L’Dor VaDor: For Emanu El’s Future

Congregation Emanu El is embarking on a transformational construction project to expand our learning and gathering spaces and ensure a welcoming, secure, and accessible campus for all.

Our goal is to raise $20 million with your help.

We humbly and eagerly invite you to participate in the holy and joyful opportunity that the L’Dor VaDor campaign offers us. The successful completion of this project will be the greatest tribute we can give to those who came before us, and to those who will succeed us as well. Please join us in helping to build a sacred home for the next age of Congregation Emanu El’s inspiring history.

– OREN J. HAYON, SENIOR RABBI

Click here to make a contribution to the L’Dor VaDor Campaign

Congregation Emanu El – an iconic edifice with striking architecture under a canopy of trees on Sunset Boulevard – is an important piece of our history, and it also holds a key to our future as a Jewish community. As citizens in a world where we are commanded to be a light unto the nations, this sacred place, the work that we do here, and the relationships forged here are essential to fulfill all that God commands us.

About the Project

The cornerstone of the project will be the Jerold B. Katz Family Center for Jewish Learning, a new two-story education and multipurpose building that will replace the temporary classrooms adjacent to the Gaylor Parking Structure.

The Jerold B. Katz Family Center for Jewish Learning will unite the Emanu El campus, maximize available space, and facilitate connections in our community. In addition to the Center for Jewish Learning, the project includes renovations to the North Worship Foyer, upgrades in the Becker School wing, and updates in Feld Hall.

The Jerold B. Katz Family Center for Jewish Learning will unite the Emanu El campus, maximize available space, and facilitate connections in our community.

Included in the transformation:

Single point of entry for entire campus adjoining to the Gaylor Parking Structure
Reception area that also serves as a security point
Eight new Helfman Religious School classrooms
Flexible Multipurpose spaces to accommodate education classes, parent groups, lectures, meetings, life-cycle celebrations, and social gatherings
New Sisterhood shop located on the first floor near the new entrance
Modernized and expanded restrooms that are accessible to people with disabilities
Enclosed courtyard for outdoor programming
Second floor skybridge to connect Jerold B. Katz Family Center for Jewish Learning with existing education building, combining all buildings into a single unified campus
New Security Vestibule and Lobby for Becker School and Helfman Religious School

In my 53 years at Emanu El, I have been part of four building campaigns: Proler Chapel, Kagan-Rudy Chapel, rebuilding the Religious School Wing, and the Gaylor Parking Structure. All four projects were completed with an eye toward the future. As part of the Religious School redesign 30 years ago, we hoped to close in the campus with an additional wing. Through the L’Dor VaDor Campaign, Rabbi Hayon and his team are proposing to complete that plan with an even more comprehensive and innovative project than we ever imagined. Your support will provide Emanu El with space we need to continue being the safe, welcoming, innovative congregation we have been since our founding. You can help bring this vision to fruition. Please consider a generous donation.

– ROY A. WALTER, RABBI EMERITUS

On Kol Nidre 5784, Rabbi Hayon encouraged all of us to say YES more often; to our community and to ourselves.

Judaism tells us that even when the world will let us get away with saying ‘no,’ we should find a way to ‘say yes.’ And now, we are asking you to say YES:

To enhanced security and safety
To dignified Jewish learning spaces
To a campus that is accessible to all
To celebrating Jewish life and traditions together
To the future of the Congregation Emanu El

Say YES by clicking here to complete the L’Dor VaDor Pledge Form.

All contributions $10,000 and over will be listed on the Donor Wall. Click here for available naming opportunities for contributions of $25,000 and above. To complete this transformational project, we need the entire congregation’s support. Please consider making a pledge payable over 3-5 years to enable you to invest in the future of our congregation.

If you have questions or would like to make your pledge over the phone, please contact Anna Shabtay, Director of Congregational Advancement at annas@emanuelhouston.org or 713.987.3316

If you’d prefer to return a hard copy of the pledge form, please use the PDF by clicking here.

For more information, please contact ForOurFuture@emanuelhouston.org.