On Thursday, December 5, Cantor Evan flew to the United States on behalf of Kehilat Har-El. His first stop was at our sister congregation Temple Jeremiah in Northfield, Illinois (near Chicago), where he was invited to be the “scholar-in-residence” for the weekend of December 6-8. The visit included leading Kabbalat Shabbat and delivering the sermon, leading Shabbat morning services and teaching about two Israeli songs whose inspiration was the weekly portion “Vayetze”: “Malach Misulam Yaacov” (An Angel from Jacob’s Ladder) and “Ani Ohev Otach Leah” (I Love You, Leah); participating in a concert titled “Chanukah Around the World” together with Temple Jeremiah’s cantor and two other Chicago area cantors; participating in a Chanukah concert for children and families from Temple Jeremiah on Sunday morning; and a meeting with the 7th grade class, with the participation of his daughter, Rina, via skype.
Please click here for a short video from the visit.
Thanks:
To the staff of Temple Jeremiah, led by Rabbi Paul Cohen, senior rabbi of the congregation, together with Rabbi Rachel Heaps, Cantor Susan Lewis-Friedman, and executive director Danny Glassman.
To the Bill & Norma Brown Fund for Education at Temple Jeremiah, for funding Cantor Evan’s flight and other expenses during his visit, as well as a generous donation to Har-El.
To Judy & Jerry Tatar who hosted Cantor Evan at their home during the weekend.
Cantor Evan then represented our congregation at the biennial convention of the Union for Reform Judaism (of North America) held in Chicago from December 11-15. There he was a member of the 40+ strong Israeli delegation. At the convention (of 5000 people), Cantor Evan met with many of our veteran and new overseas members (for photos of them, please click here) together with leaders of the congregation of our movement there.
In addition to these meetings, Cantor Evan also participated in a panel titled: “Engaging Your Elders” and also led Torah study on Shabbat morning titled: “The Reuben Sandwich, Amalek & Me’ – Censorship and Self Criticism in Parashat Vayishlach”, focusing on the stories of Reuben and Bilhah, and the genealogy of Amalek. Cantor Evan’s study session was held in parallel with nine other study sessions, each led by members of the Israeli delegation.
Thanks:
To “ARZENU” (the umbrella organization of Reform and Progressive Zionists) for funding the cost of his participation in the biennial.
To Rabbi Ben Sharff for covering the cost of Cantor Evan’s hotel stay.