Our story grounds us in our past and guides us in the present.
Outspoken for his support of the State of Israel, Rabbi Polish sought a new spiritual home. The rabbi, his wife Aviva, and their two children joined with 40 other families to establish the first Reform congregation in Evanston.
Under the leadership of national leaders Rabbi Peter Knobel z”l now Rabbi Andrea London, Beth Emet has evolved into a leading Reform congregation.
Keeping with the congregation’s commitment to freedom and liberty for all, champions of progressive ideas have found a welcome place on Beth Emet’s bimah, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1958.
Beth Emet officially welcomed the member families of Temple Menorah in 2017 after their Rogers Park synagogue on the corner of California and Sherwin, had ceased operations. Founded in 1946, when many progressive Jews left the South Side and moved north, Temple Menorah menorah served the local Jewish community in Rogers Park for nearly 70 years.
Similarly, Temple Judea Mizpah (TJM), a warm and welcoming Reform Jewish community, was exploring options for a new home after nearly 60 years in serving the local communities in Skokie.
Each congregation brought members who were both warm and welcoming and added to the depth and breadth of the Beth Emet community. Also included in the combinations was an expanded Torah scroll collection, a Holocast Torah from Czechoslovakia, the symbolic flame sculpture that was the signature landmark for the TJM building and a stained glass window that was given as a gift for the retiring TJM rabbi, Karl Weiner.
Former Temple Menorah and TJM congregants have both been terrific additions to our community, serving on the Board and in other leadership roles, contributing to the Mitzvah Appeal and other campaigns, singing in the choir, bringing the long-standing TJM tradition of entertainment provided by The Players, attending services, and supporting other events. We are fortunate to now have both congregations woven into the fabric of Beth Emet’s diverse and multi-generational membership.
Our story is why we’re committed to the deeply internal mindfulness work that will help us grow as individuals within our group and how each of our rabbis have created a foundation for the next.
Whether you’re just walking into our story or have lived it, you’ll see that Beth Emet’s story is one of grit and ingenuity. Our community continues to firmly believe that all voices have the freedom to speak and engage in respectful discourse.
We believe and live this to our core.