To view this blog in its entirety, go to our website.
For daily event updates, visit our calendar.
What’s Happening at a Glance
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- It’s Ours! Shir Hadash Closes Deal for Building
- New Images for Sanctuary Design
- Spread the Word with Shir Hadash T-Shirts
- April Book Club: Everything is Illuminated, April 25
- Shir Hadash Annual Meeting, May 5
Education Update
- Upcoming school schedule
- Yom Tikkun Olam, April 21
Teen News
- Madrichim meeting, April 28
- JUF Teen Engagement Fair, May 5
- High school event with JRC, May 11
Creative Worship & Ritual
- Upcoming Services: "Setting Our Jewish Compass", April 19 -- at the New Building!
Adult Education
- More Jewish Thinkers: Leo Baeck, April 14, 9:30
- Recap: Discussion of Jews and Slavery
The Rabbi’s Corner: "Empowering Our Children"
Community News
- Parent & Family Connection for LGBTQ Jews in Chicagoland
- JUF Israel Solidarity Day, April 28
SHOP Shir Hadash
Membership and Upcoming Events
It’s Ours!
On Thursday, April 4, a group of Shir Hadash board members
past and present joined Rabbi Eitan to finalize the purchase of our new
synagogue home at 200 East Dundee Road in Wheeling. We celebrated the end of
one journey 18 years in the making and the beginning of a new one, with wine
and toasts of L’Chaim all around. Click here for a link to the TribLocal story on our closing.
Now begins the exciting and challenging process of readying
the building for our summer move. We are awaiting bids from several contractors
and are poised to pack up and move all of our operations into the new building
once construction is complete. We could use a hand with coordinating the move;
e-mail Jeffrey Wallk at president@shir-hadash.org if you'd like to volunteer.
Visit our website to view photos of the building, build out plans, the ark
design, what the new building will offer our members, and much more.
Check Out Our New Ark Design!
Last week’s newsletter featured a sketch of our proposed ark
design. Now we have a architect’s rendering of the bima and ark in the new
sanctuary space. There will also be artwork on the large wall to the left of
the ark; members are encouraged to contact the building committee to give their
input regarding artwork or any other design elements.
Remember, our Shir Hadash website has all the latest
information on our new building. Click here for updates, FAQs, photos, and more
news!
Spread the Word with Shir Hadash T-Shirts
Celebrate our new home – and let your friends know you love
Shir Hadash – with a “Shalom to Our New Home” t-shirt! These white shirts
have the graphic you see pictured here on the front, and our official logo on
the back. They are available in men’s, women’s and kids’ sizes for $10. To
order, contact Lisa McCulloh, 847-814-2922 or jjlisamc@gmail.com.
Book Club
The next Book Club will be held on Thursday, April 25 at
7:30pm, at the home of Stacy Laner, 1047 Shambliss Court, Buffalo Grove. The
book will be Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. This is
the story of a young American Jew who flies to the Ukraine to search for the
woman who saved his grandfather's life during the Nazi invasion. For more
information, contact Meryl Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com. If you missed the
chance to join us for the excellent stage production of Everything is
Illuminated, you still have time; the play’s run has been extended until April
14. Visit www.nexttheatre.org for information.
Education Update
Upcoming Events at School
Sunday, April 14- Sunday school
Monday, April 15-- Havayah
Sunday, April 21-- Yom Tikkun Olam
Sunday, April 28-- Sunday School, Prospective Member Open
House
Monday, April 29--Havayah BBQ at David's House
Sunday, May 5-- Last day of Sunday school
Yom Tikkun Olam: Sunday, April 21
Shir Hadash is conducting the 8th Annual Day to
Repair the World (Yom Tikkun Olam). This day is our opportunity to give
back and make a difference in the world. Our religious school students
and their families, along with other members of the congregation, will participate
in activities of their choice. Activities include crafts and bingo at a
senior residence, clean-up at a nature center, gathering and organizing books
to be donated to schools in need, and making greeting cards for Israeli
soldiers. For complete descriptions, including times and locations, click here to visit our website.
Please RSVP by Sunday, April 14th. To sign
up, simply email Education Director
Emily Ascher at eddirector@shir-hadash.org.
Emily Ascher at eddirector@shir-hadash.org.
Teen News
Madrichim: Our last meeting of the school year will be April
28. Please be sure to attend.
Teen Engagement Fair
Here’s a great event for 7th
and 8th graders and their families: JUF will sponsor a Teen
Engagement Fair at the Chicagoland Jewish High School on May 5 from 1:00 to
4:00. The day will show you how Jewish life really begins AFTER your b’nai mitzvah,
with travel opportunities, organizations, programs and more. Plus they’ll have
raffles, kosher hot dog eating contests, and lots of other activities. To learn
more and RSVP, visit http://juf.org/teen.
Save the Date: Saturday evening, May 11th- High School event
with JRC. Details to follow...
stay tuned!
Creative Worship & Ritual
Upcoming Services
April 19 Service - Setting Our Jewish Compass (And Set Your
GPS for the New Building)
On Friday, April 19 (7:30 pm), we have our next Friday night
service - and it will be our first full service in the new building! (We did have a very quick service there
a few weeks ago, coupled with the building discussion, but this one will be a
bit more leisurely. Plus, now we actually
own it!) Given that we're all
finding our way to the new place, our topic for this service is very relevant:
How do we set our Jewish ‘compass,’ our conscience, for living a good life?
Well, the Holiness Code of Leviticus 19 (this week's Torah portion) forms a
list of great dos and don'ts for living a blessed and holy life. Yet the code was written more than
2,500 years ago. Do its precepts
still apply to us today? If not,
then how can we reconstruct them to speak to our lives? We’ll read Torah, study the ancient
teachings, and then break into small groups to craft our contemporary version
of the rules that can direct us in modern times. Plus, we'll have a baby naming! So don't miss it - and don't forget to
bring something for the oneg!
Adult Education
More Jewish Thinkers: Leo Baeck, Combining the Head and the
Heart in a Jewish Way
On Sunday morning (9:30 at Hellenic), we continue our
discussion of modern Jewish thinkers. We've talked about philosophers
such as Hermann Cohen, who focused on Judaism as a religion of reason. And
we've studied other thinkers, like Martin Buber, who focus more on feeling a
connection to God and to other people. Now we get to talk about someone
who tried to combine those two strands of thought: Leo Baeck. Click here for a
brief summary of Baeck's teachings - and his life, including his heroic conduct
during the Holocaust. Come on Sunday, and we'll learn more about what Rabbi Baeck has to say to
us now.
Recap: Jews and Slavery
On April 7, about twenty SH members joined in on an
informative and lively discussion of how some Jews owned slaves in the antebellum
South. The session extended into a second hour when Amram Ibraham and two other
members of the Hebrew Israelites from the South Side joined us. We continued
our dialog to a point where we had to be ushered out of the building when
it closed! We hope that these discussions with the Hebrew Israelites will
continue in our new building.
The Rabbi’s Corner
April 12-13, 2013 / 2 Iyar 5773
Shabbat Tazria-Metzora
Torah Portion: Leviticus 12:1-15:33 / Haftarah
Portion: II Kings 7:3-20
“Empowering our Chidren”
Dear Friends,
Leprosy on my computer? What’s the
connection? This week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, deals with
the plague of leprosy, a condition that causes skin, clothing, and even wall
plaster to waste away. This was a dreaded and frightening malady
that our ancestors tried to understand and confront as best they could. “Tzara’at”
(leprosy) was a punishment from God caused by unrighteous behavior, they
reasoned. Curing it involved a process of repentance, quarantine and
washing.
The Talmud teaches that the source of tzara’at is “lashon
hara,” speaking gossip and lies about our friends, family and
neighbors. When we speak falsely and spread rumors, we become spiritually
deficient and bring wasting and loss upon our communities and ourselves….
To read the rest of The Rabbi’s Corner, click here to visit
our website.
Community News
Parent & Family Connection for LGBTQ Jews
Is your child gay, lesbian, transgender, queer, or
questioning? Do you want to talk to other Jewish families with LGBTQ children?
If so, join the monthly discussions with Parent & Family Connection for
LGBTQ Jews in Chicagoland. Upcoming meetings will be held on April 22 and May
20. Upcoming topics will include: transgender youth; passing--who knows, who
doesn’t know; navigating a hetero-sexist world; healthy relationships and
violence in the GLBTQ community; and conversation about creating inclusive
communities.
With support from Keshet, Response provides group support
for those dealing with any stage of the coming out process. Response helps
adolescents in the Jewish and general community develop skills in
communication, decision-making and leadership necessary to deal with life’s
challenges. Response is a program of JCFS, a partner in serving our community,
supported by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation.
Israel Solidarity Day
JUF is hosting its annual Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration at the 2013 Israel Solidarity Day, which will be held on Sunday, April 28th at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. Event highlights will include the Walk with Israel, fabulous all-day entertainment in Ravinia’s Pavilion featuring the King David Drummers, The Maccabeats and Matisyahu - acoustic, food for purchase and festivities for all ages.
The day’s agenda is as follows:
10:00 a.m. Teen J-Serve Project* (on site)
11:00 a.m. Registration opens
11:30 a.m. King David Drummers
12:15 p.m. The Maccabeats
1:00 p.m. Israel Solidarity Day Kickoff Rally
1:15 p.m. Three-Mile Walk with Israel & One-Mile Family Walk
2:30 p.m. King David Drummers
3:00 p.m. Matisyahu - acoustic
4:00 p.m. Program concludes
* 8th to 12th graders are invited to participate in a city-wide service project.
For detailed information and registration, visit the JUF website.
SHOP Shir Hadash
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.
Purchasing SHOP gift cards helps the shul raise much needed funds without
spending any more money than you already do for your regular expenses. Orders can be picked up at Sunday
school or the Shir Hadash office.
Don't Toss That Card! Reload it.
Reloading allows you to add funds to many plastic gift cards
you previously purchased on ShopWithScrip® with ease and speed. In fact,
if you pay for your Reload order with PrestoPay™, our online payment
method, before 3:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, the funds will be added to
your card overnight! For a growing number of retailers, you can add funds to
your gift card in minutes with ReloadNow™! Please remember, if you
pay by check, your reload purchase will be processed after the order is
released by your coordinator.
Remember, using ScripNow is
simple! To order, visit any of the brand pages on
ShopWithScrip.com and select the ScripNow product choice.
•Order your ScripNow .
•Pay with PrestoPay™ to print
your ScripNow in minutes.
•Or, pay by check to have your coordinator release your
order.
•Receive an email when your eCard is available on
your ShopWithScrip.com account.
•Click on View ScripNow from your Family Home page
to view and print your eCard.
New ScripNow™
Retailer: iTunes
Thanks
to the following families for participating in Shop this week:
Weiner-Kaplow
Elfant
Zinbarg
G. Graff
Schleicher
M. Graff
Singer
Wexler
Andes
Weiss
Estes-Goldman
Friedman
Wallk
Allen
Callistein
Edler
Farahmandpour
Fargotstein
Levy
Grills
Mostow
Zwick
Idelman
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