What's Happening at a Glance
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| Kuku is one of the dishes that will be prepared at the Persian cooking class |
Membership and Upcoming Events
- Saturday, November 10: Persian cooking class
- Sunday, November 11: Soup Kitchen
- Vacancy on the Board
- Don’t forget to turn your clocks back this Saturday night!
- PTO Brainstorming Session on Sunday, November 11
- Upcoming school schedule
- Lights and Miracles: Religious school students will be performing on December 7
Teen News
- Sunday, November 11: Help shop for kids in need
- Kallah! Midwest Regional Retreat February 15 to 17
- Friday, November 2: Shabbat this week at Hellenic American Academy, NOT LCHS! Dedicating our new ark, plus exploring our roots
- Save the Date: Lights & Miracles, December 7
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| Lights and Miracles 2011 |
- Thursday, November 1: Lunch and Learn
- Sunday, November 4: Torah class
- "To Slay the Righteous with the Wicked"
Community Announcements
- Genetic education and screening program for young adults
- Holiday SHOP orders of at least $400 are now payable by credit card
Join Us for a Persian Cooking Class on Saturday, November 10
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| A Persian dish called Ashe Reshte will be prepared at the class. |
Have you ever had the culinary joy of eating Persian food? Then come to this class and not only enjoy the wonderful flavors of Persian food but roll up your sleeves and learn to prepare it.
This class will be taught by Forouz and will be held at Forouz's home, 4261 Hilltop Road, Long Grove, on Saturday November 10, at 4 p.m. The cost will be $10 per person. This will be an adult class. Help with clean up will be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or to register, please contact Melanie Andes at (847) 913-9198 or fmandes@comcast.net.
Soup Kitchen on November 11
The Social Action Committee needs your help. On Sunday, November 11, we will be preparing, cooking, and serving more than 80 meals to needy individuals at the St Paul's Lutheran Church soup kitchen, 1004 Greenwood Street, Evanston. This date will require volunteers to be available from 1:30 to 4 p.m. We need a minimum of 25 volunteers, that's about 10-12 families. Each family will be responsible for bringing an entrée that will feed 15 to 20 individuals, 1 gallon milk, 1 gallon orange juice, 1 large bag frozen mixed vegetables, 1 large bag of fruit (oranges, bananas, etc.) and dessert. If you are interested in helping, please contact Mark Lenhart before November 1 at social.action@shir-hadash.org. Mark will be able to share more specific details with those families who will be participating in this worthwhile event.
There is no age limit to volunteer, but from past experience, kids should be at least 6 years old to fully participate. This is a great chance to get your family involved in helping those less fortunate in our community. Mark can also be reached at (847) 478-1544 or mjlenhart@comcast.net.
December Book Club
Our book club will meet in early December. We will be reading It Happened in Italy: Untold Stories of How the People in Italy Defied the Horrors of the Holocaust by Elizabeth Bettina. Stay tuned for the location and date.
Thought-Provoking Outing to See the Play Defamation
On Saturday, October 20, 25 of us joined Holy Cross Parish to see the courtroom drama Defamation. The real issues on trial were race, religion, and class. The audience acting as the jury came away with new perspectives on these issues and appreciation of other points of view. The evening was a big hit.
Vacancy on the Board
Education Update
Fall Back!
Don’t forget to turn your clocks back this coming Saturday night.
PTO Brainstorming Session
Are you interested in meeting new people? Would you like to support your child and our Shir Hadash teachers? Please join members of the Education Committee for a brainstorming session on Sunday, November 11, at 12:00 p.m. at religious school.
Upcoming School Schedule
- November 4: 6th Grade Parent-Only Bar/Bat Mitzvah Meeting 11:30-12:30
- November 5: Havayah
- November 16: Shabbat Services led by grades 4 through 7, LCHS
- November 18: First Parent Teacher Organization Meeting, noon to 12:30 p.m., Hellenic
- November 19: Havayah (8th through 12th grades)
- November 26: No School
- Friday, December 7: Lights and Miracles (all religious school students will be participating)
- Friday, March 1, 2013: Shabbat services will be led by grades K through 3
- Friday, May 17, 2013: Shabbat services will be led by our Havayah
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| Lights and Miracles 2011 |
All of our religious school students are currently working on being an active part of our Lights and Miracles service. Gan Yeladim through second graders have choreographed their own dance accompaniment to a song that Rabbi Eitan has been teaching the school. The older students are choreographing the movement to a Woody Guthrie Chanukah song. Please plan to attend. The service will be held on Friday, December 7, at 7:30 p.m., at LCHS. Latkes and donuts will be served!
Teen News
Sunday, November 11: Help Shop for Kids in Need
On Sunday, November 11, we need about 15 shoppers to meet us at the Target store in Glenview on Willow Road for about 1.5-2 hours. The event will take place from 1:30 to approximately 3:30 p.m. We will be shopping for specific requests from children in the care of Jewish Children and Family Services. We will use funds given to JCFS through Jewish United Funds’s Chanukah Coat Club project…so literally, we just need shoppers. This is a GREAT project for teens (and families too). You must RSVP to youth@shir-hadash.org if you wish to join us. Please let me know how many family members plan to attend in your RSVP.
Kallah! Midwest Regional Retreat February 15 to 17
Kallah! Midwest Regional Retreat February 15 to 17
Planning is underway for the 2013 No'ar Hadash Midwest Youth Kallah, which will be held from February 15 to 17, 2013, at a NEW location. This year, Shir Hadash 6th to 12th graders will share a great weekend with teens from other Reconstructionist congregations at the Perlman Retreat Center at Camp Beber in Wisconsin. Watch the newsletter and your mailbox for registration materials, which will be available mid-November.
Creative Worship & Ritual
This Friday night, November 2, services are at the regular time—7:30—but not at the regular location. LCHS is busy that night, so we will be, instead, at one of our other (current) locations—Hellenic American Academy, where we have religious school, 1085 Lake Cook Road in Deerfield.
Have you ever wanted to know more about your ancestors? Did they look like you and walk like you? Where did they find the courage to come to America from so far away? How many great aunts and uncles did you really have? Join Shir Hadash members Melanie Andes and Steve Lewin as they reveal some of the fascinating discoveries each has made while researching the Jewish Genealogy of their families. Hear some of the stories that will give you the chills and make you gasp in disbelief as long lost family secrets were revealed. If you have been searching for your roots and would like to share your experience and how it has affected you, please come and be with us on Friday night! If you want to share your own genealogical journey, RSVP to fandes@btlaw.com so we can plan for enough time for all of the wonderful stories. We will open our service by dedicating a beautiful new wooden Torah ark hand crafted by Kami Farahmandpour in memory of his father Isaac Farahmandpour. Bring oneg treats that remind you of your relatives and ancestors.
Have you ever wanted to know more about your ancestors? Did they look like you and walk like you? Where did they find the courage to come to America from so far away? How many great aunts and uncles did you really have? Join Shir Hadash members Melanie Andes and Steve Lewin as they reveal some of the fascinating discoveries each has made while researching the Jewish Genealogy of their families. Hear some of the stories that will give you the chills and make you gasp in disbelief as long lost family secrets were revealed. If you have been searching for your roots and would like to share your experience and how it has affected you, please come and be with us on Friday night! If you want to share your own genealogical journey, RSVP to fandes@btlaw.com so we can plan for enough time for all of the wonderful stories. We will open our service by dedicating a beautiful new wooden Torah ark hand crafted by Kami Farahmandpour in memory of his father Isaac Farahmandpour. Bring oneg treats that remind you of your relatives and ancestors.
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| Lights and Miracles 2011 |
Light the Lights and celebrate the Jewish festival of freedom—Chanukah. Woody Guthrie wrote some beautiful Chanukah songs, as have generations of American Jewish songwriters before and since. This year, we celebrate our illustrious American style of welcoming the Chanukah holiday. Shir Hadash folk musicians will lead us in a hootenanny jam and sing-along of such favorites as O Chanukah and Dreidel, Dreidel. Our Mighty Shir Hadash Klezmorim will get us on our feet for some great dancing. Our children will boogie to a classic Woody Guthrie ditty. We will tell stories, learn the lessons of our tradition, light the Chanukah menorah and wave glow lights as we sing. And when all is done, join us for potato latkes and doughnuts, traditional Chanukah treats. Singers and instrumentalists interested in joining the musical celebration can contact Sandy Weiss at sandy2weiss@gmail.com. Services will be held on Friday, December 7, at 7:30 p.m., at LCHS.
Adult Education
This week we are offering the following adult education classes:
- Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi: Thursday, November 1, noon to 1 p.m., Shir Hadash office
- Torah Class: Sunday, November 4, 9:30 to 10:20, Hellenic American Academy. This week's Torah portion: Sodom and Gomorrah, the birth of Isaac, and the binding of Isaac. For more information, please contact Fred Andes (fandes@btlaw.com).
The Rabbi's Corner
November 2-3, 2012 / 18 Heshvan 5773
Shabbat Vayera
Torah Portion: Genesis 18:1-22:24 / Haftarah Portion: II Kings 4:1-37
“To Slay the Righteous with the Wicked”
Dear Friends,
Ah Las Vegas! What a place for people watching! I was in Las Vegas last week for a few days visiting with my parents and helping my mother deal with the stresses of my father’s going back and forth between hospital and nursing home. Instead of the usual family pick-up at the arrivals terminal, I took the airport bus to a casino right by their home. What a scenic ride, right up through central Las Vegas, past the strip and through the old town and Freemont Street area. Just as interesting as the architecture were the people. Coming from the fairly conservative Chicago north shore, I saw lots of people who dressed strange, walked strange, and talked strange. Some had weird hair and others wore odd shoes. Some carried unusual bags and backpacks.
It would have been very easy for me to criticize them for being different. It would have been easy for me to be frightened of their odd mannerisms. It would have been easy for me to…
To read the rest of Rabbi Eitan’s blog, visit The Rabbi's Corner.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
The Top Ten Things You Can Do to Connect to Your Jewish Roots
- Read Everything But Money by Sam Levenson. Published in 1966, this bestseller is a humorous memoir of growing up at the turn of the century in East Harlem, NY. Time Magazine said, "Sometimes rollicking, often tender. Most readers savoring this witty memoir of a family rich in everything but money will find it as tasty as a bagel plastered with cream cheese."
- Entertain yourself and your family with From Shmear to Eternity, The Only Book of Yiddish You'll Ever Need by Fred Kogos. Bursting with humor, insight, and above all the warmth of the Jewish people, From Shmear To Eternity will expand your vocabulary and enrich your life. After all, Saichel iz an aideleh zach—"Wisdom is a precious thing."
- Go to the Klezmer Brunch at the City Winery. Every Sunday from 11 to 2 there is live Klezmer music and lox and bagels and more. There is a $10 per person cover charge. Children 10 and under are free. Check out their website for full information, www.citywinery.com.
- Eat at Manny's Deli
- Visit the Oriental Institute. It is on the University of Chicago Campus.
- Come to the Yiddish Theater Nights that Shir Hadash will be starting soon!
- Watch the new Jewish Living Channel. On cable it is JLTV 686.
- Make a donation to the Yiddish Book Center. You will be amazed at what is happening in the world of the Yiddish language. Lean about the annual Yiddstock Festival.
- Visit the graves of your family. Especially try to find the graves of not only grandparents but great and great great grandparents as they may not have been visited for a very long time.
- Start doing your family's genealogy research.
Community Announcements
Genetic Education and Screening Program for Young Adults
Registration is now open for the Center for Jewish Genetics’ 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
Holiday SHOP orders of at least $400 are now payable by credit card. Annual SHOP orders are also payable by credit card. If every family purchases $400 a month in grocery, gas, or other cards, we can earn more than $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.
- Schleicher
- Andes
- Farkas
- M. Graff
- Zinbarg
- Mostow
- Weiss
- Walmart is offering a savings of 10 cents a gallon on gas purchases made when using a Walmart Gift Card, starting August 31, 2012, until December 23, 2012.
- ReloadNow adds funds to your plastic gift card immediately when you pay online with PrestoPay™. You'll receive email confirmation in minutes that the funds were added, and you're ready to shop! If ReloadNow is paid for by check to your organization, it will process minutes after your coordinator submits your order.
- Jewel-Osco®, Cub®, and Shop 'n Save® grocery store locations, is now reloadable
- Visit Kohl's online at www.kohls.com and browse through the Gold Star Clearance items where you can find new markdowns of 60% to 80% off.
- Visit www.pier1.com and take advantage of the Pier 1 Holiday Planner, Gift Guide, and Special Values for savings of up to 20% on selected items
- GFS® - New ScripNow™ Retailer
- Holiday Gift Card Wrappers (10-pack) include ten different designs and are available for $2.00 with a 10% non-profit contribution.
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