Congregation Beth Judea

A few months ago I was tasked with visiting a place of worship other than Christianity for a diversity class. I called around to a few synagogues in the greater Schaumburg area but was called back by only one location: Congregation Beth Judea.
I am an atheist but I grew up within a very strong traditional Christian environment so I wasn’t sure what to expect and admittedly had some irrational anxiety that a visit to a synagogue would be met with evangelistic conversion tactics. Needless to say, I was very wrong.
Rabbi Jeff Pivo met me with open arms and ready to answer any questions I had and immediately made me feel welcome. He happily gave me the grand tour and even opened up the inner sanctuary that contained extremely valuable handwritten scrolls to show to me. There have been very few times in my life where I have felt genuinely welcomed within the boundaries of a place of worship than I have at Beth Judea.
Rabbi Jeff Pivo gave me free rein to take as many pictures as I liked so I’ve uploaded them for all to see the beauty of this synagogue. There is even a small shop that contains various religious memorabilia.
I really felt welcomed here and genuinely thank Rabbi Pivo for the great experience I encountered. My positive visit has here has become a strong part of my personal mentality of diversity and understanding of the American community as a whole.

I attended the Bat Mitzvah of the daughter of my best friend from the University of Iowa on this Thanksgiving Day. This trip to stand with my friend for this key life cycle event was a mitzvah (good deed) I was happy to perform.
Beth Judea is housed in a handsome building and seems to be an active and welcoming Conservative congregation. Many friends and family from near and far had come for this occasion, including all of the Bat Mitzvah girl’s teenage buddies in the back corner.
Norm’s daughter was impressive in chanting her Torah portion (Toldot) and the entire Haftorah. Her drash (sermon) was pretty good too. I also thought that Rabbi Gamer and Cantor Weisberg were especially kind and helpful to the Bat Mitzvah girl and the other folks (including me) who come up for an honor.
In my particular situation, I had the Hagbah honor. This consists of lifting up the Torah and turning it around so that the congregation can see the actual writing on the parchment. The Hagbah occurs after the Torah reading is completed and before the Haftorah takes place. This requires a certain amount of strength in the arms, as Torah scrolls are heavy and in this case disproportionately weighted on the left side. And despite that required strength and balancing act and the fear of actually dropping the Torah, this honor remains one of my favourites.
Afterwards, another person dresses the Torah and I then sat with it on my shoulder as Norm’s daughter read the Haftorah. It was great to witness her chanting and the congregation watching from this vantage point.
And as the weight of the Torah rested on my shoulder, I thought of the ying and yang of my Jewish-​related burdens and enrichment, especially as it related to my son. Gayle is right, it is time to do something positive about that.
Afterall, this is Review #613 and maybe a few more mitzvot are in order.