A Reform educator in town, Vanessa Ehrlich, wrote an interesting blog post recently. She spoke about how much she has enjoyed the one-on-one tutorial sessions the Apple Store provides. They are a safe space to ask any and all computer and technology questions and receive easy to understand information that is useful and relevant in a friendly and supportive way. She wonders in her post what synagogues can learn from this model.

InterfaithFamily/Chicago will be joining with Philadelphia and San Francisco from November 15-24 to bring Interfaith Family Shabbat to each community. Philadelphia has taken part in this program for over five years with more than fifty congregations and community centers offering a program of interest over this time frame to interfaith couples and families within their community which is open to anybody who wants to join in. The programs have told the interfaith families who have made a commitment to that synagogue that their presence is appreciated.

Acknowledging that interfaith families have added to our community and may have questions, concerns and approaches specific to having family who didn’t grow up with Judaism and are now living with Judaism is important and meaningful to many. Some interfaith couples and families come in to a synagogue or community center for the first time as a couple or new family just to attend a unique Shabbat service or workshop because of the special invitation it provides.

Some congregations and the Jewish Community Center in Chicago are already planning their program for our first community Interfaith Family Shabbat. It may be interesting if some congregations offer “Ask a professional”  in which Jewish leaders can have a table set up under a tent or in a big room and people can come and ask the right person the questions on their mind. From Jewish cooking advice to spiritual parenting to Jewish mediation and ethical and moral questions to current events in Israel, what if there was an open “Find your answers here” type of day?  Or at least within Judaism, it might be a “Get more questions” day as opposed to simple answers—this could be especially true if one expert answers questions about theology!

Check at 18doors-mly-1029-staging.mystagingwebsite.com/chicago for the events that are being planned already for this November (as well as events happening right now in Chicago of interest).