Tuesday, March 20 | 4 Nisan 5778
The Most Important Number: 100
By now, most of you have heard about Beth Emet’s T’RUMAH Capital Campaign and the exciting renovation plans scheduled for this summer. We have made great progress since we formally launched the Campaign at our Kickoff Celebration last March. As co-chairs of the Campaign, we would like to share some important numbers about the Campaign and our progress to-date:
1999: Year of last Beth Emet Capital Campaign
7.5: Average number of years between capital campaigns for nonprofit organizations
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6.13: Our Goal: To raise at least $6.13 Million (Allocated as follows: 65% Building Renovations / 25% Enhance Beth Emet Foundation / 10% Debt Reduction / Expenses)
4.7: Our progress, part one: That’s right—we have raised over $4.7 million! (77% of our goal!)
3.3: Our progress, part two: $3.3 million in pledges already fulfilled. That’s right—cash collected.
21: The date renovations begin: Monday, May 21 (Mark your calendar for May 18—our Groundbreaking Celebration!)
215: The number of Beth Emet households that have pledged.
100:
THE MOST IMPORTANT NUMBER OF ALL: The T’RUMAH Campaign’s goal of having 100% of Beth Emet households
participate—in whatever way feels good for them.
Your participation is important to our community and the shared sense of purpose we have in maintaining a vibrant Jewish life for our loved ones and friends alike.
We have received pledges ranging in size from small to large. What’s important is that you contribute in a way that it is meaningful to you. Note that pledges may be fulfilled over a three-year period. Also, there are different giving options, including cash, securities, IRA distributions, and other tax-efficient ways. Ask us how.
Email
Shari
or stop us when you see us at Beth Emet. We look forward to speaking with you!
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How can you learn more?
We are beyond excited to see the efforts of this Campaign come to fruition. Come this September our Sanctuary, will have new seats, better acoustics, and a new look. But we are not done. Plans for a new West entrance are underway and more pledges are needed to make this a reality. We encourage everyone to take part in this Campaign. Every gift matters and every gift is important.
Shari Reiches and Jeff Mann
Capital Campaign Co-Chairs
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Israel's Jewish Character at 70: What has been achieved? What are the challenges?
Thursday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Rabbi Naamah Kelman and Dr. Elan Ezrachi will reflect on these questions from their perspectives as leaders of liberal Judaism in Israel and community activists in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Naamah Kelman is the Dean of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem and the first woman ordained in Israel. Her husband, Dr. Elan Ezrachi, is a Jewish Peoplehood specialist and the recent author of a book on Jerusalem's 50 years of complex unification.
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Teens Take The Bima: And The Youth Shall See Visions
Friday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m.
(5:45 p.m. Shabbat Oneg)
Beth Emet teens will deliver the D'var Torah as part of a larger initiative in which synagogues around Chicagoland are turning to our teens to listen to their reflections on the important conversation of gun violence prevention. The following morning, join the March for Our Lives (see details in Around the Congregation).
Passover
Passover begins on Friday, March 30 with the first seder at sundown.
Please note there will be no Kabbalat Shabbat Services on Friday, March 30.
First day of Passover Service
Shabbat, March 31 at 9:30 a.m.
Passover Festival Morning Services (last day of Passover)
Friday, April 6 at 10:00 a.m.
Save the Date: Community Celebration for Cantor Susan Lewis Friedman and Kol Emet Shabbat
Friday, May 4
More details to follow.
Hear past Divrei Torah and Services!
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March for Our Lives
Saturday, March 24
9:30 a.m. Pre-March Interfaith Gathering at University Club (76 E. Monroe, Chicago)
11:00 a.m. March in Grant Park
Beth Emet teens and members can m
eet at the
Dempster Purple Line at 8:30 a.m.
so that we can all go to the march together.
Teens of different backgrounds will
have an incredible opportunity to come together
to discuss gun violence in Chicago. Join NFTY, Reform IL, and our interfaith partners for a Prayer, Learning, and Unity Rally. After the rally, a group will walk to the March for Our Lives together, as one united community. This is an absolutely incredible way to have our voices heard, even though many of us are not yet eligible to vote.
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The Music of Darius Milhaud
Sunday, April 8 at 3:00 p.m.
An afternoon of music by French Jewish composer Darius Milhaud, one of the foremost and prolific 20th century modernist composers, whose classical compositions were heavily influenced by Jazz and Brazilian music. The afternoon features members of Rembrandt Chamber Players; J. Lawrie Bloom, clarinet, and William Buchman, bassoon, of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Beth Emet High Holiday Music Director Dr. Klaus Georg; Cantor David Goldstein of North Shore Congregation Israel; Cantor Susan Lewis Friedman, the Beth Emet Adult Choir, and Pianist Paul Dykstra. No fee. Please
RSVP or call 847-869-4230 ext. 301.
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Enjoy the smash hit musical Hamilton and support Kol Emet: Beth Emet’s Jewish Music Project!
Thursday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m
Purchase tickets to
Hamilton: An American Musical through Beth Emet for the May 10 performance, and a portion of the proceeds will go to Kol Emet: The Jewish Music Project, Beth Emet’s music committee dedicated to providing the congregation and greater Chicago Jewish community with rich Jewish musical experiences. These great tickets are $250 each. To purchase your ticket, contact the
office or at 847-869-4230 ext. 301.
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Purim Spiel 2018 T-Shirts
You asked for them, and we listened! For a short time only, purchase your official Beth Emet Shpietles T-shirt! T-shirts are $12 and available in children's and adult sizes.
Purchase by March 25!
Order now!
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Looking for your 2017 Donor Receipt?
For those who receive their monthly account statements by email, please note your donor receipt was emailed on January 29. All other receipts were mailed at this time as well. If you are looking for your donor receipt, please contact Debbie Gilbert.
Go Green/Paperless! If you would like your monthly account statement to be emailed, please contact Finance Manager,
Debbie Gilbert, or at 847-869-4230 ext. 302.
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Early Childhood and Camp Kayitz Registration Now Open
We are now scheduling individual tours for prospective parents during the school day. Please email
Kathy or call 847-869-4230 ext. 305 to schedule your visit and learn more about our program offerings and Camp Kayitz for summer 2018.
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Beth Emet's Sanctuary Project
on Hiatus for a Couple of Weeks!
New essay's for this year's themed writing project, Sanctuary, will be back on Friday, April 6. If you haven’t had a chance to read them yet,
here is a link to the pieces we have published thus far.
We are now searching for contributions through May. If you had any inclination to contribute, or know someone who might, please let us know!
If you'd like to contribute, please email
Ellen
and/or
David
.
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Pre-Passover Food Collection to Benefit Mary Lou's Place
Through March 27
Mary Lou's Place, the YWCA Evanston's emergency domestic violence shelter for women and their children, is in need of food supplies and personal items. The Tzedakah Committee will be collecting unopened, unexpired, non-perishable food items which will be transported just before Passover begins. Please bring unopened
chametz
(leaven, or food made with leaven) you wish to donate and place them in the wooden bin located in the school entrance hallway. Please note: the shelter also needs personal and household items, including toiletries, new socks for women and children, disposable diapers (especially large sizes), baby wipes, and batteries. Contact
Bluma Stoller
with any questions.
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Soup Kitchen Musician Wanted
Would you like to play background music at the Beth Emet Soup Kitchen on Wednesday evenings on a monthly or bi-monthly basis? Recently, one of the regular Soup Kitchen pianists moved so we are in need of some new musicians!
Each Wednesday throughout the year, over 100 guests come to the Beth Emet Soup Kitchen for a home-style cooked meal made and served by generous volunteers. Every attempt is made to create an atmosphere in the Crown Room that is warm and inviting. This includes a volunteer musician playing background music during the dinner hour on Wednesday from 6-7 pm. Currently, the roster of musicians includes volunteers who play the sax, piano, guitar, and violin.
If you would like to play your instrument at Soup Kitchen or simply learn more, please contact
Lizzie Graham.
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Wednesday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. at Chicago Sinai Congregation (15 W. Delaware Place, Chicago) featuring Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director of RAC
Reform IL, a project of the RAC, is working to collectively organize the Jewish Reform movement and other interested Jews in the Chicagoland area and state-wide to build a more just and compassionate Land of Lincoln for all. We believe a robust, powerful Jewish community made of strong, networked congregations can effectively partner with other diverse communities across lines of faith, race and economic background to help bring about this world we envision.
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Join the Environmental Sustainability Committee
Environmental sustainability has become an important way for organizations to become more efficient, use less energy and protect the environment by having the right practices, materials and equipment. Beth Emet's building renovation program creates a wonderful opportunity to improve Beth Emet's environmental sustainability. The Social Action Committee has formed a Sustainability Sub-Committee which is looking for additional interested congregants to become part of the sub-committee. If you are interested, please contact
Elory Rozner,
Seth Krantz
,or
Mark Schoenfield.
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Beth Emet's Connection to the New Martin Luther King Exhibit at Chicago History Museum
Remembering Dr. King 1929-1968 at the Chicago History Museum invites visitors to walk through a winding gallery that features over 25 photographs depicting key moments in Dr. King’s work and the Civil Rights movement, with a special focus on his time in Chicago. Included in the exhibit is the program from when Dr. King spoke at Beth Emet in 1958.
Read more
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Upcoming Adult Education Courses
Thinking about learning something new? Seeking a bit more in your life? Take an enriching course!
with Linda Schneider
Wednesday, March 21
with Rabbi Burton Cohen
Friday, March 23 at 10:45 a.m.
with Marilyn Price
Saturday, April 7 at 12 noon (following Kahal Service)
with Bekki Harris Kaplan
Saturday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m.
You can register by
clicking here
and you will be directed to a form. Please fill in your birth date (including the slashes between the numbers i.e. 01/01/2017) and your zip code. This will open up a pre-filled form specifically for you to register on. If we do not have your birth date and zip code on file, please contact
Eric
or 847-869-4230 ext. 308.
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Reps. Robyn Gabel and Laura Fine met with teens and parents on Sunday, March 18 and discussed feminism, Judaism politics and more
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Members of Beth Emet's Board of Trustees cooked and served dinner at Wednesday's Soup Kitchen on March 14.
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B'nai Mitzvah
son of Julie Henson
March 24
Deaths
Rabbi Charni Flame Selch
sister of Zach (Tamar) Selch, and aunt of Jordan, Thalia, and Lila
Mazel Tov
Ellie Rosenberg daughter of Jim Rosenberg and Deborah Hamilton has been selected as one of this year's 18 Under 18 Honorees!
18 Under 18: A Celebration of Jewish Teens, is a program
Springboard, JUF, and the Jewish Teen Alliance of Chicago (JTAC) that highlights exceptional teens in our community. These honorees embody the best of what our organizations have to offer and stand out as Jewish role models. The winners were selected from a large pool of strong applicants by a committee of teens and professionals.
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Beth Emet The Free Synagogue
1224 Dempster Street
Evanston, IL 60202
847-869-4230
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