Shabbat & Holiday Services

Worship

Message from Rabbi Cosnowsky

Sukkot is an opportunity to reconnect with family, friends and community to celebrate the fall holidays. Read more here. 

___________________________________________________________

• Sukkot- Congregation Etz Chaim will celebrate the beginning of Sukkot with a joyous service, Sunday, September 30th at 7:00 PM. Each child should bring a gaily decorated basket of fruit. Read more here.
• Simchat Torah- The conclusion and renewal of the annual Torah reading cycle is celebrated on Simchat Torah. Read more here.
• High Holiday Sermons- Read Rabbi Cosnowsky's Erev Rosh Hashanah speech here. Read Rabbi Bob's Rosh Hashanah speech here.  

Message from Our President

In my Rosh Hashanah speech I talked about what we as a community need to do in order to survive and thrive in the future. Read more here. 

As I stated in an earlier bulletin, I will highlighting news from the Etz Chaim Board of Directors meetings. Read September's Board highlights here. 

• Empty Bowls Project- We invite you to join us in our first Empty Bowls Project at Etz Chaim on Sunday, October 21st. Read more here.
• Lifelong Learning Programs-

• Annual Three Synagogue Programs at Temple B'nai Israel, Aurora, Sunday, October 21st at 7:00 PM. Dr. Allan Gould, author, journalist, lecturer, speechwriter and humorist will speak. Read more here. 
• The Faces of Judaism Illuminated will discuss the different facets of Judaism. The first class is October 29th with Rabbi Cosnowsky. Read more here.
• In collaboration with Spertus our Lifelong Learning and Library Committees present One Book/One Community author talk on Sunday, December 2nd 2:30-4:00 PM at Etz Chaim.

• Caring/Care Giving- The Connections Team is researching and planning programing on the topic of Caring/Caregiving. Read more here.
• Connections Team- Those interested in becoming part of the vibrant Connections Team are encouraged to attend our first meeting Sunday morning, 11:00 AM, October 14th at the synagogue. Read more here.
• Feed My Starving Children- This organiztion sends prepacked food to other countries. We're looking for 25 people to pack food at the Schaumburg location on Sunday, November 18th. Read more here.
• Teen Parent Support Group- The Social Action Committee is looking for people interested in delivering a meal that has already been prepared for a teen parent support group. Read more here.
• PADS- Volunteer sign up for PADS for 2012 is now on the website. Read more here.
• DuPage United- DuPage United Delegate Assemble will be held Sunday, November 4th at Faith Lutheran Church, Glen Ellyn. Read more here.

• Ma'aseem Toveem, Climbing the Tree of Life- This year we are doing our special family enrichment program Ma'aseem Toveem again.  Booklets were sent home with the youngest member of the family grades kindergarten through seventh grade.  Families have the option of doing eighteen (chai) projects during the year.  With each six projects completed the family will receive a beautiful prize. If your child did not receive a booklet, please let us know and we will make sure your child has one the next time he/she is in the building.
• OSRUI Prospective Camper Visiting Day- If your child wants to join us next summer for the first time, spend the day at camp and get  a taste of all that OSRUI has to offer. Read more here.
• Shabbat Chaverim- Our next Shabbat Chaverim will be Friday morning, October 5th at 10:00 AM. This program is for young children and a parent/guardian. Read more here.
• JYG Kickoff- Rabbi Cosnowsky has invited the Junior Youth group to come to her house on Sunday, September 30th after Sunday School for an afternoon of Sukkot fun.

• Team Norm- On Saturday, September 22nd, a large group (mostly synagoue members) were honored to walk alongside Norm Silverstein at the annual Les Turner ALS Walk4Life. It was a fabulous day and the Team came in as one of the top 15 fundraisers for this event. There was a great deal of support along the way, and without the generous support of our Brotherhood and Sisterhood we would not have had our extremely visible red hats. On behalf of the Silverstein Family and all of the Team Norm supporters, we'd like to thank Brotherhood and Sisterhood for their kindness in helping make our walk so special.

• The Gardens at Etz Chaim- With the help of our co-chairs of the Landscaping Committee and all the volunteers our gardens at Etz Chaim look beautiful. Read more here.

• Manna- The next Manna is Sunday, October 14th. The Manna Gift Card program provides an easy, no cost way to raise funds for our congregation while receiving 100% value for every dollar you spend. Find out more about Manna or click here for an order form.
• Wanted College Student Addresses- In order to keep our college students connected to the Etz Chaim community, we need both regular mailing addresses and email addresses of freshmen as well as returning college students. Addresses are not saved from school year to school year, so we need addresses even if you sent them in past years. Please send address information to the synagogue office by email.
• Register for Fall Program at OSRUI- Shabbat Shira .
• Indiana University's Jewish Studies is now accepting aplications for scholarships for incoming freshmen for 2013-2014.Read more here.