Rabbi Plans Bingo Spinoff After Observances

Rabbi Amy Memis-Foler of Temple Judea Mizpah won’t start her special programs to promote involvement in the synagogue during the High Holidays as she devises a different approach to engage her congregation in Jewish principles of service.

She says there is just too many events during Tishri--the month that kicks off with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, then features Sukkot and Simcah Torah. 

Instead, Memis-Foler will employ her bully pulpit during the period of high attendance for the High Holidays, which begin Wednesday night,  to promote a special version of bingo at Temple Judea Mizpah, 8610 Niles Center Rd., 

“We put together a program to encourage participation beyond the holidays,” she said. “Cheshvan is the month immediately following Tishri. Cheshvan is devoid of holidays.

"At our congregation, we create a fun way to participate in Cheshvan bingo," Memis-Foler added.

“You get a card, and have squares they fulfill on each card. Read a Jewish book, come to Friday services, volunteer at our office, volunteer at soup kitchen with which we have a connection. It’s a fun way to encourage participation,” she explained about participating in the game.

Memis-Foler wants to offer prizes with different bingo cards for both adults and children who can fill in all the spaces during Cheshvan. She got the idea from seeing a game of human bingo.

Memis-Foler’s program is one of the most creative way local rabbis use during the High Holidays to encourage year-round participation among their congregants.

However, some Skokie rabbis use other, more traditional means for those seeking spiritual fulfillment. 

“We believe every moment [should be lived] in its fullest, not leveraging each moment to its next,” said Rabbi Yosef Posner of Lubavitch Chadad of Skokie, 4059 Dempster St. “Hopefully, people come [and] find it’s a rewarding experience.

“We’re not doing this to try to build us up. We want to make it the most meaningful and appropriate experience. If they like what we are, they’ll take the next step," he noted. "That next step is advancing participation in Jewish communal life.

"Our goal is [to] advance people up the ladder in Jewish life. If we do, we accomplish our main goal. If they want to join us, we’re thrilled. It resonates with people,” Posner said.

Taking joy in participating in synagogue events is the message of Rabbi Gerald Teller of Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue, 8825 East Prairie Rd. The congregation is classified “traditional,” meaning it leans between Orthodox and Conservative. Both genders are seated together, unlike in a typical Orthodox synagogue.

“What I do in my sermon before Yizkor on Yom Kippur is Judaism; [it] is not just coming to [a] synagogue when they’re sad,” Teller said. 

“My point generally is don’t think of the synagogue as a place you go just when loved one died or are sick. A synagogue is a place for happy occasions," he said.

“On Rosh Hashanah, the voice of the shofar is the voice that calls us, do something for our families, join the synagogue, do service to Judaism. We’re dealing with a large audience of those coming three times a year, who don’t see the relevance of Judaism. But some do get the message,” Teller said.

Summing up the entire concept was Rabbi Barry Schechter of Congregation Kol Emeth, 5130 Touhy Ave.: “It’s the good feeling people have when they come to shul on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We say we you can have this good feeling the rest of the year.”