“If we just sat here, all of us, and cried together today, that might be the most eloquent response to the year we’ve just lived through.” These are the words that Rabbi Rachel Timoner opened with on Rosh Hashanah morning five years ago.  I don’t know about you, but the anticipation leading up to these High Holy Days have felt different than ever before. This year was filled with so much communal grief for the lives of all of the victims of the horrific pogrom of October 7. So much grief for the thousands of innocent victims of the war that began on October 8. This year has been filled with so much fear as Antisemitism continued to rise and then rise again to the surface and explode in our faces, here in America. This year, I prayed and prayed, as did so many of us – that all of...

My Dear Chicago Sinai Community,  As we come together this Kol Nidre evening, I can't help but reflect on the shock and devastation that enveloped us in the wake of October 7. In those heart-wrenching moments, countless of our Israeli brothers and sisters, and many of us, too, found ourselves saying "ayn milim"—there are no words. Yet now, 372 days later, I stand before you with words that I feel compelled to share. I come to you from a place of vulnerability, aware that some of you may resonate with my thoughts while others may not. In this moment of uncertainty, I am reminded of a beautiful Talmudic teaching. The Torah, in recounting the story of the Exodus, tells us that Moses says the redemption will take place “k’Chatzot”—around midnight. This raises an important question: why the word “around”? The Rabbis explain that this ambiguity teaches us something vital: it...

 My first month living in Chicago, on a quiet Friday, I took my bike out at 6:30 in the morning to ride up to Montrose Harbor, because of an instagram post. 7AM, I arrived, completely unsure of an exact location, nervous going to something by myself, scared that I had no idea where in the city I was, yet, as I got closer to the harbor, I saw people walking and biking, together in groups with inner tubes and pool floaties. I locked up my bike and followed the crowds of people towards the water where a few hundred people were jumping into the lake at 7AM. I dumped my things on a step and approached the edge of the water. I was terrified. All of a sudden, I hear an affirming shout- “are you going to jump?” and a young woman and her friends start cheering me on...

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, 2023 – 50 years, to the day, since the outbreak of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. How different the world is today than it was just 50 years ago. And how different things are in Israel today than they were just 50 years ago. In the spring of 1973, Jody and I were spending a semester in Israel. We lived and worked on Kibbutz Givat Chaim Ichud in the Sharon Valley. At least twice a week we used to go for afternoon tea to visit a woman name Lotte Aaron. Lotte was an artist. She spoke several languages, including fluent English, and we used to sit and talk for hours. We became friends. She spoke with pride about her two sons who were both studying in New York. In October of that year, the Yom Kippur war broke out. Lotte’s two sons...

Hashkiveinu Adonai Eloheinu L’shalom V’ha’amideinu Malkeinu L’chayim. Cause us to lie down, Eternal our God, in peace, and raise us up, O Sovereign, to life. Many of us have heard this prayer dozens, if not hundreds, of times.  And, I imagine, like many other things that we see and hear frequently, it’s possible that we never really stopped to think about it.  Hashkiveinu Adonai Eloheinu L’shalom V’ha’amideinu Malkeinu L’chayim.  Cause us to lie down, Eternal our God, in peace, and raise us up, O Sovereign, to life. It is such a simple prayer, such a modest request – let us sleep in peace and wake up alive.  U’fros Aleinu Sukkat Shlomecha and spread over us Your shelter of peace.  It is a basic human plea for protection, for predictable routine, for normalcy, for the world to be the way it ought to be.  It turns out that this prayer, Hashkiveinu...

In 1861 a small group of German Jews were seeking a Jewish community that spoke to the questions of their time. With the age of enlightenment – science and reason – it was important to find a place where they could practice their liberal Judaism free from the perceived-constrictions of Jewish law, yet keeping Judaism a meaningful part of their lives.  This group of German Jews argued that Judaism was actually a progressive religion. That the Torah was written by human beings whose lasting legacy was the ethical teachings of The Prophets. And so with these opportunities at the very inception of the great American Jewish experience – Chicago Sinai Congregation was born. Our founders questioned the very foundations of their faith (and ours), and in doing so, they revolutionized what a synagogue and what Judaism can be.  The revolution did not stop there. Unlike every other contemporary synagogue, at...

Greetings Sinai Family, I’m thrilled to announce that Rabbi Rebecca Benoff will be our next Assistant Rabbi at Sinai, beginning on July 1. She will share rabbinic duties with Interim Rabbi, Michael Weinberg and Associate Rabbi, Amanda Greene. Here is what Rabbi Benoff said in a recent email to us: “I am so excited and honored to be joining the Sinai Community. I was inspired by the way the Congregation has such a rich history and is also looking towards the future. Everyone I spoke to during the interview process was so warm and welcoming and I cannot wait to call Sinai and Chicago home!” Rabbi Benoff has a deep passion for helping people of all ages to feel included. Here is what she said in her personal essay: “Every person with whom I interact, I hope to inspire their Jewish journey to be one of community and belonging. There...

Dear Sinai Family, I hope you had a meaningful Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and a happy Sukkot. Being together in community has been incredibly meaningful this year, for me, and I know for many of you.  The energy at our new members’ events, families at our Religious School pancake kickoff, and the celebrations under the sukkah have brought tremendous energy and renewed connections. Many have asked how to get involved in the ongoing life of Sinai and how best to set the stage for the future. There are three ways: participation in our great worship services and programs; attendance at our first Community Conversation on Sunday, Nov. 6; and joining our lay committees. Our Fall adult learning opportunities are robust, including classes with Reform historian Rabbi Gary Zola and our Rabbi Emeritus Rabbi Howard Berman. How do we know where we are going unless we know where we have...

I understand that our 8 minute drash is to be in the style of something one might hear on the Moth Radio hour. I think I am going to flip that on its head and get the punchline out of the way first.   Why am I Jewish?- The short answer to the question and hence the punchline is I don’t know any other way to be.   My Jewishness is intertwined with my identity, my worldview, my sense of humor, my politics, my spiritual practices, in sum, I don’t know where I end and my Jewishness begins.   Unwinding the meaning of the statement “ I don’t know any other way to be” has unfolded over my lifetime showing up in different ways at different times.   I am a child of the 70’s -Our family belonged to a conservative congregation that like so many others moved from the...

It's so wonderful to see so many faces in here today, compared to an empty room on my computer screen. How does Judaism play a role in my life?  I was telling a good friend of mine, that this is what I was going to be doing this afternoon and she said, "what else is there?" So, I'm going to tell you my story, Judaism plays a role in my life in many ways. I am going to concentrate today on family, nuclear family, extended family, friends, local and national family, and global family. I come from a family where both my parents are active in the Jewish Community. My father came from an Orthodox family and was a first-generation American born. Whereas, my mother was a third-generation American born, and her family was Reform. In 1933, when they got married, it was sort of a mixed marriage. My mother...