Rosh Hashanah morning service, with Rabbi Menachem Cohen and cantorial soloist Eli Newell.

At Broadway United Methodist Church and on zoom

Check our tickets page for tickets in advance.

Rosh Hashanah evening service, with Rabbi Menachem Cohen and cantorial soloist Eli Newell.

Followed by apples and honey for a sweet new year.

At Broadway United Methodist Church and on zoom.

Check our tickets page for tickets in advance

Led by Leah Shoshanah

Saturday, August 22, 6-9 pm

Rogers Park location, those who RSVP will get the address.

Please bring a kosher-style (no pork or shellfish) appetizer, main course, or dessert to share.

RSVP to ascher1@ameritech.net.

Come join us for the popular Shabbat in the Park again, Friday evening August 14. Now now with Selichot added in!

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 aligns with Elul, we will use this opportunity to observe Selichot at the same time. 

Our August 14 Shabbat service will again be outside at Loyola Beach Park at 7:30 PM.

Services will be led by Rabbi Menachem, with Eli Newell as cantorial soloist.

A vegetarian potluck oneg/kiddush will be served after services. Please feel free to bring a dish. Fish will be OK to bring. Paper plates and tableware will be provided.

Enter the Loyola Beach parking lot at Greenleaf, east of Sheridan. We will be in the grassy area at the end of Lunt Ave, near the south end of the parking lot (which runs parallel to the lake between Greenleaf and Lunt). We will meet and schmooze before services starting at 7:00.

It's best to bring blankets and/or chairs, as there is no seating provided.

The CTA Red Line and 147 bus have stops nearby.

Come join us at Loyola Beach Park as we welcome Shabbat on Friday evening.

Services will be led by Rabbi Menachem, with Eli Newell as cantorial soloist.

A vegetarian potluck oneg/kiddush will be served after services. Please feel free to bring a dish. Fish will be OK to bring. Paper plates and tableware will be provided.

Bring a blanket or chair. We will meet on the grass.

Enter the Loyola Beach parking lot at Greenleaf, east of Sheridan. We will be in the grassy area at the end of Lunt Ave, near the south end of the parking lot (which runs parallel to the lake between Greenleaf and Lunt)

Join us at 6:30 pm on Saturday August 8 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Grant Park/Millennium Park for Makom Shalom’s annual picnic. We'll meet on the lawn just south of the stage.

The concert featuring the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus in Mozart's Requiem will begin at 7:30. Requiem is a soul stirring work that was left unfinished because of Mozart's early death. While writing this work Mozart expressed his concern that he might be writing a requiem for himself.

The concert will also feature John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1. This symphony was written during the AIDS epidemic and pays tribute to Corigliano's friends and colleagues lost to the disease.

Email cohen.roberta.d@gmail.com to RSVP so we can save you space for your lawn chair or blanket. Bring your favorite picnic foods to eat and enjoy the comraderie. 

On August 7 we will meet for dinner

Our Shabbat Dinner Group will meet at Kie-Gol-Lanee, 5004 N Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL.

The restaurant has a wonderful Oxacan cuisine with many delightful dishes from southern Mexico. The menu includes more traditional items like tacos and tamales with a southern Mexican motif, and quite a few more exotic platters. There are also gluten free and vegetarian menu selections.There's something on the menu for meat lovers, vegetarians, vegans and the gluten free.

There is metered street parking and the 151 Sheridan Bus stops nearby. There is also a Red Line stop in the area.

Members and non-members are welcome to join us as we bentch licht and chow down and visit with each other.

We know that not everyone can make it by 6:00 pm, so get there whenever you can and and if you RSVP we'll save you a place. And please do RSVP so that we can be sure to have enough room for everyone at the table.

RSVP to Ina Marks via text messaging, 773-350-2127.

This event will be led by Rabbi Menachem Cohen and Leah Shoshanah. We will gather around a fire at the Emily Oaks nature center in Skokie.

Join Hazon Eliyahu, the Vision of Elijah, for an embodied ceremony of moving from a place of narrowness to a place of expanse. This experience observes the closing of Tisha b'Av by birthing vision(s) for the Great Song. The Great Song is the union of all our heart-beats, the song of life and the song we will create together as we sing, pray, and move on July 23. 

Tisha b'Av begins at sundown on July 22 and ends at sundown on July 23. This Jewish day is historically one of grieving the destruction of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem. It is said that Tisha b'Av ends with the birthing of the Messiah, which we take to mean the birth of vision for healing of our world. 

We have chosen to offer a ceremony that will aid in the transition from grief to birth, and provide space for tears, singing, movement, and musical joyous expansion. Utilizing meditation, song, and movement we will let go of the narrowness and constriction created by anxiety and fear to arrive at an embodied feeling of a vision for the world to come. We will invite the strength of our prophetic ancestors, Eliyahu and Miriam, drawing their vision into our own being to carry with us as we walk through the world. 

For more information and to sign up: click here.

Rabbi Allen Secher, the founder of our congregation, is the subject of a play to be performed Monday, July 13, at Temple Am Shalom in Glencoe. When the Rabbis Came to Town by Roger Rapoport tells the story of Secher's life as a social justice activist. It focuses on the 1964 arrest of 17 people (16 were rabbis) during a civil rights demonstration and prayer service in St. Augustine, FL. They had traveled to Florida directly from a rabbinical conference when Dr. King appealed for their help from jail.

While in a holding cell, the clergy together wrote a letter titled "Why We Went." On June 19, 1964, two days after the arrests, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress.

Their story will be told in a one-man play with actor Adam Bell as Reb Allen on Monday, July 13, at 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Am Shalom is located at 840 Vernon Ave., Glencoe, IL. Admission is free.

To sign up to attend the play: Register for play

An article on the play, the rabbi, and the events this is all about: Article in JTA

Our next Rosh Chodesh Affiliation Group meeting will take place via Zoom on Sunday, June 14, at 3:00 pm. It will be the close to the month of Av. In the Hebrew calendar the 9th of Av is the end of the fasting period which began in Tammuz, the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Jerusalem. It is also a month symbolizing hope and redemption.

For more information contact Ascher Levy, ascher1@ameritech.net.

Come join us at Loyola Beach Park as we welcome Shabbat on Friday evening.

Services will be led by Rabbi Menachem, with Eli Newell as cantorial soloist.

A vegetarian potluck oneg/kiddush will be served after services. Please feel free to bring a dish. Fish will be OK to bring. Paper plates and tableware will be provided.

Bring a blanket or chair. We will meet on the grass.

Enter the Loyola Beach parking lot at Greenleaf, east of Sheridan. We will be in the grassy area at the end of Lunt Ave, near the south end of the parking lot (which runs parallel to the lake between Greenleaf and Lunt)

Crafts and Conversation, with Wendy Lauter.

Crafts and Conversation is a community crafting circle. Just come and craft whatever you'd like and schmooze and have a good time. Crochet, sketch, whatever … or just join us without being crafty.

We will meet in a Ravenswood location.

RSVP to Wendy by e-mail lausho343@gmail.com

Happy New Years by Maya Arad is a story told by a lifelong collection of letters by an Israeli woman who emigrates to the United States. As the author goes through different stages of her life she shares many valuable insightful observations. And there's so much to be derived from reading between the lines.

We will meet Sunday morning June 21, 10:30 AM, at a home in the Hollywood Park area of Chicago (near NEIU). Write to Joan Minsky to RSVP or for more information: chicagomakom@gmail.com

Come join us at Loyola Beach Park as we welcome Shabbat on Friday evening.

Services will be led by Rabbi Menachem, with Leah Shoshanah as cantorial soloist.

A vegetarian potluck oneg/kiddush will be served after services. Please feel free to bring a dish. Fish will be OK to bring. Paper plates and tableware will be provided.

Bring a blanket or chair. We will meet on the grass.

Enter the Loyola Beach parking lot at Greenleaf, east of Sheridan. We will be in the grassy area at the end of Lunt Ave, near the south end of the parking lot (which runs parallel to the lake between Greenleaf and Lunt)

On June 5 we will meet for dinner

Our Shabbat Dinner Group will meet Friday, June 5, at Cumin, 1039 W Belmont, Chicago, at 6:00 PM.

Cumin is an Indian and Nepali restaurant with a wide variety of meat based and meatless dishes. There's something on the menu for meat lovers, vegetarians, vegans and the gluten free.

There is metered street parking and the CTA Red Line/Brown Line station is nearby.

Members and non-members are welcome to join us as we bentch licht and chow down and visit with each other.

We know that not everyone can make it by 6:00 pm, so get there whenever you can and and if you RSVP we'll save you a place. And please do RSVP so that we can be sure to have enough room for everyone at the table.

RSVP to Ina Marks via text messaging, 773-350-2127.

Crafts and Conversation, with Wendy Lauter.

Crafts and Conversation is a community crafting circle. Just come and craft whatever you'd like and schmooze and have a good time. Crochet, sketch, whatever … or just join us without being crafty.

We will meet in a Ravenswood location.

RSVP to Wendy by e-mail lausho343@gmail.com

On the night of Shavuot we will reconvene online for a mid-night meditation.
It is said the channels between us and the InfiniteEternal are open wider at that time than any other time, making it easier than usual to commune with the Divine. To ask questions and state intentions. 

Zoom:

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

Meeting ID: 886 4154 2795, Passcode: 950181, 312-626-6799

Shavuot is z’man simchateinu/time of our happiness and z’man matan Torah/time of the giving of Torah. In days such as these, it can be difficult to find happiness. 

How do you find and keep joy in difficult times? 

Rabbi Menachem will lead teachings and discussions about happiness and joy, as well as help us prepare to receive Torah. 

Teaching, discussion, and meditation will be followed by a dairy potluck. Why? No one really knows. It’s simply Jewish tradition. Please bring something to share and your lactaid pills. 

Later that evening we will reconvene online for a mid-night meditation. It is said the channels between us and the InfiniteEternal are open wider at that time than any other time, making it easier than usual to commune with the Divine. To ask questions and state intentions. 

Zoom:

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

Meeting ID: 886 4154 2795, Passcode: 950181, 312-626-6799

Our next Rosh Chodesh Affiliation Group meeting will take place via Zoom. It will be the first day of Sivan, the month of the harvest and the month during which Shavuot arrives.

For more information contact Ascher Levy, ascher1@ameritech.net.

Join us for our very special Shabbat Service on Friday, May 8, at 7:30 pm. Rabbi Menachem Cohen and canorial soloist Leah Shoshanah will lead us as we leave our troubles of the week at the door.

The service will be followed by an Oneg. We'll recite our blessings over the wine and bread, and then we'll do some serious shmoozing and noshing.

The service will be at the Rudolph Steiner Center, 4249 N. Lincoln in Chicago. This will give us an opportunity to see whether this new location will meet our needs. There is ample metered and non-metered street parking nearby. There are also buses and a Brown Line stop four blocks away.

See newsletter for Zoom information

We Would Never by Tova Mirvis, meeting at a home in the Hollywood Park neighborhood in Chicago. Information and RSVP to Joan Minsky: chicagomakom@gmail.com

At Ruth's kitchen, Near North Side. The topic is mandel bread! (Which isn't bread, it is dessert.) Information and RSVP to Ruth Kaan: ruthkaan@ameritech.net.

Leah Shoshanah's sing-along circles combine Jewish mysticism with song.

The songs are meant for group singing:

• Songs with few lyrics to help you get in the groove.

• Songs that layer on top of each other in beautiful harmonies.

• Open to all levels of musical experience.

Whether you come to harmonize, hum, or simply rest in the sound, you’re welcome here.

We will observe April yahrzeits at this event.

This song circle will be at a home in Rogers Park. Space is limited.

RSVP to Ascher Levy: ascher1@ameritech.net

Our next Rosh Chodesh Affiliation Group meeting will take place via Zoom. It will be toward the end of the Hebrew month of Nisan and a few days before the start of Iyar, the month of healing and self-refinement. Lag B'Omer comes during this month.

For more information contact Ascher Levy, ascher1@ameritech.net.

Crafts and conversation with Wendy, contact her at lausho343@gmail.com

Crafts and Conversation is a community crafting circle. Participation does not require being a professional artist or crafter. Just come and craft whatever you'd like and have a good time.

Meets at a Ravenswood location

Join Rabbi Menachem Cohen on his spiritual journey as he celebrates a 2nd Bar Mitzvah as an adult.

More information here.

A seder for Tu B’Shevat, the birthday of trees. We will practice mindful eating.

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 required.

More information and tickets here.

Crafts and Conversation group, led by Wendy Lauter.

Crafts and Conversation is a community crafting circle. Participation does not require being a professional artist or crafter. Just come and craft whatever you'd like and have a good time.

E-mail to Wendy for details: lausho343@gmail.com

Get out your silly hats again, or just pick one up, because it’s time for some deep, personal Torah. While wearing silly hats. 

Our December meeting was the Build-A-Blessing Workshop. What better way to spend a rainy Sunday morning than to study Torah, learn about ourselves through art, and craft personalized blessings for our loved ones inspired by the text

But, why silly hats? Because sometimes the best way to go deep is to put aside seriousness and embrace silliness. We will not be studying the great Torah commentators of the ages. Rather, we will go inside to find what the stories we revere mean to each of us. We promise, the Torah we will study together is real and will be treated with respect. Some silly hats will be provided but you are encouraged to bring your own!

We welcome each new Jewish month with intention, creativity, and community.

Through a Jewish framework, this is a place to explore spiritual expression and personal growth.

Everyone is welcome no matter gender, member or not a member.

Write to Ascher for zoom link: ascher1@ameritech.net

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 on zoom.

Please write to chicagomakom@gmail.com if interested and to get the zoom link.