Diversity & Inclusion

Temple Emanuel is home to a community representing the diversity of American Jewish life with respect to race, gender identity, sexuality, ideological diversity, interfaith family status, and more. 

We strive to make Temple Emanuel a welcoming and inclusive Jewish space and have practiced this value through:

  • Welcoming all members, regardless of Jewish identity, to participate in all aspects of Temple life, including participation on our Board
  • Building community through LGBTQ+ Alliance groups for adults and families
  • Hosting and participating in interfaith PRIDE services, including PRIDE Shabbat, with community partners to build an inclusive community across the South Hills
  • Creating a nurturing environment where neurodivergent students and children with disabilities feel seen, supported, and celebrated in our Torah Center and Early Childhood Development Center programs
  • Partnering with families to understand each child’s needs and to set meaningful, attainable goals for their Jewish learning and growth in Torah Center
  • Hosting the Includ(Ed): Early Childhood Inclusion Conference, bringing together families, early childhood educators, local businesses and organizations to create a community-wide partnership to increase disability awareness, support meaningful inclusion in early childhood programs and empower parents as advocates
  • Honoring Senior Director and ECDC Director Kate Louik for receiving the 2025 Shore-Whitehill Award, an award given annually from The Branch to someone who is a champion of inclusion in the Jewish community
  • Installing a “Point and Play” banner on the playground, enabling children who are still developing their language skills or who are nonverbal to interact and play with their peers
  • Hosting Azure Pittsburgh, which provides free, sensory-friendly concerts for all ages throughout the Pittsburgh region
  • Organizing and hosting a sensory-friendly concert and resource fair for the South Hills community featuring musician Joanie Calem
  • Providing diverse literature in Temple Emanuel’s library and outside of our service spaces
  • Providing braille prayer books 
  • Providing devices to aide congregants with hearing loss at services
  • Participating in Mt. Lebanon’s Pride in the Park celebration
  • Sponsoring Mt. Lebanon’s Juneteenth celebrations in the park

The diversity of our community is our strength: our study of Torah, rich programming, educational experiences, and community vibrancy is enriched by the wisdom gleaned through different life experiences; our familial connections to our interfaith partners form bonds reflecting our shared values; and our ability to welcome new individuals and families is predicated upon being a welcoming environment where everyone can see themselves reflected in our community. Everyone who shares our commitment to Temple’s Vision & Mission is welcome here. 

“It has not always been clear that transgender people have been welcome in the Jewish community. So let me be clear now: Transgender people always have, do, and always will have a seat in the shul, a place at the Shabbat table, and yes, a stone in the Ephod.” Cantor Kalix Jacobson

Listen to their sermon for Transgender Day of Visibility.