INSIDE THIS ISSUE CBS Annual Meeting/Slate ...................... 2 President’s Message.................................. 3 Cantor’s Notes.......................................... 4 Shavuot Schedule ...................................... 5 Fundraising .................................................. 6 ShabbaTONE ............................................. 7 Youth/B’nai Mitzvah ................................. 8 Maccabiah Games ..................................... 9 Israel Solidarity Day ............................... 10 Hineynu Kickoff Party Invitation ......... 11 HAZAK ..................................................... 12 Adult Education/Programming............. 13 Anniversaries/Birthdays ......................... 14 Calendar .................................................... 15 Keruv ......................................................... 16 Library........................................................ 17 Sisterhood........................................... 18-19 Men’s Club .......................................... 20-21 Donations ........................................... 22-23 Yahrzeits ................................................... 24 Milestones ................................................. 25 Advertisements ................................. 26-27 Candle Lighting and Services................ 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 ......................... David Barany Ritual Director ................................ Raquel Gershon Director of Youth Activities................ Matt Rissien Controller ......................................... Susan Karlinsky President ..........................................Larry Grossman Sisterhood President................................. Beth Sher Men’s Club President ............................Scott Rogoff USY President ................................... Brandon Gitles
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.
MAY 2017 • VOLUME 51, ISSUE 21
MAY 2017 • VOLUME 51, ISSUE 21 Rabbi Averbach
RABBI AVERBACHS REVELATIONS
When I was living in Los Angeles, working endless days in an industry that was losing its excitement with each passing hour, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. My brother called me and asked me to join him at shul. I was a bit surprised – he was not observant and I never knew him to go to synagogue for anything other than high holidays. I explained (curtly) that I had to work. “Leave early one Friday night. Have someone cover your desk. It’s worth it.” Unfortunately, I was not convinced, and I kept right on working until almost midnight. But I figured I would take him up on his offer and attend on a Saturday morning. The synagogue he was referring to was a few blocks away from my apartment, so I walked over. I grew up in a large traditional Conservative synagogue, and I guess that is what I was expecting. This was, at first glance, the opposite. The average age was close to thirty. Folding chairs arranged in a circle in a multipurpose room. (When chairs are arranged in a circle, there really is no back row.) I chose a seat at random, opened my siddur, and started following along with the service. It was both familiar and unrecognizable at the same moment. The melodies were new, but they had somehow already been inside of me. I was able to sing along, despite them not being in the standard nusach of my childhood.
Within a few minutes, I had drunk the Kool-Aid of this new Jewish experiment called IKAR. I figured perhaps I would come back every once in a while, if I ever got out early enough on a Friday night. Then the rabbi began speaking. I was transfixed. She spoke from the heart, from deep reaches in her soul. Before I knew it, I was crying. I don’t think I had ever before cried in a synagogue. She was funny and touching and real. I realized why my brother had tried to convince me to leave work early, why he loved this place. Long story short (too late), I ended up leaving my job in the film industry and began working for Jewish nonprofits, calling IKAR my spiritual home. The young rabbi, the now world -renowned Sharon Brous, will be speaking at CBS on May 18 as our distinguished speaker, and I cannot recommend highly enough the opportunity to learn with her. Jews around the world are currently in the process of counting the Omer – the days between Pesach and Shavuot. Kabbalistically, during these 49 days we find ways to get closer to God, to make ourselves just a tiny bit holier, as we approach Shavuot and receiving the Ten Commandments. Whether or not you are able to join us in learning with Rabbi Brous, I hope that we all take the tiny steps we can to approach a more sanctified daily life. 1