History and Mission - Temple Sinai

Breaking Ground 1965

Our Mission

Temple Sinai is an inclusive Sukkat Shalom—a shelter of peace—where seekers connect, pray, learn, pursue justice, and lift each other up.

Our mission is intentionally succinct and casts a wide net. Our congregants have found many pathways into Judaism, and many ways to develop and express their Jewish selves. That's on top of participating in worship, holiday, and life cycle rituals. Visit Committees, Clubs, and Affinity Groups to learn a few of the many other ways our congregants connect, learn, pursue justice, and lift each other up at Temple Sinai.

Our History

Our congregation began in 1959 when two dozen families came together to establish a new Reform congregation in the Rochester, NY area. Their goal to create a synagogue that lived up to Reform Jewish values and that provided a safe and inclusive environment for Jewish spiritual, educational, and social fulfillment remains strong and vibrant today. On June 12, 1960, Temple Sinai was granted its charter from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

In these fifty-plus years we have grown to a current membership of approximately 500 households. We are Jewish newcomers and old-timers, children and adults, individuals with abilities and disabilities, individuals, couples and families, gay and straight, Jews by birth and by choice, and inter-faith couples and families.

Although we have grown, the goals of our founders live on as our goals today. We continue to think of ourselves as a small congregation because we do all we can to maintain a culture of warmth and connectedness with and among our congregants. We nurture and cherish our culture of inclusiveness, our sense of community and our sense of respect for all.