Emanuel Congregation | Reform Jewish Synagogue

I am fortunate that, as part of my role here at Emanuel Congregation, I am given the opportunity to serve on faculty at our Union of Reform Judaism’s regional camp, Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI), for two weeks every summer. I look forward to these two weeks all year as I love getting to be a part of the magic of camp. OSRUI is located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, about 2 hours from Chicago. I know it is hard to think about summer when the days are so short and we are st

“Mom, why do you have to go to Arizona for ‘so long’ for work? Can’t you just fly home each night and go back the next morning?” Such a sweet request from my youngest before I left for a conference; however, to be honest, I think his motivation was missing the dog while staying with his dad in my absence. Regardless, I will tell myself that it was because they just love me that much! 😊 I was in Arizona this past November for the national conference for Synagogue Executive Di

Earlier this year, Emanuel Congregation created the Legacy Renewal Team to build a sustainable future for the community and to stabilize the synagogue’s finances. Three members of the Emanuel community—Jonathan Ledsky, Rob Moss, and Glen Spear—have stepped up to lead the team of 30+ congregation members to reimagine Emanuel for the 21st century. “The Legacy Renewal format was Glen’s brainchild,” says Jonathan, “and we convinced [President] David [Rakofsky], at the start of hi