The warmth and beauty of our weekly Shabbat observances continues when we come together at our special festival celebrations. Some of our annual celebrations include:

• A congregational break-the-fast after the conclusion of Yom Kippur services.
• A Sukkahmobile (during Sukkot) that travels and stops at congregants' homes throughout the community.
• A congregational second seder on Passover.
• A traditional Shavuot dinner and study session.
• A fun-filled carnival and Megillah reading for Purim.

Lifelong Learning

Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun is dedicated to lifelong learning. The religious school encompasses preschool to senior high school. Every Sunday morning children learn about Jewish culture, law, the Bible, holidays, Israel, and what it means to be a Jew. Classroom learning is supplemented with art, music and library classes, along with a minyan led by the Rabbi. Beginning in third grade, students also attend our mid-week Hebrew program where they learn Modern Hebrew and the prayers in our services.

Learning at Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun involves all generations. Throughout the year we offer various in-depth opportunities for adult and family education including:

• The Rabbi Dudley Weinberg Scholar-in-Residence Weekend.
• The Cantor Sol Altschuler Artist-in-Residence Weekend.
• The Olin-Sang-Ruby-Union-Institute Family Retreat Weekend in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
• Introduction to Judaism class.
• A weekly, intensive class in Hebrew and Judaism that requires a two-year commitment. The class culminates in an Anshe Mitzvah ceremony.
• A lecture series led by our Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence.
• Shabbat morning study minyan.
• An extensive library and a monthly book club.
• The Adult Academy of Jewish Studies which we co-sponsor with four neighboring congregations.
• Individual and group preparation for Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah.

A Place to Grow

Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun is also a place to grow. In times of illness and joy, from brit milah to b'nai mitzvah, from weddings to moments of sadness, the congregation is an extended family always there for you.

As a member of our congregation, you can enjoy the benefits of an active Brotherhood, Sisterhood, and Youth Group. All support the congregation's needs - religious, financial and social. Youth Group is a great way for high school students to get involved in the synagogue and their Judaism. The Brotherhood and the Sisterhood sponsor many social and religious programs throughout the year including guest speakers, blood drives, Tri-Sisterhood High Tea and Havdallah, and the annual congregational deli dinner.

Joining

We are proud of our long and rich tradition and each day we are making new commitments to enhance it. Join us as we expand our present facility and prepare to grow for the future needs of our membership. Join now and be a part of our tradition.

If you are interested in joining or would like more information, please contact the synagogue office at (414) 228-7545.

To Those In Search....
a personal message from Rabbi Marc E. Berkson

A story is told of a young girl by the name of Rachel who often ran away from home. Her parents regularly punished her for this when she returned. One day, however, her parents decided to follow her wherever she ran. Thus they followed her into a grove by a nearby pond where they heard her proclaim:

"Shema Yisrael, Hear O Israel" over and over again.

Rachel's parents then appeared and asked her, "Why are you wasting your time by the pond? Why do you come here?"

"I am looking for God," replied Rachel.

"Isn't God everywhere?" demanded her mother.

"And isn't God everywhere the same?" demanded her father.

"God is," answered Rachel, "but I am not."

When searching for a congregation, we are all like Rachel. We seek to affiliate with a synagogue, to congregate in a place where God may be the same but we (we hope and pray) are not. Success would mean becoming part of a caring community that embraces and elevates. Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun can be that synagogue, that congregation, that community. In the words of our mission statement, "Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun seeks to provide its members with spiritual fulfillment through kedusha (holiness), kehillah (community), a broad array of educational opportunities for serious Jewish learning (Torah l'shma), with an ongoing commitment to social justice and leadership in the Jewish community, in the larger Milwaukee community, and in the healing of our still battered and broken world (tikkun olam)." May it be here, in this community, that you become different, through this congregational family, that you reach up to God, and here at Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun, that God's presence may truly touch you.

Please feel free to contact me, any of my colleagues on the staff of the congregation, or our membership chair if you would like to discuss our congregational family. As the oldest Jewish congregation in Wisconsin, dating back more than 150 years, we would like to share the past with you and have you join us in building our future. May you find God here, and here find life.

L'shalom

Rabbi Marc E. Berkson

Our Leaders...

Rabbi Marc E. Berkson is the congregation's sixth senior rabbi since the merger of Emanu-El and B'ne Jeshurun in 1922. A native of Chicago and a graduate of Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, Rabbi Berkson was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1978. Following ordination, he served in the Chicago area as rabbi of Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie. Active in a wide range of local and regional Jewish, interreligious, and human relations programs and organizations, Rabbi Berkson brings his love of teaching and his community-building skills to Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun. He is an avid bicyclist and railroad buff and resides near the congregation with his wife, Debbie, and their three children, Michal, Abigail and Jesse.

Cantor David Barash is currently serving his sixth year at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Previously, he served as Cantor for nine years at Congregation Beth Shalom in Kansas City, Missouri. He studied Hazzanut at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and completed his training at its Cantors Institute in 1992, after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 1987.  David has taught many people to read Torah and Haftarah, and he enjoys leading workshops on various subjects ranging from Prayer Aerobics to “Songs for the Seder.” He is having a lot of fun with “Torahpalooza: Shabbos with an Attitude!,” a monthly all-musical service at CEEBJ highlighting local musicians playing a variety of instruments.  David has created a CD with accompanist Barbara Katz for toddlers and preschoolers entitled “Big Jewish Songs for Little Jewish Kids.” He is featured on another CD with Kansas City-based Yachad, the Traveling T’fillah Band; and on a CD of Jewish folksongs, “I Can’t Keep the Past Behind Me,” with guitarist, Lil’ Rev.  David serves as one of three chaplains for the North Shore Fire Department. He looks forward to weekly ride-alongs and having lunch with the firefighters. David is really into bicycling, and he enjoys swimming as well. He has two wonderful children, Natan and Rafi.