The Sentinel: Jewish

Sentinel Digest | Our stories this week

Dec 27, 2024 06:18 pm .::.
Illinois farmers await proposed Trump tariffs, questioning how they will affect their agribusiness operations

A new president will move into the White House in less than a month and Illinois farmers are questioning whether Donald Trump's tough talk on tariffs will become a reality, and how his decision will affect their livelihood.

See what farmers are worried about »

Dec 27, 2024 10:14 pm .::.
Commentary |Am Yisrael Chai is not just a slogan

Am Yisrael Chai – It’s just a slogan, it is a way of life

I remember growing up as a kid in Brooklyn singing the Am Yisrael Chai chant, we’d sing it with great excitement and with great pride. And then I remember myself as a young adult, growing into my career as a professional Jew working for various nonprofits, always ending my talks, and my social media posts, with the chant: Am Yisrael? (audience) Chai. I remember how friends and colleagues thought it was cute, reminiscent of a time when they too may have sung the song as kids, they’d chuckle. That’s what I was known for, I was the guy who people knew would scream out AM YISRAEL CHAI wherever and whenever possible. Am Yisrael Chai is not a slogan, it is a way of life.

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Dec 27, 2024 09:59 pm .::.
Prep Hoops |Thursday Basketball Scores

Basketball scores from December 26 for area basketball teams.

Catch up on the latest scores »

Dec 27, 2024 09:01 pm .::.
Outlasting a talented Tri-Valley squad, SJO basketball advances to State Farm tournament quarterfinals

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys basketball team trailed on the scoreboard for 19 minutes of their quarterfinal game against Tri-Valley (10-1) at the State Farm Holiday Classic. That was until Spartan Coy Taylor sank a field goal with 4:57 left in the game to give his team the one-point go-ahead, 41-40. Persistent and tenacious, SJO (5-3) held the late game lead to win by two 44-42 at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center on Friday.

More info from this game »

Dec 27, 2024 07:13 pm .::.
Kearney steps up to lead Spartans in State Farm win over U-High

Rebounding from their 41-29 loss to Bishop McNamara on Thursday, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls' basketball team advanced forward in the consolation bracket at the State Farm Holiday Classic after holding off a huge second-half surge from Normal University to win, 36-33 on Friday. The victory guaranted SJO at least a fourth-place finish in the consolation bracket.

Read entire story »

Dec 27, 2024 06:41 pm .::.
Think a toy is unsafe, there are options available to report the potential danger to children

The National Retail Federation expects people will spend nearly $989 billion by year's end on holiday shopping but the costs cannot compare to an injury or death due to unknowingly buying a faulty product.

Many children's toys are manufactured in countries like China and India. In their haste to avoid possible Trump administration tariffs, a few safety steps may have been skipped before sending them to the States, said one product liability attorney.

Here's how to report bad toys »

Dec 27, 2024 05:55 pm .::.
Exposing misconceptions about infant nutrition for new moms

Bringing a new baby home raises the focus on their and mom’s well-being. Toward the top of the list: what and how the child is being fed. Whether you choose to breastfeed or use formula, misconceptions about infant nutrition are everywhere. Xandra Anderson, a certified lactation consultant at OSF HealthCare, cuts through the noise.

Dec 27, 2024 02:54 pm .::.
New Year - New Diet: Be wary of fad diets on social media

Among the New Year’s resolutions worldwide, many people have pledged to find and stick with a healthy diet. But there’s a lot more to it than just grabbing every “reduced fat” item off the grocery store shelf.

Karen Whitehorn, MD, an OSF HealthCare internal medicine physician, hears questions all the time about diets. Her first question back is usually: what do you want out of your diet? Do you want to be healthy? Lose weight? Manage a medical condition? Sort through the details, and you’ll find the best option.

Read in browser »

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Commentary |
Am Yisrael Chai – It’s just a slogan, it is a way of life

by Leor Sinai, Rabbi

Am Yisrael Chai – It’s just a slogan, it is a way of life

The earliest use of the slogan appeared as early as 1895 in a Zionist songbook

Fast-forward to post October 7, 2023, Am Yisrael Chai has once again re-emerged as the rallying cry for the global people of Israel. My wife jokes that I should’ve copywritten the slogan back then, not that I think that would’ve been possible, but boy I would’ve been a millionaire by now! The reality is that we stand at an intersection of historic proportions, a point of reference requiring us to rise to the challenges confronting our people, once again elevating the rallying cry: Am Yisrael Chai!

I know, I see it all over social media, and I hear it all the time, you do too, and I love it.

Am Yisrael Chai is not a slogan, it is a way of life.

The earliest use of the slogan appeared as early as 1895 in a Zionist songbook, and again at the Second World Jewish Conference in 1933, summoned to fight Hitler's new Nazi regime through economic boycott. Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise ended the final address by declaring to the crowd: "We are prepared to defend ourselves against the will of Hitler Germany to destroy. We must defend ourselves because we are a people which lives and wishes to live. My last word that I wish to speak to you is this – our people lives — Am Yisrael Chai!"

And again, on April 20, 1945, five days after the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated, British Army chaplain Rabbi Leslie Hardman led a Friday evening Shabbat service for a few hundred survivors at the camp. Knowing the service was being recorded by Patrick Gordon Walker of the BBC radio service, a Jewish army chaplain proclaimed "Am Yisrael Chai!, the children of Israel still liveth" after the group sang the anthem Hatikvah at the conclusion of the service.

The slogan reemerged in 1965, when Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach was asked to compose a song ahead of a planned Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ) rally in front of the Soviet Mission to the United Nations in New York on April 4, 1965. While in Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia, Carlebach wrote and first performed "Am Yisrael Chai" before a group of youth in Prague.

At each of these historic instances the slogan Am Yisrael Chai served as a living reference and driving force inspiring Am Yisrael at its most challenging times – The People of Israel LIVE!

Am Yisrael Chai is not a slogan, it is a way of life.

Fast-forward to today, we know that Am Yisrael Chai isn’t merely a slogan, rather Am Yisrael Chai is a way of life with a purpose that is projected forward from generations before our time to future generations yet to be born, driving our active participation in reclaiming, retelling, and realizing our story. Just as in the examples shared above, so too today, the slogan serves our current global Jewish anchor of hope and forward moving existence.

Am Yisrael Chai is not a slogan, it is a way of life.

Our ancestors who outlived exile and perpetuated Jewish life for 2000 years in exile

The question is how do we perpetuate and live this value? By doing something about it. By being an active participant and not a bystander. By getting involved in every which way possible, by educating yourself, educating your children, and sending your kids to Jewish youth group and sleepaway camps, and by educating your community. It means getting involved in your local synagogue/temple, in a local communal organization, and getting involved with a cause that directly impacts Jewish Peoplehood and Israel, and it means role modeling for your children and others.

Am Yisrael Chai is not a slogan, it is a way of life.

What kind of ancestors will we be to our future generations?

My hope is that we will be just as amazing as those who came before us. Our ancestors who outlived exile and perpetuated Jewish life for 2000 years in exile, ancestors who witnessed the rise and fall of empires, ancestors who maintained their Jewish way of life—in hiding if needed, ancestors who survived the worst that humanity has to offer during the Holocaust, ancestors who came out from the ashes of the Holocaust to make the dream of the modern nation state of Israel, a reality.

And now it is our turn, Generation Zion, to choose life!

In the future, this period of history will be learned about, talked about, and will be celebrated. Who knows? It may become a holiday (think Hannukah or Purim) where we read a megillah, pray and sing, make kiddish, eat a meal, maybe candy, and celebrate that the People of Israel live, all because you, we, did something about it.

And remember: Am Yisrael Chai is not a slogan, it is a way of life.

Rabbi Leor Sinai is Principal of Sinai Strategies, a consulting agency focused on advancing Global Jewish – Israel relations, Education, Leadership Development, and Organizational Advancement. Sinai also serves as a motivational speaker, sits on the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors as Chair of the Youth Aliyah & Absorption Committee, and serves on the board of Atchalta—a non-partisan think tank advancing social cohesion and national resilience in Israel. Originally from New York, Sinai made Aliyah with his family in 2011.

Jewish groups protest at U.S. Capitol, demand Gaza cease-fire

by Mark Richardson
Illinois News Connection

Chicago - Thousands of American Jews from Illinois and across the country protested at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., this week, calling for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza.

It has been more than a week since Hamas invaded Israel, leaving hundreds dead and injured. Since then, Israeli troops have bombarded Gaza in an effort to take out Hamas and free hundreds of Israelis and others who were kidnapped.

Scout Bratt, a member of Illinois Jewish Voice for Peace, said they are opposed to waging war against the Palestinians who live in Gaza, most of whom are not affiliated with Hamas.

"There is no military solution to this," Bratt argued. "We need to address root causes, which include the Israeli military occupation in apartheid, and again, our own government's role in funding this oppression."

Thousands of members from the same group protested at the White House earlier in the week. The event was peaceful, but dozens of protesters were arrested for "civil disobedience." A Marist poll found 63% of Americans favor U.S. public support for Israel, but 79% fear the war will lead to a larger Middle East conflict.

As the protests played out, President Joe Biden flew to Israel and other Middle Eastern countries to show solidarity with the Jewish nation. Bratt noted her group has a message for Biden: to end U.S. military support to Israel. She added most of the military equipment being used is paid for and made on U.S. soil.

"It's about holding accountable our government for contributing to these severe crimes," Bratt contended. "Essentially, what we're demanding is a cease-fire. Now."

Bratt pointed out American support for Israel's attack in Gaza is spurring violence against Palestinians here and in other parts of the world. She cited an incident in suburban Chicago this week when a landlord allegedly killed the 6-year-old child of one of his tenants because, according to the man's relatives, the child was Palestinian.

"There's a lot of rhetoric and vitriol that both Israeli and American leaders are perpetuating that is dehumanizing," Bratt stressed. "Clearly this vitriol is contributing to violence here in our own cities."