October 8, 2021

Dear Members of Chicago Sinai Congregation,  

As the Officers of the Board of Trustees of Chicago Sinai Congregation, we are writing to share some information regarding an important matter.

As you know, Chicago Sinai, and others in the Jewish Reform Movement, are committed to adopting best practices to promote our ideal of an inclusive house of worship and a workplace that reflects that mission. That’s why earlier this year, we encouraged members of our community to come forward and provide feedback about our clergy, lay leaders and others in positions of power within our community, past or present. 

As part of that process, some concerns have come to the attention of the Officers Committee. We feel strongly that they warrant further investigation. Therefore, we have directed the outside team of professionals hired to receive the concerns to conduct a thorough and comprehensive, fact-based investigation. 

As you can understand, we are not sharing details of these concerns in order to preserve the integrity of the investigative process, and so that the Sinai community may safeguard against any unfair rush to judgment. However, you can be assured that we are addressing the concerns in a diligent manner.

We expect this process to take time and ask for your patience until we have fulfilled our obligation. This is a critical time for our community, but we believe this will ultimately bring us to a better place that cultivates an environment that is reflective of our values of inclusion, compassion, respect and fairness.

During this time, Rabbi Limmer will take a leave of absence. Rabbi Limmer has agreed to use his time on leave, in part, to identify and reflect on the aspects of our spiritual community that may need repair, irrespective of our findings, and to provide feedback on how we may better live up to our ideals of inclusivity and respect for differences. Rabbi Limmer will refresh and ready himself to help us navigate the path of repair while continuing to officiate certain congregant life cycle events. During Rabbi Limmer’s absence, please contact Rabbi Greene at rabbigreene@chicagosinai.org or Rabbi Zinn at rabbizinn@chicagosinai.org for pastoral assistance.  

Our decision to update you on this process is not one we take lightly. Nevertheless, we must be mindful of our responsibility to those individuals who came forward, as well as to our Congregation, our staff and our broader spiritual community. Above all else, we will ensure this investigation is completed with integrity and transparency, in accordance with our values. 

Sincerely, 

The Officers Committee of the Chicago Sinai Board of Trustees

Dr. Alison Tothy, President

Barb Markoff-Eggener, Vice President

Mike Rosenthal, Vice President

Josh Silverman, Secretary

Jason Taylor, Treasurer