Upcoming Events

Shalom Chevrei:

“A womp bomp a looma ba lomp bam boom!”

Grease is, was, and will always be the word--a word that transformed our beloved Megillat Esther into an amazing Purim shpiel last Saturday night. What a triumphant moment for our community and all who joined in the fun. From our super stage director, Shifra Werch to our talented musical director Ted Yusen; from our amazing cast to our awesome band; from our fabulous party planners Orly Telisman and Betsy Marantz to our marvelous chefs Mark Warnaar, Susan Bertocchi, and their wonderful team; and, from our dedicated staff to our devoted volunteers, we were in the best of hands. What a joy it was to witness the magnificent turn out of Emanuel family and friends and all others who contributed to a beautiful and memorable evening. From the bottom of my heart, I am thankful for this great celebration.

Onto other matters. I am happy to announce that we are moving our Israel Education Initiative forward. At Emanuel Congregation, we value informed, nuanced choice regarding Jewish practice and engagement, and our commitment to learning about Israel is no different. To that end, I invite you to a couple of upcoming events.

Monday, April 1st, 630-830 PM at Anshe Emet Synagogue, 3751 North Broadway, Chicago

(Mini-Crash Course) Sunday, April 28th, 2:00-5:00 PM at Congregation Beth Shalom, 3433 Walters Avenue, Northbrook

(Crash Course 2.0)

Emanuel Congregation has partnered with Stand With Us and the JUF Israel Education Center to offer an important learning opportunity called a CAMPUS CRASH COURSE, which focuses on the challenges many face on campus vis a vis Israel.

Participants will hear a campus climate report from student leaders, discuss pertinent legal issues and student rights, talk about the relationship between intersectionality and modern-day Israel, and learn how to answer difficult questions.

This program is open to high schoolers, college students, parents, grandparents, and general members of the community.

Please refer to the link above for more information and costs associated with the programs.

Sunday, April 7th, 10:30 am, Emanuel Congregation Join us for a special online lesson with Israel educator Rabbi Joel Cohn of Israel (www.israed.org/). With the upcoming elections in Israel immediately following on April 9th, we will learn about the Israeli electoral process, and how it is so different from both the US and Canadian process. Some of the big questions we will consider are:

1) Why the Knesset dissolved, and what does that even mean? 2) Why are there at least 12 parties, while in the US there are only two viable parties? 3) What are the major issues in the campaign? 4) What do the parties think about these issues? 5) How is the Prime Minister chosen? 6) What do the polls predict?

We will stream in the lesson at Emanuel. If it is possible for you to link in wherever else you will be, we’ll let you know. I am told it’s entirely possible. Please rsvp to me, rabbimarantz@emanuelcong.org and I'll be happy to send you the link when it comes.

That’s enough for now, although soon, I will tell you more about our Israel Learning Initiative. Stay tuned.

Make it a day of blessing and be a force for good!