While we cannot be together physically, the importance of community and staying connected is more important than ever. 
Mon
April 12
Challah Midrash Corner
Karen made this week's challah midrash for Parshat Sh’mini. Sh’mini covers yet more very specific rules for sacrifice and then lists the rules for foods that are kosher and not kosher. And it’s also the first Shabbat after Pesach, when it’s a tradition to make a shlissel challah - Yiddish for key. There’s a long ashkenazic tradition that the key is supposed to bring good luck. There are a lot of different traditions and perhaps the most interesting is that the gates of heaven are open during Passover, then closed and locked - and the key is used to open them.
See more on our Challah Midrash instagram. You too can sign up to bake Challah for a particular week by emailing Karen Isaacson.
Missed Friday's D'var Torah?
Rewatch (or catch up on) D'var Torah "Touching the Face of History" with Jerry Kaye and Dick Axelrod, from this past Friday, April 9.
At your Leisure......
Prepare for Monday (4/19) Movies with Mark: Flirting with Disaster (1996). The screwball comedy is reborn in David O. Russell’s second feature, which stars Ben Stiller as a young New Yorker who hits the road with his patient wife (Patricia Arquette), nursing infant and mistake-prone caseworker (a never-better Téa Leone) in search of his birth parents. The late, great George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore play the Jewish, neurotic adoptive parents, and the film also offers memorable turns from Lily Tomlin, Alan Alda, Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin. This twisty farce was a greater critical than commercial success but propelled the careers of Stiller (There’s Something about Mary, Meet the Parents) and Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook). You can watch this film on Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBOMax.

Watch last week's event Jewish Women Inventors with Hyma Levin.
Tues
April 13
israeli flag
11:30 am
Daily Meditation
Click here to join the meditation room from Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
7:00 pm
History of Israel in Song — A Yom Haatzmaut Concert with Cantor Kyle Cotler and Cantor Doug Cotler 
Drawing on the rich texts of our tradition as well as the prose and poetry of modern politicians, scholars, and songwriters, Cantor Kyle Cotler will lead us from Exodus to the present. But that's not all! Cantor Cotler will be joined by special guest, Cantor Doug Cotler (the elder)! Two Cantors Cotler, one jubilant night of singing; you won't want to miss it!
Zoom Link -Ph: 312-626-6799 -Meeting ID: 836 5115 4948 | Passcode: 1224

7:30 pm
Orot Live Zoom Meditation
In times of chaos, we can all try to cultivate a consciousness of more kindness, more generosity, more compassion, more calm, so we can bring these attributes, these middot into the world through our actions. Join Orot Center for Jewish Learning for these Tuesday evening meditations and sits.
Wed
April 14
Yom HaZikaron
11:30 am
Daily Meditation
Click here to join the meditation room from Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
7:30 pm
Soul Stitchers - Virtual Knitting Circle
Know how to knit and/or crochet? As a tribute to Nikki Zarefsky z"l, join us for an hour (on zoom) of knitting and connecting as we create shawls to warm people during services and/or healing shawls that will bring warmth to those in need in a hospital, home or other settings. Newcomers are welcome and encouraged to join! Please send us an email with any questions.
Zoom Link -Ph: 312-626-6799 - Meeting ID: 941 8880 0129 | Passcode: 1224
Thurs
April 15
Yom HaAtzma'ut
10:00 am
Qigong with Netiva Caftori
There are so many moving parts in our day to day lives. Our very own Netiva Caftori, invites us to experience the healing practice of Qigong with her. Qigong is a millennia-old system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health and spirituality. Beginners are encouraged to try out this session.

11:30 am
Daily Meditation
Click here to join the meditation room from Institute for Jewish Spirituality.

At your Leisure....
Watch the Israel Committee Meeting with an Israeli Diplomat from March 8, 2021.

Fri
April 16
11:00 am
American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement with Sara Hirschhorn
More than 60,000 Jewish-Americans have settled in the territories since it was captured by the State of Israel during the Six Day War. Fifteen percent of the settler population today, they have established major communities, transformed domestic politics and international relations, committed shocking acts of terrorism, and demanded attention in both Israel and the United States. We will explore the changing face of the settlements and political realities at the heart of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Member fee $25 or included in Friday package; non-member fee $35.
Zoom Link- Ph: 312-626-6799 -Meeting ID: 872 4971 2374 l Passcode: 1224
11:30 am
Daily Meditation
Click here to join the meditation room from Institute for Jewish Spirituality.

6:15 pm
Z’oneg
Login to services a few minutes early to wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom.  As we continue to find new ways to connect, stay a few minutes after services to say hello – just like we would do in the lobby following services! 
Zoom Link -Ph: 312-626-6799 - Meeting ID: 853 5684 6772 / Passcode: 1224
6:30 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Ph: 312-626-6799 -Meeting ID: 853 5684 6772
Passcode: 1224
Sat
April 17
9:30 am
Kahal Shabbat Morning Service
Ph: 312-626-6799 - Meeting ID: 813 2237 5514/ Passcode: 1224
Sun
April 18
9:00 am
Weekday Minyan
Zoom Link Ph: 312-626-6799 - Meeting ID: 883 0113 9619 / Passcode: 075031

10:00 am
Office Hours with Karen Isaacson
12:00 pm
J Street’s 2021 National Virtual Conference- Day 1
J Street's conference is a major, landmark gathering for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans and the American Jewish community and pro-diplomacy progressives across the country. At the dawn of a new day for our country, this event will send a clear message about the principles and policies that American leaders must embrace to revitalize the pursuit of peace and justice in the Middle East and to promote democracy and equality at home and abroad.
Previous speakers have included President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, Ambassador Susan Rice, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State John Kerry, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and more. Learn more and register here. Tickets are complementary for first-time attendees - use code FIRSTTIMERS Contact Karen Isaacson for more information. Last Minute RSVP's welcome.
Mon
April 19
11:30 am
Daily Meditation
Click here to join the meditation room from Institute for Jewish Spirituality.

1:00 pm
J Street’s 2021 National Virtual Conference-Day 2
Learn more and register here. Tickets are complementary for first-time attendees - use code FIRSTTIMERS Contact Karen Isaacson for more information. Last Minute RSVP's welcome.
4:00 pm
History of the Jews of South Africa with Lindy Rubin- Part 1
Beth Emet member Lindy Rubin, originally from South Africa, presents a history of Jewish South Africa in pictures and art. The Rubins immigrated to America in 1980 because they were most unhappy with the Apartheid regime, despite their privileged lives. Follow this presentation with a visit to the current Mandela show at the Holocaust Museum.
No fee.
Lindy Rubin has an M.A. in Education from the University of Chicago. She does programs in schools and senior centers, using works of art to teach.
Zoom Link - Ph: 312-626-6799 -
Meeting ID: 834 1110 2801 | Passcode: 1224

7:30 pm
Movies with Mark: Flirting with Disaster (1996).
The screwball comedy is reborn in David O. Russell’s second feature, which stars Ben Stiller as a young New Yorker who hits the road with his patient wife (Patricia Arquette), nursing infant and mistake-prone caseworker (a never-better Téa Leone) in search of his birth parents. The late, great George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore play the Jewish, neurotic adoptive parents, and the film also offers memorable turns from Lily Tomlin, Alan Alda, Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin. This twisty farce was a greater critical than commercial success but propelled the careers of Stiller (There’s Something about Mary, Meet the Parents) and Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook). You can watch this film on Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBOMax.
Zoom Link- Ph: 312-626-6799 - Meeting ID: 984 1265 1167 | Passcode: 1224
Tues
April 20
11:30 am
Daily Meditation
Click here to join the meditation room from Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
7:30 pm
The Essential Klezmer with Seth Rogovoy
Drawing on his entertaining and fascinating book, Seth Rogovoy traces klezmer music from its Old World roots to its migration to America at the end of the 19th century, where it flourished and declined, to its revival and renaissance at the end of the 20th century.
$25 for members; Non-member fee $35
Seth Rogovoy is the author of The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music (Algonquin Books, 2000), the all-time bestselling guide to klezmer music. Seth’s work has appeared for three decades in the English-language national Jewish publication, The Forward, where he is a contributing editor.
Zoom Link - Ph: 312-626-6799 -Meeting ID: 811 8063 1517 | Passcode: 1224

7:30 pm
Orot Live Zoom Meditation
In times of chaos, we can all try to cultivate a consciousness of more kindness, more generosity, more compassion, more calm, so we can bring these attributes, these middot into the world through our actions. Join Orot Center for Jewish Learning for these Tuesday evening meditations and sits.
Events or links may change on occasion - check out the calendar on the homepage of bethemet.org for the most up to date information!
- Coming Soon-
Wednesday, April 21 at 7:00 pm
Plant Based Cooking Demonstration with Robin Langer
Kick off Earth Day with some new ideas to eat a more green, sustainable diet. Professional chef/caterer of 22 years, Beth Emet’s own Robin Langer will demo some earth-based recipes of the season from her “North Side Kitchen.” This event, sponsored by the Social Action Committee, kicks off Beth Emet celebrating Earth Day. Get a sneak peak of the recipes Robin will be demonstrating so that you are ready to try them out after this demonstration.
Fridays, April 23 and 30 at 11:00 am
Learning About Islam with Liat Alon
We will begin with an overview of the basic history, geography, and theology of Islam, dismantle some myths and stereotypes, and answer some questions, including: Why the hatred between Sunni and Shia; What is the origin and use of the name “Isis”; Are the Fast of Ramadan and the day of Ashura actually Jewish traces incorporated into Islam; and How is Yom Kippur associated with Jihad?
Member fee $25 or included in Friday package; non-member fee $35.

Liat Alon is an Israel Institute Teaching Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (Program in Jewish Culture and Society and History Dept.). She is a historian of the modern Middle East and North Africa, working on the social history of “ordinary” people, focusing on the Egyptian and Shami (Lebanese and Syrian) Jewries in the 20th century, particularly women, gender and family in these societies. She received her Ph.D. from Ben Gurion University.
Sunday, April 25 at 1:00 pm 
Cleaning up our Community
Spend time outdoors gardening & cleaning up at the historic Jens Jensen Garden (next to the Harley Clarke Mansion in Evanston) or help pick up litter along the west side of the canal on McCormick between Church & Dempster (meeting spot tbd). Please bring gloves, gardening tools if needed, and wear closed toe shoes & sign up ahead. This event, sponsored by the Social Action Committee, is a part of Beth Emet's Earth Day Celebration.

Sunday April 25 at 7:00 pm
Going Solar
Curious about going solar? Hear from a panel of speakers including State Rep. Robyn Gabel to keep you informed about the latest green legislation and to help you decide whether signing up for community solar or having solar panels installed on your roof is the right choice for your home, business, or even house of worship. Either way you will be reducing your carbon footprint while lowering your energy bills. This event, sponsored by the Social Action Committee, will culminate Beth Emet's Earth Day Celebration.
Monday, April 26 at 4:00 pm
History of the Jews of South Africa with Lindy Rubin-Part 2
Beth Emet member Lindy Rubin, originally from South Africa, presents a history of Jewish South Africa in pictures and art. The Rubins immigrated to America in 1980 because they were most unhappy with the Apartheid regime, despite their privileged lives. Follow this presentation with a visit to the current Mandela show at the Holocaust Museum.
No fee.
Lindy Rubin has an M.A. in Education from the University of Chicago. She does programs in schools and senior centers, using works of art to teach.
Tuesday, April 27 at 7:30 pm
The Essential Klezmer with Seth Rogovoy
Drawing on his entertaining and fascinating book, Seth Rogovoy traces klezmer music from its Old World roots to its migration to America at the end of the 19th century, where it flourished and declined, to its revival and renaissance at the end of the 20th century.
$25 for members; Non-member fee $35
Seth Rogovoy is the author of The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music (Algonquin Books, 2000), the all-time bestselling guide to klezmer music. Seth’s work has appeared for three decades in the English-language national Jewish publication, The Forward, where he is a contributing editor.
- Additional Ideas & Resources -
For a complete listing of BE Connected program recordings, please check the website

Interesting Resources
BE Connected is an opportunity for groups with similar interests to come together as well as opportunities for conversation around various topics. What better way to engage with the Beth Emet community, try something new, and connect when we have a bit more time on our hands? Given our new reality, this initiative will start virtually, but we hope that this will continue once life returns to normal. 
 
Each week you will receive a dedicated email with a listing of opportunities for the next two weeks. If you do not have access to a web camera for a video call, we will include phone numbers as well. And if you have an idea as we expand the reach of BE Connected, contact Marti Netler.
 
We look forward to seeing you very soon.
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To find prior content, search communications@bethemet.org in your mailbox.