Rachel Shapiro - Trustee
Temple Sinai is my Sinai because it feels like home. I joined the temple shortly after moving to Long Island 15 years ago. My Sinai journey began when our eldest daughter, Sidney, was in the twos program at the nursery school. We quickly became members of the temple and sent our second daughter, Quinn, to the nursery school as well. I was an active participant in some of the volunteer programming on the Social Action Committee including Mitzvah Day, helping to create a small vegetable garden for the nursery school.
My children and I would always attend the Sharing Shabbat services and all of the other events the nursery school offered to the youngest members of the community. While I was a nursery school parent, I helped to organize a prom dress collection for an annual prom boutique. I was lucky enough to attend this event for several years, where we helped hundreds of young girls in need with dresses for their proms, graduations, and other special milestones.
In May of 2023, Sidney became a Bat Mitzvah with Rabbi Schachter officiating. Sidney continues to be an active part of the synagogue and the community where she is involved in the SORTY program and she interns at the Early Childhood Center. In the fall of 2027, Quinn will have her Bat Mitzvah within the warm walls of Temple Sinai as well.
Professionally, I have been working as a Teaching Assistant in the Roslyn Public Schools for the past three years. Prior to starting my family, I was a first and second-grade teacher in the East Village of Manhattan. As someone who lives and works in the community. it’s always fun getting to see some of my past and current students in the halls of the temple during holidays and other temple events.
As a child growing up in Florida, my synagogue was a huge part of my life and my family’s social life. We attended services, Purim carnivals, fashion shows, galas, and much more. I have always loved that sense of belonging to something greater than myself, and I have that feeling when I am at Temple Sinai. I am truly grateful to be a part of the board, working alongside our outstanding clergy and congregants.
