SINAI’S PROGRAMS
Adult Education
Sinai offers a wide variety of adult education classes and programs throughout the year, taught by our rabbis, visiting scholars and experts. These include Friday night Shabbat dinner/social action education programs, Saturday morning Torah study, Sunday morning classes, Sunday afternoon lectures, semester-long Introduction to Judaism classes, four to eight week mini-courses, and weekday and weeknight programs such as book discussions, films, and current events presentations. Current program information can be found in the monthly Sinai Bulletin.
Outreach for Interfaith Couples
For twenty-five years Sinai has opened its hearts and doors to couples confronting one of the most challenging dilemmas of family and faith – the reconciliation of deep personal love with the significant spiritual, religious and cultural differences inherent in interfaith marriage. Sinai has been at the forefront in responding to this modern challenge. We offer interfaith couples understanding, support, and a unique perspective that embraces those of all faiths, as we seek to provide a spiritual home to Jew and non-Jew alike. Our rabbis will officiate at interfaith weddings, and do not require non-Jewish partners to convert to Judaism. Instead, interfaith couples who will be married by our rabbis agree to attend a year of Outreach programs at Sinai and to consider how they may incorporate the beauty and values of the Jewish tradition into their lives. This program is not about proselytizing or conversion, but about meeting the spiritual needs of families with diverse backgrounds.
Over 500 couples have participated in the Outreach Program since its inception. More than one-fourth of our members are interfaith families. At Sinai they have found a welcoming community of faith supporting them in their spiritual journey together. While the larger Jewish community views intermarriage as a threat, at Sinai our unique approach has resulted in the vast majority of children born to interfaith couples being named in the temple and raised in committed Jewish homes.
Social Action
“The Jew assumes for himself the historic post of a soldier of righteousness and justice; responsibility and service are the sacramental words of the Jewish philosophy of life.”
Rabbi Emil G. Hirsch, 1903
From its founding Sinai has embraced a commitment to the betterment of the community, to social action on behalf of those in need, and to advocacy on important issues of justice. From abolition to fair labor practices to gay and lesbian rights, Sinai rabbis and congregants have been champions of many significant, and sometimes unpopular, causes. This commitment to tikkun olam, the repair of the broken world, finds expression in a broad range of social action projects in the Jewish community and in the community at large. Recent efforts have addressed such issues as hunger, gun violence, and reproductive choice. Please call the temple office for further information.
Chicago Sinai Connection
Chicago Sinai Connection is a group for young adults in their twenties and thirties in the Chicago Jewish community who gather for social, cultural and religious events. These include a Passover Seder, a Chanukah party, Shabbat dinners, Ravinia trips, and more. New participants and new program ideas are always welcome.
Young Families Group
The young families group brings together parents and children up to about age six for social events and educational programs. These include “tot Shabbats,” summertime "Shabbat on the Beach" services on the Oak Street Beach, and discussions on parenting issues from a Jewish perspective. The young families group provides an opportunity to learn about and celebrate Jewish traditions while providing mutual support at a busy and challenging time of life.
Religious School
Through our Religious School, Sinai is committed to guiding children toward an awareness of the spiritual dimensions of daily living, which we hope will mature into a life-long personal faith. We inculcate a positive Jewish identity that celebrates the beauty and values of our tradition, and yet links us with people of all faiths, races and cultures. The Classical Reform tradition emphasizes a strong grounding in ethical values, which enables children to apply Jewish understanding to their everyday experiences. We are particularly committed to helping children and their parents blend Jewish values and traditions with the principles of living as full members of American society. We recognize that many of our children live in homes in which more than one religious tradition is present. We strive to give children a sense of pride in their Jewish identity, while respecting other traditions.
Sinai’s Religious School is open to members’ children from kindergarten through ninth grade (Confirmation). Two separate but parallel programs are offered to meet different families’ needs: a Sunday morning program (grades K-8) or a Wednesday after school program (grades 3-8 only). Confirmation Class meets on Sunday afternoon. Sinai does not hold supplementary Hebrew classes for religious school students, and classes are not primarily geared toward bar/bat mitzvah preparation.
Call the temple office for information on our religious school as well as our bar/bat mitzvah philosophy and practices.
Youth Activities
Sinai’s popular Madrich (counselor) program involves high school age students as Religious School classroom assistants. The majority of Confirmation and post-Confirmation students take on this responsibility, providing positive role models for younger students while helping the teachers at each grade level.
The Sinai Youth Group for high school students engages in community service projects and social programs throughout the school year.
Preschool
The Sinai Preschool is licensed by the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois, and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young children (NAEYC). It is open to children of all backgrounds, aged two to five. Programs include morning and afternoon classes, enrichment classes, mom and tot classes and summer camp. The curriculum is designed to foster the social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of each child. Children are introduced to Jewish holidays and traditions. Enrollment preference is given to members of the congregation. Please call the temple office for further information on preschool classes and registration.
Chicago Sinai has a proud history of acting on our values and working for causes that reflect our commitment to social justice and human dignity. Our Social Action Committee is among our most important and active. We are currently working with United Power for Action and Justice on a project entitled "Face-to-Face." It is an attempt to have one-on-one meetings with our members to find out what their social and political concerns are, and how we as a temple community might act on those concerns.
More information on this exciting venture will forthcoming. In the meantime, if you are interested, contact the temple office at 312-867-7000.