We’re so sorry  for taking so long to write. We have no legitimate excuses other than owning a house and starting a new job is a lot of work. We promise we’ll be better in the future.

We just wanted to thank you once again for performing our Hindu/ Jewish service last May. It was truly as blessing for us to have found you. You completed the ceremony with warmth and a sense of humor. Thank you also for your willingness to drive all the way down to NJ and your flexibility in working with our Hindu priest and our Lutheran minister. We hope we can now fondly and proudly call you “our Rabbi”. If you ever visit Seattle, please stay with us- Best wishes in the New Year.

Thank you so much for officiating our wedding and helping us create a personal and beautiful ceremony. You were both there for us every step of thew way and we can’t thank you enough. We are so fortunate to have me and you both and be a part of Temple Shabbat Shalom. Also, I got so many compliments on the ceremony.

P.S.- we found our cat, Simba!

Dear Rabbi Aryeh,

I cannot believe it is one month since Emily and Eric’s wedding. So much effort went into the planning and then it goes so quickly. But, we do have wonderful memories and I look at the pictures almost daily.

Bob and I want to thank you for being such an integral part of the wedding. The time that you took to get to know Emily and Eric helped to craft a very personal and meaningful ceremony, and your guidance enabled them to plan a ceremony incorporating both religions. It was beautiful and very special.

We were all very pleased that you were able to join us for the rehearsal dinner and the reception. Our family and friends have told us how much they enjoyed talking with you. I’m sorry Karen was not able to be with us. Emily and Eric had wonderful things to say about her, too, and I know they were disappointed. However, I’m sure she had a fabulous birthday celebration with her mother.

Thank you, again, for helping to make the wedding weekend perfect.
With warm regards,

Bonnie and Bob

Dear Rabbi Alpern and Karen,

Thank you so much for being such an important part of our wedding. We received so many compliments on our unique, romantic, personal ceremony. Everyone was so impressed with how thoughtfully and respectfully you honored both of our backgrounds. You and Karen were so helpful during the entire process, from our first meeting up to the rehearsal. We cannot thank you enough!

Emily and Eric

Dear Rabbi and Karen

A heartfelt thank you. Your guidance led us towards a transcendent wedding experience. People are still talking about the great job you did. Dealing with your dear wife Karen was also a delight. She helped as much as the wedding co-ordinator on our wedding day. We look forward to staying in close touch to both of you.l

Kristy and Michael

Dear Rabbi

Wow. It has been four months since our wedding and people are still saying that your ceremony was the best they ever experienced.

I must confess we almost went with a rent a rabbi to save a little. We are so glad we made the right choice going with you!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Marla and Ben

Dear Rabbi Alpern

We are so happy we found you. Everything you promised happened:,  The best ceremony, unique and one of a kind, and a presence of caring that was felt by all.

Anyone who finds you is most fortunate!

Andrew and Val

Thank you both so much for being such a special part of our wedding. The ceremony was beautiful with a nice touch of humor. We received numerous comments on how nice it was! We hope that everything is going great for you two. With much thanks.

Rabbi and Karen,

At first we were not sure where to turn.  Who knows what you get fishing on the Internet.  Prices varied wildly.  One Rabbi wanted to meet us at a Diner!  Another Rabbi had a hidden cost of one dollar per mile for travel!  A third wanted an extra $500.00 for the rehearsal.

We are so happy we decided to go with you.  You were everything you promised honest and in the end the most reasonable.  People are still talking about the ceremony.

Sincerely,
Chris and Madeline

Dear Aryeh and Karen,

Thank you both so much for your enthusiastic participation in our wedding weekend, and for working with us to help us navigate the issues of an interfaith wedding and to begin thinking about how we intend to carry out our religious lives. The ceremony was truly perfect-very meaningful for both of us: and in honoring and meshing the two traditions I believe that we brought our family and friends into the experience and also into the idea that the two faiths are complimentary and harmonious.

All of our family and friends loved spending time with you both. We are proud to be members of your congregation and to call you both friends. We look forward to having you in our religious and personal lives.

Laura and I wanted to take one last opportunity to thank you for your guidance & support over the past couple years. We are truly grateful to have you involved in our wedding and more grateful to have you in our lives. In honor of our marriage, Laura and I would like to make a donation to Temple Shabbat Shalom. Thank you again for your involvement & for enriching our lives!

Thank you two so much for all of your help in making our wedding day special. We really appreciate your traveling all the way to P.A. and being very willing to work with us on our unique ceremony.

We want to wish you the best at your High Holy days! This comes with our thanks for your prayers and support!

Thank you so much for being a part of our special day! Even though we’ve only known you guys for less than a year, you have both become very special people in our lives. You accepted us and helped us build a ceremony that not only recognized both of our faiths, but was also a great reflection of us as a couple. We are truly grateful for that. Thanks again!

Thank you both so much for all of your help and hospitality leading up to the wedding, and especially the day of. You are both such wonderful, warm, and caring individuals. We look forward to seeing you both very soon.

We’re so sorry  for taking so long to write. We have no legitimate excuses other than owning a house and starting a new job is a lot of work. We promise we’ll be better in the future.

We just wanted to thank you once again for performing our Hindu/ Jewish service last May. It was truly as blessing for us to have found you. You completed the ceremony with warmth and a sense of humor. Thank you also for your willingness to drive all the way down to NJ and your flexibility in working with our Hindu priest and our Lutheran minister. We hope we can now fondly and proudly call you “our Rabbi”. If you ever visit Seattle, please stay with us- Best wishes in the New Year.

We enjoyed our visit with you so much. We are looking forward to an even more meaningful day now! Sharing our wedding with you will be very special but it’s an even greater feeling knowing we’ve found our Rabbi for life.

Thank you so much for finding the time to chat with me recently about my sister Wilma. Howie and I are confident that Elana and Mike’s wedding will be a huge success. Elana and Mike have personally invested much attention into this splendid celebration and I know you will certainly enhance the festivities on August 5- 6.

Warm regards to your charming wife. Looking forward to having you join us on Friday, August 5 at the barbecue, the opening gathering of this special and memorable wedding of our dear Elana and Mike.

Thank you so much for having us this weekend. We truly enjoyed our time together. It was so nice to relax (and escape the FL[orida] heat!) We look forward to seeing you again in February.

Thank you so much for playing such a special and important role in our wedding. We are still actively practicing the advice you gave us about not reacting- it really works!

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect or meaningful ceremony. It was definitely better than we could have imagined. Looking forward to many years of friendship ahead. Shana Tova!

Wow! Thank you so much for helping us to create such a special and magical wedding day. It means so much to us that you were there for us spiritually and as treasured members of our family. We can’t wait to see you and rehash the whole, wonderful weekend! All of our love.

Thank you so very much for officiating at our wedding in June. Our ceremony was so meaningful, memorable, and spcial to us, and you played a huge part in ensuring that we felt that way after the ceremony. We truly appreciated your guidance on how to combine both of our religions for our ceremony, and I think everyone at the wedding was impressed with the beauty of it. It has been a pleasure getting to know you and Karen over the last year and a half, and we look forward to continuing to foster that in the future.

Thank you again for everything – we felt so fortunate to have you officiate at our wedding.

We wanted to thank you again for all your help and preparation for our wedding. Your guidance and support helped ease our concerns about interfaith marriages. You truly joined our two families, and we are forever grateful! All our love.

We would like to thank you for everything you did to prepare us for the most important day of our lives. Words can’t express how perfect our ceremony was. Our families are still telling us how wonderful the ceremony was and how funny you were. We thank you for not only being there for us, but truly believing in us and our marriage. With love.

Thank you both so much for everything you did for our wedding. Your help and advice were invaluable. The ceremony was beautiful- we got many compliments. You both helped make our wedding very special. We are very sorry you couldn’t stay for the reception. You would have had a blast. Warmest regards.

Thank you so very much for everything you did to help make our wedding day so special! Thank you for guiding us through the ceremony preparation, and thank you for your words of wisdom and advice. The trip from Porter Corners is a long one…thank you for coming to be our celebrant. Thanks to both of you for helping to organize and keep everyone on track at the rehearsal dinner and wedding. Everything went so smoothly because of you! We will be in touch with you soon. With love.

Thank you so much for including me in your Rosh Hashanah celebration. I really appreciated how you connected the different religions. The part that touched me the most was during the study. You mentioned fasting begins in the head and then goes to your heart. From there it goes to your arms for embracing, and to your feet for dancing with joy. You’re so thoughtful. I’ve told all my friends that it was beautiful. Thanks again.

Rabbi Alpern:

* Was sensitive to our backgrounds and our individual needs
* Flexible in the planning process and open to our suggestions – it was a real collaborative effort
* Helped us to construct “our unique” wonderful & magical Traditional Jewish Wedding
* Very in-tune to the needs of the larger family
* Made us feel comfortable and invited us into their home both before and after the wedding
* Maintained contact with us for past 9 years.

Thanks,

Arlene and David

From a guest at a wedding:

It was really nice meeting you and the rebbitzin and spending time with you on Friday night and, of course, at the wedding. I enjoyed hearing about your outlook and philosophies on Judaism…a truly humanist approach indeed. Your caring and sensitivity is an example of what the rabbinate should be for all. Considering the wide range of cultures and religions present, the wedding ceremony was all inclusive…and most important was received by all in attendance as such. Perhaps, one day, I will attend one of your services.

Please send my best to your wife. You both complement each other beautifully!

Wishing you both health, happiness and peace.

Michael

It was very difficult to find a way for me to convert to Judaism. We had almost given up, when we by chance happened upon Rabbi Alpern’s website. After I spoke to Rabbi Alpern, I immediately knew that I wanted to go through the study and guidance under him. Rabbi Alpern gave me plenty of support, encouragement and an interesting study list, in the year following up to my conversion. The conversion itself was a very special and meaningful experience, and our Jewish wedding was a beautiful, joyful event that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

We are very happy to be part of Rabbi Alpern and Karen’s multi-cultural congregation.

Kristin and Gary

Antwerp, Belgium

Understanding, Accepting. Inspiring. These are just a few of the words that help describe Rabbi Alpern and his wife,Karen. Together they have made our family and even stronger and more caring unit. The compassion and understanding they have continued to exhibit have helped shape our family’s thinking and way of life. Their acceptance of a variety of beliefs and customs has proven to be beneficial to us as well as to our loved ones. As we prepared to marry, Rabbi Alpern and his wife provided guidance, wisdom, and advice to make a plan for our ceremony. With their support we had a beautiful and memorable day that included both of our religious traditions. Rabbi Alpern’s inspiring thoughts have graced our family as we celebrated our precious son’s baby naming ritual. We are grateful to have found the rabbi and his wife. We look forward to many more celebrations with them. Thank you.

We hope you are well.
Happy New Year

Mark, Mary and now, baby Eli!

We were married for 15 years before we happened to meet the Alperns through another couple. For the first time we discovered a community that raised us up in love and support and encouragement, one where being a non-Jew is not considered second-best. What we appreciate the most is the way that all paths to God are treated with respect and are a source of enlightenment and inspiration that can contribute to a meaningful understanding of God’s creation.

Reg and Gail

Our wedding ceremony in Puerto Rico was an experience beyond our expectations. Half of the people didn’t speak English and the other half didn’t speak Spanish. Rabbi Alpern was able to orchestrate a nicely flowing ceremony with the priest that everybody understood and appreciated. Prior to this event we didn’t know how it would work with a tri-lingual (Hebrew included) and interfaith wedding, but it worked out perfectly! Also Rabbi Alpern is a great dancer.”

Aileen and David

Rabbi Alpern and Temple Shabbat Shalom have become an integral part of our lives. We feel so blessed to not only have him as our Rabbi, but also to be able to call Rabbi and Karen friends. Our wedding ceremony couldn’t have been more perfect and the naming of our sons was one of the most beautiful days we can remember- both thanks to Rabbi Alpern.

Robbie and Andrea

We have had the pleasure of having Rabbi Alpern officiate at not only our daughter’s wedding in June 2006 here in Altoona but also our son’s wedding in Philadelphia in August 2009. While the locations and ceremonies were totally different, Rabbi Alpern was able to bring both families and all who attended together as one “family” as he and performed two beautiful ceremonies that we still think about today. More recently, Rabbi Alpern helped us with the naming of our two wonderful twin grandsons- Connor and Grant. In effect, Rabbi has seen the product of what he has helped to bring together in our family. We consider Rabbi and his wife Karen part of our family and hope to have them with us for all of our life-cycle family events.

Steve and Amy

Thank you much for being a part of our special day! Even though we’ve only known you guys for less than a year, you have both become very special people in our lives. You accepted us and helped us build a ceremony that not only recognized both of our faiths, but was also a great reflection of us as a couple. We are truly grateful for that.

Thanks again,

Bri and Adam

Rabbi Alpern,

We just wanted to thank you for a wonderful ceremony. It was exactly what we had envisioned and desired. We received nothing but praise about the ceremony. Thank you for guiding us through such a lovely day.
All the Best,

Lynnie and Andy