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Immersive Experiences

Immersive Experiences

This coming Thursday evening marks the beginning of Lag BaOmer. This joyous holiday falls on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot. The holiday of Lag BaOmer is associated with mysticism and learning, along with picnics and bonfires. As we approach Lag BaOmer this year, I am reflecting on the impact of immersive experiences. As summer is approaching, and many of our students are looking ahead to returning to summer camp, we k

Volunteer Spotlight: Mark Warnaar and Susan Bertocchi

Volunteer Spotlight: Mark Warnaar and Susan Bertocchi

If you’ve come to one of Emanuel Congregation’s beloved Share Shabbat dinners over the past 16 years, you’ve enjoyed the cooking of Mark Warnaar. Mark, who is a restaurant-trained chef, and a talented team of volunteers have been cooking and serving dinner to approximately 150 hungry congregation members each month. His wife, Susan Bertocchi, manages the flow of the meal and helps with the prep work. The couple began volunteering soon after joining the congregation with their

Lador Vador

Lador Vador

Shalom Chevrei: As a legacy congregation, we understand the power of lador vador, intergenerational connection. For 141 years, Emanuel has practiced this sacred intergenerationality and remained resilient because of it. Lador vador is in our communal DNA; it makes up our collective identity as a congregation. One powerful outcome of lador vador is just how beloved Herman and Lotte Schaalman remain in our hearts. We first met them in 1956 when Rabbi Schaalman succeeded Rabbi L

Volunteer Spotlight: Emanuel Stitching Ladies

Volunteer Spotlight: Emanuel Stitching Ladies

The Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t slowed down Emanuel Congregation’s Stitching Ladies. Although the group has been unable to meet in person since March 2020, the more than two dozen members have continued to make handcrafted items for Chicagoans in need. In total, they donated 798 items in 2020. “I think the group has not skipped a beat,” says Patricia Levine. “Sandy Pakin, our group leader, saw the challenge of quarantine and adapted us all to Zoom. She kept our same schedule, he

Journeying to Shavuot

Journeying to Shavuot

Dear Friends, I am writing in the afterglow of our recent Pesach celebrations. Universally recognized as one of, if not the most embraced of our traditions, the rhythm and wisdom of Judaism insist that Passover, that leaving Egypt is not the endpoint, the climax of our story. Rather, the goal of our journey is to arrive at and then to carry out the mission entrusted to us at Mount Sinai. Put simply, the heart of Passover is to take us to Shavuot. And while it is relatively ea

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