On Sunday, December 6th, Emek Shalom held its annual Hannukah fair in the foyer. Once again, merchants and craftsmen from around the region brought in their special artisan crafts, toys, gifts, books, jewelry, and Judaica to the delight of all those in attendance!

The inaugural Spirit of Giving award was presented by Temple Emek Shalom to John and Candace Schweiger (http://www.catheatres.com/) of Ashland, on October 17th.

We honor those individuals in our community who make life in the Rogue Valley a better place to live for all of us. Whether it's through their volunteer efforts, or the contributions that they make to non-profit organizations, the award goes to an individual or couple who consistently put the needs of their neighbors at the forefront of their actions.

We had a lovely Simhat Torah this year at Temple Emek Shalom.  In addition to reading the end of Torah and then the beginning, and in addition to dancing with the Torah to the wonderful musical accompaniment of Chazzan Bella, Dave Young, Gabe Young and Jeff Solomon, and a host of additional drummers, we opened up an entire Sefer Torah.   If you were there and want to relive that inspiring experience or if you weren't able to be there and want to get a taste of it, you can see a slide show.