What's Happening at a Glance
Membership and Upcoming Events
- New marketing campaign coming your way
- Help Wanted: Shir Hadash-style
- We need your Shir Hadash photos!
- Membership forms are due on August 15
- Annual picnic on Saturday, August 18
- MOSH card night on August 22
- Volunteers needed for High Holiday packing and delivery
- Next book club meeting in early October
Education Update
- Send in your religious school registration forms
- We need a PTO
Teen News
- Outdoor adventure with Rabbi Eitan
- Calling all Teen Advisory Board members
- Please fill out your madrichim forms
Creative Worship & Ritual
- Friday, August 17: Rabbi Eitan's got a brand new band, and we say goodbye to our college-bound kids
- Complete your High Holiday forms
- For All the Abundance
- Genetic education and screening program for young adults
Membership and Upcoming Events
We are marketing our congregation in new and exciting ways as well as some tried and true ones. We have long known that the best way to find new members is through our current members. We also know that our High Holiday services feature Rabbi Eitan, our choir Lahaka, and our congregation at their best. Therefore, we are enlisting your help in finding new members. This week, you will receive an offer in the mail for you to pass on to your friends, family, and neighbors. The offer will include a coupon that can be redeemed for four High Holiday tickets or $100 off the cost of religious school education, along with promotional material for our synagogue and our religious school. Some restrictions apply; there are a limited number of tickets available, and the voucher cannot be redeemed by current or past members, or those who have purchased High Holiday tickets in the last five years. Our goal is to bring new families into our congregation. We need new members if Shir Hadash is going to thrive. Please pass out the promotional material and voucher to anyone you know who is interested in joining a synagogue.
Help Wanted, Shir Hadash-Style
In order for our congregation to remain vibrant and successful, we need you to volunteer your time and energy. The truth is, we don’t have enough people stepping forward right now to do the work that’s needed to keep our synagogue viable and functioning properly. The more people who volunteer, the less work it is for everyone. You should have received our Help Wanted classifieds via e-mail, but in case you missed it, visit our website to see what volunteer positions are open!
As we continue to improve our website and marketing materials, we are finding that we need more great photos of our congregation—at Religious School, social events, worship services, teen activities, etc. Please take a minute to look through your digital files and e-mail your best photos to photos@shir-hadash.org.
Membership Renewal Forms Due on August 15
The membership renewal forms were mailed on June 28. Please fill them out and return them to our office by August 15. Please call the office at (847) 498-8218 if you did not receive the forms.
This year, our annual picnic will be held on Saturday August 18, at 4 p.m., Sunset Woods Park, 1801 Sunset Road between Central and Park Avenue West, in Highland Park. The kosher hamburgers have already been donated. Please click on this checklist and sign up for what you would like to bring! If you cannot access the sign up sheet, please e-mail Marc Fargotstein at marcfargo@triangleconsulting.net or Melanie Andes at fmandes@comcast.net to let them know what you will be bringing. Please contact us by August 10.
Rabbi Eitan will conduct a sing-a-long as well. Sunset Woods Park is lovely and features many fun playgrounds and amenities. Do you have friends, family, or neighbors who are shopping around for a synagogue? Please bring them along so they can see our vibrant community and wonderful Rabbi in action! Again, don’t forget to let us know what you will be bringing and feel free to call Marc at (847) 612-6579 if you have any questions.
Men of Shir Hadash (MOSH) Card Night will be held on August 22, from 8 to 10 p.m., at Sandi and Lise Schleicher’s house, 2384 Dehne Rd, Northbrook. RSVP to (800) 897-0533; drop-ins are OK, too! Come out and meet some other men from Shir Hadash; talk, have a drink, play some cards, eat, etc. Learn to play hearts, spades, euchre, pinochle, bridge, poker, etc. The games will change based on what everyone wants to play or learn. MOSH will be meeting the fourth Wednesday of every month from 8 to 10 p.m., so if you can’t make it this month, put us in your calendar for next month.
Once again this year, Shir Hadash will be joining with Maot Chitim of Greater Chicagoland to help them pack and deliver High Holiday food baskets for needy Jewish families all over the Chicago area. There are two different ways you can help, either packing food boxes or delivering them.
- PACKING will take place on Sunday, August 26th from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. The address of the packing has not been determined yet; once Social Action Chair Mark Lenhart knows the address, he will let all volunteers know.
- DELIVERY of food packages will take place on Sunday, September 9th, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Buffalo Grove/Wheeling area. We will be delivering 105 food packages, which will be in large boxes weighing approximately 20 lbs. each. We deliver to several large complexes and use a rental truck to transport the boxes. Mark will provide the address of where to meet for those interested in helping deliver boxes.
Book Club to Meet in Early October
Our next book club meeting will be in early October after the High Holidays. We will be discussing The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, a historical fiction at Masada's final stand. Stay tuned for more information.
Education Update
Send in Your Religious School Registration Forms
The religious school registration forms were due on July 15. Thanks to all of you who sent your registration forms in; it helps us get a great start on the school year. If you are one of families we are waiting for, please send in the pink forms today. Please call the office at (847) 498-8218 if you did not receive the forms.
We Need a PTO
We have a vision. A vision of parents and educators working together to better our school. You can call it PTO, call it PTA, or call the group whatever you decide. Shir Hadash needs a group of parents to gather together to develop new and exciting connections between our school and our families. Whether you get your kicks planning lunch at a hot dog place with the sixth grade class, or a gathering the little ones for pizza dinner before a Shabbat service, we want your help. You may want to organize a mini-fundraiser, help develop and maintain a birthday calendar of our students, or plan a Purim carnival. If you have college students, you may want to help with our plans to send off packages to our college students. The possibilities are endless, the potential for personal growth is even greater…
To read the latest from Education Director Emily Ascher, go to Education Updates.
Teen News
Sunday, September 9: Outdoor Adventure with Rabbi Eitan
On Sunday, September 9, we will meet for a Youth Group Selichot adventure at the campfire pit behind Zion Lutheran church. Our adventure will feature stories, food, and pre-high holiday festivities. Stay tuned for more details.
Calling All Teen Activity Board Members
TAB members: We need to schedule an August meeting to continue planning our event. Please e-mail Carole Mostow at youth@shir-hadash.org and let me know when you will be available in mid- to late August.
Please Fill Out Your Madrichim Forms
Madrichim forms have been sent. Please complete the form and return it to the office as soon as possible so we can make placements for the school year. If you didn't receive a form and would like to participate in the program, please contact the office and we will send one to you.
Creative Worship & Ritual
Friday, August 17: The Band Is Back Together, and the Kids Are Taking Off
We have a fun evening planned for Friday, August 17. Rabbi Eitan has put together a new group of instrumentalists, who will perform several songs with him. Their theme? "We're Putting the Band Back Together—And We're On a Mission from God." Plus, bring your college-aged kids, because we are going to do a blessing for kids going away to college (whether for the first time or not). Services will be held at 7:30 p.m. at LCHS.
Complete Your High Holiday Forms
High Holiday forms have been sent out. Please fill them out and return them to the office as soon as possible. You can also find the forms on our website, or call the office if you would like another set mailed to you.
The Rabbi's Corner
August 10-11, 2012 / 23 Av 5772
Shabbat Ekev
Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
Haftarah Portion: Isaiah 49:14-51:3
“For All the Abundance”
Dear Friends,
In this week’s Torah portion, Moses is addressing the Children of Israel on the banks of the Jordan River. After forty years of wandering, excitement is rising for the final entry into the Promised Land. Yet, Moses must caution them from taking this moment for granted...
To read the rest of Rabbi Eitan’s blog, visit The Rabbi's Corner.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Community Announcements
Genetic Education and Screening Program for Young Adults
Registration opens Monday, August 20, for the Center for Jewish Genetics’ upcoming carrier screening programs for young Jewish adults. The Center offers an expanded panel of 18 disorders, including Tay-Sachs disease, Gaucher disease, and Cystic Fibrosis. Join the Center in October or December 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 or visit www.jewishgenetics.org to learn more.
SHOP Shir Hadash
Annual Shop Orders Are Now Payable By Credit Card
If every family purchases $400 a month in grocery, gas, or other cards, we can earn over $15,000. Shir Hadash believes that an inability to pay should never be a barrier to membership or education. Special consideration is given to our members when circumstances prevent them from meeting any part of their financial commitment. To offset this consideration and to make up the budgetary deficit, the Board is asking that all members consider making a monthly commitment to using shop gift cards. Purchasing Shop gift cards helps the shul raise much needed funds without spending any more money than you already do for your regular expenses. A complete list of the many gift cards available through this program, along with the percentage the shul earns is available on our website. Orders can be picked up at Sunday school or the Shir Hadash office.
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