Welcome to Am Chai

Welcome to Congregation Am Chai

Welcome to our web site!

Shavu'ot, the Festival of Weeks occurs on May 28/30, 2009.

Shavu'ot, the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and is known as Hag ha-Bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah).

The period from Passover to Shavu'ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. See The Counting of the Omer. The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu'ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. Shavu'ot is also known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day; however, Shavu'ot has no particular similarity to the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after their Spring holiday.
More info about Shavu'ot

We offer Tradition in a relaxed,
informal atmosphere:

Family seating
Religious equality

Shabbat services

High Holy Day services

High Holy Day choir

Hebrew instruction

Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation
Adult education

Interfaith couples group

Social activities

Shop-At-Home gift shop

Minyans for all occasions

Senior outreach programs

Chicago Chuppah Project

Workshop for Jewish Engaged and Newly Married Couples

*    Clarify your expectations of marriage.
*    Learn healthy communication.
*    Address differing family and religious traditions.
*    Think about the Jewish aspects of your marriage.

Sunday, May 31, 2009, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
JCFS, 5150 Golf Road, Skokie

$150/couple, for a one-day workshop, includes lunch
Fees can be adjusted when needed.   Social workers/family life educators from Jewish Child and Family Services lead the Chicago Chuppah Project

For information and registration, contact Rosalie Greenberger, LCSW,
at 224-625-2819. JCFS is a partner in serving our community, receiving support from the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation 2009.

News about our Newsletter

If you have email (and we have your address), we're no longer mailing hard copy of the Newsletter to you, starting with the Spring 2009 Issue. It will be emailed to you, and is also available to download from this web site.

News Regarding Am Chai Membership Lists

Some Jewish graphics courtesy of Crystal Cloud Graphics

Visitors since July 2006:

Be sure to check out late breaking info near the bottom of this page!	Complete a membership application online! See the About Us page Click here to go directly to our calendar of events.
Home About Us Events & Info Newsletter Photo Albums Schedule of Everything Am Chai Cookbook Contact Us Fundraiser & Tribute Cards Interesting Links Order Tribute Cards online! See the Fundraiser-Tribute Cards page	Welcome to our web site! Shavu'ot, the Festival of Weeks occurs on May 28/30, 2009. Shavu'ot, the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and is known as Hag ha-Bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah). The period from Passover to Shavu'ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. See The Counting of the Omer. The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu'ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. Shavu'ot is also known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day; however, Shavu'ot has no particular similarity to the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after their Spring holiday. More info about Shavu'ot
NOTE: If you use web based email, such as Yahoo or Gmail, the email links on our pages may not work for you; see the information in the NOTE at the bottom of our Contact Us page.	We are an adult egalitarian congregation dedicated to serving the needs of the diverse Jewish community in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs and the Fox Valley since 1975. For more information, see our Contact page.
	We offer Tradition in a relaxed, informal atmosphere:
Complete a membership application online! See the About Us page	Family seating Religious equality Shabbat services High Holy Day services High Holy Day choir Hebrew instruction Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation Adult education Interfaith couples group Social activities Shop-At-Home gift shop Minyans for all occasions Senior outreach programs
Upcoming Events:
	Chicago Chuppah Project Workshop for Jewish Engaged and Newly Married Couples * Clarify your expectations of marriage. * Learn healthy communication. * Address differing family and religious traditions. * Think about the Jewish aspects of your marriage. Sunday, May 31, 2009, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. JCFS, 5150 Golf Road, Skokie $150/couple, for a one-day workshop, includes lunch Fees can be adjusted when needed. Social workers/family life educators from Jewish Child and Family Services lead the Chicago Chuppah Project For information and registration, contact Rosalie Greenberger, LCSW, at 224-625-2819. JCFS is a partner in serving our community, receiving support from the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation 2009. News about our Newsletter If you have email (and we have your address), we're no longer mailing hard copy of the Newsletter to you, starting with the Spring 2009 Issue. It will be emailed to you, and is also available to download from this web site. News Regarding Am Chai Membership Lists In the past, our Membership List was mailed out with the the winter bulletin/newsletter. In an effort to protect the privacy of our membership, the Membership Listing will no longer be mailed with the bulletin. Any member in good standing may request the list by sending an email to us and we'll send the current list to you via email.
	Information about the Jewish Genealogy Society of Illinois can be found on our Interesting Links page.
	ATTENTION!! If you know how to play Mahjong, and would like to help teach some senior citizens how to play the game, please contact Cliff.
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Information about the Jewish Genealogy Society of Illinois can be found on our Interesting Links page.

ATTENTION!!

If you know how to play Mahjong, and would like to help teach some senior citizens how to play the game, please contact Cliff.