Temple Jeremiah is celebrating 50 proud years of worship,
education, social action, study, social activities and friendship.
Join us for a year-long line-up of exciting events. We will
continually
update this list as events come up. To get involved
or for more information, contact the temple
office.
Anniversary Weekend Celebration. See information below on
our upcoming 50th
Anniversary Weekend from Friday,
May 21 - Sunday, May 23, 2010, including ad and sponsorship
opportunities.
Anniversary Brochure. View and download our 50th
Anniversary brochure. (This is an evolving document
and you are encouraged to submit information and articles
of historical documentation that you feel should be added
to our historical timeline to the temple
office.)
Anniversary Plate. In honor of the temple's 50th anniversary,
Sisterhood has commissioned a "Tree
of Life" plate. Learn more about how
you can order this custom, gold-colored glass.
History. See History below
to learn more about Temple Jeremiah's exciting 50-year history.
In commemoration of the temple's
50th anniversary, our Social Action Committee is expanding
one of the temple's earliest and most dynamic social action programs
- Feed the Homeless. Our goal is to provide 1500 lunches during the year.
To help us achieve this goal, congregants will pitch in
on March 14 to prepare
500 lunches.
Sisterhood will honor
the temple's 50th anniversary with a commemorative Haggadah
insert which includes blessings, writings, recipes and songs celebrating
women's contributions to Judaism.
• Special Shabbat Service
Friday, April 30, 2010
8:00 pm
Our Spiritual Life Committee will host a commemorative
service tracing our worship from the Union Prayer Book and Gates
of Prayer to Mishkan
T'filah and our musical history from 1959 to the present.
• Meditation Garden
April - May 2010
Here is a hands-on opportunity to get involved in the
temple's anniversary as we create a garden at the temple
to represent each of our members.
• 50th Anniversary Celebration
Weekend
Shabbat Service with Rabbi Eric Yoffie
Friday, May 21, 2010
8:00 pm
Our exciting weekend gala begins with a Shabbat Dinner and Service on
May 21 with Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the URJ. The service will
feature a new musical composition commissioned in honor of the temple's
anniversary.
Dancing Through the Decades
Saturday, May 22, 2010
What’s your favorite decade? Do you love the golden oldies, classic
rock or are you a cutting-edge music fanatic? Have you jitterbugged,
done the worm or boogied the night away? No matter what you answer,
there will be something for you at our 50th Anniversary Gala – Dancing
Through the Decades. Together we will be celebrating our milestone birthday
on Saturday, May 22 with a birthday party you won’t want to
miss!
Join your friends and fellow congregants for dinner and dancing. Orchestra
33 will play all your favorite songs from 1959 to today’s music.
The celebration will be reasonably priced so everyone can join the fun.
In order to support this great weekend, we are putting together a memorable
ad book and providing some great sponsorship opportunities. Look for
your party invitation in April. You won’t want to miss this
great celebration.
We celebrated the rededication of the
Holy Temple over two millennia ago as well as the legacy
of Temple Jeremiah's founding members over 50
years ago.
Rabbi Zola, Executive
Director of the American Jewish Archives and our Scholar-in-Residence,
explored the history of
Reform Judaism and its impact on Temple Jeremiah over the
past years. Our 50th anniversary coincides with the 200th
anniversary of Reform Judaism. This program was open to the
entire community at no charge and was funded by the Bill
and Norma Brown Fund for Life Long Learning.
A History of Temple Jeremiah
Visit History for a complete history of Temple Jeremiah.
Timeline
1959
Temple
Jeremiah is founded by 25 families. Services
and Religious School are held at Hubbard Woods School
in Winnetka.
1960
Membership
is at 135 families. Services move to Skokie School.
Burton and Martha Wolff purchase the first Torah for
Temple Jeremiah.
1961
Rabbi
Allan Tarshish begins as the first permanent spiritual
leader. Ruth Lindar-Littman, one of the temple's founding
members, becomes the music director and soloist for
services and serves 18 years in that position.
H. Barton Moss begins as the accompanist.
1964
The
first musical director, H. Barton Moss, is hired and
the volunteer choir is established.
1967
Temple
Jeremiah has the largest Religious School in the Chicago
area with over 600 teachers and 27 teachers and music
staff.
1969
The
temple hires its first full-time Administrator and
School Director, Howard Lazar.
Timeline
1971
Groundbreaking
begins for a permanent temple building.
The
temple dedicates and begins using the new prayerbook,
Mishkan T'filah.
2009
Fern
Kamen retires after 28 years of service and Michael
Garlin is hired as the new Executive Director.
2009/10
Temple
Jeremiah is 860 households strong and continues to
serve its members in a compassionate, caring way as
it celebrates
its 50 year history and looks forward to its next 50
years.
1959
- 2009
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Dedication of the Torah of Our Own
