INSIDE THIS ISSUE Chanukah Blessings ................................... 2 President’s Message .................................. 3 Cantor’s Notes .......................................... 4 Expressions from the Executive Director ................................. 5 Youth/Young Family Engagement .......... 6 B’nai Mitzvah ............................................... 7 Religious School ..................................... 8-9 Sisterhood Shabbat Havdalah ................. 9 CBS U/ Adult Education/Programming ... 10-11 Sisterhood .......................................... 12-13 Men’s Club ......................................... 14-15 Social Action ............................................ 16 Chanukah at CBS.................................... 17 Shabbat Mornings ............................. 18-19 Calendar ............................................. 20-21 Birthdays and Anniversaries .......... 22-23 Milestones ................................................ 24 Candle Lighting and Service Times .... 25 Donations ........................................... 26-27 Yahrzeits ............................................. 28-29 Ads ....................................................... 30-31 See What’s Happening at CBS ............ 32 Rabbi .................................................... Aaron Melman Senior Cantor ..................................... Steven Stoehr Assistant Rabbi ............................. Warner Ferratier Rabbi Emeritus....................................... Carl Wolkin Executive Director .......................... Susan Karlinsky Director of Jewish Life and Learning .............................................. Leann Blue Director of Education .......................... Stacy Ybarra Director of Youth and Young Family Engagement……..Eric Golberg President ............................................Tanya Solomon Sisterhood President ................... Robyn Rosengard Men’s Club President .......................... Steven Elisco USY President .................................. Ryan Eisenstadt Shalom Designer/Editor...............Deanne Friedman
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.
KISLEV/TEVET 5781| DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021| VOLUME 87 ISSUE 57
RABBI MELMAN’S MINUTES The most well known symbol of Chanukah is the Menorah (more correctly – the Chanukiah) and the holiday is referred to as the Festival of Lights (Chag HaUrim). Yet Chanukah is essentially a celebration of a military victory - one that could not have been expected. After all, it was the small volunteer army of the Jews led by the Maccabees against the mighty SyrianGreek Empire. Judah Maccabee is so revered for his military expertise that a statue of him is at West Point. His innovative military tactics defeated his mighty enemy. Yet the Chanukiah still stands out as the most obvious Chanukah symbol. I think it has to do with our fascination with light. It is such a special and beautiful symbol and it lends itself to many interpretations. Light can dispel darkness and show us the right path. Light means education, culture and purposeful living. It has all the metaphors you could think of. One, which the Rabbis loved to focus on, was the fact that the light of a lamp remains undimmed even if you use it to light dozens of wicks and flames. The candles continue to burn just as brightly and warmly as they did before they were used to light another candle. The Rabbis liken that to a mitzvah. When we give tzedakah, visit the sick, comfort mourners, study Torah or help make a minyan, we not only aren’t diminished – we are actually Rabbi Melman
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strengthened. We feel stronger as a result of the mitzvah we did. Think about it. You may be exhausted when you need to stop by a house to make a minyan but when you leave, you are exhilarated that you made the effort. When we give generously to the causes that are close to us, we feel better about who we are and about our community. There is a great debate in the Talmud about how we should light the Chanukiah. The Academy of Shammai taught that we should start with eight and then diminish the light by one each night. The Academy of Hillel taught that we begin with one candle (plus the Shamash) and we increase each night by one until all eight burn on the final night. Hillel’s argument won out. Why? Because it is difficult to see things as diminishing rather than expanding and growing. Shammai may have been more ‘scientifically’ correct in that the amount of oil must have diminished with each passing day. However, Hillel was correct in suggesting that a person needs to see his or her world as getting brighter and better with each passing day. We continue to live through a very challenging time in our world and we have experienced the most contentious election cycle in our nation’s history. We are Americans and our country and our way of life must be kept sacred. And we are Jews, which means our concern for Israel is always on our minds. We must learn the lessons of the Chanukiah.
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