Legacy Society

Our Legacy Society

Thank you to our 138 Legacy Society members who have decided to remember Temple Isaiah with a gift in their will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy. Their visionary support will sustain the future of Temple Isaiah-Your Jewish Neighborhood.

Anonymous (19)
Sandy & Dave Anderson
Linda & Mike Bandler
Julie & Stephen Bell
Herb & Heidi Benenson
Judy & Marty Berg
Lynn & Robert Berg
Elinor & Gordon Berke
Katie & Jon Berryhill
Jack Bookbinder
Robert & Alice Breakstone
Sue Adler-Bressler & Dave Bressler
Alan Burckin
Julie & Paul Candau
Jori & Rich Carmel
Judy Carney
Brie Gallagher & Derek Cedars
Lisa & Richard Cohen
Len* & Roberta Cohn
Cindy & Robert Coleman
Jeanie Goldeen Conneran & Michael Conneran
Amy Faltz & Tony Crea*
Abe Mintz & Cathy Cutler
David & Tina De Stephen
F. William & Wendy Dorband
Jill & David Douglas
Michele & Larry Downes
Art* & Ardy* Dreshfield
Kim & Mark Drucker
Ellen Bernstein-Ellis & Steve Ellis*
Mimi Epstein*
William & Susan Epstein
Fran Feinberg*
Mark Feldman
Greta & Jerry Frantz
The Fried Family
Terry Naylor Friedkin & Stephen Friedkin
Linda & Dan Friedman
Alan & Laurette Gennis
Michael & Yardana Gill
Lawrence & Karen Goldberg
Sandy & Robert Goldberg
Lynn Harrington-Golde & Chip Golde
Tracy & Stephen Gordon
Rabbi Roberto & Evelyn Graetz
Daniel & Andrea Green
Faith & Dan Greenberg
Dr. Daniel & Rabbi Nicki Greninger
Melinna Gershik & Adam Hanin
Debra Frank & Ed Hanley
Harriet Harris
Elaine Highiet
Sheila & Ned Himmel
Lisa & Pierre* Hirsch
Stan & Wendy Holcenberg
Alan & Jill Jacobson
Sali & Paul Johnson
Jonathan & Debra Kalan
Roy Kaplan, M.D.
Larry* & Arlene Kaufman
Nancy S. Kornfield
Judy Kraft
Suzanne Krasna*
Sarah & Scott Langbein
Sonia Harden Lemke
Maynard & Judy Lichterman
Steve & Judy Lipson
Shirley Maccabee
Carol Mann
Karen & Greg Marriner
Cindy & Victor Mataraso
Sheila & David Matz
Willy & Susan Mautner
Howard Melamed
Malcolm & Linda Mendelson
Aliza & Peter Metzner
Rabbi Alissa & Daniel Miller
Richard Molling & Marsha Weintraub-Molling
Mark* & Marilyn Morris
Terri Moss
Mindy Plotkin & Daniel Myers
Cantor Leigh Korn & Brian Nagel
Jaquelyn Nissim
Alfred Norek
Meryl Norek
Carol Olmert
Neela & Joe Paykel
Michael S. & J. Virginia Peiser
Rabbi Jill and Jeff Perlman          
Vivian & Gregory Poettgen
Diane Portnoff
Jeffrey & Susan Rideout
Sherry Rowen
Dori & Dan Schick
Gloria & Bob* Schiller
Andrew Schneit
Leslie & David Shafton
Betsy & Jim Shandalov
Dr. James Gracer & Rabbi Judy Shanks
Ivor & Beryl Silver
Frances L. Singer
Brad & Amy Skepner
Karla & Neil Smith
Marge Sterns*
Susan Jewel & Heather Stoneman
Helen & Rodney Sweet
Jasmine & Rob Tarkoff
Jan & Alex Trzesniewski
Sydne Ann Weiner, M.D.
Karen Maas & Steven Weinzimmer
Emily Blanck & Dan Weiss
Mary Anne & Hugh Winig
Adam Zoger & Lise Wollenberg
Dennis Ybarra
Patricia & Jim Zucker

*Denotes (z"l) in loving memory.

Testimonials

“Temple Isaiah was a regular place of gathering for us growing up in Orinda.  My parents sent all three of their boys to Hebrew school starting in 1rst grade, and we built many long-lasting friendships with both the clergy and our friends.  Rabbi Shelly Waldenberg presided over all three of our Bar Mitzvahs, and we remember so vividly the songs that Cantor Richard Silverman made up about every kid by rhyming their name with some element of their personality (it was nerve-racking to imagine what he was going to say about you as a 13 year old in front of all your friends!).  Some of my fondest memories were of my confirmation class and the great times we had during our Sophomore year in High School. It is so meaningful to run into friends from that time and remind ourselves of all the fun we had (and the challenges we gave to our teachers!) Moving back to Lamorinda, I knew I wanted something similar for our kids. When Jasmine became of part of the Isaiah community, she was immediately attracted to the community and the clergy leadership, becoming Board member and then eventually President of the Congregation.” - Rob & Jasmine Tarkoff

“My parents were among the founders of Isaiah. Ned and I were married here by Rabbi Waldenberg. It has always been a place of strong community and social/ethical values for our family. We are happy to help continue the tradition.” -Sheila & Ned Himmel

“Temple Isaiah gives us an extended Jewish family and we are so very grateful. We want to contribute to the future of Temple Isaiah and all the lives that will continue to be enriched as a result of the incredible clergy, staff, and congregation.”-The Fried Family

“We love Temple Isaiah! When we moved to the East Bay in 1982 after living on the East Coast, this became our home away from home. We invested in the Temple Isaiah Legacy Campaign because we want Temple Isaiah to continue to inspire and be a home to our Jewish neighbors long into the future.” - Linda & Mike Bandler

“After moving to Moraga, Temple Isaiah became our spiritual home. Our children were educated and learned to be Jewish here. We met many of our best friends here. Temple Isaiah has become the backbone of our family’s community in every meaningful way. It is therefore important that we support Temple Isaiah and protect what makes it so special for future generations.” -Tracy & Stephen Gordon

“Temple Isaiah has always been a central and sacred space for our family, a place to celebrate life-cycle events with community, to come together to support one another in times of crisis, and to find great opportunities to help others in need. Recently, Temple Isaiah was there for us in the celebration of our son’s bar mitzvah, providing our family a spiritual, memorable and joyous event in the midst of a global pandemic. It was a great reminder that when life’s plans become unravelled, and logistics becomes complicated, we always have our Temple community to celebrate our blessings. I want my children, and generations to come, to always have a Temple community to share life’s blessings and wonder.” - Heather Stoneman

“Temple Isaiah was there for me when I decided to go through conversion and attend Adult B’nai Mitzvah classes. We bonded as a group and I formed close friendships that I enjoy to this day. Standing on the bima as I received the Torah, I was reminded of the story of Ruth and her decision to join the Hebrews. She went on to become one of the most significant women in Jewish history, the great-grandmother of King David. Her strength of character and dedication to the values of the tribe inspired me to choose Ruth as my Hebrew name. The B’nai Mitzvah experience provided me with a meaningful connection to our ancient Jewish tradition, and my hope is our Temple will continue to offer members of all ages these kinds of opportunities to connect with and explore our relationship to the past, long into the future.” - Jan Trzesniewski

“Temple Isaiah was central to providing us with a sense of Jewish community and to educating our children with Jewish values. When our daughter announced her engagement, we had about four months to plan her wedding. The one thing she wanted most was to have her Dad (Steve) by her side to walk her down the aisle. Steve had a narrow window of when he might feel well between recovering from one cancer treatment and potentially facing another. It felt daunting to manage being his care partner through his difficult and demanding cancer journey and to plan a wedding. How do you even find a venue with only four months to go? Yet, never underestimate the power of your Jewish neighborhood—or of a determined and capable bride and groom. The clergy, staff and our Temple Isaiah friends and community became partners in creating a meaningful, remarkable, and memorable wedding for our daughter right at temple. We were surrounded and supported every step of the way. And when we learned 10 days before the wedding that Steve’s treatment had failed and the cancer had aggressively spread, our close friends held us tight and poured more love into the final preparations.

All we could feel was the power of love. Steve and I walked our beautiful daughter down the aisle, he danced with her, and he delivered a heartfelt father-of-the bride speech despite his oral cancer making it difficult for him to talk. We have such incredible memories of pure joy and love that our family will always cherish. Being at Temple for Jen and David’s wedding felt like just the right place to be.

We lost Steve to cancer a few months later. He left our family a legacy of love that will sustain us always. Being a legacy member of Temple Isaiah was something he believed in strongly as he wanted to ensure that the community will continue to be there for other families as it was for us— in the daily demands of life that couples navigate in the raising of a family, and in times of greatest joy and deepest sorrow. Temple Isaiah has been our steadfast partner and I’m grateful that we can give back.” -Ellen Bernstein-Ellis