High Holiday Appeal 2023

Shalom, my friends, and shana tova. I am Lee Zoldan, the proud President of Chicago Loop Synagogue, and on behalf of the board of directors and staff, I am thrilled to welcome you to our Kol Nidre service this evening.

Since Rabbi Aron told A LOT of jokes during his drash on Rosh Hashanah, he opened the door for me to tell one of my own. And fortunately, I can’t ruin it since you’ve probably all heard it before.

A Jewish mother is walking on the beach with her son. All of a sudden, a giant wave comes along and sweeps him away. As you would expect of any mother, she immediately becomes very distraught and starts crying, wailing, bargaining with God. “Please God, bring back my son. Please please please…”

Then, just as suddenly, another wave comes and washes him back on shore. The startled mother stops her weeping. She looks at her son…looks at the sky, and says…”you know, he had a hat.”

And that’s kind of how I’m feeling about Chicago Loop Synagogue right now. We have been given so many gifts over the past year, and yet I want more. We have done so much, and yet there is so much more to do. I’m going to focus on five areas.

Our first success – our core mission – is our prayer services. We have in-person morning services six days a week, right here in this room, plus a zoom egalitarian minyan on Friday nights. In a time when a lot of synagogues are merging or closing entirely, this year we have hosted more congregants and visitors than any time since covid. Equally important, we have seen some 20- and 30-somethings become regulars at our minyans, and we encourage them to bring their friends. Next year?

• I still want to start a woman’s minyan, and we are slowly but surely making progress toward that goal. 
• I want to find ways to engage Rabbi Aron and Cantor Jonathan for more than just the High Holidays. Everyone in this room knows how extraordinary they both are, and we are eager to find other ways of embracing their special talents. 
• Number Two, our programming. We have regular programming with a dedicated following, including two weekly Yiddish classes, a monthly book discussion group, a current events discussion group, and a Sunday brunch and learn. We had a highly successful community seder on the second day of Passover this year, and I’m looking forward to doing it again. Next year,
• We’d like to start a movie discussion group, where you’d watch a movie at home some time during the month, then meet by zoom to discuss it. Spoiler alert: Our other discussion groups get pretty interesting, so you’ve been warned!
• At congregant requests, we want to start a Hebrew 101 class and an introduction to Judaism.  
• We have a super volunteer who is organizing a singles event this fall, so stay tuned for that. 

Number Three, travel. This year we took a very comprehensive trip to Israel. For many participants, it was their first time in the land, and I cannot begin to tell you how meaningful this was. In fact, it was so successful that:

We are already exploring other destinations, and I promise you it won’t be just any generic type of trip. It has to be something specifically Jewish, with a good mix of educational and experiential content, and from our early research it looks like we’ll have to design it ourselves. We’ll probably go somewhere domestic, which will mean a shorter trip at a lower cost, so join us.

Number Four, private events. We have strong relationships with organizations that support our mission, and we regularly open our beautiful building to our fellow Jews to have their ufrufs, weddings, bnei mitzvot, seders, academic meetings and more. We have also partnered with several kosher caterers and nearby hotels, so we can create a turnkey celebration that is truly the simcha of your dreams.

And, most excitingly, Number 5, cultural programming. This year we had literary readings by local authors and several concerts, including the last Chicago performance of Violins of Hope. And we are working with the theatre department at DePaul to join Chicago’s vibrant theatre scene. We have a lot more events planned. 

• On October 15, we will be a featured destination on the Chicago Architectural Tour. Every year, in one day, we get about 2500 visitors – and we could really use some volunteers to help us manage the traffic! This year we’ll also have a special appearance from Orit Aziz, the daughter of sculptor Henri Aziz who created The Hands of Peace outside our building.
• On October 17, an in-person safety class presented by the Cook County Sheriff’s office.  
• On October 22, we present the well-known author Elizabeth Graver, who will be discussing her new work, Kantika. 
• On November 9, Cantor Jonathan will be the featured performer for the Kristallnacht concert at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie.
• On November 19, we have a blockbuster concert featuring new works by world-famous composers. These will be performed by Cantor Jonathan, Pavel Roytman of Beth Hillel, the Kol Zimrah Singers, Susie Lewis-Friedman of Temple Jeremiah and the Sheridan Solisti Trio. 
• In December, we have partnered with Strawdog Theatre to present the play, Hershel and the Hanukah Goblins. That is a full schedule of 12 performances and attendance is absolutely free.

Except for the High Holidays, all our programs and services are lay-led, and so many people have come forward to help. To every volunteer who is sitting in this room I say THANK YOU, and I encourage everyone who hasn’t volunteered yet to join them! Anyone who has skills they want to share, a passion to make things better than they are, an ability to lead our services or even an idea they would like to develop, we welcome you with open arms.   

Right now, you’re probably hearing from every Jewish organization, and their causes are always worthy and their needs are always great. The reason I ask you to make us a priority and to give generously to Chicago Loop Synagogue is because you are here. 

You are part of our community and a prime beneficiary of the services we provide. Some of you have been coming here for generations and may be sitting in the same seats as your parents or grandparents. Some of you had relatives or friends who had simchas here, and Chicago Loop Synagogue is part of their history too.

You are also part of a mission that is greater than yourself, a mission to make a difference for Chicago Jews, and that is why I am asking you to invest in us today. Your pledge will help improve our building. It will provide employment for Mary Lynn and Cary. It will help preserve our magnificent windows, provide a beautiful place for prayer, and enable us to expand our cultural programming so more people can enjoy our incredible space.

But more than that, because of our downtown location, your pledge represents the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to make a difference in our city’s Jewish landscape, to dig in our heels and refuse to quietly die as so many other Jewish institutions have been forced to do. It’s a chance for all of us to stand up and forcefully show what this institution means to us, but we cannot do it without your financial support. 

We cannot just be here for our building, not just for our employees and not just for ourselves -- we need to build a bridge to the next generation just like previous generations did for us. The time to do it is right now.

To donate today and support our mission, please click here.