The eating, use, or possession of chametz during Pesach is strictly forbidden. Chametz that is not disposed of before Pesach may not be used after the holiday. Such chametz, which has not been destroyed, is locked away and its ownership transferred from us through contractual sale to non-Jews and bought back from them after Passover. You may designate Rabbi Siegel as your agent for the sale of your chametz no later than Wednesday, March 24 at 6PM. Click here to fill out our online form.
Blessings from the BimaMonday, March 15 – Thursday, March 18
Zoom Passover Blessings from the Bima with the Clergy of Anshe Emet.
During the days before Passover, join one of our Anshe Emet Clergy for a private meditation/blessing via Zoom from the privacy of your own home. Congregants may choose one 10-minute time slot from the dates listed, beginning Monday, March 15 — Thursday, March 18. A zoom link will be sent prior to the meeting. Sign up here.
The Temple Mount: A Launchpad for History and HolinessTuesday, March 16 at 1PM
Join Josh Hartuv and Rabbi David Russo for a Special Virtual Tour for Pesach!
As Pesach draws closer, visit the site where Jews for 1,000 years from all over the world would come together to celebrate the holiday. On this Temple Mount virtual tour, we will explore each of the sites on the Temple Mount as well as exploring each layer of history dating back to the times of the Temples that once stood there. Register here.
Contact Amy Karp, or consult your morning Boker Tov and Shabbat Today emails, to obtain the Zoom password for this event: akarp@ansheemet.org
From Our Table to Yours: Pesach EditionTuesday, March 16 at 7:30PM
The Spouses of the Anshe Emet Rabbis will share their favorite Passover traditions and special recipes. Featuring Janet Siegel, Rebecca Russo and Cantor David Berger. Register here.
Contact Amy Karp, or consult your morning Boker Tov and Shabbat Today emails, to obtain the Zoom password for this event: akarp@ansheemet.org
Wednesdayday, March 17 at 8PM
Join Max Handelman to explore ideas and strategies for crafting a seder with young children. We will explore in-person and on-line resources, including the JKids Radio All-Star Musical Passover Seder brought to you by Rick Recht & Company and Anshe Emet! Register in advance for this program.
Thursday, March 18 at 7PM
Join in a musical program that will introduce you to alternative songs and texts to enhance and supplement your seder experience. With Cantor Liz and Emma Rehfeld.
Register in advance for this meeting.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Sunday, March 21 at 3PM
We will be celebrating Pesach on Zoom on March 21st at 3pm. Registration includes a special Gift Box of supplies that can be picked up at Anshe Emet on Thursday March 19th. All 3rd through 5th graders are welcome! Zoom information will be provided to all registrants closer to the event.
Sunday, March 21 at 3:30PM, 4:15PM or 5PM
Join this outdoor, in person experience for families with kids ages 2-5. Meet at on the BZ Field. Come on a guided walk through the story of Passover with your family. Crafts, science experiments, stories and more. This outdoor experience is shine-only. Families will traverse the River Ride in family groups.
$10 per family
Register here.
Tuesday, March 23 at 5:30PM
Join Anshe Emet and Max Handelman and get ready to celebrate Passover in musical style. Make room to dance as we sing and storytell our way through the Passover experience. An amazing way to get ready for your family seder. With your registration you will receive a downloadable home activity kit created by the amazing folks at Jkids Radio.
This event will also be available on our website March 24-April 4—a perfect way to engage the entire family in Seder!
Tuesday, March 23 at 7PM
Who’s going to win? Clergy or Teens? Tune in and find out!!
Contact Sam Isenstein, or refer to your morning Boker Tov and Shabbat Today emails, for your Zoom meeting ID and password for this event: sisenstein@ansheemet.org.
Wednesday, March 24 at 7AM
Morning Minyan followed by Siyyum (completion of study for First Born child) Every year, on the eve of Passover, there is an obligation on firstborn children to have a fast day, expressing their gratefulness in being spared during the 10th plague which struck down the Egyptian firstborns. We celebrate a siyyum, or the completion of a significant amount of Torah study, which is followed by a celebratory meal in lieu of the fast. The annual siyyum is supported by the Jack Goldman Siyyum Fund. Jack Goldman was deeply immersed in Torah study, and specifically in his study of a page of Talmud every day (daf yomi), an incredibly challenging endeavor. We are so honored in our Anshe Emet community to celebrate the completion of the first chapter of Masechet Brachot by Keelan Armstrong. Morning Minyan (Meeting ID: 689 962 027). Contact Naomi Weiss Weil or Hazzan Berke (or refer to your morning Boker Tov or Shabbat Today emails) for Minyan Zoom Password.
Thursday, March 25 at 6:30PM
Inviting all Families with kids who go to bed before dark – join Max Handelman and family on the search for Chametz! Join Team Max or Team Jacob – help hide the chametz in their home and then search together. Which team will find the chametz first? Search along at home too! You will need: Flashlight and/or a candle 10 pieces of bread Paper bag (lunch sack size) Wooden spoon (mixing spoon or ice cream size, either is fine) Large Feather. You can order a kit here.
You’ll want to be mobile, so consider joining the search on your phone! Info about after-dark bidikat chametz and info about biur chametz. Register in advance for this program.
Thursday, March 25 at 8:30PM
Join Cantor Berke in the ritual or searching for chametz in the house. Grab your flashlight and join in the search via zoom. Register in advance for this program.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Friday, March 26 at 8:30AM – 10:30AM
Before Pesach, there is a custom to do bedikat chametz—to hide ten pieces of bread around one’s house, and then find them. And the following day, to do biur chametz—to burn those pieces of bread. We are excited to offer you the chance to do biur chametz at Anshe Emet.
Contact Amy Karp to learn more: akarp@ansheemet.org
Post Monday, March 29 & Tuesday, March 30
Who’s got the most amazing Matzah Pizza? Create your own Matzah Pizza and send a picture to Sam at sisenstein@ansheemet.org or tag YAD on Instagram. Voting takes place Wednesday, April 1. Prizes for top 3 pizza’s!
Interested in becoming a member?
Membership to Anshe Emet gives you access to all of our programs at a reduced price. If you would like to learn more about the advantages available to you and/or your family, contact our Membership Director, Amy Karp at 773.868.5139 | akarp@ansheemet.org
An Anshe Emet Synagogue program. Part of our Stand Up to Hate Series.
Thursday, February 18, 2021
With guests: Noam Bentov, Johns Hopkins University; Erez Cohen, University of Illinois; Rabbi Aaron Lerner, UCLA; Tilly Shemer, University of Michigan; Aaron Weil, University of Central Florida.
Tuesday, February 9
A discussion moderated by Rabbi Michael Siegel, with guests, Blake Flayton, of George Washington University and Rose Ritch of University of Southern California.
Tuesday, February 2
Join Rabbi Josh Warshawsky “backstage” as we discuss the stories behind the music, deepen our understanding of the wisdom of our tradition, and sing out with a newfound understanding of the words we bring into the world.
Wednesday, January 27
In the early 1900s, businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald uses his considerable wealth to build more than 5,000 schools to help African-Americans in the South. Panelists include: Rabbi Michael Siegel, Sr. Rabbi of Anshe Emet Synagogue; Pastor Chris Harris, Bright Star Community Outreach; Aviva Kempner, Director of the film, Rosenwald; Barbara Bowman, Early Childhood Education Advocate; Peter Ascoli, Grandson of Julius Rosenwald.
Tuesday, January 26
Hear special guest, Laurence Bolotin, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee.
Thursday, January 21
See our Thursday, January 21, cooking class with Amy Zitelman.
Looking to the oil lamps that lit the Holy Temple Menorah, we’ll ask: What is a kli – a holy vessel? What does it mean that all people are created in G*d’s image? Are we still holy when our bodies break down?” For 30 years, Tracie Bernstein has worked in the US and Israel to help people access meaningful Jewish experiences. Her NTS Virtual Workshops provide adults Jewish spiritual conversation and context relevant to our lives.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Learn how to make Sephardic Chanukah Honey Balls with Chef and Anshe Emet member, Stephanie Goldfarb.
Wednesday, December 16 , 2020
See our latest Israel Tour with Josh Hartuv and Rabbi Russo. The battles and miracles of the Maccabean warriors led to the Hasmonean Dynasty, the last period of independent Jewish rule in Israel for over 2,000 years. Using songs, interactive games, and stories, this experience explores the personalities, sites, and battles that make the heroes of Chanukah so important and interesting to this day.
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Israel continues to be a leader at the cutting edge of global cancer research. The bulk of the work that ICRF supports is in basic research; that is, research to uncover the molecular biological events that lead to cancer in order to prevent or reverse the process. Join Dr. Gary Grad, Oncologist and board member of the ICRF of Chicago and the international ICRF board for the last two years as we learn about breakthroughs by Israeli scientists. This program is brought to AES by the Israel Cancer Research Fund.
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Join the renowned Yale historian, Jon Butler, as he traces the flourishing of organized religion in Manhattan between the 1880s and the 1960s, revealing how faith adapted and thrived in the supposed capital of American secularism. In Gilded Age Manhattan, Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant leaders agonized over the fate of traditional religious practice amidst massive immigration, the anonymity of urban life, and modernity’s rationalism, bureaucratization, and professionalization.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Avi Jorisch is the author of Thou Shalt Innovate: Stories of Israeli Innovation and Inspiration, which profiles wondrous Israeli innovations that are collectively changing the lives of billions of people around the world and explores why Israeli innovators of all faiths feel compelled to make the world better. This is the story of how Israelis are helping to feed the hungry, cure the sick, protect the defenseless, and make the desert bloom. Israel is playing a disproportionate role in helping solve some of the world’s biggest challenges by tapping into the nation’s soul: the spirit of tikkun olam – the Jewish concept of repairing the world. From Thursday, October 29, 2020.
Join Rabbi Siegel and Hazzan Berke as they introduce Hoshanot and its meaning as well as learning the tunes used for the special Hoshanot. From Friday, October 9, 2020.
The Anshe Emet Sisterhood explores the evolving tradition of head coverings from headbands, falls, snoods, mitpachat, berets, hats, tichels and sheitels with Rabbi Marianne Novak.
This tour, led by Josh Hartuv, looks at everything from the most ancient evidence found of practicing Sukkot and the Tanakh’s description of the holiday to the colorful and diverse customs of Sukkot today in Israel and around the Jewish world.
Hazzan Elizabeth Berke is joined by special musical guest, Joey Weisenberg, Founder and Co-Director of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute. This program is part of our Pillars of Conversation Series for Elul. From Wednesday, September 2, 2020.
See the spouses of the AES Rabbis will share their favorite Holiday traditions and special recipes. Featuring Janet Siegel, Rebecca Russo and Cantor David Berger. From Thursday, August 27, 2020. View all three recipes here.
See how has Israel responded to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic? Joseph Gitler is the Founder and Chairman of Leket Israel, the National Food Bank in Israel. From Monday, August 24, 2020.
See this engaging discussion on the topic, The Big Sorry: Reflections on Forgiveness, led by Rabbi Michael Siegel and Dr. Erica Brown.
See our Sunday, August 23 program with Anshe Emet’s very own beekeeper, Leonard Rau, as he shows us his amazing collection of hives and discusses the process of making honey, as we enter the sweetness of the Elul season.
See our virtual tour, from Tuesday, August 18. What began as the region’s first start-up, the Jaffa Orange set the ancient city on the path toward modernity. This tour explores the idea of the “First Hebrew City” and examines the reality of how Tel Aviv accomplished its mission.
AES member Barbara Gressel moderates this important discussion with Anshe Emet’s Rabbis, Siegel, Chankin-Gould and Russo about Anshe Emet’s plans for Elul and the High Holy Days. From Thursday, August 23.
See our program from Thursday, August 13, with Koleinu, our Racial Justice Committee, as we welcome community leader and AES member, Tani Prell, for this special Racial Justice Training. Our synagogue’s community, and the Jewish community as a whole, are ever growing in their diversity. With an estimated 12-15% of North American Jews identifying as Jews of Color, discussions of race are vital to a thriving and inclusive Jewish future. Join Tani Prell to explore topics of race, privilege and the intersections of race and Judaism.
See our virtual tour, from Tuesday, August 18. What began as the region’s first start-up, the Jaffa Orange set the ancient city on the path toward modernity. This tour explores the idea of the “First Hebrew City” and examines the reality of how Tel Aviv accomplished its mission.
AES member Barbara Gressel moderates this important discussion with Anshe Emet’s Rabbis, Siegel, Chankin-Gould and Russo about Anshe Emet’s plans for Elul and the High Holy Days. From Thursday, August 23.
See our program from Thursday, August 13, with Koleinu, our Racial Justice Committee, as we welcome community leader and AES member, Tani Prell, for this special Racial Justice Training. Our synagogue’s community, and the Jewish community as a whole, are ever growing in their diversity. With an estimated 12-15% of North American Jews identifying as Jews of Color, discussions of race are vital to a thriving and inclusive Jewish future. Join Tani Prell to explore topics of race, privilege and the intersections of race and Judaism.
See our event from Tuesday, August 11 with Debra Gittler, Founder and Executive Director of ConTextos, as she discusses how her Jewish values inform her work with young people affected by street violence, poverty and trauma in Chicago, in schools, reentry, workforce development and Cook County Jail. Debra, joined by her colleagues Johnny Page and Darrius McCarty, talks with Rabbi Michael Siegel about the potential of writing and storytelling to promote healing amongst writers, and the power of story to build bridges and complicate prevailing assumptions.
See our recent virtual tour with Josh Hartuv and Rabbi David Russo. The story of Jerusalem is that of a city of glorious periods of prominence and fame combined with infamous violent destructions. From King David to Rome, this tour will look at the waves of this pattern over the city’s first millennium.
See our recent Sisterhood program and learn how to make a delicious Cheesecake and other great eats!
See our discussion from Tuesday, July 7, featuring Rabbi Siegel, Lisa Sharon Harper (Speaker, Writer, Activist, Artist), Pastor Chris Harris (Bright Star Church in Bronzeville), and Rev. Rob W. Lee IV (Author, Activist, Commentator, Professor and Preacher) on the topic of monuments in our current cultural climate.
See our discussion from Thursday, June 25, featuring Rabbi Siegel and special guests, Jane Shapiro, Director of Orot Center for New Jewish Learning, and Rabbi Karyn Kedar of B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim, on spirituality in our current state of being.
See our discussion from Thursday, June 18, featuring Dr. Curtis Weiss, a pulmonary and critical care physician working on the front-lines with COVID-19 patients, and Dani Lazar, Executive Director of Research and Evaluation at Access Community Health Network. Dani is also a part of the Anshe Emet Re-Opening Committee. Topic: In Our Current State of The COVID-19 Pandemic: What Should We Expect Next?
See our discussion from Thursday, June 11, featuring Rabbi Michael Siegel and Lonnie Nasatir, President of the Jewish United Fund, on the topic, The future of the Jewish United Fund and the Chicago Jewish Community.
See Rabbi Michael Siegel join Pastor James T. Meeks from Salem Baptist Church, Pastor Chris Harris from Bright Star Church Chicago, and Rabbi Ari Hart from Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue, for the Salem Baptist Church event, Faith in Crisis, from Wednesday, June 10.
See our discussion from Thursday, June 4, featuring Rabbi Michael Siegel and Howard Tullman on the topic, The future of technology and how it will apply to the synagogue.
See our program from Wednesday, May 20, featuring Rabbi Siegel and special guest and scholar, Dr. Ron Wolfson:
See our program from Tuesday, May 19, featuring Hazzan Mizrahi, Cantor Elizabeth Berke and Naomi Wiess-Weil:
See our program from Tuesday, May 19 with Rabbi David Russo and his brother, and professional Israeli tour guide, Josh Hartuv:
See our program from Thursday, April 30 with Rabbi D’ror Chankin-Gould and Dr. Avi Rose:
See our program from Wednesday, April 29 with Yossi Alhadif from La Shuk Street Food, a local Middle Eastern restaurant:
See our program from Wednesday, April 29:
See our virtual tour of significant sites for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, from Tuesday, April 28, led by Rabbi Russo and his brother, Israeli tour guide Josh Hartuv.
