My family and I first attended Adat Yeshurun’s service on a Friday night in July 1992. At the time, the service was conducted in an office block and the dress code was rather lax, only about 3 or 4 of us wore suits (including Rabbi Jeff). So, I dressed down for the next few visits.  Then came the sermon by the Rabbi! “When you go see your attorney, you dress up in a suit and consequently behave and feel differently.  Shul is no different!”  Needless to say, I wore a suit from then on as did most of the other men.

~ Michael and Helene Cobb

 

I have been a member of Adat Yeshurun since 1992.  I have, as well as my husband and children, felt as if we had always belonged to Adat Yeshurun from the very start of our connection with the Shul.  We have been filled with knowledge, tradition, understanding and connection from the moment we began to participate.  I attend Shul to be connected to HaShem through my association with the congregation.  I love to daven.  It keeps me happy, safe and sound.  When the Shul is quiet with everyone facing east it is good to be a part of the dedication we all have to HaShem and to Judaism.  I am always amazed that we are all in the Shul facing east and davening. We are “supposed” to be - but what is amazing is that we are there. 

~ Mara Lynn Katzman, Ph.D

 

From a sense of purpose, community and belonging, as well as the regular positive interactions with like-minded people in the welcoming and supportive environment we have at Adat, Paula and I find very real mental health benefits through our Adat membership. We are blessed to have a genuine sense purpose and meaning, an inner peace, through participating in Adat activities, which serves to reduce stress in our lives, and provides a true sense of hope and healthy optimism. The Talmud teaches us that “Kol Yisrael averim zeh bazeh” - all Jews are responsible for one another. This means that we have a responsibility to support and care for each other, and that we are all interconnected. Being a part of the Adat community helps reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation which can be so harmful to our health. Working together, we support and care for other members of the Adat community, and in turn build strong, genuine, friendships. The opportunities we have within Adat for spiritual growth and learning, Torah study, and prayer, provides us with a sense of authentic comfort and guidance, and helps us connect to something greater than ourselves. We are grateful for the spiritual, physical and emotional wellbeing we find in our Adat community.

~ Michael and Paula Mantell

 

Joining Adat was a wonderful decision.  I turned my faith into family with a community that has embraced me.  More than 15 years later, I am still welcomed at many people’s homes and I appreciate every one of you. Even the ones who have not invited me yet and the ones who have not invited me in a very long time (what's up with that?).  Adat has given me the opportunity to express gratitude, to learn, to pray, to lunch, to drink, to exercise and to grow within a wholesome network of friendship. The benefits for a family are amazing and the benefits for a single member are even more amazing.  Joining Adat is like getting a healthy pill for life.  But you have to pay your shul dues or the benefits will not work.

~ Martin Stauber

 

I have been a member of Adat since I moved to La Jolla in August of 2003. Being new to the area, I wanted to find a place where I could stay connected to the values and traditions I grew up with and give my kids the same opportunity. Adat was precisely that place. I had the privilege of serving as a board member, treasurer, and president for 5 years. It allowed me to get to know many of you and experience the support of this community firsthand. It cannot be overlooked how vital being connected to others is today. Adat is the place that fosters the environment where meaningful connections are made that can last a lifetime. I am grateful for being a member of this caring, giving, and supportive group that has become an integral part of my life here in La Jolla.

~ Brian Zimmerman

 

In our almost two years in the community Adat has provided our family with a circle of good friends. We get together on Shabbat, for tennis, pickleball, and many things in-between. Our children have made friends with other children in the community too. We have so enjoyed Rabbi Reich, and especially his talks at Seudah Shlishit. Those talks have provided us an intellectual outlet for our religious observance. We wish the Adat community many more successful years of supporting the community. 

~ Gavriel and Devorah Shapiro

 

Most definitions of “well-being” include viewing life in a positive way and feeling good about it.  Being an active member of Adat Yeshurun for many years has definitely contributed to my well-being because it has allowed me a conduit through which I have been able to contribute in an active way to the well-being of the local Jewish community and to the institutions that support Judaism and Jews in San Diego. An active and healthy Adat Yeshurun supports Orthodox Judaism and the Jews who are shul members wherever they live in San Diego County, and my involvement in the shul has given me an outlet to express myself as a committed Jew by taking classes offered by the shul, volunteering to serve on the shul’s Board and committees, participating in shul events, and most importantly davening in communal prayer in shul. How can this involvement not contribute to my well-being and make me feel good? It’s a circle because what I do for the shul, the shul does for me. It keeps me pointed to the goal of living as an observant Jew with an overall positive outlook on life.

~ Jack Forman

 

Being a part of the Adat community has been an amazing experience for us. We feel a deep sense of belonging and are truly at home here. The religious and spiritual journey, led by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Reich, has been incredibly enriching, bringing us increased happiness, satisfaction, and a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life. Furthermore, we feel welcomed and included in the wonderful Adat family, having been warmly embraced by its members. We fully embrace the wonderful people in this community, who will always have a special place in our hearts.

~ Jerry and Sheila Hermel

 

Adat has meant so much to our family over the last eight years. We joined just before our daughter’s Bat Mitzvah in 2015.  Now we are thrilled to be continuing to celebrate simchas as our youngest son, Asher becomes a Bar Mitzvah in June. Adat is our home away from home. The ease, comfort, and peace that we have when we are in Shul is a feeling that is so cherished. For everything we have given to the Shul our family has gotten back ten-fold. The love and support that we feel on a daily basis keeps our faith thriving! Thank you to Rabbi, Brooke, and all of our wonderful friends who continue to enrich our lives and our yiddishkeit on a daily basis. The Kaplan’s are the presidents of the Adat fan club! Stephen, Elianna, Ari, and Asher join me in saying Thank you to our Adat family for creating such a wonderful place for us to call home. 

~ Stephen & Alysa Kaplan

 

Adat Yeshurun gives me a place to connect with others. It reminds me that I am part of a wider community and gives me a chance to reach out and unite with others. This strong connection also includes my wife Phyllis and my family Stephen, Alysa, Elliana Ari, and Asher Kaplan. This gives me great pleasure that I can share these important moments with them. Shabbat services and Holiday services strengthens my Jewish connection. Sharing meals together on Shabbat and Festivals with my fellow congregants has drawn me closer to the Adat Yeshurun family. 

~ Mark and Phyllis Strauss

 

When my family and I set our roots in La Jolla, years ago, to be a part of the Adat Yeshurun community, the goal was to integrate into a warm and supportive environment and to cultivate new friendships and that’s exactly what happened.  Community members have watched my children grow and develop into adults and my boys love knowing that while they are off to pursue their goals and dreams, the bonds that were formed early on, remain in place no matter where they are.  For me personally, Over the last several years so much in my life has evolved, and as a result my foundation became uprooted leading to feeling out of sorts on both personal and spiritual levels. While we know that with struggle, often comes growth there was a lot of struggling.  When asked about what Adat has done for me- that’s pretty simple:  from the Rabbinic level to the community member level, Adat has provided an accepting, caring, and supportive space for new roots to be set and most importantly, inspiration to build a stronger, more grounded relationship with Hashem.

~ Elana Rezmovitch

 

We relocated from out of state and started our new journey in San Diego. We came from a well established community and was not sure that we would find the same connections at another Shul.  Adat Yeshurun welcomed us from the start and has helped us feel that sense of community and connections again. It was very important for us to find a community that fostered the same spiritual levels, values and a place where we can learn and grow personally together. We are building new relationships and feel comfortable in our new “home”.
~ Seymour and Cynthia Casper

 

Shimon HaTzaddik used to stay the world stands on three things” torah, avodah Hashem, and Chesed. What we’ve found when we moved here 17 years ago was that Adat had three foundation principles as well: torah learning, chesed and hospitality. People have come and gone during that time, however the foundation remains the same today. The yiddishkeit here nurtures our soul and brings smiles to our lips. How healthy it is to be in a community where looking at people with a good eye is the norm, where wanting to help the other is common place. When a baby is born or someone takes ill, the meal train goes full steam. Adat is a community where people want to grow spiritually, intellectually, and in relationship to others and the world in its many manifestations. It feels good and right to be in this environment. It feeds our hearts, our souls, our attitudes to family, friends, our neighbors. Like anything in this world, the more one gives the more one receives. May we continue to give to the community that has given so much to us.
~ Yaakov and Devorah Shore

 

When Anne and I moved from New York almost 11 years ago, I had just begun to say Kaddish for my mother, of Blessed Memory.  We needed a Shul/Community at which we would feel comfortable, with the proper Kavod and a Kehilla of wonderful people. How fortunate we were to find Adat Yeshurun. Rabbi Jeff and Shoshie immediately made us feel so welcomed and Rabbi Reich and Brooke have continued the warmth that we are grateful to receive. Adat is a special place in our hearts and we are so fortunate to be part of this amazing Shul.
~ Harvey and Anne Brenner