Chicken Soup Bar & Shabbat Shira

Our Chicken Soup Bar, offered prior to the Shabbat Shira worship service, was the perfect remedy for a cold winter night. The bar featured chicken soup and all the "fixings" - matzo balls, noddles, rice and crackers - challah and salad (no entree).

Afterwards Cantor Amy Zussman and David Lornson led a sermon in song on Max Helfman's moving prayer, Shma Koleinu, in honor of Shabbat Shira, or song of Sabbath.

Shabbat Shira commemorates Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt. After crossing the sea, Moses and his sister, Miriam, raise their voices in song to God to give thanks. The sermon in song explored Shma Koleinu in depth, Max Helfman's dramatic organ accompaniment, his thoughtful setting of the Hebrew text to the music and the thrill listeners feel when this special prayer is heard on Yom Kippur.

Shabbat Across America

Congregants celebrated Shabbat with neighbors, extended family and friends. Temple Jeremiah joined 750 congregations across the continent for this special service. Our celebration featured a catered dinner accompanied by lively discussions where we shared our traditions and asked questions. A delicious Oneg Shabbat followed services.

Purim Celebration

Our joyous Purim festivities began with the 6th Annual Shushan Shuffle 5K Run/Walk, proceeds for which benefit SHALVA.

Then our talented trouple of Temple Jeremiah staff and board members recounted their own rendition of the Purim story, complete with greggers and a retelling of the Megillah. This was followed by a supercalifragilistic-expialidocious time at our Purim Carnival featuring games, prizes, Moonwalk, lunch and treats

Erev Purim Celebration

Erev Shavuot Celebration

Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. In keeping with the tradition of studying with the community to re-live the experience at Sinai during this holiday, Temple Jeremiah annually hosts a light dairy dinner, a service and Tikkun (study).

Following dinner, our participants saw the movie, "The Quarrel." This film adaptation of a short story by the Yiddish writer Chaim Grade deals with an argument between an Orthodox rabbi and non-religious Jewish poet, both Holocaust survivors, on the age-old issue of reason versus faith.

Shavuot Service & Yizkor 

Erev Shabbat Service, Installation of 2009/10 Board & Officers, Presentation of Toddie Gray & Diane Mary Katz Scholarship & Gala Oneg Honoring Fern Kamen

Our Shabbat worship service included the installation of our 2009/10 Officers and Board Members. A gala Oneg Shabbat followed in honor of Fern Kamen, who retired as Executive Director after 28 years of service to the Temple Jeremiah community. Click here to see the lyrics of a song Cantor Amy Zussman wrote in tribute to Fern and performed at the Shabbat Service.

In addition, we presented the winner of the Toddie Gray & Diane Mary Katz Scholarship award for 2009, Rachel Ford.

Selichot - "Kol Nidre: Essential Prayer or Cheap Cop-Out?"

Our program included a catered dinner, dessert, a beautiful Havdalah and Selichot service and an explanation of the Kol Nidre prayer. We listened to the haunting strains of Kol Nidre and learned the history of this truly awesome but controversial prayer.

Erev Sukkot Celebration

We welcomed Sukkot with a variety of Jeremiah traditions! Since Sukkot fell on Shabbat, our Tot Shabbat and Erev Shabbat Services were enhanced with a celebration of the Festival of Booths.

Preschoolers and their families were invited to a family-friendly festival filled with music and stories at Tot Shabbat.

This was followed by our traditional "Pizza in the Hut," featuring a pizza dinner and decorating of the congregational Sukkah, and concluded with an Erev Shabbat/Sukkot worship service.

Sukkot Study & Service

Erev Shabbat/Simchat Torah

Shabbat/Simchat Torah

Torah of Our Own Ceremony

Temple Jeremiah kicked off its year-long Torah of Our Project, which involves creating the temple's very own Torah, with a huge celebration featuring music, family entertainment and a talk by theTorah scribe. See the photos and view the video from this exciting event.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service

Temple Jeremiah, in cooperation with the Winnetka Interfaith Council, encompassing 12 houses of worship across the North Shore, hosted this year's service.

Keynote speaker was Rabbi Capers Funnye, head rabbi of the 200-member Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of Chicago.

He is also the first African-American member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, serves on the boards of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and the American Jewish Congress of the Midwest and is active in the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, which reaches out to black Jewish communities outside the United States, such as Beta Israel in Ethiopia and the Igbo Jews in Nigeria.

Rabbi Funnye is a co-founder, with Michelle Stein-Evers and Robin Washington, of the Alliance of Black Jews, which formed in 1995 - and first cousin of First Lady Michelle Obama. Although the idea of African American Jews is sometimes met with skepticism, Rabbi Funnye says, "I am a Jew, and that breaks through all color and ethnic barriers."

Shabbat/Chanukah Celebration