INSIDE THIS ISSUE Holiday Boutique ...................................... 2 President’s Message.................................. 3 Israel Trip .................................................... 4 New Members & News .......................... 5 50th Anniversary ................................... 6-7 Hineynu ................................................... 8-9 Youth & Young Family Programming.10 B’nai Mitzvah ............................................ 11 School ........................................................ 12 SKIP ............................................................ 13 Adult Education/Programming............. 14 HAZAK/Melton ....................................... 15 Sisterhood........................................... 16-17 Men’s Club ................................................ 18 Keruv ......................................................... 19 Milestones ................................................. 20 Birthdays & Anniversaries..................... 21 Donations ........................................... 22-23 See What’s Happening at CBS ............ 24 Yahrzeits .................................................. 25 Ads ........................................................ 26-27 Service Times ........................................... 28
Rabbi ................................................... Aaron Melman Cantor ..................................................Steven Stoehr Assistant Rabbi ..................................... Ari Averbach Executive Director ............................ Michael Garlin Director of Jewish Life & Learning ................................................. Leann Blue Director of Education .......................... Stacy Ybarra Ritual Director ............. Cantor Raquel P. Gershon Director of Youth Activities................ Matt Rissien Controller ......................................... Susan Karlinsky President ......................................... Debbie Solomon Sisterhood President..........................Leatte Gelfeld Men’s Club President ................................. Dan Sher USY President ................................ David Zelkowitz
Rabbi Emeritus .......................................Carl Wolkin Executive Director Emeritus .................................... Harvey Gold, FSA z’l Director of Education Emeritus ................... Rabbi Sander J. Mussman, RJE
SHALOM INFO Shalom is published monthly by Congregation Beth Shalom, 3433 Walters, Northbrook, Illinois 60062-3298 for the exclusive use of its members and staff. All material contained herein is the property of Congregation Beth Shalom.
NOVEMBER 2017 • VOLUME 56 ISSUE 26
NOVEMBER 2017 • VOLUME 56 ISSUE 26 Rabbi Averbach
RABBI AVERBACH’S REVELATIONS
There is a reason that cultures around the world celebrate some form of Thanksgiving around November. During the spring, everything is so promising – new buds on trees, everything turning green – it is too easy to be grateful. The world feels like a Disney film, where some mornings, birds come chirping by your window and the flowers outside your home seem to dance. We feel easy gratitude every day as we imagine all the potentiality in the world. In the summer, it might be sweltering, but we see spring’s possibilities become realities. The thought of winter, of darkness and frozen conditions, disappears and seems a distant memory, almost impossible to fathom as we sit in the air conditioning. It is only with the onset of late autumn, as we become aware of the changing world, as we see darkness settling in earlier and earlier, as we see leaves change colors and then fall, reminding us of what is certainly to come, as we finish our harvests and realize that we have enough food to make it through the winter, that we can truly know gratitude. When times are uncertain, we are reminded of
how lucky we are. As adults, we forget (or ignore) what Thanksgiving means historically, but we remember what it means symbolically. It is the reminder to give thanks, but beyond that, it is the reminder to look for all the things to be grateful for. Over the course of the month, make a list (on this paper, if you are holding a hard copy of the bulletin) of people and things you are truly grateful to have in your life. Given the time and energy, we will recall the minor miracles, the unabashed decency, the strangers who forgave us, the brilliant stories, all those details which usually slip our mind. When everyone is looking at you on Thanksgiving afternoon, awaiting your wisdom, instead of saying the same thing as last year and the year before, you’ll have deeper ideas. And those at your festive table will be appreciative of your thoughtful and honest reflection.
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