FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 5:30 pm Erev Shabbat Service, followed by Please join us as we spend time dinner together making our building and its SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 grounds look more beautiful than 10:00 am Grace Adelston Bat Mitzvah ever. All ages and abilities are welcome to join. We will have indoor FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 tasks such as vacuuming, dusting, 7:30 pm Erev Shabbat Service polishing silver and going through pamphlets. We will also have minor physical outdoor tasks such as pruning bushes and trees, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 planting flowers, etc. (nothing too labor intense). We will have 10:00 am Egalitarian Traditional Minyan team leaders to work with groups to do certain tasks. Come for the camaraderie FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 and the nosh! 5:30 pm Shabbat Rocks! / Next Dor 7:30 pm Erev Shabbat Service If you intend to work outdoors, please SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 bring gloves and other items for yourself or 7:30 pm Selichot Program & Service others’ use such as rakes, trimmers, etc. If (movie: Groundhog day) you have any questions or would like to be a leader, please contact Art Siegel at SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 [email protected]. Thank you. 3:30 pm Mt. Hope Cemetery Visit & Memorial Service WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 7:30 pm Erev Rosh Hashanah Service THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING . order your LULAV & ETROG for SUKKOT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 TODAY! 9:00 am 1st Day Rosh Hashanah-Egalitarian Traditional Minyan Service 10:00 am Reform Service Order your Lulav and Etrog through the Gift Shop. All sets are kosher and include the Etrog, Lulav, Myrtles, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Willows, and a Lulav bag. 9:00 am 2nd Day Rosh Hashanah-Egalitarian Traditional Minyan Service Standard Set: $40 7:30 pm Erev Shabbat Service Deluxe Set: $60 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 Superior Set: $70 6:00 pm Egalitarian Traditional Minyan Kol Prices include shipping. Nidre 7:30 pm Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) Reform Service Orders with payment must be received by SEPTEMBER 5th. (This is a firm deadline) SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 9:00 am Egalitarian Traditional Minyan Please email your orders to: Service w/Yizkor [email protected]; 10:00 am Reform Morning Service indicate payment type. Checks should be made payable High Holy Days detailed in Schedule. to "Sinai Temple Gift Shop"; please email the gift shop or contact Jessica Kopolow at 217-417-8699 to arrange Look for the full High Holiday Schedule and for credit card payment. Roll of Remembrance form coming in the mail soon. OFFICE HOURS: Monday – Friday, 9:00 am–4:00 pm · 3104 W. Windsor Road · Champaign, IL 61822 (217) 352-8140 · www.sinaitemplecu.org Sinai Temple Bulletin September 2017 ~ Elul/Tishri 5777/5778 Rabbi Alan Cook From the Rabbi’s Desk Some hearts are embittered; As we approach the High Holidays, our Ideals are betrayed and mocked, liturgy famously invokes God as Avinu answers sought in vain, Malkeinu (our Parent, our Ruler). It Life has lost its meaning and value. asks us to imagine that during these May the knowledge that we, too, Days of Awe we are each called to are searching stand in judgment before the Divine Restore our hope, and renew our throne. But maybe these are not the faith. ideas of God that resonate with you. Maybe you have an approach to your I know that Sinai Temple friends and personal theology that varies from the congregants have several different classical rabbinic notions espoused in touchpoints by which you connect to our liturgy. this community. Some seek spiritual fulfillment; others look to us for Jewish A few years ago, Rabbi Mark Dov education for themselves and their Shapiro created a “God Survey” for his children. Some appreciate our social congregation in an effort to explore the programming and family activities; prevailing attitudes that his congregants Mishkan Tefillah, our Reform some seek opportunities to engage in held regarding God. I’ve adapted Rabbi prayerbook, offers this meditation tikkun olam, acts of social justice. Shapiro’s questions and added a few of (originally by Rabbi Robert Kahn; Some worship with us frequently; some my own. I invite you to take a few adapted by Rabbi Chaim Stern) as a find meaning in attending High Holiday minutes to respond to the survey possible introduction to Shabbat worship. (questions can be answered worship: anonymously); I’ll share some of the Whatever your connection to Sinai results in a Yom Kippur sermon. Each of us enters this sanctuary Temple, however frequently or with a different need. infrequently you may find yourself in You can find the survey at http:// the building, the staff and leadership of tinyurl.com/ST5778. Responses are Some hearts are full of peace and Sinai Temple continue to strive to make appreciated by September 8. gratitude, Sinai a place that meets a multitude of Overflowing with love and joy. needs. Our diversity of beliefs and I wish you and all your loved ones a They are eager to confront the day, practices enrich and strengthen us as a sweet and healthy New Year. to make the world a better place. kehillah kedosha, a holy congregation. They are recovering from illness, or L’Shalom, have escaped misfortune. I’ve been thinking a bit about this We rejoice with them. diversity, particularly as it applies to our individual approaches to theology Rabbi Alan Cook Some hearts ache with sorrow; and spirituality. Just as each of us Disappointments weigh heavily on expresses our Judaism in a different them. manner, each of us also approaches Families have been broken; loved God in a different manner. For some, ones lie on a bed of pain; it’s easy to think of God as a nurturing Death has taken a cherished loved parent. Others see God as a powerful one. ruler. Some have no relationship with May our presence and caring bring God at all. them comfort. Mazel Tov to Ira and Lynn Wachtel for completing their cross country ride to raise money for MDA/ALS in honor of Ray Spooner. Below is the News-Gazette article link about their trip. http://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/starting-line/2017-08/ weathering-challenges.html Mazel Tov to Richard Kaplan, who will be invested as the Guy Raymond Jones Chair of Law on September 6th. 2 Sinai Temple Bulletin September 2017 ~ Elul/Tishri 5777/5778 President Rob Ore From the Board SINAI TEMPLE AUGUST 2017 BOARD Tekiah! MEETING The sound of the shofar announces the coming of the High Holidays, the holiest season of our yearly lives, when we The Board voted to do some maintenance in the reconnect with our faith, our fellow Jews and our fellow kitchen; cleaning and replacing the grease traps, humans. It is a time of introspection, of questioning our replacing some of the pilot lights on the stove, and conduct and our values, of recognizing and cleansing our repairing some plumbing in the classrooms. sins, of realigning our lives with G-d and Torah. What a precious gift it is to all of us! Labor of Love is September 4th, from 9 am–12 pm. This is a great opportunity to help get the building ready for I hope you will have the opportunity to join the rest of the the High Holidays. Temple community in experiencing these Days of Awe. The schedule of services is contained in this newsletter and a Three dying Ash trees were removed. separate mailing. A variety of services for people of all ages is planned. Babysitting will also be available. In preparation for the holidays, we’ll be doing our annual clean-up on Labor Day, September 4, the “Labor of Love.” This is a chance to do some much-needed freshening of the Temple interior as well as some gardening outside. The work begins at 9 am, From Social Action and food and hydration will be provided. Hope to see you there! e will be collecting non-perishable food items W once again for the Eastern Illinois Food Bank. There are also opportunities to help with the set-up and other Please pick up your bag after Rosh Hashanah services preparation for the various holiday services, and we welcome your help. We’ll set up chairs for Rosh Hashanah on Sunday, on Thursday, September 23rd, if you would like to September 17. For each service, we’ll need to put out books make a monetary donation there will be envelopes before the service and collect them again after the service. available also. Please return all donations on The day after Yom Kippur, Sunday, October 1, we’ll be Saturday, September 30th. setting up the sukkah behind the Temple in preparation for Sukkot. If you’re available to help with any of these activities, let Rabbi Alan know. We collected 25 units of blood While we’re talking about volunteer opportunities, there are at our drive. Thank you to all who several Temple committees that need people and some that participated. If you still wish to donate you can go to the need chairpeople. If you think you’d like to participate, you can contact me. blood bank this week and tell them you are donating for Sinai Temple before you sit in the chair and they will If you have not yet sent in your pledge materials for FY give us credit for that unit. 2018, please do so at your earliest convenience. We need to know what funds we will have available for this year to do all we’ve planned. Our Temple building is aging and sometimes needs unexpected repairs, so any extra financial help you can The Office will be CLOSED on manage will not go to waste! Along with the pledge materials, you received a sign-up form for onegs.