Emanuel Congregation | Reform Jewish Synagogue

Shalom Chevrei: I hope you’re enjoying a zissen Pesach. Have you had a look at our Crowdsourced Seder on YouTube - www.5959online.org. It’s amazing and inspiring. Thank you very much to Leah Jones for your direction and production. And much gratitude to Ted Raichel for an inspiring idea. And to all who participated, I say kol ha-kavod! I appreciate how each of you lifted our zman cheruteinu, our season of freedom. One of my favorite spiritual practices this time of year - as

Some of you might know that my husband, Dustin, and I have been spending a lot of our free time house hunting over the past several months. We haven’t found “the one” quite yet, but we have started gathering moving boxes and have been spending time on weekends slowly filling them with the items around our home that we have decided we can live without for the coming months, until we find ourselves settled somewhere new. As Passover approaches, this packing and impending move s

I’m thrilled to join the Emanuel team to lead 5959, a new community initiative. 5959 is a Jewishly-based cultural and community destination to serve Chicago with programming, speakers, panels and author events. While 5959 is based out of the Emanuel building, 5959 itself will have partners around the city with the goal of helping people find community and connection through events, talks, workshops and other offerings. I’ve been an Emanuel member for many years, and since joi

Dear Friends, Purim in the metaphorical rearview mirror means that Pesach will soon be here. And I would not be surprised in the slightest if you, like me, missed the physical proximity of family and/or friends gathering – not virtually – for the holiday last year. I admit that the commemoration meant a Zoom experience for us that connected family members from Pittsburgh to Portland, from Kansas City to Los Angeles. It unquestionably was different, yet it was also a meaningfu

Shalom Chevrei: The sun is shining. The air is warming. The snow is melting. I dare feel a bit of optimism as we begin seemingly to turn the corner pandemic-wise. Of course, as we approach one year of social distancing, I recognize just how lonely and disconnected some of us feel and have felt throughout; and I honor the passionate yearnings to return to 5959 North Sheridan Road. But I also appreciate just how much we have evolved as a center for Jewish engagement. For those