We’re here to support you.
Do you have a social or community cause in need of some assistance or volunteers? Tell us about your needs, and we’ll see if we can help.
CONTACT US WITH DETAILSIt is our responsibility as Jews to give back.
And the Chesed Network will us help do it.
As we contemplate the sounds of the shofar calling us,
we are summoned by the knowledge of the suffering in our midst.Some in our community live in loneliness; some worry about daily
sustenance; some struggle to get through each day.The shofar calls us to hear the cries of those among whom we live,
the cries of people who we may not see.
(an excerpt from “Prayers for Our Community’s Welfare,” of the Rosh Hashanah service in the Mahzor Lev Shalem, page 116)
Will You Help?
The Chesed Network is working to enable all members of the Har Zion community to be the light. Fill out this form to begin:
Chesed Interest Form
(Check back to this page; it is very much a work-in-progress!)
Chesed (in Hebrew: חֶסֶד) is an ancient Hebrew word that is often translated as “Loving-Kindness.” Chesed is one of three Pillars of Judaism:
- Torah (Study and Wisdom),
- Avodah (Worship and Prayer), and
- Gemilut Chasidim (Acts of Loving-Kindness).
The Chesed Network is a new program at Har Zion, which will help us as individuals, and as a congregation, to find and engage in Acts of Loving Kindness, both within Har Zion, and in the wider community. The Chesed Network was announced during the 5787 Rosh Hashanah Day 2 service, in Rabbi Glick’s sermon, followed by an introduction by three members of the committee. This video includes a portion of Rabbi Glick’s sermon and the introduction to the Chesed Network given by Lisa Edelman Karp, Jackie Shaye, and Phyllis Rubin.
(The recording of Rabbi Glick’s complete sermon with the following introduction to the Chesed Network is here.)
Our Social Action Committee Has Been Reborn as the Chesed Network!
Like the original committee, it will organize opportunities for activities benefiting our congregational family, the extended Jewish community and the greater community at large.
Here are some of the ways you can help.
Serving on a Har Zion Volunteer Committee
Helping at Temple Har Zion
There are many ways to engage in volunteer opportunities at our own synagogue. Examples include:
- Tending to the Adamah Garden at the synagogue
- Maintaining the temple’s Urban Garden, cultivated in partnership with the early childhood program, and donating freshly grown food to a local food pantry
- Developing and promoting recycling and other sustainability practices
- Identifying environmental and other social action issues relevant to our Jewish community
- Researching guest speakers for events at the temple
- Conducting outreach, marketing, and communications to help promote our events
- Chaperoning KRS or USY Activities
Projects that Impact Other Communities
Volunteer opportunities extend beyond our congregation and into the surrounding communities. Examples include:
- Tending to local community gardens
- Organizing tzedakah projects for Jewish groups in the area
- Working with faith and community groups to reduce gun violence
- Providing support for initiatives of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
- Supporting refugee families collaboratively sponsored by local religious congregations and organizations, including through the Chicago Jewish Coalition for Refugees (a member of the Refugee Action Network)
- Supporting Migrant Communities
- Donating medical supplies, religious books and articles, and funding to the Jewish community of Penza, our sister city in the former Soviet Union
- Organizing blood, food and clothing drives
- Organizing support for communities in other countries and in Israel, including IsraAID
- Letter-writing campaigns for Jewish causes
Will You Help?
The Chesed Network is working to enable all members of the Har Zion community to be the light. Fill out this form to begin:
Chesed Interest Form
(Check back to this page; it is very much a work-in-progress!)