Blogs

By Donald Liebenson, Special to the Tribune
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Congregation B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim is hosting an Israeli artisan event on Aug. 24.

Jewelry, Judaica and other crafted items by Israeli artists will be on sale between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the temple, 1201 Lake Cook Road in Deerfield.

The public is invited and all money will go to the artists, said Harold Schneider, chairman of the congregation's Israel committee.

Nine other area congregations are joining with BJBE to raise awareness of the event: Temple Chai and Beth Judea in Long Grove, Am Shalom and North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, B'Chavana congregation, Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, Am Yisrael Congregation in Northfield, Lakeside Congregation in Highland Park and Congregation Beth Am in Buffalo Grove.

The artisan event was the inspiration of Jerusalem-based artist Ori Gabrielo, who has local ties with BJBE Rabbi Karyn Kedar as well as with Moriah Congregation in Deerfield, where he has participated in that congregation's annual Judaica fair.

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Steve Sadin | For Sun-Times Media | @SadinSteve July 15 12:25 p.m.

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Dear friends,

I'm home. I will be speaking about Israel during our Friday night service at 6:30 pm, but wanted to share this with you in the meantime:

Fear

It’s an odd thing. The fear that sends your heart to race, your mind to cloud. But it’s not like that. We are not afraid. In that regard each of us is a warrior. Trained to suppress the fear that says, save yourself, run, hide, for the love of God save yourself. We do not run. We do not hide. We go about the day, a cup of coffee with friend, a final exam. Meetings at work continue, carpool, weddings, a run to the store to buy challah for Shabbat. And in these millions of ordinary moments, our ears listen, eyes search; if a siren would come now, no now, even now, where’s the best place to go? And a plan is made, just like you plan a dinner party, dividing

Please click here for full story in Reform Judaism Magazine

Home/Summer 2014

by Karyn Kedar

"In this space, we elevate ordinary interactions into ones filled with holiness."
Image courtesy of Finegold Alexander Architects.

In 2003, B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim (BJBE), then located in Glenview, Illinois, began a process that transformed us from a stagnating into a thriving community. The key to our success was articulating a vision of what we aspired BJBE to become:a values-based congregation driven by the mission to help individuals find meaning and purpose in their lives.

That vision helped us arrive at five core Jewish values—Torah/Transformational Learning, Avodah/Awakening the Spirit,Gemilut Chasadim/A Culture of Giving, Community, and Israel.

Please click link here to go to full story on ejewishphilanthropy.com

Communities of Practice: Where Commencement is Really a Beginning

Posted on JULY 10, 2014
 Written by Karee Bilsky and Jill Abbey-Clark