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- Purim Shpiel 2024 - Ghosts of Purim
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PAST PURIM SPIELS
- Purim Spiel 2022: Shushan Incorporated (26 photos)
- Purim Spiel 2019: Young Esther Stein (12 photos)
- Purim Spiel 2018: Saving Mordecai (Rehearsal) (81 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2017: Bye Bye Haman (189 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2017: Bye Bye Haman (Rehearsal)
- Purim Shpiel 2016: The Queen and I (Rehearsal) (124 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2015: Li'l Orphan Esther (87 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2015: Li'l Orphan Esther (Rehearsal) (18 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2014: PurimTime (70 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2013: The Book of Esther (27 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2012: The Trial of Haman (3 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2011: The Megillah – A Shlock Opera (16 photos)
- Purim Shpiel 2010: The Megillah – A Thrilla' (14 photos)
- Folk and Rock Revue June 2019 (18 photos)
- Sisterhood 2018 Luncheon and Fashion Show (24 photos)
- Sisterhood Ron Balson Author Luncheon (19 photos)
- Sisterhood Chanukah Luncheon (9 photos)
- Kristallnacht 75th Anniversary (13 photos)
- Martin & Henrietta Fox Torah Project (23 photos)
- Sukkah Decorating 2015 (4 photos)
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Happy Independence Day!
07/15/2024 02:17:59 AM
Rabbi Weill
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July 3rd, 2024
Dear Friends,
This Saturday morning we will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Drs. George and Veronika Urban! The Urbans have been good friends and dedicated members of EHNT for many years. I am so pleased they are celebrating their simcha in the midst of our synagogue family.
Veronika and George came to America from...Read more...
Erev Shavout -- Tuesday Night The Big Question: Evolution And Revelation
06/12/2024 09:00:39 PM
Rabbi Weill
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June 6th, 2024
Dear Friends,
How do we understand revelation in relation to evolution of species and of the universe? Are religion and science compatible? Do they contradict or complement each other? These are the great conundrums facing religious people in the modern world. On Tuesday evening, Erev Shavuot, we will explore these questions with two scientists in our community, Dr. Trudy R. Turner and Dr....Read more...
"The Joy of Music"
06/06/2024 10:38:37 PM
Rabbi Weill
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May 23rd, 2024
Dear Friends,
"Somewhere there's music. How faint the tune." Well, that somewhere is here at EHNT, and the tune is not so faint! We are making and enjoying music all the time.
Last Friday night, more than 100 congregants enjoyed a Shabbat dinner with a sing-along by our Shireinu choir, followed by a Koleinu service, featuring folk-rock...Read more...
"Israel Independence Day"
05/23/2024 04:35:28 PM
Rabbi Weill
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May 9th, 2024
Dear Friends,
To celebrate Israel's independence and to honor those who perished in its defense, we will be very fortunate this Monday evening to be joined by Hilik Wald. Hilik was the wonderful guide of EHNT's 2016 and 2023 trips to Israel. Besides being knowledgeable, he brings the gift of insight, honesty, and charm.
Please join us for a special maariv minyan at 7...Read more...
"Yom Ha’Shoah"
05/13/2024 01:58:52 AM
Rabbi Weill
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May 6th, 2024
Dear Friends,
Today is Yom Ha’Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Some have compared today’s anti-Semitism on American and European campuses to the devastating tragedy against our people 80 years ago in Europe.
I understand the temptation to make such comparisons. Yes, we are living during fretful times. I am relieved...Read more...
"Od Tirei"
05/08/2024 11:26:14 PM
Rabbi Weill
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April 18th, 2024
Dear Friends,
Od tirei, od tirei kama tov yihiyeh ba'shanah ha'ba'ah
You will see, you will yet see how good it will be!
So goes the catchy Pesach song, capturing the ultimate hope of our holiday of liberation. May we sing it with a fervent hope that we will indeed see that next year will be good, very good, for us,...Read more...
"Bernie Black"
04/19/2024 10:25:57 AM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
Bernie Black, EHNT congregant and Northwestern University professor, offered a compelling presentation at our Shabbat services a few weeks ago about what he had learned from his recent long stay in Israel. Bernie teaches law each year at Tel Aviv University and the University of Haifa.
He offered an expanded version of that presentation at Northwestern last week at an event sponsored by the Jewish Law Students...Read more...
"Brothers for Life"
04/11/2024 08:32:26 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
Many of you know that Yona Brief, the grandson of Rabbi Neil Brief z"l, was severely wounded while defending a kibbutz on October 7. Yona has been in the ICU since that horrific day.
Yona fought heroically against those who believe Israel has no right to exist and who sought, in an act of complete evil, to murder as many Jews as they could. We owe Yona and so many others our...Read more...
"True Wisdom Comes From Humility and Openness"
03/23/2024 12:10:26 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
Generations of bar mitzvah boys have proclaimed "Today I am a man." It is hard to imagine any 13-year-old boy as a real man. But in this week's Torah portion, God identifies Bezalel as the Israelite who will oversee the building of the tabernacle and, according to Talmud, he was only 13 years old!
When I was 13, I couldn't finish building a sturdy Lincoln Log cabin -- and Bezalel was the general contractor...Read more...
"We Stand With Israel"
03/03/2024 09:16:57 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
Several congregants have recently been to or will soon be in Israel. Some have volunteered, some have taught, and others have just wanted to be there. In all cases, they are showing solidarity with the Jewish state during this perilous, tragic time.
At Shabbat services this Saturday morning, Beth Farber and Robin Richman will discuss their recent volunteer experiences in...Read more...
"Remembering Rabbi Brief"
02/16/2024 03:42:57 PM
Rabbi Weill
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February 1st, 2024
Dear Friends,
Rabbi Neil Brief passed away last Shabbat morning. This has been a sad week for Ezra-Habonim, the Niles Township Jewish Congregation.
Rabbi Brief began serving this congregation on July 1, 1971. Since then, 2744 weeks have passed. Those numbers (2 + 7 + 4 + 4) equals 17, the date in the month of Shevat on which Rabbi Brief passed away.
Read more...
"Let's Welcome Our New Board!"
02/01/2024 04:46:56 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
The Hebrew Bible can be read as a study of leadership models – what works well and what does not, what is holy and what is not.
After making our way through the stories of our patriarchs and matriarchs in Genesis, we read about the development of Moses in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy. Other leaders follow. We learn about Joshua and about judges, like Samson, Deborah...Read more...
"Bring Them Home!"
01/19/2024 02:13:28 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
Murdered Israelis; wounded Israelis; the rape of Israeli women and girls; fallen Israeli soldiers; the deaths of innocent Gazans; the rise of Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank, the violence and harassment by Jewish “hilltop youth” toward Palestinians; the rise of antisemitism globally, including on campuses some of our children attend.
And, of course, the...Read more...
"FOLK-ROCK-TORAH"
01/04/2024 04:56:13 PM
Rabbi Weill
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December 21, 2023
Dear Friends,
Each Wednesday evening, at the conclusion of our 18-minute weekday minyan, I present FOLK-ROCK-TORAH. I recite original light verse that describes an aspect of the week’s Torah portion and also hints at a folk or rock song. Those online try to guess the song as I recite the poem.
This week’s Torah portion...Read more...
"The Rape of Dinah"
12/22/2023 01:08:07 AM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
The rape of Dinah, Leah and Jacob’s daughter, occurs in this week’s Torah portion, Ya’Yishlach.
The story itself is painful. But adding to that pain is the treatment Dinah receives by our ancient sages and medieval commentators. Noting that Dinah left her own community to spend time with local young women, the sages choose to understand this to mean that Dinah also sought the company of local young men. They...Read more...
"Thanksgiving"
12/01/2023 05:25:52 AM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4). The Israelite’s asked this question during their Babylonian captivity. How could they celebrate during a time of sadness, duress, and alienation from their homeland?
We might now ask related questions: How can we celebrate Thanksgiving when 240 of our fellow Jews – children, toddlers, babies! – are held hostage by terrorists capable...Read more...
"290,000"
11/22/2023 01:52:12 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
It may have been the largest gathering of Jews in American history, or perhaps in modern times, or perhaps ever. Either way, the rally in Washington, D.C., in support of Israel this Tuesday was huge in size and mammoth in impact for the 290,000 who attended, as well as for those who turned in via live stream.
I was there along with EHNT president, Judge Shelley Sutker Dermer, and a few other members...Read more...
"The True Believer"
11/16/2023 02:36:18 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
I have been in regular contact with friends in Israel. One told me his young adult daughter has gone from funeral to funeral for the last three weeks. The family of another, on a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee, may have had to evacuate with their very infirmed father. The terrorist mass murder perpetrated against the Jewish state was – and is – a mark of sheer barbarity.
In 1951, Eric Hoffer, a longshoreman and...Read more...
Very Special MAGEN DAVID ADOM Speaker At EHNT This Shabbat
10/26/2023 10:59:19 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
This Shabbat morning, we will host at services Yoni Yagodovsky, director of international relations of Magen David Adom.
Mr. Yagodovsky has been involved in the response to almost every mass-casualty incident around Jerusalem for the last quarter century. His association with MDA began as a youth volunteer in 1975. He has been chief of international relations for twenty years.
Mr. Yagodovsky...Read more...
"Ta'anit Tzibbur"
10/19/2023 01:37:33 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Today, Cantor Gale and I are joining in a global "ta'anit tzibbur," a communal fast from sunrise to sundown. The fast draws attention to the perilous plight of the more than one hundred Israelis held hostage in Gaza. Some of those captives are very close to members of our community.
In an email announcing the fast, The Hadar Institute of New York writes, Jews "have a...Read more...
"In Solidarity With Israel"
10/12/2023 10:03:44 AM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
In sadness and dismay, Ezra-Habonim, the Niles Township Jewish Congregation stands in solidarity with our Israeli sisters and brothers. The large-scale invasion into Israel’s sovereign territory, and the specific targeting of civilians, is nothing less than terrorist mass murder. Nothing could ever justify such malevolence and brutality.
We mourn for those who have been killed and we pray for the safe...Read more...
"We Stand With Israel"
10/10/2023 04:31:18 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
I am writing this on Shabbat and on a festival day. We do not usually do this, but Israel is under attack.
The situation is very serious. I wish there were something more we could do. Yes, we will send messages to family and friends who are there. Yes, we will pray. Yes, we will provide any support that may be helpful.
And yes, we will celebrate Simchat Torah tonight and tomorrow. In the face of...Read more...
"Simchat Torah"
10/08/2023 11:28:48 AM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
The finale of the Tishrei Marathon is Simchat Torah, and it will brim with joy. We will unroll a Torah scroll, locating highlights from "in the beginning" to the death of Moses. We will dance around the sanctuary with Torah scrolls, demonstrating that it is indeed a "tree of life to those who hold fast to it." We will enjoy the music of the sensational Cantor Gale, the rocking Koleinu Band, and Kehillat Shalom's famous...Read more...
"Sukkot"
10/05/2023 09:13:42 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
On Sukkot we read in Torah:
וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם לִפְנֵי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם שִׁבְעַת יָמִֽים.... בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּֽשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כָּל־הָֽאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
“And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God…You shall dwell in sukkot seven days, every...Read more...
"We Need Each Other"
09/28/2023 06:15:50 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
We need each other.
We need each other now as tumult within Israel continues and as manifestations of antisemitism
persist.
We need each other as hate crimes against fellow Americans – often gun violence – persists.
We need each other as environmental degradation persists.
We need each other as vitriolic political rhetoric persists.
These situations demand a broad...Read more...
"Tisha b'Av"
08/23/2023 09:54:46 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
Today is a dark day - the darkest - on the Jewish calendar: Tisha b’Av, the Ninth of Av. On this day, according to tradition, calamities befell the Jewish people, including, most prominently, the destruction of the first and second Temples. And so today we fast. Besides Yom Kippur, it is the only full-day fast of the...Read more...
Folk-Rock-Torah: I Walk The Line
02/20/2023 02:03:27 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Frequently, following Wednesday evening minyans, I offer “Folk-Rock-Torah.” It consists of my reading a bit of original “light verse” that alludes both to that week’s Torah portion and to a song. As I’m reciting the verse, people try to guess the song. Then, using Youtube or Spotify, I play the song. We on the minyan – via Zoom – sing and sway along. You should check it...Read more...
Israel: Improve It, Don't Forsake It
01/12/2023 07:16:58 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
Land – one particular land – is fundamental to our Jewish story, our history, and our relationship with God. God’s very first communication to the very first Jew, Abraham, discusses the Promised Land.
It is fascinating that we are a people deeply connected to that small strip of land, and yet we have spent so much of our long history beyond its borders.
Our return to that land and the...Read more...
Folk-Rock-Torah -- Va'yishlach
12/10/2022 04:28:09 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
In this week’s Torah portion, Va’Yishlach, Jacob and Esau reunite after two decades apart. Jacob is terrified because, when last they were together, Esau wanted to kill Jacob for his theft of their father’s blessing. Jacob is relieved that Esau no longer harbors vengeful designs. Still, when Esau suggests that they travel together, Jacob demurs. He understood it was wiser to remain separate.
Each Wednesday...Read more...
Thanksgiving: We Celebrate During Fretful Times
11/17/2022 04:05:44 PM
Rabbi Weill
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Dear Friends,
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4). The Israelite’s asked this question during their Babylonian captivity. How could they celebrate during a time of sadness, duress, and alienation from their homeland?
We might ask a related question: “How shall we celebrate Thanksgiving in our own troubled land?”
How will we sit joyfully, enjoying the blessing of...Read more...
Sat, July 27 2024
21 Tammuz 5784
Shabbat Ruach
with the Shirenu Choir
Will return after the High Holidays
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Friday, August 2nd 7:30 PM
In-Person & Zoom
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CLICK HERE FOR MONTHLY CALENDAR
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Our Worship Mishpachah
SHIRENU/OUR SONG
Join EHNTJC's Congregational Choir! We will sing at services and other special events. Led by Cantor Daniel Gale.
Please contact bill@ehnt.org if you are interested in joining.
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