Rabbi Jared H. Saks Rabbi Jared Saks joined the Temple Israel clergy team as assistant rabbi in 2005, immediately after his ordination from HUC-JIR in New York City. In 2008, Rabbi Saks became an associate rabbi at Temple Israel. Prior to joining the clergy team at Temple, Rabbi Saks served as a student rabbi at Beth Yehuda Synagogue in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Rabbi Saks grew up in Long Valley, a small town in Northwestern New Jersey, where he was active in NFTY, the national Reform youth movement. During his college years at Florida State University Rabbi Saks was enthusiastically involved in Jewish campus life. He graduated cum laude with a double major in Religion and Spanish in 1999. Youth engagement and social action are at the heart of Rabbi Saks's life experiences and some of his most memorable. He spent the summers of 2001, 2002 and 2003 at the URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Mississippi and was the Youth Advisor at Temple Emanu-El in Edison, New Jersey, for three years. At Temple Israel, in addition to leading services, celebrating life cycle events with Temple families, comforting congregants in times of need, and teaching adult education classes, Rabbi Saks concentrates his attention on engaging our younger congregants; developing Temple’s educational and social youth programs, connecting with college students and engaging young adults in their 20s and 30s in Temple life. He is the rabbinic advisor to Temple’s 9th grade program and the 10th grade Confirmation program. Rabbi Saks also shares his commitment to social action and social justice throughout the Twin Cities and nationally. He is passionate about working toward eradicating hunger and homelessness; providing comprehensive sexual education for youth and young adults; preserving reproductive rights and the right of choice; and securing equal rights for the GLBT community and for immigrants. He participates annually in the New Hope Community Mayor’s Breakfast, The Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation’s “Night on the Street,” and is the a regular member of the honorary committee of the Twin Cities Human Rights Campaign Annual Dinner. Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Rabbi Saks organized a water drive, sending 430 cases of bottled water to Katrina victims through the URJ’s relief project, Jacobs Ladder, in Utica, Mississippi. As a teenager and young adult, Reform Judaism was always a home away from home for me, wherever I found myself. It was a source of comfort for me at my most difficult times and a place where I could celebrate like no other. I hope that I can help create that kind of an environment not only for Temple Israel’s youth, but for all its members. There is a reason why our worship space is called a sanctuary. We should be able to seek sanctuary within our walls and within our community. We should be able to reach out to one another to seek support and to offer it, to share our simchas and celebrate those of others, and to be guided by the visions of our leaders so that we can make the dreams of our youth a reality. When I was a child, my parents always encouraged me to find something I loved doing and then figure out how to make money doing it. Then, I’d never work a day in my life. Serving the Temple Israel community never feels like work. I love being a rabbi and there’s nothing else in the world I’d want to do. I look forward to many more years of serving the Temple community and contributing to our mission in the Twin Cities. –Rabbi Jared Saks