Northbrook Synagogue 'Sticking' With Highland Park Following Tragedy

NORTHBROOK, IL — Following the tragic events of the July 4 parade shooting in nearby Highland Park, members of Congregation Beth Shalom decided they wanted to help out the victims and their families. In that spirit, the Northbrook synagogue held a "Community in Unity" event in July, an evening filled with music, prayer, reflection and calls of action in commemoration of the seven people killed and those injured during the mass shooting, according to organizers.

As part of that July 12 event, participants created a mosaic out of popsicle sticks, a symbol of "summer fun and joyful parades." Rabbi David Chapman said it was Congregation Beth Shalom's attempt to "add a spark of beauty back into the world.

"We know that the wounds of July 4, 2022 will never fully heal, and yet, we commit to 'sticking' with our Highland Park neighbors," Chapman said of the mosaic.

Recently, Chapman and Fern Roseman, Beth Shalom’s Mitzvot Committee chairperson, delivered the popsicle stick mosaic to Ross Cosmetics, 625 Central Ave., Highland Park, where it will be displayed for the next several weeks.

On why the synagogue has remained involved in helping out the citizens of Highland Park, Cantor Steven Stoeher referred Patch to "The Serenity Prayer," by Reinhold Niebuhr.

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

"As a neighboring faith community, our serenity depended on following this singular sentence," Stoeher said via email. "Though we could not change the events of July 4th, neither could we accept it. Our modest gesture of unity was our endeavor to nourish Highland Park with courage. "The wisdom, we pray, shall come with time."