Beth Emet The Free Synagogue - Social Action You are here: Home | About Us

Social Action

Founded on an unswerving belief in the right to free speech, from our earliest days Beth Emet has championed human rights and worked vigorously toward tikkun olam, repair of the world. Through awareness and action, we are committed to promoting social justice. Our many activities are listed below. Additionally, please refer to this year's Calendar of Mitzvot Opportunities to see where you can help. You'll notice that many of the projects are family-friendly as well.


Project Hamotzi: Beth Emet's Response to Hunger:  Project Hamotzi is a broad-based initiative launched by Beth Emet's Social Action committee. Focused on tackling both local and global issues related to hunger, Project Hamotzi encompasses several activities:

        * Preparing and serving dinner each Wednesday evening at the Beth Emet Soup Kitchen
        * Helping to staff other community soup kitchens
        * Collecting food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository through the annual High Holiday food drive
        * Serving Council for Jewish Elderly Shabbat lunches
        * Participating in the interfaith CROP Walk against hunger
        * Sponsoring educational workshops and advocacy programs

Tzedakah Fund: Established in 1987 to encourage congregants to give tzedakah as a regular part of their daily lives, contributions to this fund support local causes, organizations, individuals, and projects that promote justice, equality, and social well-being.

Mitzvah Day: This bi-annual event provides congregants of all ages an opportunity to help people in need throughout the Chicago area.


2011 BLOOD DRIVE: Sunday, 8 am – 2 pm, date TBA: The annual Beth Emet Blood Drive, sponsored in conjunction with Lifesource Blood Services each spring, offers a wonderful opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh, saving someone's life!
Your blood donation of one pint could literally make the critical difference in keeping three people alive...a hemophiliac, an accident victim, a cancer patient, or a surgery patient who might even be neighbor or friend.

We need volunteers to make donor recruitment calls. Even if you can't donate, you can support the blood drive by helping to make these phone calls. The Annual Blood Drive is truly a community effort: Join your fellow congregants on a Sunday morning over coffee and bagels, the Sunday papers and a good schmooze while you relax after giving blood. Even if you don’t donate, consider working for an hour on the day of the drive.

If you are over 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and are in generally good health, you are probably eligible to donate. Most chronic conditions that are controlled by medication (such as high blood pressure) are no longer reasons for deferral. (To ask specific questions about donating, call Lifesource Blood Center at (847) 298-9660 for pre-screening by telephone.)

For more information about the 2011 blood drive, contact Andrea Lubershane.


Interfaith Programs: These wide-ranging programs include involvement in the Evanston Housing Coalition, Jewish/Catholic dialogue, and pulpit exchanges.


Environmental Activities: Beth Emet members are involved in prairie restoration, energy conservation, and recycling projects.