Programs

Programs

Sisterhood

If the beautiful Menorah window that brings light into our Sanctuary is the symbol of our Congregation, then the mosaic Silver Gala Star of David has become the symbol of Sisterhood.

The Star Project began as a simple art program at a regular Sisterhood meeting in 2016. But put a dozen or so motivated Jewish women together with a talented instructor and piles of glass shards and you end up with more than trivets or picture frames. A dozen women created stained glass mosaic triangles that were joined together by our talented instructor Susan Krane Ruscitto to form the Star of David, which was donated to the congregation in commemoration of Shaara Tfille’s Silver Anniversary in our building on Weibel Avenue.

Sisterhood maintains a Gift Shop in the lobby of the synagogue where a large variety of gifts and necessities are available for purchase.

Message from the Sisterhood President

The original concept of “sisterhood” was originated by Mathilde Roth Schechter, wife of Solomon Schechter, president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. In 1918, one hundred women, many who were the wives of prominent rabbis and scholars affiliated with the Seminary, joined together, establishing as their mission the perpetuation of “traditional Judaism in their homes, synagogues and communities, a task for American Jewish women.”

Fast forward to today…Sisterhood of Congregation Shaara Tfille plays a vital role in the synagogue. Women of all ages, interests and talents, volunteer in planning, promoting and executing various activities throughout the year.

Even though one of our primary objectives is fundraising, we do more than that. Sisterhood participates in Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – by supporting local charities.

We meet every month for a general meeting, where projects and events are discussed and planned. Every other month, after the general meeting, we gather together for Sisterhood’s Book Club, where we discuss books written by Jewish authors or books with a Jewish theme.

For annual dues of $36, I invite you to join and become an active member of the dynamic Sisterhood of Congregation Shaara Tfille. For more information about Sisterhood, please use our website contact form to send us an email.

Shalom.

Judith Ehrenshaft
Sisterhood President
Congregation Shaara Tfille
Saratoga Springs, NY

Culture Connection

Congregation Shaara Tfille membership comes with some wonderful perks – one of them is the chance to explore exhibitions at museums around the country and across the world, virtually.

New Exhibit at the Jewish Museum

A new exhibit at the Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Avenue at 92nd Street, New York City, Fragments of Memory (September 18, 2026-February 7, 2027, “explores the material expressions of devotion, memory, and sacred space in Jewish and Christian communities of medieval and early modern Central Europe, highlighting moments of artistic cross-fertilization, shared iconography and theological divergence.

This exhibit features reliquaries from the treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, most never exhibited in the United States. Bejeweled and sacred vessels of veneration and medieval reliquaries are at once works of art from their time and place of production as well as physical containers of remarkable beauty. They are presented in dialogue with objects from the Museum’s own collection, as well as loans from public collections across Europe and the United States, including Torah ornaments, liturgical textiles, illuminated manuscripts, ceremonial vessels and rare medieval Jewish hoards hidden underground during the Black Death of the late 1340’s when Jews endured violence and uprooting. Works by four contemporary artists address related themes in the present day.” The Jewish Museum.