Category: General

A Bike Ride in Israel – Journaling from Israel

DAY 1 I’m very fortunate this year to participate in the fourth annual Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) bike ride in Israel. With friends to visit and new things to see, it is always terrific to be back here. Over the course of a week we’re going to be riding well more than…

Welcome to ShulCloud

Welcome to ShulCloud! Starting on July 1, 2018, Temple Beth Israel Office Staff began using a new data management system called “ShulCloud”. This new system gives our congregation the advantage of offering household accounts to each member household. With this account, you will be able to update your own demographic information, sign up for events,…

The Music of the High Holidays

Last Fall, I had the privilege of speaking at Presbyterian Homes in Evanston. My topic was Music of the High Holy Days. Jews and non-Jews gathered in the Chapel of Westminster Place, as I sang and spoke about traditional melodies for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The staff recorded my session, and graciously gifted me…

You were 9

Seth Kramer shared these words with his son on the day of Aaron’s Bar Mitzvah and has allowed me to share them with our congregation, as we all share our stories during this Centennial Year. For Aaron Kramer on his Bar Mitzvah – 4/14/18 You were 9. 9 years old when you told me you didn’t…

Centennial Celebrations

As a community of meaning, our paths intertwine on so many levels. Part of the Centennial Celebration has been inviting members to the bima on Shabbat services. Read the Words From the Heart of our membership, describing their Jewish journey and how their paths intertwine with the TBI family. 10/13/17 Jolie Rubin 10/20/17 …

If I had a million dollars…

If I had a million dollars… This opening line from an early 1990’s Barenaked Ladies song is one with which many of us can identify. Here at TBI we have our own version of this fantasy. We have lots and lots of programmatic ideas that often have to be relegated to our “wish list” because…

The Optimistic Geniza

“The Geniza looks half full!” I overheard the shout from one of the hundred children as they walked by the Geniza that was dug to celebrate the Temple Beth Israel Centennial. Each child was given the chance to offer a book into the Geniza. Our entire community was welcome to contribute to the…

Wherever we gather, we have Community

On Friday night, August 25, 2017 TBI held Shabbat Worship and dinner at a local park. We have held a couple of Kabbalat Shabbat experiences each summer in this neighborhood park. It is such a great experience with over 200 members, prospective members and friends of members joining in prayer and Shabbat dinner. It was…

A Call for Peace and Community Engagement

On Monday evening, August 14, 2017, I had the great honor to stand in front of a crowd of residents of Skokie and some surrounding communities to address the horrible events this past weekend in Virginia. Only 24 hours earlier, I had received a call from the new rabbi at Skokie Valley Traditional Congregation requesting…

Headed to camp?

I went to resident camp for 8 weeks beginning the summer I turned 9. I am thrilled that so many of OUR TBI kids will be attending Jewish camp.