A Special Day for Women at Temple Sinai,
With  special guest speaker, Dr. Elissa Kaplan, followed by a luncheon sponsored by the Sisterhood. This is a special day for women because the Sisterhood members will lead and participate in the Shabbat Service.

Dr. Kaplan spoke at the May 12,2012 Sisterhood Shabbat on  It’s not your Bubbie’s Judaism. Her talk was enjoyed by the Sisterhood members and the entire congregation .At the conclusion of the Shabbat Service one congregant said,” It’s going to be hard to find a speaker in the future who can top this talk.” Dr. Elissa Kaplan is  going to try to do so when she returns to Temple Sinai on May 9 to speak at this years Sisterhood Shabbat. Her talk  has an intriguing title ,” Well Behaved Women  Rarely Make History:Famous and Infamous  Biblical Women”
Dr. Kaplan  will provide a fascinating and enlightening perspective on women in the Torah  Our Sisterhood Shabbat Scholar will take us on behind the scenes in the drama of the lives of some famous and infamous Biblical women.
Dr.Elissa Kaplan promises that it will be fascinating to see how these women played starring roles on the stage of their times.

Our speaker ,Dr. Elissa Kaplan has been involved in  Jewish Education  and has served as Director of Education for the past 17 years at four synagogues in Connecticut and Maryland:Temple  Sholom( (Conservative) in Greenwich, Connecticut, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Betheseda, Maryland, Shaare Tefila Congregations ( Conservative) in Silver Spring, Maryland and Congregation Har Shalom ( Conservative) in Potomac , Maryland.
Dr. Kaplan has degrees in  German Language and Literature from Valdosta State University (Georgia) and an M.A in Comparative Literature from the University of Colorado( Boulder) and an M.Ed with a specialty in Reading and Language Arts from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and an Education Specialist Degree in Curriculum Development with a specialty in Jewish Studies  and an Ed.D degree in Educational Leadership from George Washington University ( D.C)  She is also proud to have contributed a chapter,”The Voice of the Principal “ to the book,” What We Now Know about Jewish Education”, which won the National Jewish Book Award for Education and Jewish Identity in March 2009

Dr. Kaplan is the founder and director of Growing Projects, an education consulting company, whose vision is leadership through critical thinking and compassionate choices. She believes that the ancient wisdom and the modern practice of Judaism provide the groundwork for bringing this vision alive.

In addition to working in Religious Schools, Elissa is a writer, a speaker , a teacher and an educational consultant.She is currently teaching courses for Learning in Retirement settings. She is actively involved in the Jewish Arts and Film Festival, Stamford, Connecticut and the Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County.

 Dr. Kaplan is married to Colonel David Kaplan ( Army, retired) and lives in Stamford , Connecticut,
their fifteenth home.

 After the conclusion of the  Shabbat morning service, the Sisterhood of the Temple will sponsor a  delicious buffet luncheon planned and prepared  by Arline Friedman and Sisterhood members.
Dr. Kaplan will speak informally for a short time at lunch, with time for Q&A.