What's Happening at a Glance
Annual Meeting on May 6
See all the details, including the proposal to restructure the board, in Social Events & Membership.
Book Club Meets May 14
Sunday School Returns April 15!
Upcoming Events for Teens
Find out about the next meeting of the teen advisory board on Sunday, April 15; our next teen service on Friday, April 20; and game night with JRC on May 5 in Teen News.
Community Seder: Second Night
Read the Haggadah with your Shir Hadash family on Saturday, April 7. See Creative Worship & Ritual for details.
We Need Photos of Your Ancestors!
Share your story of how your family made it to America on Friday, April 20. See the details of our Pausing in the Wilderness service and how to submit photos in Creative Worship & Ritual.
Learn How to Do the Mitzvah of Visiting the Sick
Calling All Web Gurus
Commemorate Yom Hashoah on April 18
Join the Jewish community to remember the Holocaust. Learn more about this event in Community Events.
New Genetic Education and Screening Program
MOSH Outing Victorious
On March 25, MoSH (Men of Shir Hadash) and a few other Shir Hadash members braved the wilds of the Chicago Wolves versus Houston Aeros hockey game. We had a great lunch before the game at Giordano's, great company, and the Wolves graced us with a win! Keep your eyes open for future MoSH events and come join us for some fun and camaraderie.
Annual Meeting May 6
Our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, May 6, at 9:45 a.m. at Chicagoland Jewish High School (next door to Hellenic American Academy, Sunday School location). May 6 is the last day of Sunday School. We'll be reviewing the budget for next year and voting on several board positions. Like many congregations, we too have felt the same challenges that our members have faced with the slow recovery of our economy. We are planning on dedicating part of the board to address this issue head-on next year.
We are introducing a restructuring of the board to improve our ability to grow our membership and enhance fundraising. The board also recognized the need to streamline our governing structure, improve communications with our committees and staff, and provide better focus. The new board will be divided into three areas to better leverage the skills and experience from our current and future board members. These areas are:
- Governance: Policy, Bylaws, and Budget Oversight; five members, quarterly meetings
- Programming: Program Development, Delivery, and Comm; four members, monthly meeting
- Sustainability: Fundraising & Outreach (Growth); four members, as needed meetings
If you are interested in a Board position or for more information, please talk to Jeffrey Wallk at jeffrey.wallk@gmail.com or Fred Andes at fredric.andes@btlaw.com as soon as possible. Come and help us make a quorum, meet the Board, and ask questions!
May Book Club
The May book club meeting will be held on Monday, May 14 (tentative), at Susan Grossman's home in Highland Park. We will be reading Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein. RSVP to Meryl at abenkras@aol.com (preferred) or (847) 509-0377. Please tell your friends about it! This event is not exclusive to Shir Hadash. It is open men and women alike.
Looking for Three Families to Host a Tea
The tea will be an evening event during which the rabbi will teach and lead a discussion about a theme of Reconstruc-tionist values and/or thought that is very relevant to our contemporary Jewish lives. The host will help the rabbi select the theme of most interest. The host will invite some Shir Hadash friends to attend as well as some non-member friends who might be interested in participating. Please contact Caryn McArdle at caryn.mcardle@comcast.net.
Family Bike Ride with the Rabbi...
Keep watching the newsletter for information on a family bike ride with Rabbi Eitan, Chicago architect boat tour, and a baseball game, to name a few activities planned for our community in the next few months.
"In This Generation..."
Shabbat Pesach
Torah - Exodus 12:21-51 & Numbers 28:16-25
Haftarah - Joshua 5:2-15
April 6-7, 2012 / 15 Nisan 5772
Dear Friends,
This Friday evening, we will be joining with family and friends to celebrate our ancient Jewish ritual of connection and remembrance - the Passover seder. Pesach! It is the festival of our liberation. Pesach! It calls out to Jews and to all the peoples of the earth to pursue freedom for all. Pesach! Its inspiring story, retold year after year, teaches us that independence and self-determination are the birthright and legacy of all humanity.
There comes a point in the second part of our seder when we read the words b'chol dor vador - In every generation, each one of us must look upon ourselves as if we had personally gone forth from Egypt. The message is a good one. In order to best understand the story...
L'shalom (InPeace)
Rabbi Eitan
We know our school is filled with creativity, fun, and inspiration, so why not give your friends the opportunity to experience that too? While you can bring a friend any day at Shir Hadash, Sunday, April 29, is not only Teacher Appreciation Day, but also a designated day when your child can bring a buddy to Sunday School. Just drop Education Director Emily Ascher an e-mail, or let a teacher know. We will do whatever we can to make your friends feel welcome.
Yom Tikkun Olam at Shir Hadash means it is our day to help mend the world. Over the years, students and their families (we have met many grandparents on YTO) have worked to help many people, animals, and the Earth in general. This year marks the return to a springtime celebration of the popular school-organized event. We will focus our efforts on honoring Earth Day this year, with several outdoor activities we recommend you attend with your families. Members of all ages, fitness levels, and personalities are encouraged to join in on the fun.
- Our Yom Hashoah Service, April 15
- Yom Tikkun Olam (on Earth Day this year), April 22
- Bring a Friend Day, April 29
- Teacher Appreciation Day, April 29
- School Shabbat Service, Friday May 4
- Last Sunday, May 6
Emily Ascher
Education Director
Next Meeting of the Teen Advisory Board
The second teen advisory board meeting will be Sunday, April 15, from 8:30 to 9 a.m. at Hellenic. This is the next time we meet for Sunday school and is after Passover so there will be donuts! Shir Hadash President Jeff Wallk will join us at our next meeting. Jeff will conduct an ideation session that will get to the heart of what our teens want, need, and hope for from Shir Hadash.
Third Friday Teen Service
This month we will join the adults for the Pausing in the Wilderness service, which will be held on Friday, April 20, at 7:30 at LCHS. The theme for the service is tracing our family histories. Teens and their families will share stories about how we journeyed to the United States.
Game Night with JRC
Our 8th through 12th graders will meet for pizza and games on Saturday, May 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., at JRC. Details to follow. Please e-mail questions to: youth@shir-hadash.org.
Carole Mostow
Youth Director
We are always looking for new voices. Kolit rehearses on Sunday School are from 12:30 to 1 p.m. It's not too late to join Kolit (the Shir Hadash children's choir). Join Kolit Director Arielle Galante and Ethan Zwick for a fun half-hour of singing.
Please join the Shir Hadash community for our wonderful seder on Saturday, April 7, at 6 p.m. This event is veggie/dairy using Kosher for Passover ingredients. Fish is welcome!
We will have separate tables for Ashkenazic and Sephardic dishes. (Sephardic allows some ingredients that Ashkenazic does not, such as rice, corn, and legumes.) The Membership and Creative Worship & Ritual Committees are having fun preparing for this event. We are looking forward to seeing you there, and we know that you will have a great time.
This year, the seder will be held at the Vernon Township Community Services Building, 2900 N. Main Street, Buffalo Grove. A nominal donation of $5 per person is requested; children ages 3 and under are free. Mail your check made out to Shir Hadash to Melanie Andes, 945 Creek Bend Dr., Vernon Hills, IL 60061.
For detailed instructions on how to RSVP, what types of food to bring, and how to package the food, please contact Melanie Andes at (847) 913-9198 or fmandes@comcast.net. The RSVP due date is Tuesday April 3. The e-mail with detailed instructions is also posted on Shir Hadash's Twitter account. We also need help setting up and cleaning up!
Upcoming Friday Night Services
Friday, April 20: Pausing in the Wilderness. This year, we are doing something different: the theme is Our Jewish Wanderings. We're going to share our stories of how our families made it to America. We want members to bring their stories-from www.ancestry.com, old family stories, or wherever-and share them that night. Also, we need members to send in family pictures, so we can create a montage of our Shir Hadash ancestors. Please send your photos to Gary and Janelle Kuper at kuper@dslc.com by this Saturday, April 7. Details will follow.
Thanks to Mazel Skull Cap
Mazel Skull Cap (www.kippah.com) has donated one gross (144) women's white lace head coverings to Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue for use at the High Holidays. Thank you Mazel Skull Cap!
Creative Worship & Ritual Committee
There are no adult education classes scheduled on Sunday,
April 8.
Learn How to Do the Mitzvah of Visiting the Sick
Bikur Cholim, visiting the sick, is one of the holiest of all mitzvot. Anyone who has ever had a family member in the hospital knows what great healing power even a short visit can provide. The Mitzvah Committee is looking for people who would like to participate in this great act.
The Jewish Healing Network is sponsoring a four-week training program in Bikur Cholim at B'nai Tikvah in Deerfield. Several members of Shir Hadash participated in this program several years ago and learned how effective we can all be. The sessions are on four consecutive Tuesday evenings from April 17 through May 8. Each session runs from 7:00 to 8:30. If you are interested, please contact Bob Roiter at bob.roiter@sbcglobal.net or go to www.jcfs.org/calendar/bikur-cholim-training.
Wanted: Web Gurus
We are looking for volunteers to help design and build a new Shir Hadash website, migrate content, and help maintain it. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Jeff Wallk at jeffrey.wallk@gmail.com.
Get Involved with the Spring Membership Drive
We're planning a lot of activities this spring to expand our membership. If you're interested in helping us grow, please call the office and ask for Lillian (847) 498-8218.
Mitzvah Committee
We're looking for more Shiva leaders (adults and yes, even Havayah kids). If you are interested, please contact Bob Roiter
Genetic Education and Screening Program
Registration opens Monday, April 23, 2012 for the Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders upcoming screening programs for young Jewish adults. The Center is now offering an expanded panel of 18 disorders. Join the Center in June or August for a subsidized screening program ($180 per person), which includes an educational presentation, dinner, and screening.These tests usually cost more than $3,000! Pre-registration is required. Please contact Taryn Brickman at tarynbrickman@juf.org to learn more or visit www.jewishgenetics.org.
We Remember: Yom Hashoah
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