Judith T. Fox, director of education of The Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford, will retire in June. 

Judith Fox with religious school children. Submitted photo

Submitted by The Emanuel Synagogue

Judith T. Fox, a pioneer in Jewish Family Education and Jewish Special Needs education, will be retiring as director of education of The Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford, this June. She will be honored at a retirement celebration Sunday, May 3, 2015, 4 p.m. at the synagogue.

Fox is a pioneer in Jewish family education, winning a Legacy Heritage Award for being an Innovative Educator and beginning The Emanuel Synagogue’s Torat Hayim religious school program based on enabling parents to be their children’s teachers.

She created a program for mainstreaming children with special needs into religious school so that they and their parents can participate in the synagogue community. Fox was also the driving force behind the recently created USY Shelanu, a youth group for Jewish teens with special needs.

Emanuel Synagogue President Ira Henowitz shared that, “Judye is a dedicated and innovative educational leader who has worked tirelessly on one of Emanuel’s core missions – to be a thriving, inclusive sacred community of lifelong Jewish learning. Our Congregation is honored to pay tribute to Judye for her many years of distinguished and outstanding service to our community.”

The retirement celebration for Fox is a family-friendly event based on a cruise theme because she and her husband enjoy cruising. Ticket prices (RSVP by April 17) range from $36 – $180 per adult with a family cap of $85.00. A tribute book (copy due March 30) being created in Fox’s honor will have spaces available for $18 – $360. For more details on the event and tribute book, visit www.emanuelsynagogue.org, email[email protected] or call 860-236-1275.

A vibrant, egalitarian Conservative Jewish community, The Emanuel Synagogue empowers its members its members to seek a meaningful and robust path to Jewish values for everyday living.  Our down-to-earth ambience is a welcome respite from the social pressures of contemporary American life.