President’s Message
Happy (secular) New Year! Did you make any resolutions? More exercise, less TV, or read the classics?
Here’s a resolution for you: Become even more involved with Sinai Synagogue!
The same few folks seem to show up all the time. I know we’re not many and that most of you are very busy with children, career, and other extracurricular obligations.
My point: If you want or need something from Sinai, then roll up your sleeves, enlist a fellow member of like mind, and get to work. Resolve to simply do more in 2026, because your fellow Sinai members need you more than ever as we prepare to send off Rabbi Friedland into retirement and welcome a new rabbi to be “trained” the Sinai way.
I know you’ve marked the evening of May 31st for Rabbi Friedland’s retirement celebration, but on behalf of the committees planning the big event, start looking for pictures you have of Reb Michael and his family through the years from your family’s photo albums and digital archives. A link will be sent with the official invitation for you to upload pictures, or if you’re old school, bring them into the office for them to be scanned. (And you are encouraged to join any committee planning this momentous occasion.)
The Sinai website has been refreshed, but specific events and times are not included, out of concern for our communal security. That is the purpose of the secure Member Site; to share elaborate details, times, locations, and information.
We must all reregister again to access this valuable store of members-only information. An email was sent, but if you need help registering, then please contact the office for help.
Without wanting to steal Sisterhood’s thunder, we should all be very proud of the success of the December 14 Hanukkah party. For instance, in 2022, 60 people attended and $173 in cash donations were collected. This year, $400 was collected from among the 125 people who came! Compare that figure to these 2025 events: Shavuot, $50 collected; Simchat Torah, $54 collected; and Break Fast, $48 collected. Let’s resolve to celebrate the Hanukkah way at our next big event: Purim!
Lastly, I want to brag about Kim Cossman. She raised $1,700 to support our 5th and 6th grade Hebrew School students studying the Holocaust. She secured grant money from the Mark Shonwetter Holocaust Education Fund, the Simon Holocaust Foundation, and the Samuel and Pauline Okon Fund to take the kids to a Chicago area Holocaust museum. Thanks, Kim.
As you can see, there’s a lot going on at Sinai Synagogue this year, and the more of you who volunteer now, the greater our chances of making 2026 terrific!