What a warm and welcoming place!…read more First off, the temple is simply beautiful. It's a vibrant growing community that recently welcomed in the community of Temple Chai (Long Grove) who had to sell their synagogue. And they've been welcomed it with open arms with the lower level of the synagogue refitted with items from Temple Chai to make their displaced members feel at home. I recently was able to see their Men's Club run a Men's Seder and it was a splendid event! The Cantor from Temple Chai ran the Passover Seder and Temple Beth-El's Rabbi oversaw the proceedings and joined in on the festivities. They welcomed members and non-members alike and I felt as if I was a member despite just paying for the event and not a current member. There was networking/meet-and-greet prior to the dinner and the reading of the Haggadah. Then during dinner we were able to chat with friends new and old and after, the Men's Club President thanked everyone individually. I personally was moved by this gesture that I'll be joining the Men's Club this summer. Temple Beth-El is a welcoming, warm, lovely community that if you're looking for a place to call home and to fit in, this is the place for you.

Temple Beth-el is a vibrant, growing community I love the clergy and the friendly, warm TBE…read morecommunity. I am happy that I have found my spiritual home.

Everyone is very welcoming and it's a great place to be my daughter lives going to Torah school and…read moreI love the members it's a home away from home

Beautiful synagogue. Warm congregants. Very family oriented. Top clergy. A holy space to connect…read morewith something bigger.

Brilliant rabbi. Karen Kedar is a blessing. An incredibly gifted speaker. She is engaging,…read moreinspiring, and a wonderful person. Gorgeous building. The facilities are luxurious. Best in the country.

We fell in love with this church when we arrived in 2000 as we were trying to find a church to get…read moremarried in. A few people came up to us and chatted after the first time visiting. We got married there in 2002, had our 3 kids go through their children's programming and we all just loved it. They have AWANA for the kids and preach word for word out of the Bible. They have Bible studies and small groups to help you grow closer to the Lord.

We have been there for about 15 years because of the solid teaching and strong leadership combined…read morewith a heart for people and God's word. It's amazing how God has used this church to reach people around the world with their support of missionaries. I have heard of zero scandals and no gossip, which is huge considering what other Chicago suburban churches have faced in the past few years. Good things are happening there, and the congregation is growing in their faith at VCB.

Long Grove Community Church is a nondenominational bible based church. I highly recommend that…read moreanyone come and take in a service on Sundays at 9:30 am. I assure you will leave inspired.

For those searching or for the long time believer, this is a wonderful church. Both live streamed…read moreservices and in person services are available. VBS, local service opportunities, vibrant youth group, and children's ministry are available. It's been a crazy year... try something new... theLGCC.com.

I attended the Bat Mitzvah of the daughter of my best friend from the University of Iowa on this…read moreThanksgiving 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.

I have been a member of Congregation Beth Judea since 1979…read more Keeping Conservative Judaism alive and flourishing in the NW suburbs of Chicago is of extreme importance to me and my family. Every friendship that we have made since our move from Philadelphia has been started at Beth Judea. Recently Beth Judea has employed New Clergy. Rabbi Zimbalist and Hazzan Ezring have made our Jewish Community even stronger. Not every thing we do at CBJ is religious oriented, our social, education, and youth programs are second to none. I strongly recommend you try us out. Arnie G

Only 4 stars to begin with because we've only been to services once. I was raised in the…read moreGastro-Judaic movement, which is somewhere between reform and reconstructionist (it's not about G-d, it's about the food...hahahaha!) but my husband is more comfortable with the Traditional setting, so here we are; our daughter will be going to hebrew school here in the fall. For those who don't know, Traditional is just a step away from Orthodox, in fact I saw several be-wigged moms in long skirts, but then there was also a woman in a thigh high mini skirt passing out siddurs (prayer books) so this place is accepting of everyone. There are orthodox members as well as those who would be classified as reform and everything inbetween. There is no music...no choir, no organ etc. which I like because music makes it seem like church...and this ain't church. The hyms are all traditional, none of the new melodies like they sometimes have in the conservative, reform or reconstructionist synagogues. The rabbis here have done their best to make us feel welcome...it's very nice when someone you've met only once remembers your name.

I purchased tickets for the Christmas luminary walk. I expected a lighted path with Christmas…read moredecorations. I was delightfully surprised at the actors and actresses along the path telling the story of Christmas. This was one of the best Christmas experiences I had this year. It was not all serious either, the actors were joking and making us laugh too! After, there was hot chocolate in the church, a choir, and Santa too!

This is a great place. Our kids love the children's programs, Awana and their Bible Quest…read moreThey also have a nursery for very young kids & babies. They have many activities and even outdoor services in the summer. We love the straightforward approach to Bible teaching and the music and choir are truly amazing.