In this most challenging year, local synagogues have come together to find ways to help the communities hardest hit by the attacks on Israel. Congregations brainstormed creative and poignant ways to memorialize and honor victims. Local rabbis reflect below on how their communities came together in the wake of 10/7, and have continued to show up now, for the victims who so desperately seek hope.
Am Shalom Congregation
"A few weeks after October 7, I walked into our weekly staff meeting with an idea inspired by the long Shabbat table set just outside of the Tel Aviv Art Museum. That brisk afternoon, our staff placed 248 chairs at the corner of Vernon and Greenwood Avenues, outside Am Shalom, to keep the hostages front and center for us and our community. We set the chairs up in rows and affixed a hostage poster to each one. In the process, we created a temporary outdoor sanctuary. These white chairs have become our community. The bitter cold and the rain have warped the wood and made the cushions soggy. No one will ever sit on them again. They belong to Hersh, Eden, Kfir, and Ziv. Not a day goes by that someone doesn't stop, take a picture, and come to this spot to reflect. This has been our sacred reminder and will continue to be."
~Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein
Am Yisrael Conservative Congregation
"We participated in a fundraiser and paid for an ambulance through Magen David Adom. Our women's group is currently selling honey from Israel for Rosh Hashanah and will sell olive oil from Israel for Chanukah. Our b'nai mitzvah students are [also] helping Israel. Two examples: They are providing pizza for families where one of the parents is away serving on reserve duty. Another student told me, 'Every night, before dinner, our family sends emails to our president, vice president, and congress to advocate for Israel and to help free the hostages that were taken by Hamas on October 7, including 12 Americans.'"
~Rabbi Debra Newman Kamin
Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation
"One month after October 7, [we] hosted a hybrid in-person and online Kabbalat Shabbat called '
Am Echad
/One People: Israel and the Jewish World After One Month of War.' It was open to all affiliates of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. Participants across North America heard from Israeli American voices, our rabbi's thoughts on the challenges we faced, and the need for solidarity and support through what were and would continue to be the most trying times for Chicagoland Jews in a generation."
~Rabbi Adam Chalom
North Suburban Synagogue Beth El
"More than 30 people traveled to Israel in April with [the synagogue]. We went to show solidarity with the Israeli people, provided extra hands to organizations in need, and bore witness to the atrocities. We listened to unbearable stories, visited sites of the massacre, including the Nova Festival, Ofakim, and the shelter where Hersh Golberg-Polin was maimed and captured. We planted lettuce, packed food boxes, visited the wounded, and cooked meals. We were inspired by so many stories of courage. We prayed for this nightmare to end. We left heartbroken--yet inspired--and with so much love for Israel.
~Rabbi Alex Freedman
Congregation B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim (BJBE)
"We have responded to October 7 through conversations, connections, and partnering with StandWithUs and the ADL. We have hosted an art fair featuring Israeli artists, and we encourage travel to Israel--both to support the Israeli economy. We held learning sessions with the Consul General of Israel, listened to Israeli soldiers, and bore witness to the tragedies of October 7 by hearing stories from and supporting affected families. We support our college students in the face of antisemitism, and our congregation has raised money to support the JUF Israel Emergency Fund.
~Rabbi Philip Sherman
Temple Sholom of Chicago
"I love the people of Israel. The combination of Israel's national anthem
HaTikvah-
-The Hope--and its people's motto from Herzl, 'If you will it, it is no dream,' came to life each time I have visited Israel since October 7. Yet, in every visit, the country and the people felt vastly different. At the end of October: wounded, shell-shocked, resilient. The beginning of December: somber, healing, hopeful. End of April: war-weary, resolute, and ready for a way forward toward peace. I pray that by the time you are reading this, our hostages will be at home and at peace, and the task of rebuilding will have begun. Am Yisrael Chai!"
~Rabbi Shoshanah Conover
Temple Beth Israel
"Temple Beth Israel has offered educational classes, and presentations with master Israeli educators, active IDF soldiers, and even a celebrity Israeli chef. We have made space for processing our experiences and emotions, we have cosponsored numerous programs and fundraisers with partner congregations, and we have raised tzedakah for Israel--both through JUF and in partnership with other area congregations through a grassroots fundraiser for Kibbutz Kissufim. We brought a delegation to Washington, D.C. for the March for Israel. We have prayed--constantly--for the hostages, for the members of the IDF, and for the State of Israel. I was also able to travel to Israel on a rabbinic mission trip, meeting with Israelis, bearing witness to their pain and resilience."
~Rabbi Rachel Marks
Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah
"Beginning on October 8. we have organized ceremonies, rituals, programs, learning activities, and emotional and spiritual healing opportunities for our community with a prayer service. We contributed to the Magen David Adom Life Support Ambulance project and hosted a dedication program with partnering synagogues. We raised money to distribute coffee gift cards and personalized notes to our college students last spring. We celebrated Israel at our annual
Yom Ha'atzmaut
concert featuring the
Kol Zimrah
Jewish Community Singers, the BHBE Academy Choir, and clergy reflections. We joined together with a panel of mental health professionals to process the events and aftermath of October 7. In remembrance of the victims, we created an embroidered Torah mantle. We plan to continue honoring the memory of those who died on October 7, while also creating a shared testament to our Jewish pride and connection to Israel."
~Rabbi Nate Crane
