4435 Oakton Street
Skokie, IL 60076-3222
(847) 677-3330
Questions? Email:
congbeneshalom@gmail.com
Accessibility Statement
Accessibility Statement for Congregation Bene Shalom
This is an accessibility statement from Congregation Bene Shalom Hebrew Association of the Deaf and Hearing .
Measures to support accessibility
Congregation Bene Shalom Hebrew Association of the Deaf and Hearing takes the following measures to ensure accessibility of Congregation Bene Shalom:
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Include accessibility as part of our mission statement.
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Include accessibility throughout our internal policies.
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Integrate accessibility into our procurement practices.
Conformance status
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. Congregation Bene Shalom is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard.
Feedback
We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of Congregation Bene Shalom. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers on Congregation Bene Shalom:
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Phone: 734-272-2720
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E-mail: findthecourage@icloud.com
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Visitor Address: 4435 Oakton Street, Skokie, IL 60076-3222
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Postal Address: 4435 Oakton Street, Skokie, IL 60076-3222
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Facebook page @CongregationBeneShalom
We try to respond to feedback within 3 business days .
Compatibility with browsers and assistive technology
Congregation Bene Shalom is designed to be compatible with the following assistive technologies:
Congregation Bene Shalom is not compatible with:
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Some of the words to songs and prayers are in Hebrew
Technical specifications
Accessibility of Congregation Bene Shalom relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:
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HTML
These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.
Limitations and alternatives
Despite our best efforts to ensure accessibility of Congregation Bene Shalom , there may be some limitations. Below is a description of known limitations, and potential solutions. Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed below.
Known limitations for Congregation Bene Shalom:
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Sometimes falling short of our goals is bound to happen: Not all audio has captionsbecause Hebrew is not translated through captions . All services on YouTube have an ASL interpreter for those that are deaf . We welcome any feedback to help make our site and congregation more accessible .
Assessment approach
Congregation Bene Shalom Hebrew Association of the Deaf and Hearing assessed the accessibility of Congregation Bene Shalom by the following approaches:
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Self-evaluation
Formal complaints
For those that have feedback for Congregation Bene Shalom, as to how we can be more accessible, please send an email to findthecourage@icloud.com and we will respond back to you within three business days. Maybe there is sadly nothing we can do or it is something that we overlooked and glad that you brought it to our attention.
Formal approval of this accessibility statement
This Accessibility Statement is approved by:
Congregation Bene Shalom Hebrew Association of the Deaf and Hearing
Kevin Werner
Social Outreach Administrator
Date
This statement was created on 13 October 2022 using the W3C Accessibility Statement Generator Tool
From our Rabbi ~
​
Congregation Bene Shalom has lived for almost 54 years. For 50 of them, we were led by Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer. He was a Tzadik, a brilliant Rabbi, a healer, an author, a mensch, and my mentor.
It has been my honor to lead Shabbat, Kabbalah, and High Holiday services for almost four years now. I also officiate at weddings, and at funerals where I speak of the continuing soul of the loved ones being honored. I have been thinking about these final moments of Congregation Bene Shalom in terms of honoring our loss. I’ve been led to the obvious awareness that this congregation is not just a building, but a collection of the thousands of people who have prayed here that have become the soul of Congregation Bene Shalom.
Souls do not die; souls are forever. Souls are protected by angels and by God. The mission of this synagogue has always been inclusion, joy, and healing. The soul of this mission cannot die; the history, the memories and the love will never die. As we go forward, we must never lose sight that Congregation Bene Shalom will not only live on in our faith, but also our memories of the thousands of services, the countless simchas, joys, healing, the love and even the mourning.
This is our legacy. The memories I will carry with me making me smile, shed tears, and feel gratitude for the amazing experiences I have enjoyed on and off our bimah.
I want to share my email and website information so that you may contact me at any time. As I’ve said before,there are those who want to continue meeting as a Chavurah in our homes, and who knows what may happen!
While I am feeling the loss now, this is something I learned from Rabbi Goldhamer and want to share with you:
“Always remember, through your loss, your grief, there is always room for joy”.
We have entered a new year. May it be a wonderfully happy, prosperous, and healthy era filled with hope and peace.
Thank you all so very much!
Love,
Rabbi Char
Rabbi Charlene Brooks