For up-to-date news on Makom Shalom Mitziut events you can also read our latest newsletter
or check the M-S-M Facebook Group

Click here to join our congregation
(or simply donate to us)

COMING UP AT MAKOM SHALOM MITZIUT….

Recently at Makom Shalom Mitziut

Shabbat Service on Friday, October 9, at 7:30 pm led by Rabbis Menachem Cohen and Ezra Kiers. The Service was be followed by an oneg.

At Broadway United Methodist Church, 3338 N Broadway in Chicago.

Kabbalat Shabbat and Selichot Service, Friday August 14, 7:30pm

Led by Rabbi Menachem and cantorial soloist Eli Newell.

Loyola Beach Park (Lunt at the lake)
bring a chair and snack to share at oneg

Selichot are prayers and poems about repentance. They are said at various times during the year, most notably in the lead-up to High Holy Days.

In the Sephardic tradition this lead-up period starts at the beginning of Elul. Our congregation follows Ashkenazi customs, where Selichot is a few weeks later. But as our monthly Shabbat service coincidentally aligned with Elul, used this opportunity to observe Selichot at the same time. 

Community Passover Second-Night Seder

Information, sign-up, Passover food rules are here: community seder

In person at Beit Yichud, 6932 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago. 6:30 - 8:30 PM

We are suggesting $10 per person donation, but nobody will be turned away.
You can donate here: donations and events.

Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88641542795?pwd=LzdOalZsaEJoL2NTb1VKS2xOL1JwUT09

By Phone: Meeting ID: 886 4154 2795, Passcode: 950181

312-626-6799 (Chicago)

 One tap mobile: +13126266799,,88641542795#,,,,*950181# US (Chicago)

Leah Shoshanah led a song circle!
Saturday, Feb 21

Rabbi Menachem’s 2nd Bar-Mitzvah.

An adult (a rabbi!) experiences spiritual growth by doing the bar-mitzvah ceremony again.

And an introduction to the Magic Mitzvah project, whereby adults who missed a Bar/Bat-Mitzvah can have an opportunity to experience one.

The details are here.

Saturday, Feb 7, at United church of Rogers Park, 1545 W. Morse in Chicago.

For those unable to attend in person, Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88641542795?pwd=LzdOalZsaEJoL2NTb1VKS2xOL1JwUT09

By Phone: 312-626-6799 (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 886 4154 2795, Passcode: 950181

 One tap mobile: +13126266799,,88641542795#,,,,*950181# US (Chicago)

Recent Book Club:
The Yid, by Paul Goldberg.
A plot to assassinate Stalin in 1953, after he attempts a pogrom to exterminate all of the Jews in Russia. Surprising twists and turns that will keep you reading, and the dark humor is masterful.

We will meet Sunday, Jan 18, 10:30 AM by Zoom.
And even if you don't read the book, you can still join us.

Let's take a mystical journey through the most grounded of acts, eating. Together we will climb the Tree of Life and navigate the Four Worlds of Existence, in a contemplative Kabbalistic Seder. Tu B’Shevat is a time to celebrate and love trees and the Tree of Life! Our tradition guides us to have a mindful eating practice with a variety of fruits and nuts as we integrate practices of the sages, the kabbalists, the Zionists and the modern environmentalists.  

Tickets requred as space is limited.
Further info and tickets here

Song Circle led by Leah Shoshanah

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱. To ask for and even to give. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 in the ancient Hebraic calendar.

𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 8:30 Sat, Sept 13, 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝘁 𝗬𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗱, 𝟲𝟵𝟯𝟮 𝗡 𝗚𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱

Selichot are penitential prayers and poems. That means they are parts of the Jewish liturgy that help us in the process of teshuva, asking and granting forgiveness to our friends, families, neighbors, lovers, bankers, bus drivers, etc. Central to them are the 13 Attributes of Mercy.

𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻. But, we won’t just take pen to paper. Rabbi Menachem will bring magnetic poetry, crayons, comic book catalogues, and so forth to spur our creativity in creating personal prayers/art pieces to help us in the business of forgiveness.

Rabbi Menachem will bring magnetic poetry, crayons, comic book catalogues, and so forth to spur our creativity in creating personal prayers/art pieces to help us in the business of forgiveness. Feel free to bring your favorite journal and pen, books or magazines to cut words and images from, etc. Paper will be provided to make your own little books/zines for your penitential creations. Sharing your creations will be encouraged but not required. 

No experience required. An experience will be provided for (and with) you. 

𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝗵𝘂𝘃𝗮.

Shabbat Friday outdoor evening services in the park.
At Loyola Beach lakefront park in Rogers park.
We welcomed Shabbat among pleasant outdoor surroundings in June, July, and August.

SHAVUOT Ice Cream Social and Learning

Sunday June 1 was our annual Shavuot evening of meditation, study and ice cream. Rabbi Menachm Cohen, Ezra Kiers, and Ina Marks all led teachings and exercises. Together enjoyed the spiritual light that comes with the receiving of the Torah. We ended with ice cream sundaes, as it's customary to consume dairy on Shavuot.

LAG B’OMER FIRE PIT
(and Shabbat)
Shabbat service is usually on the 3rd Friday every month.
This May Shabbat was combined with Lag B’Omer

Our Lag B'Omer celebration was Friday, May 16, at the Lighthouse Park Fire Pit in Evanston.

SHABBAT DINNER CLUB

Recent Shabbat Group dinners were at The Bagel (Jewish), Orange Garden (Chinese), Mild 2 Spicy (an Indian restaurant), La Unica (Peruvian), Antepli (Turkish), and Indie Cafe (Japanese and Thai) in Chicago.

Members and non-members are welcome to join us. There is something for everybody on the menu: gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, etc.

Most recent BOOK CLUBS:

Hazel Says No, by Jessica Berger Gross (November)
One Mile and Two Days before Sunset, by Shimon Adaf (September)
Songs for the Brokenhearted, by Ayelet Tsabari (July)
Not Our Kind, by Kitty Zeldis (May)

One Mile and Two Days before Sunset followed an Israeli who had left academia to become a rock music critic and writer, and then joined a private detective agency. So of course he finds himself poking into the (apparent) suicides of a famous musician and a philosopy professor.

Songs for the Brokenhearted follows an Israeli academic woman as she learns about her late mother’s life as an immigrant from Yemen in Israel’s early days. The songs are a Yemini Jewish womens’ tradition, partly improvised and handed from person to person. And not written down (because the women weren’t taught to read) and not recorded (because women are not important). Very moving. And definitely brokenhearted — she discovers her missing brother had likely been taken by the Israeli authorities and adopted out, along with other poor immigrant Sephardi children in that era.

But nevertheless they persisted, and still meet in groups to share their songs.

Not our Kind by Kitty Zeldis captures the struggles faced by American Jews right after WWII, who were afraid to appear too Jewish as they were still processing the horrors that had just taken place. The Jewish protagonist enters the lofty Park Avenue mansion of a non-Jewish influential family to work with a family member suffering from polio. As she becomes part of the household she encounters many telling surprises.

Community Passover Seder: 2nd night of Passover
Sunday, April 13, 6:30 PM at BUMC

Our festive pot-luck seder in commemoration of our freedom from slavery in Egypt.

PURIM PARTY

This year, we're celebrated Purim the old-fashioned way: with drag! Rabbi Menachem and all of Makom Shalom Mitziut can't wait to welcome you to an extraordinary Purim experience. We'll be joined by a special guest: drag performer Manny Schevitz! Manny Schevitz is equal parts Judaism, glitter, and Pride, and they can't wait to share an unforgettable holiday with the entire Makom Shalom Mitziut community.

Hanukkah Party!
Saturday, December 28.

Illuminating the darkness:  Makom Shalom Mitziut met for our Chanukkah celebration at Beit Yichud Jewish event space. Lighting the candles and being with community was the way to brighten this dark time.

Lunch and Learn with Keshet,
Saturday, January 4, at BUMC

Jackie Maris from Keshet led a discussion on Gender in Jewish Texts, what the Genesis creation story and related commentaries have to say regarding gender identity and sexuality.

Keshet, which works for inclusiveness for all, provided this programming to us after we recently participated in and completed the year-long Shivyon Equality Project to develop Makom Shalom Mitziut's inclusive organizational policies, programming, and cultural practices. 

The first Torah reading of the yearly cycle as Reva Freedman helped us to get close. You (yes, you) can read a few words from the story of creation out of an actual Torah. Reva showed us how text in the scrolls is formatted, how it is written and put together.

Recent Book Clubs:

Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
November 17, Hosted by Joan Minsky.

A skeleton with a mezuzah is discovered at a construction site in an African American neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It is opens a murder mystery from half a century earlier, when the neighborhood was still mostly Jewish. And when Moishe and Chona lived above the grocery store and dance hall, serving the neighborhood with food and celebrations.

𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮'𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗽 𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗸
June 23, Hosted by Joan Minsky

It is the 1930's, Ilana Davita is the daughter of mixed-marriage between a Jewish mother from Poland and an upper class old New England family father. Seeking constancy and comfort in an unsettling turbulent world, Davita takes up Judaism and her harp, while her parents plunge into social and political activism. It is a complex and moving saga.

Recent Shabbat Dinner Club:
Midoori Restaurant, 3310 W Bryn Mawr. Friday, Dec 6.
We had a variety of Japanese foods, from Tempura to Maki to Korean-spiced Chirashi, with much convivial discussion. Consider coming to future dinners, which we will try to hold each month.

HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES, October 2-3 and 11-12
With Rabbi Menachem Cohen, Anita Silvert, and Layni Myers

SHABBAT DINNER AND SERVCES

Friday, September 13, with Rabbi Menachem and Rhonda Levy Wehner at BUMC

Shabbat services, Friday August 2
At Loyola beach in rogers park

On Friday, August 2, at 7:00 pm we welcomed the arrival of Shabbat in the park by Loyola Beach. Rabbi Menachem and Rhonda Levy-Wehner will lead us.

PICNIC which wasn’t in MILLENIUM PARK

The Makom Shalom Mitziut annual picnic scheduled for Saturday, July 13, at Millenium Park was rained out. We met at a restaurant in Edgewater instead. A convivial and fun time was had by all!

outdoors Shabbat services, Friday June 28
Moved indoors due to rain

On Friday, June 28, at 7:00 pm we welcomed the arrival of Shabbat at Loyola Beach Ascher and Marla’s house. Rabbi Menachem and Adam Gottleib led us.

Makom Shalom Mitziut celeberateD Shavout,
Tuesday Night, June 12
following the tradition of late-night Torah study and dairy food

Shavuot Evening: 7:00 PM at Beit Yichud
Tuesday, 11 June

We gathered in person (and on Zoom) for an evening of meditation, study, and ice cream.
All levels of knowledge and experience.
At Beit Yichud, 6932 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago

Shavuot Night: 12:30 AM - 1:15 AM on Zoom
Wedesday, 12 June (very early morning)

Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer, z’l, taught that at chatzot, mid-night on Shavuot, the channels between us and the Divine are as open as they ever get. Chatzot is at 12:50am this year. 

Rabbi Menachem led us on Zoom in a meditation where we had an intimate conversation with the InfiniteEternal.

We gathered at 12:30am and started meditating at 12:45. A little after 1am there was time to process and schmooze.

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗵
𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟲
𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗶 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲m and Magid Al Goldberg
We explored the spiritual meanings of this ancient ritual which started as bringing a measure of Spring barley to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Counting the omer starts at Passover, and ends at Shavuot.
Most of us are not growing barley, and none of us are bringing barley to temples. But the practice persists, with daily meditations keyed to combinations of the different sefirot aspects of our being.

Shabbat Services
Friday, March 1, 7:30 PM
led by Rabbi Menachem and Layni Katz Myers
BUMC, 3338 N Broadway

We experienced Rabbi Menachem’s funky Judaism
and Layni’s unique vocal and musical stylings
The weekly Torah portion was Ki Tisa.
The Israelites build the tabernacle, they worship the golden calf, then Moses smashes the tablets.

We celebrated Purim, including Makom Shalom - Mitziut Merger Celebration
Saturday evening, March 23

— The winning costume was Haman, dressed like Zorro with a wicked mustache.
— The winning Hamantaschen were gluten-free.

— The symbolic wedding was under a Tallit chuppah (see picture), with special versions of the blessings, smashing a styrofoam cup.

We celebrated Tu B’Shvat
The New Year of the Tree(s)
With a Conscious Eating Seder
January 24
Hosted by Makom Shalom Mitziut and Beit Yichud

Here is a great resource for said eating. B'te'avon! http://neohasid.org/resources/tu_bishvat/

Some Events from 2023 and earlier

Shiviti Drum Circle and Hanukkah
led by Al Goldberg
Sunday, Dec 10, 2:00 PM
Beit Yichud, 6932 N. Glenwood
Shviti Drum Circle on Facebook

“When we drum, chant, dance, we may be able to create a confluence of Nefesh, Olam and Shanah and maybe, if we can can, experience a taste of unity, connection, oneness.”

Shabbat Services
Fridays: Dec. 15 and Jan. 19
led by Rabbi Menachem and Rhonda Levy-Wehner
BUMC, 3338 N Broadway

Hanukkah Party
with Maxwell Street Klezmer Quartet
Saturday evening, December 9
At Brookdale home, on Sheridan Road in Chicago

Discussion of Israel-Gaza war
led by Rabbi Chava Bahle
Sunday morning, December 10, 10:30 AM, a Zoom event
We processed our feelings and ideas about the conflict
and our relationship to it as Jews and as citizens of the the world.

——————————————————————————————————————————

For the 2023-24 year dues are an affordable sliding scale, for individuals and for families.
Information is on the membership page.

——————————————————————————————————————————

May 5784 be a good year for you!

We held High Holidays in conjunction with Mitziut.

Our second in-person high holidays since 2019, in collaboration with the Mitziut community.
Rabbi Menachem Cohen with Cantors Layni Katz-Myers and Anita Silvert led services, at BUMC.
Services were hybrid, simultaneously available over zoom

In addition to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur religious services, we had:
— Rev. C.J. Hawking, of Arise Chicago, brought us up to date on justice for marginalized workers in Chicago. In accordance with the Yom Kippur parasha from Leviticus: You shall not defraud your fellow person. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning.
— Ascher Levy led an experiential meditation on forgiveness.
— We had a pre-yizkor remembrance event
— The story of Jonah was hilariously rendered in verse, by Steve Herman

During High Holidays Rabbi Menachem led:
Labryinth Walk and Tashlich.

• Slowly, meditatively, walking a labyrinth is a thousands of year old spiritual practice.
  Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica generously let us walk their labyrinth

• Tashlich is the traditional Jewish ceremony of cleansing yourself of your transgressions, casting them into the water. At the lakefront near Greenleaf.

After High Holidays Maggid Al Goldberg hosted:

Sukkot Celebration: Welcoming The Ushpizin Meditation

We met in the sukkah to engage in the ritual of Welcoming The Ushpizin (The Holy Guests) with a guided meditative experience based on the Hebrew Archetypes of the Sephirot and acknowledging that these holy guests, both male and female, are with us at all times.

Selected Makom Shalom events during the past year:

We had our Makom Shalom COMMUNITY SEDER
2nd Night of Passover, April 6, at BUMC., led by Rabbi Menachem Cohen.

It was a Pesach evening filled with spirituality, conviviality, good food, and quite a bit of wry humor from Makom Shalom’s haggadah. Joined by Rev. Alka Lyall and congregants from Broadway United Methodist Church, as well as members of the Mitziut community.

Shabbat by the Beach (in the park)

Twice! Friday August 4 and June 30.
Rabbi Menachem and Rhonda Levy-Wehner
Lakefront east of Greenleaf in Rogers Park

We had our Makom Shalom Annual Picnic, Saturday, July 29 Millennium Park.

Meeting and schmoozing with people we haven’t seen in a while. Followed by Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus concert of Broadway music.

We celebrated 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘃𝘂𝗼𝘁, Friday evening May 26.

Shavuot is the festival for when the Torah was gifted to the Jewish people and all humanity.
We all brought a Bit of Bible. It was a variety from the sublime (the commandments to forgive debts and take care of the needy) to the opposite (the story of Abraham, Pharaoh, and Sarah used as property).

Shabbat Services with Rabbi Menachem Cohen and Layni Katz Myers
Saturday morning, May 13, at Broadway United Methodist Church
In-person and on zoom.
Warm and wonderful.

Ascher Levy led The Four Worlds and Shabbat
Finding and experiencing the spirituality within Shabbat morning prayers.
The World(s) according to Rabbis Rachel Barenblat and Marcia Prager
Sunday, March 26 on zoom.
Part 2 is coming up.

Shabbat evening service at BUMC
led by Menachem Cohen and Rhonda Levy-Wehner
Friday, April 28 at BUMC

From traditional nigguns to bouncy modern melodies, Rhonda Levy-Wehner moved us through states of happiness and prayerfulness.

We had Shabbat Morning Service at BUMC
Saturday, March 11
Led by Rabbi Menachem Cohen and Cantor Layni Katz Myers
It was so wonderful to sing along with Layni

Shabbat service and social action program on homelessness
Friday, February 17, Led by Dr. Steve Rothschild
We learned about the Bring Chicago Home initiative to increase government policy responses to homelessness, and also how our own person conduct could be aligned with the rules laid out in the week’s Torah portion.

Rabbi Menachem Cohen led a
Tu Bishvat Seder
at BUMC and on Zoom.
The birthday for trees: a spiritual metaphor and an intensely
practical part of all that is good in the world.

Shabbat evening service at BUMC led by Menachem Cohen and Anita Silvert
A Renewal service with Rabbi Cohen’s kind and humanistic drash
and Anita Silvert’s homey and participatory music.
Simultaneously broadcast on zoom.

Torah study at BUMC: Parashat Re-eh.
Reva Freedman led the discussion on parashat Re-eh, a truly juicy portion. Moses gives the Israelites instructions on many issues, including those pertaining to idol worship (forbidden), the laws of kashrut (no blood!), tithes on produce, treatment of slaves, and pilgrimage festivals. We finished with a blessing for the month of Elul, followed by a prayer for healing and Kaddish. And then the traditional hearing of the first blowing of the shofar.

Simchat Torah 5783 at BUMC
Encountering both the text of the Torah and a physical Torah itself.
Everybody had a chance to read a few words from the scrolls.
Led by Reva Freedman

Antisemitism in the Modern Context

Ruth Kaan led a discussion of antisemitism in our modern world.
People related their own experiences with the sometimes amusing, sometimes quite disturbing, ways they have encountered non-Jewish attitudes towards Jews.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Book and Movie Club

Recent movie club discussion: Disobedience
led by Ruth Kaan.
A woman returns to the observant community in London she grew up in, for her father’s funeral, and stays with old friends.

Recent book club: Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer.
Dara Rabinowitz, daughter and grandaughter of Jewish match-makers,
is the successful entrepreneur founder of online dating site J-Mate.
Not that she’s had a lot of success in her dating life.
led by Linda Touchstone

Predecessor book: The Lost Shtetl by Max Gross
A story of a Jewish town in the forests of Poland, left alone by
modern world for nearly a hundred years. Until they were found!
Which turned out to be a mixed blessing.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Music, Jewish learning, and schmoozing with your Makom Shalom community: all very traditional ways to celebrate the holidays

For both visitors and members, Makom Shalom is a place of deep and abiding hope that inspires us to be our best selves. Our services will elevate you at the end of a long work week, with song, meditation, and prayer.  

Our synagogue shares a commitment to Chicago and to racial and economic justice in our city. We do this work as a Jewish, spiritual practice in deep partnership with other faiths. This is how we honor Tikkun Olam, healing the world.

What makes Makom Shalom special?
Our members use these words to explain!

About Makom

Click here to learn more about our community, mission, and advocacy work.