B'ruchim Ha'baim - Welcome

Come experience Temple Har Zion’s vibrant Jewish community serving the Western suburbs and the West side of Chicago. Join our diverse and dynamic community as we imbue our lives with Jewish wisdom, prayer, learning, social action and the celebration of Jewish life together.  No matter where you are in your journey, we welcome individuals, families/interfaith families, and seekers to nourish your spiritual life with us. Explore and celebrate the joys of Jewish life:

• Explore our site and Zoom in to a program or service. Or join us in person in the sanctuary on Shabbat mornings (observing the current Covid restrictions). 

• Have any questions? Please feel free to reach out to us at 708.366.9000 or email us at office@wsthz.org.

• Have (virtual) coffee with our Rabbi or Executive Director, or check out the Rabbi's letters and blog and recent sermons.

• Temple Har Zion is welcoming to interfaith families! Our community is at the forefront of the Conservative movement in this area. Please take a look at our feature in Tablet magazine.

• Click here to check out our music videos from our Friday night Mizmor L'David Davening Team.

A Note about Temple Har Zion Virtual Programming

We welcome Har Zion members and all others interested to participation in our virtual programming but all of our events are password protected.
 

• From an email message from Temple Har Zion: To join a program from a Temple Har Zion email, please click the "click to join" link or click on the program's flyer; these will automatically enter our password for you. 

• If you would like to join using the Zoom ID#, Zoom will ask you to enter our password. Do you need the password? Email office@wsthz.org or call 708.366.9000 for help.

• Unsure how to use Zoom? Click here for a tutorial. 

• Miss any of our live programming? There are recordings of many on YouTube on and Facebook.

A Kudoboard has been launched to send our messages of healing, solidarity, support and love to Congregation Beth Israel in Texas.

If you would like to share a message or video with their shul please click here. The deadline for posting is this Wednesday, January 26.

click here to register (or on the flyer above)

The Torah contains many examples of Jews struggling with substance use and mental health problems, yet there are many in our community who continue to deny we experience these problems.  Tikkun HaNefesh helps to thread together the Jewish experience of mental health challenges with facts about the impact of mental illness and substance misuse on individuals and communities. We all want our communities to be welcoming, yet we inadvertently send messages that fall short of inclusivity. 

This program will offer participants ways their own community can compassionately engage individuals who struggle with mental illness and substance misuse.

Nina J. Henry, LCPC, CADC is an Addiction Specialist and Mental Health Educator at JCFS Chicago. She has been active in the substance use and mental health fields for more than 30 years.

 Monday, January 31, 7 PM; Virtual only.
Meeting ID 869 9807 1150; password 292300)

To join this meeting on Zoom please click here.

To make an appointment to give blood  go to:https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive

Temple Har Zion invites you to join our year-long dive into the experience of living prayer.

Prayer can add meaning to your life; it can connect you to God, others, and yourself. Yet at the same time, prayer can be confusing. At Temple Har Zion we want to demystify prayer. To begin to do this, our major Jewish Journeys program for 5782 (October 2021–June 2022), Delve into Prayer, offers four doorways into prayer—four program series on Prayer in Judaism, each meeting once or twice a month.

These four courses are being taught by Temple Har Zion's Rabbi Glick, Cantor Figa, Education Director David Schwartz,  and Hebrew educator and Har Zion member, Courtenay Harris-Black.

The four areas of study are the following; click on their titles for dates and topics. (All Zoom links use the standard Har Zion Zoom password; contact the office–during their open hours–if you need it.)

With a few exceptions (mistakes!), all previous sessions have been recorded and are on YouTube, in a single playlist.

✡︎ The Big Ideas of Jewish Prayer, with Rabbi Glick, The Solomon Family Rabbinic Chair

One Sunday morning a month, 11 AM–12 Noon AM,
In person in the Har Zion Youth Lounge and Zoom ID# 823 6482 1008

✡︎ Experiencing Prayer Through Music, with Cantor Figa, The Goldstine Family Cantorial Chair

One Sunday afternoon a month, 3:30 PM,
Virtual only,  Zoom ID# 840 6204 8076

✡︎ Understanding the Words in Prayer, with Courtenay Harris-Black

Two Sunday mornings a month, 11 AM–12 Noon AM,
In person in the Har Zion Youth Lounge (Covid permitting) and Zoom ID# 823 6482 1008

The prerequisite for this program is the ability to read Hebrew–no understanding of what the words mean is required–and we ask that you to commit to attending all of the remaining classes and buy the book Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way by Joseph Anderson.

✡︎ Personally Connecting with Prayers, with David Schwartz, The (Anonymous Donor Family) Director of Education

One Monday evening a month, 8–9 PM, Virtual only, Zoom ID# 9245 552 6669

Upcoming Adult Education Classes

Upcoming classes are listed below. Click on their names to go to their event page, which includes, at the bottom, a Zoom link to the class. (All Zoom links use the standard Har Zion Zoom password; contact the office–during their open hours–if you need it.)

See the full calendar for more.

Guided Jewish Mediation with Rabbi Glick 

Sundays at 9 AM

Zoom ID # 489 884 312

Every Sunday morning, we gather for a fully guided 30 minute meditation by Rabbi Glick based on Kabbalistic techniques. Find stillness, peace, inspiration, and connection for the week ahead. Suitable for beginners and advanced students.

Monday Evening Learning with Temple Har Zion Education Director  David Schwartz

Monday Evenings, 8–9 PM; Zoom ID# 990 415 095
(Usual Har Zion Zoom Password)

David's current topics are a rotation that includes Pirkei Avot,
Holidays, Stories, and Prayers.

 ​​​​​  STAR Seniors & Retirees: 

      Gathering to Learn & Connect    

Thursdays, 1- 3 PM
for virtual meeting info please contact the office

Videos that might be interesting ...

Dedication of  our New Sefer Torah!

Thanks to the generosity of the Geldner family, the Har Zion community has a new Sefer Torah to replace an older non-kosher one. The weather for the dedication could not have been better; the crowd could not have been happier! Check out the recording to (re)enjoy the occasion!

Enjoy this live recording of the festivities!

Join the upcoming virtual services/learning/gathering sessions at Temple Har Zion.

→We welcome both members and all others who are interested to join us.
If you do not have the password, please email the office or call 708.366.9000.

MEMBERS: All Temple Har Zion virtual programming is password protected so use the emails that the temple sends to you to directly "click to join."  Use the Friday eblasts, or other emails we have sent you to join programs by directly clicking into Zoom.

Unsure how to use Zoom? Click here for a tutorial. 

Miss our live programming on Zoom? Recordings of many services and programs are available on Facebook or YouTube!

Services:

Join livestreams of all of our services on Zoom (the links are below; ask the temple office if you need the password). Our Saturday morning services are also livestreamed and saved on Facebook (for a limited time) and on YouTube (no password necessary).