenerational Shabbat Service allowed children, their parents and their grandparents to celebrate Shabbat together.

• Responding to an evangelical call for "the Year of the Jew," Rabbi Rubinstein sent to each member a pamphlet entitled, "What to Say When the Missionary Comes to Your Door."

• Property was purchased at Sharon Gardens Cemetery in Valhalla to provide for members’ burial needs.

• The basement was transformed from classrooms into a Youth Lounge.

• Membership reaches 290 families. Concern was expressed that the 300-family limit might soon be reached.

• The Ritual Committee began publishing guides to each Jewish holiday, distributing them to the membership as each holiday arrived "in order to enrich the Jewish cultural life of your home."

1978-79

• Dina Katz became Educational Director.

• The Funeral Practices Committee prepared and distributed to the membership a booklet entitled, "Guide to Death, Funerals and Burials."

• A family trip to Israel, hosted by Rabbi Peter and Daniela Rubinstein, was held during two weeks in July 1979.

• The Confirmation Israel Study Fund was established in memory of Ellen Block, a longtime member of Woodlands whose devotion to the synagogue knew no bounds. The fund provides students in need with financial assistance for travel to Israel.

• Preparations began to celebrate WCT’s "Bar Mitzvah" in June 1979.

• Preparations were begun to prepare for Rabbi Rubinstein’s sabbatical leave November 1980 - August 1981.

• Cantor Paul Silbersher departed Woodlands to accept a position at Congregation B’nai Jehudah in Kansas City, Missouri.

• Cantor Burton Borovetz becomes Cantor.

1979-80

• Woodlands sponsors the Hyunh family, refugees from war-torn Vietnam (the famous "Boat People"), a relationship that would include members providing housing, education, clothing, toys, driving, medical assistance, and friendship through the decades to come.

• 30 families were listed on the waiting list as WCT debated whether to raise its 300-member limit.

• Rabbi Rubinstein was listed in MOMENT Magazine as one of the "Jews to Watch in the 1980’s."

• Experimentation was begun with an "Early Service" format at 6:30 pm on Friday evenings led by the rabbi, with a later service led by the Cantor and Rabbinic Intern.

• The temple leadership decided to leave the membership limit at 300.

• Plans were explored for renovating the old building by moving all offices to the first floor and creating 7 classrooms upstairs, and expanding the Sanctuary to provide an office for the Cantor and, underneath, a Youth Lounge.

1980-81

• Rabbi Charles Lippman was retained to serve as Interim Rabbi during Rabbi Rubinstein’s sabbatical leave.

• Rabbi Peter and Daniela Rubinstein hosted a 12-day trip to Israel.

• Work began on the WCT Family Cookbook.

• The membership ceiling was increase to 350 families.

• The "Woodlands News" was first published in March 1981.

• The first Scholar-in-Residence Weekend is held, featuring Rabbi David Saperstein, Co-Director of the UAHC Commission on Social Action.

1981-82

• Construction began on renovating "the old building."

• The Ritual Committee experimented with holding a Friday night Shabbat service in a member’s home

• Discussions were held regarding the possibility of moving services for the High Holy Days out of the tent. Reasons cited included cold weather and allergies.

• Renovation plans for "the new building" were revised.

• The "Chai Society" was created to provide expanded social programming for all members.

• The Social Action Committee encouraged members to speak out on behalf of reproductive choice for women.

• The Board of Trustees approved relocating services for the High Holy Days to the campus of SUNY-Purchase as a one-year experiment.

• The "Four Rivertown Synagogues" jointly sponsored a lecture series, "Our Family in the Eighties."

• In March 1982, Rabbi Rubinstein announced he would be leaving Woodlands to accept a position at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, California.

• A plan to create 75 additional parking spaces was submitted to the Town of Greenburgh.

• The decision to experiment with spending the High Holy Days elsewhere was deferred.

• Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro was selected to become the next rabbi of Woodlands.

• 59 students complete the Confirmation program, the largest class ever!

1982-83

• The temple membership list included, for the first, children’s names.

• The Town of Greenburgh Zoning Board denied Woodlands’ application for a variance to expand the Sanctuary.

• The Board of Trustees defeated (10-7-1) a proposed resolution that the temple take public stands on issues of social justice.

• Membership reached 353 families, reaching its ceiling and beginning a waiting list.

• WCT snagged 50 tickets to a new, Broadway-bound musical called "Cats." It would become Broadway’s longest-running show.

• Rabbi Shapiro officially arrived in January.

• The Chevra Kaddisha Committee (bereavement outreach) begins sending shiva meals to members’ homes.

• Bar/Bat Mitzvah students given opportunity to "twin" with 13-year old from Soviet Union or Ethiopia.

1983-84

• Woodlands joins a newly-formed interfaith group, Greenburgh Caring Community, to bring aid and support to local individuals and families in need.

• The Board of Trustees sent letters of condolence to families of the U.S. Marines killed in Lebanon.

• The Hon. Benjamin Gilman spoke on a Friday evening about the plight of Soviet Jewry.

• A four-part workshop, co-sponsored with Greenburgh Hebrew Center and Temple Beth Shalom in Hastings, was offered on "Single Parenting."

• 18^th Anniversary Celebration.

• WCT held its 11^th annual Congregational Seder.

• Woodlands sent its first delegation in 11 years to Solidarity Sunday on behalf of Soviet Jews.

1984-85

• The ceremony of Tashlich is introduced on Rosh Hashanah.

• A Musical Interlude is introduced on Yom Kippur.

• The Gates of Repentance makes its first appearance in the tent, replacing the old Union Prayer Book.

• Renowned klezmer clarinettist Giora Feidman performs at WCT for its 18^th anniversary.

• Rabbi Shapiro begins "Lunch and Learn" study in Manhattan once each month.

• The Social Action Committee collected signatures for a pro-nuclear freeze petition.

• High School students spent Thanksgiving day at the Salvation Army in Manhattan serving meals to the needy.

• Rev. Robert Mason, of Union Baptist Church, Greenburgh, along with his congregation, come to Woodlands for an interfaith, interracial Shabbat.

• Cantor Borovetz leaves Woodlands.

1985-86

• Ellen Dreskin becomes Student Cantor.

• A junior high youth group program, WCTY, is begun, led by rabbinic intern Billy Dreskin.

• Rabbi Sandy Ragins returned to Woodlands for a weekend as Scholar-in-Residence.

• Plans moved forward to build an outdoor Memorial Garden Wall.

• Dina Epstein accepted a new position as Educational Director of Temple Beth El in Great Neck, New York.

• The WCT Softball Team was begun.

• More than 200 members participated in Hands Across America, forming a human chain of support for the hungry and homeless clear across the United States!

• The Youth Lounge was refurbished with carpeted step-seats around the perimeter of the room by the Bar/Bat Mitzvah families.

1986-87

• Newly-invested Cantor Ellen Dreskin was engaged as Cantor/Educator.

• As part of an Adult Education series on "Israel: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," Rabbi Eric Yoffie, Executive Director of ARZA (Assn. Of Reform Zionists of America) spoke on "Jewish Fundamentalism: The War of the Bus Shelters."

• Woodlands joins SHORE (Sheltering the Homeless is Our Responsibility) and opens its Sanctuary once a month to provide a meal and a bed to 19 homeless men.

• Nationally-acclaimed Jewish musician Craig Taubman performs at Woodlands.

• Solel, WCT’s high school youth group, transforms the annual Purim Carnival into a Tzedakah Carnival, raising money for SHORE, the Elmsford Animal Shelter, and National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Association.

• Beged Kefet, a tzedakah-based performance group featuring Ellen and Billy Dreskin, makes its first appearance at Woodlands.

1987-88

• Newly-ordained Rabbi Billy Dreskin becomes part-time Assistant Rabbi.

• All-day Beginning Hebrew Marathon attracted a crowd for basic learning.

• Theme for adult education: A Lifetime of Study.

• "The Food Van" arrived for the first time at Yom Kippur.

• On a Friday evening after the service, 7^th-9^th graders presented Free to Be ... a Family, directed by Marta Kauffman (who would one day go on to write and produce TV’s Friends, as well as Jessie and Veronica’s Closet).

• Woodlands joins the "Midnight Run," becoming Westchester’s first synagogue to transport food and clothing into Manhattan to be shared with the homeless.

1988-89

• Rabbi Shapiro leaves Woodlands to become the rabbi of in Springfield, Massachusetts.

• Rabbi Dreskin serves as Interim Rabbi.

• Rabbi and Cantor Dreskin facilitate Woodlands first 9^th grade Sexuality Retreat.

• Solel, WCT’s high school youth group, won the North American Federation of Temple Youth’s prestigious Tikkun Olam Award, in recognition of an outstanding year of youth programming.

• The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to send a telegram to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, to reject any redefinition of "Who is a Jew?" by amending the Law of Return.

• Saturday afternoon "Havdalah Discussions" began being held in members’ homes.

• The first-ever 12^th grade Class graduates.

• Ellen and Billy Dreskin move to Cleveland, Ohio, where Billy becomes Associate Rabbi at Fairmount Temple.

1989-90

• Rabbi Avi Magid, of Honolulu, Hawaii, is welcomed as Woodlands’ new rabbi.

• Josee Woolf becomes Student Cantor.

• Deborah Wasserman becomes Educational Director.

• Woodlands first "Sukkot Barbecue" makes its celebrated appearance.

• "Pinch Hitters" begin volunteering Christmas Morning at St. Agnes Hospital to allow non-Jewish staff the spend the day at home with family.

• SHORE opens its White Plains shelter. After three years, WCT’s shelter for 19 men begins to draw to a close.

• Woodlands begins its historic and memorable relationship with Bronx House, helping new Jewish Americans from Russia adjust to life here.

2000-2001

• Adult Retreat is smashing success at the Workmen’s Circle Camp Kinder Ring Lodge in Hopewell Junction.

• A new rabbinic intern, Darren Levine, arrives. He spends two years with us.

• On Simchat Torah, 18 temple members read Torah for the first time, as the first graduates of the Ben/Bat Binah program.

• Rabbi Lawrence Kushner is scholar-in-residence. His theme is "Jewish Mysticism and Spirituality in Our Daily Lives."

• Annual HUC Senior Cantorial Concert (held at WCT) honors Cantor Burton Borovetz, WCT Cantor 1979-85.

• Jewish musical artist Danny Maseng spends a Shabbat Shirah Eve at Woodlands. It’s unforgettable!

• "A Taste of Judaism," three sessions especially designed by the Reform movement for members of an interfaith family, is taught by Rabbi Dreskin.

• Woodlands begins collecting toys for needy kids through the "Toys for Tots" and "Gift of Chanukah" projects, reaching out both to Jews and to non-Jews.

• Exotic Shabbat is back. This year, "Frank Sinatra Shabbat!" Oy!

• Bikur Cholim program is initiated, exploring ways that WCT members can reach out to one another in their times of need. In a few years, this will become our Chesed Caring Community Committee.

• "Les Miz Purim!" Need we say more?

• "Uri Shir – Awaken and Sing!" A Shabbat evening consisting almost entirely of music.

• Woodlands hosts AJLI, the Rivertowns Jewish Consortium’s Adult Jewish Learning Institute. Four Wednesday evenings of classes taught by Rabbi Billy Dreskin, Cantor Jonathan Gordon, Temple Educator Harriet Levine, Rabbi Manny Vinas and Rabbi Barry Kenter.

• Cantor Ellen Dreskin, former cantor and educator of WCT and Associate Dean of HUC-JIR, speaks at our Shabbat service on the occasion of HUC-JIR’s 125^th birthday.

• Membership Recognition Shabbat honors those who have been part of WCT for 20 years and longer. The list is surprisingly long – 110 families!

• Our new Interfaith Seder welcomes guests from Dobbs Ferry Lutheran Church and St. Joseph of Arimathea Church. Temple members host at each table.

2001-2002

• Lance Rosenthal becomes temple president.

• Future of Woodlands capital campaign picks up where ATID left off, committed to raising $3 million for building a new sanctuary and renovating many parts of the original facility.

• After an initial try-out period, 7^th Grade Family Torah – attended by all B’nai Mitzvah and at least one parent – becomes one of WCT’s favorite learning programs.

• Recognizing there while we pursue peace around the globe, there is much for us to do at home, "Lashon Hara – Hurtful Speech" begins appearing monthly in temple bulletin.

• As younger children grow up but refuse to abandon their favorite monthly Shabbat celebration, Tot Shabbat is renamed as Kidz Shabbat.

• "I Hated Religious School!" makes its debut appearance as a 2^nd introduction to Jewish learning for those who weren’t exactly enamored of it as children.

• Ellen and Billy Dreskin lead the WCT "Hebrew Shabbaton," teaching Hebrew reading in one 7-hour marathon.

• WCT celebrates its 36^th birthday with the publication of its new cookbook, "What’s Cooking Tonight?"

• Woodlands holds its first healing service, a "Healing Havdalah."

• 9/11 devastates yet galvanizes our community. The High Holy Days become a time of shared grieving, support, and commitment to helping.

• With "Uri Shir – Awaken & Sing," WCT tries out a Friday night consisting mainly of song.

• Famed activist and former Vice-President of the UAHC Al Vorspan spends a weekend as our Social Action Scholar, sponsored by Steve’s H.O.P.E.

• WCT hosts the 9^th Annual Cantorial Concert by seniors at the HUC-JIR School of Sacred Music. Funds raised provide needed scholarships for cantorial students.

• Ugandan Rabbi Gershom Sizomu spends Shabbat evening with us, inspiring members to dedicate themselves to bringing water and electricity to the Abayudaya.

• Bob Dylan honored during this year’s "Exotic Shabbat" service.

• Ellen and Billy Dreskin bring a "Fiddler on the Roof Purimspiel" for Purim.

• Amid mild (but resolvable) controversy, announcement is made that WCT will locate to Greenville Community Reformed Church (in Scarsdale) for services during the construction of our new sanctuary.

• Temple member Corey Friedlander speaks at the UAHC Biennial Convention in Boston on being single, gay, and comfortable, in his not especially single, nor gay, yet exceedingly comfortable synagogue, Woodlands Community Temple. He quotes another temple member, Vicki Armour-Hileman, as summing it up with these words: "I guess the final thing I have to say is that whatever category of singleness a person fits into – never married, separated, divorced, or widow(er)ed, straight or gay – there is only one communal solution to any feelings of unease the individual may feel. It’s a pretty obvious solution, and it’s a pretty traditional one. And that is to attend to the sacredness of each human person, to cherish the uniqueness and individuality of each, and to welcome each man or woman or child, not as part of a family unit (or not), but as a fellow traveler on life’s journey, seeking spiritual nourishment, education, and community. Luckily this attitude of attending to the individual, recognizing each of us as a separate soul, caring about heeding each person’s needs, and inviting each to share his or her talents and gifts with the community is something that Woodlands is very, very good at."

• Cantor Jonathan organizes Interfaith Concert in celebration of Martin Luther King Day.

• Woodlands’ Rosh Chodesh Group for the study of women’s lives in Judaism is formed.

• WCT joins Synagogue 2000 and twenty other Westchester synagogues to engage in a 3-year process of learning and reflection about Judaism and the synagogue.

• Membership Recognition Shabbat honors all past presidents for their dedication and commitment to our temple.

• Beged Kefet returns to Woodlands as part of WCT’s Coffee House.

• Celebration of ten years with Harriet Levine as our temple educator.

• On May 4, 2002, Woodlands ceremonially breaks ground for the new Sanctuary.

• After two wonderful years, WCT bids farewell to rabbinic intern Darren Levine.

• A bittersweet evening of farewell – with dinner, shared memories, learning, and a closing ritual – closes the doors of our old Sanctuary on Saturday, May 18, 2002.

• Our old but much-loved Sanctuary is pulled down on June 18, 2002.

• High schoolers Kim Roth (Junior Youth Rep) and Erica Bern (Social Action Chair) are elected to the NFTY Westchester/Fairfield regional board.

• Summer outdoor services are held at St. Joseph of Arimathea Church during construction.

• HUC rabbinical student Craig Axler embarks upon a summer internship with us.

• Temple offices relocate for the summer to 101 Executive Blvd in Elmsford.

2002-2003

• High Holy Days services are held at Greenville Community Reformed Church. Two "seatings" are necessary to accommodate our large numbers. After spending the first half-hour of Rosh Hashanah without machzorim, things go smoothly. All are good sports.

• During construction, High School Academy classes meet at St. Joseph of Arimathea Church.

• Service of Memoriam & Tribute on the 1^st anniversary of 9/11 is presented jointly with our new friends at Greenville Community Reformed Church.

• WCT celebrates its 36^th birthday with an evening of dinner and dancing at the Willow Ridge Country Club.

• JCC on the Hudson, originally set aside as space for worship while the new Sanctuary is built, becomes our primary worship space – not because of any theological objection to Greenville Church, but because the JCC offered a far greater sense of the intimacy WCT has always engendered.

• WCT hires its first full-time Youth Director, Nicole Butler. Rabbinic intern program is discontinued.

• Pastor Jack Elliott and Rabbi Billy Dreskin teach "A Shared Taste" of Christianity and Judaism to WCT and Greenville Community Reformed Church together.

• Mary Boys, Professor of Practical Theology at the Union Theological Seminary, serves as scholar-in-residence. The program is shared jointly with Greenville Community Reformed Church as an opportunity for important dialogue with our Christian neighbors.

• WCT members are invited to join another synagogue, the Moses Synagogue in Mbale, Uganda. "Associate Membership" there will help raise needed funds to bring them water and electricity.

• Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence College, serves as Steve’s H.O.P.E. Fellow.

• Acclaimed Jewish singer/composer Julie Silver joins us for a Shabbat evening service.

• The music of Motown is honored (and spoofed!) during this year’s "Exotic Shabbat" service.

• In response to the downturn in the economy, WCT forms a "Job Mart" to help match those seeking employment with those offering it.

• Upon its unusual convergence with St. Patrick’s Day, "St. Paddy’s Purim" comes to Woodlands!

• New sanctuary is dedicated on Friday evening, May 9, 2003. Clergy from neighboring churches and synagogues attend. Gala celebration is held that Saturday evening.

• Membership Recognition Shabbat honors all families who have a child that has graduated from our 12^th grade Academy program.

• Longtime WCT member Mark Solomon is honored for 30 years of teaching in our religious school.

• HUC rabbinical student Judith Siegal embarks upon a summer internship with us.

2003-2004

• 250 bags of groceries are delivered to the Food Van during the High Holy Days.

• Temple member Vicki Armour-Hileman begins her rabbinical studies at HUC-JIR.

• The "Chesed Caring Community" committee arrives to WCT, acting on our growing sense that, in addition to looking after the needs of good folks the world over, we must also promise to look after each other.

• Ellen Dreskin introduces the topic of Kabbalah – Jewish mysticism – to WCT’s adult learning program.

• Rabbi Billy introduces Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) and his unusual world-view to WCT’s adult learning program.

• Jewish Journey Groups, an innovation of Synagogue 2000, begin to crop up at Woodlands. These are small group gathering together for Jewish learning where "life meets text" and we find our own stories bound up in those of our ancestors.

• Water arrives to the Abayudaya of Nabagoya Hill in Uganda, financed by WCT Associate Memberships in the Moses Synagogue.

• Mitzvah Month, an entire month of tzedakah activities, is sponsored by our Social Action committee.

• Aaron Knappstein, of our new "sister congregation" Cong. Gescher LaMassoret in Cologne, Germany, speaks at a Woodlands Shabbat evening service.

• Having bid farewell to WCT’s annual sponsoring of the HUC Cantorial Concert (it now moves around the entire New York area to expand its audience and fundraising potential), Cantor Jonathan welcomes the famed Zamir Chorale to perform in our new Sanctuary.

• Danny Maseng spends a truly unforgettable weekend as our scholar-in-residence.

• Martha Dubinsky and Mike Witkowski volunteer to lovingly advise our high school youth group until a new Youth Director can be found.

• The Woodlands Coffee House receives the UAHC’s Epstein Communicate Award.

• WCT begins collecting turkeys each Thanksgiving for distribution via ARCS to needy Westchester families.

• Progressive Dinner enjoyed by all.

• Our new Judaica Shop opens for business.

• The UAHC, our parent body, changes its name to URJ, the Union for Reform Judaism.

• Corey Friedlander becomes our 2^nd lay rabbinic intern.

• After ten years, Beged Kefet, featuring Ellen and Billy Dreskin, releases their 3^rd CD.

• Merri Lovinger Arian joins Cantor Jonathan for an unforgettable Shabbat Shirah evening service of music, learning and, above all, joy.

• sTORAHtelling, a dynamic fusion of contemporary theater and ancient Torah ritual, comes to Woodlands. Temple member Susan Brubaker emerges as ongoing director of this project dedicated to reclaiming the art of telling our sacred Jewish stories.

• WCT joins hundreds of thousands at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC.

• Jewish rock star Rick Recht brings his band and "Shabbat Alive" to Woodlands.

• On one very beautiful Shabbat morning, special guest musical artist Peri Smilow leads "Worship with the Wires Exposed."

• "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Purim rocks Woodlands as our High School Academy students steal the show, the hearts and the funny bones of the entire congregation.

• WCT’s Future of Woodlands capital campaign reaches the $2 million mark. $1 million to go!

• Kabbalat Shabbarbecue makes its debut appearance.

• Temple member Roberta Roos receives the Westchester Jewish Conference’s Distinguished Service Award for their work promoting the Abayudaya Jews of Uganada.

2004-2005

• Scott Newman arrives to WCT as our 1st full-time Youth Director.

• David Fligel becomes temple president.

• While the new lawn takes time to grow strong and healthy, High Holy Days are held at SUNY-Purchase Performing Arts Center.

• Rabbi David Nelson is scholar-in-residence.

• "It’s a Girl Thing!" is introduced as our sixth grade girls’ Rosh Hodesh group.

• The New Campaign for the Future of Woodlands is introduced to complete our capital campaign.

• Pastor Chris Mietlowski and Rabbi Billy Dreskin co-teach "One God, One Family," opportunities for shared, interdenominational learning.

• Jewish Journey Groups Facilitator Training begins preparing WCT members to lead small learning experiences.

• Rabbi Lisa Izes arrives in December, co-leading the congregation with Rabbi Billy for one month, then serving as Sabbatical Rabbi while Billy is away for six more.

• WCT reaches its membership cap of 400 families. Board of Trustees, in a difficult and painful vote of 10-6-1, decides to maintain the cap and begin a waiting list for temple membership.

• Purim celebrates "350 Years of (funny) American Jewish History."

• Jazz Shabbat, with composer/artist Mark Bloom, returns to the Woodlands bimah.

• Under the leadership of Cantor Jonathan, WCT begins its participation in The Jewish and Muslim Mosaic Project.

• Kidz Shabbat gives Saturday morning a try. Kidz love it!

• WCT receives the URJ Commission on Social Action’s Irving J. Fain Social Action Award for its work with the Abayudaya community in Uganda.

• Cantor Jonathan establishes the S’forim Forum, a Jewish book discussion group to be held on Shabbat afternoons.

• Draft copy of new siddur, Makom Shelibi Oheyv, makes first appearance at Shabbat services.

• Future of Woodlands reaches $2.5 million. $500,000 to go!

• While the High Holy Days at SUNY-Purchase were successful, congregational opinion urged us to come home, which is what the Board of Trustees voted to do.

2005-2006

• Rabbi Billy Dreskin and Cantor Ellen Dreskin are honored for many decades of service to Reform Jewish youth with Lifetime Membership in the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY).

• Jeanne Bodin and Roberta Roos facilitate a highly successful Jewish Journey Group, "My Life as a Sacred Journey."

• Tent Sale raises $15,000.

• An experiment in lay-led Shabbat services begins. Members are intensively trained to assume pulpit responsibilities (rabbinic or cantorial) and are joined by one of our clergy as they lead a Shabbat evening service.

• On December 31, 2005, our Woodlands’ Future of Woodlands capital campaign is completed as we reached our goal of raising $3 million.

• 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders join the rabbi and Youth Director for"Civil Rights: Our Jewish Journey" to Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, paid for in part by Steve’s H.O.P.E. Three months later, the rabbi would take a group of WCT adults on the same journey.

• High school youth group adopts a new name: WoodSY.

• The Dolls for Darfur campaign protests genocide in Sudan. Giant postcards are mailed to President Bush and hand-delivered to Nita Lowey.

• The Afro-Semitic Experience brings jazz and black-white friendship to our bimah in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Shabbat.

• Woodlands celebrates its 40^th birthday with a Matzo Ball Bash. Alan Horowitz is honored as our Founding President. March 18, 2006, is proclaimed Woodlands Community Temple Day in the Town of Greenburgh. $21,000 was raised from the gala and journal.

• Dr. Joel Hoffman is our scholar-in-residence.

• Rabbi Billy teaches "Between the Lines: Finding Ourselves in Ancient Midrashim."

• The religious school adopts Project Tikva, a program in the Ukraine to care for homeless, abandoned and abused Jewish children in Odesssa.

• First "Group-ruf" offering an aufruf-like Shabbat evening blessing (complete with candy!) to any WCT couple.

• Ellen and Billy Dreskin bring a "Mary Poppins Purimspiel" for Purim.

• Membership Recognition Shabbat honors WCT "kids" who have grown up here and returned as adult congregants.

• Had Gadya Project is introduced by our Social Action committee, encouraging congregants to purchase goats through Heifer International and help 3^rd world families become self-sufficient.

• WCT hosts its first political rally, with Rep. Nita Lowey speaking out against genocide in Darfur, Rabbis Les Bronstein and Rick Jacobs sharing a Jewish view of the tragedy, and musical guests Riverrun, Jonathan Gordon, and Ellen Dreskin elevating the spirit of the evening.

• Jews, Christians and Muslims sharing Chinese food? Can’t get more "melting-pot" than that, as WCT and Dobbs Ferry Lutheran Church co-hosted an evening of dinner and conversation with Dr. Mahjabeen Hassan and members of the Westchester Muslim community at the Golden Wok Café in Ardsley.

• WCT buses to Washington DC to stand in solidarity with the Reform movement and the oppressed population of Darfur.

2006-07

• Chuck Fishman becomes temple president.

• For the first time, WCT promotes opportunity to inscribe bookplates in the High Holy Days makhzor, Gates of Repentance.

• Temple "kid" Eric Jacobson, now a conservation biologist, returns to WCT to co-facilitate with Rabbi Billy a course entitled "Yankel Appleseed ... It’s Not Easy Bein’ (Jewishly) Green." Enthusiasm overflows resulting in creation of WCT’s Environmental Task Force, one of very few temple committees to feature young people around the meeting table.

• WCT participates in "Save Darfur Now" rally in Central Park.

• 20 members of WCT become B’nai Binah during Simkhat Torah.

• Mitzvah Day returns, this time with "The Great Mitzvah Day Kugel Cook-off" and Beged Kefet.

• Harriet and Len Levine lead highly successful temple trip to Israel.

• Rabbi Billy serves as "producer" for URJ Regional Biennial Shabbat worship complete with professionally arranged R&B accompaniment and the very first elements that will become "Visual Worship." Cantor Jonathan and Woodlands Singers provide vital vocal backup. 80 temple members trek out to Stamford to watch.

• The Confirmation-Graduation-Consecration photo gallery returns. All photographs have been professionally digitized, re-sized and re-framed.

• Woodlands leads the way in Westchester’s efforts to send Solar Cookers to Darfur, reducing the need to embark upon dangerous hikes to find wood to burn.

• The "Chesed Caring Community" makes its mark by leading a (soon-to-be annual) Shabbat service, highlighting its philosophy and some of its many good works.

• Temple youth group WoodSY leads congregation in switchover to energy-responsible CFL bulbs by ceremonially changing the Ark’s ner tamid from incandescent to compact fluorescent. Congregants are encouraged to "light a new light for Hanukkah" and replace at least one light in their home with a CFL. Special Hanukkah reading is placed on temple website for the occasion.

• Multimedia Shabbat Hanukkah service, "A Celebration of Lights," provides next step in creation of "Visual Worship" ... a service entirely accompanied by dual computer-operated slide shows.

• Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Jan Katzew. "The Talmud: Are Reform Jews Hearing (Ancient) Voices?"

• Fundraising begins to finance creation of three Torah mantles to replace our old, well-worn and deteriorating ones.

• Yes, after all these years, Project Ezra is still going strong! A new generation of families joins our own old-timers in reaching out to the Lower East Side’s old-timers.

• 18 high school students attend L’taken political action seminar in Washington, DC, sponsored by the URJ Religious Action Center.

• Social Action Committee provides "A Month of Desserts" to residents of Valhalla Residence, a transitional shelter for men and women.

• 23 members of WCT join with Dobbs Ferry Lutheran Church and Emanuel Lutheran Church (Pleasantville) to rebuild homes in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Over 100 WCT families donate more than $17,000 to finance the trip.

• 12^th grader Maya Glasser helps lead music at Shabbat worship in February. We all wonder if there’s a cantor in her future.

• Rabbi Billy joins with Rev. Joe Gilmore (of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry) to offer "With a Cross and a Star, Hope Begets Healing." A dialogue between two religious communities on bringing positive change to the world.

• Whose Line Is It Anyway? Purim returns to Woodlands. Megillat Esther is projected onto screens as are "live news feeds" featuring crazy Purim reports from around the world.

• Popular Jewish rocker Rick Recht appears with his band on our bimah with "Shabbat Alive!"

• Temple member Joy Solomon shares a poignant and insightful perspective on Judaism and growing old.

• Rabbi Billy serves as guest preacher at St. Joseph of Arimathea Church.

• Update on the Hyunh family. "Boat People" from Vietnam, sponsored by WCT in 1979, nearly three decades later ... Daughter Ngahn is married and has a PhD. Son Tich Ha is married, has two kids and is a banker. Son Tich Boi graduated from Brandeis University, is married, and does research at a Boston hospital. Mother Kim Ly has worked very hard to pass tests that allow her to do hair, nails and facials, and has opened her own salon. Her husband was never able to leave Vietnam and died there.

• Mutual Ongoing Review is a method of assessment that views staff and lay leaders as sharing equal stakes in the welfare of our synagogue. As in any long-term relationship, emphasis is on working together to build strength and success, rather than placing responsibility on one or the other. Temple member and director of the URJ Department of Synagogue Management is guiding our MOR teams.

• "Visual Worship" arrives. Siddurim are left outside the Sanctuary as all prayers are projected for the first time onto screens.

• Once more, WCT hosts a rally on behalf of the beleaguered residents of Darfur. Congresswoman Nita Lowey is featured presenter.

• Task Force on Teacher Recruitment, led by Rabbi Joan Farber, envisions plan to keep our religious school faculty strong. Temple educator Harriet Levine sees this as necessary for the future of our program and hopes to see a viable project in place before she retires.

• Tikkun Layl Shavuot involves two dozen professional and lay group leaders of two 25-minute "Bayt Midrash" learning blitzes. Our Confirmands and their families join dozens of congregants in the fun.

• Shaliakh K’hilah Corey Friedlander and just-turned-Rabbi Geoff Mitelman lead what may be their final summer service together.

• Cantor Jonathan Gordona celebrates 25 years as a cantor at a special Coffeehouse in his honor.

• Cinco de Mayo Casino Night.

2007-08

• 4^th year HUC student Erin Glazer arrives to help WCT revive its Rabbinic Intern program. Three years of funding for the program is provided through donations.

• Rabbi Billy takes the "Food Stamp Challenge," living on $3 a day for one week in order to understand how millions of Americans struggle to make it on Food Stamps all year long. Yom Kippur Food Van donations triple.

• Rabbi Billy challenges WCT to take the "Just Journeys" pledge, promising (when staying in hotels) to keep tidier rooms and leave bigger tips, both to treat hotel workers with greater compassion for the difficult lives they struggle to manage.

• WCT’s new Environmental Task Force sponsors a new Sukkah made entirely of indigenous, organic materials.

• Adult Ed Committee wows congregation with comprehensive catalogue of the coming year’s learning events. First up: Rabbi Robbie Harris, JTS Prof of Bible, teaches commentaries in "Unfolding the Text."

• For Simkhat Torah, Ellen and Billy Dreskin’s music "Simkhat Torah Revue" returns, accompanied by a full band AND the Woodlands Singers! Simkhat Torah itself features Visual Worship complete with TorahCam so everyone can see the verses being read in the completely unrolled Scroll.

• Jazz/Jewish music synthesists, "The Afro-Semitic Experience," joins Zach Hart on our Shabbat morning bimah as he becomes a Bar Mitzvah and they show us how to really ratchet up the energy.

• New year-long adult ed program, "Petakh," brings twenty congregants together weekly for an hour of Hebrew and an hour of Jewish studies.

• Rabbi Andrew Davids, Director of ARZA, speaks at Woodlands, sharing a significant vision of Zionism that includes social justice for all, on both sides of the borders.

• Rabbi Aaron Kintu Moses, spiritual leader of the Abayudaya, visits Woodlands for Shabbat.

• Rabbi Billy travels to Chappaqua to install Rabbi Geoff Mitelman as rabbi at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester.

• "A Joyful Noise!" arrives. 6-piece instrumental ensemble, with 4 vocalists at the front, leading our congregation in raucous, joyous music and prayer.

• Temple member Julius Rabinowitz teaches popular session on The Zohar.

• Cantor Ellen Dreskin returns to teach during Friday night and Saturday morning worship: "Digging Deeply into Prayer."

• Rabbinic intern Erin Glazer begins "Café Ivrit," a place to speak Hebrew.

• Finally finally, WCT’s new siddur, Makom Shelibi Oheyv, makes its entrance.

• Another first: Triplets Morgan, Nikki and Casey Styranovski, daughter of Shari and John, granddaughters of Lois and Bernie Bacharach, are named on our bimah.

• WCT’s new Torah mantles are dedicated during the High Holy Days. Designed by Jeanette Kuvin Oren.

• The annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service is hosted by our brand new neighbors, the First Community Church of the Nazarene (on Saw Mill River Rd). A truly wonderful time is had by all!

• Jewish rocker Dan Nichols appears in concert at Woodlands.

• In response to the rabbi’s High Holy Days sermons on revitalizing worship, a new column appears in the bulletin: "Iyyun T’filah ... Focusing Our Prayer." Each month, a brief look at how one might find greater meaning in prayer.

• The ARZA/Israel Committee is revived, co-chaired by Roberta Roos and David Griff. First projects include revamping of Israel page on temple website to include current events, first-person perspectives, and available projects.

• Leaders of local churches, plus a Moslem guest, make presentations to our high school Academy. The goal is to prepare a new generation "to better the world in partnership with God and each other."

• Beloved guest artist Merri Arian returns to our bimah for Shabbat Shirah.

• WCT and the Westchester Darfur Coalition promote Hanukkah gift-giving participation in The Backpack Project, to bring school and hygiene supplies to children in Chad refugee camps.

• Adult Ed brings temple members to B’nai Jeshurun (in New York City) and Bet Am Shalom (in White Plains) to expand our Shabbat experience.

• Scholar-in-Residence is Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller: "Jewish Culture through the Lens of Synagogue Music."

• Rabbi Billy takes "A Joyful Noise!" and "Visual Worship" to the URJ Biennial Convention in San Diego. 800 attend the service, 200 attend the workshop to learn how to do it.

• Rabbi Billy teaches "Postcards from the Dumping Grounds," an examination of the Book of Job.

• Temple educator Harriet Levine teaches "Jewish Communities Throughout the World."

• Cantor Jonathan teaches "The Pageant of Jewish Music."

• WCT is honored (for the second time!) by the URJ for sending more kids than any other synagogue to our regional summer camps: Eisner and Crane Lake.

• An early 6:00 congregational service is offered (in place of the 8:00 service) to see if young families will attend. They do, primary school-age children sitting quietly next to seasoned "old timers." Everyone had a lovely time. Question now: How often will such services be offered?

• 20 Westchester cantors, including Cantor Jonathan, join together in "Kol Hazzanim," a concert to raise funds for the Westchester Jewish Conference.

• Plans get underway to celebrate Rabbi Billy’s 13^th year at Woodlands. He’s to become Bar Mitzvah a second time!

• Cantor Jonathan’s Outrageously Enjoyable, No Holds Barred, Very Funny Purim!

• Rabbinic intern Erin Glazer teaches "Women and Violence in the Book of Judges."

• Temple member Lew Stiefel’s documentary on last year’s Katrina trip, entitled "Mission to Mississippi," is selected for exhibition at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival.

• February is designated as WCT Winter Hunger Appeal.