President’s Corner

from December/January/February 2022

Todah Rabbah

By Stuart Hochwert, NSS Beth El President

As I write this we have just celebrated Simchat Torah, and the leaves are starting to fall. The trees are filled with glorious colors. The calendar will soon turn to Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and the secular New Year. This is one of my favorite times of the year. So many opportunities to be together with family and friends. And for most of us a quieter time at the end of the year. It was indeed wonderful to celebrate the High Holidays together again this year. Whether you participated in-person, via Livestream or a combination, I hope the High Holidays were a meaningful experience for you and your family. We had over 1200 members in-person at Beth El which is more than double last year. About 350 people were in-person at Highland Park High School, over 300 in-person for Children’s Services at Beth El and about 575 screens/1,100 viewers on Livestream. I am so proud that our community came together to worship safely. And who knows the 613th Mitzvah in the Torah? Answer: It is the final one,

Leshem Family the religious duty for every Jew to write a Torah scroll. So, if you have not yet written a letter in our new Torah, please look for our Mitzvah613 Project online or call the office and sign up today. It is a great family experience and there is no cost to participate. Imagine that every time you come to shul and the Ark opens you can say, “I helped write that Torah! That is my Torah!’ That is why we want all Beth El families to participate in this important milestone.

We are fortunate that Beth El offers so many programs every week. We are continuing to add more programs each month.

Look at the website or the weekly

Kol Beth El email for the latest information. From programs on social justice to current events to

Talmud studies to Book Clubs, we have it all. And we are now back to offering morning and evening Minyan in-person

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