What’s Happening at a Glance
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- Community Seder, April 4 – Please RSVP Soon
- Tonight! Book Club, March 19
- Meditation Group, March 21
- Yoga Class, March 24
- Town Hall Meeting Recap
- Shabbat Evening Service, March 20, 7:30pm
- Shabbat Morning Service, March 21, 10:00am
- Passover Baskets
- Disaster Recovery Service Project, July 15-19
- SHOP Needs You
- "Drawing Close"
Education
- Religious School, March 22
- Tefillin Needed
- Geocaching Mitzvah Project, April 18
Teen News
- Tonight! Ra’am BBYO Board Meeting on Google Plus, March 19
- Business Meeting and Stand Up Program, March 23
- BBYO GMR Spring Convention, April 24-26
Adult Education
- Adult Ed Class on American Jewish History, March 22
- Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi, Tuesdays
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Class
Community Events
- JUF Fundraiser April 12
Ongoing Fundraisers
- Help Shir Hadash Earn Free Donations with iGive
- Samuel I. Andes Scholarship Fund
- Permanent Restaurant Fundraisers: The Continental and Butterfield’s
SHOP Shir Hadash
Membership and Upcoming
Events
Community Seder, April 4 – Please RSVP Soon!
Spring is here, and Passover is right around the corner!
Join us for our second Community Seder in our new home, on Saturday, April 4 at 6:00pm. Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow will lead the seder
that will be followed by a delicious pot luck meal. The event will be
veggie/dairy, using Kosher for Passover ingredients. Fish is welcome, as are
both Ashkenazic and Sephardic dishes. (Note that Sephardic tradition allows
some ingredients that Ashkenazic does not, such as rice, corn, and legumes.)
Visit our Seder
Event Page for details on how to participate. Our
RSVP deadline is March 30 – but we have had a waiting list in past years, so
don’t delay! Have any questions? Contact Melanie Andes at 847 913 9198 or
fmandes@comcast.net.
Tonight! Book
Club, March 19
Our book club’s next selection will be Son of Hamas by
Mossab Hassam Yousef. Our discussion will be led by Ed Rice, who has attended a
talk by the author. Our meeting will be held on March 19 at the Andes home, 945
Creek Bend Drive in Vernon Hills. Everyone is welcome. For more information,
contact Meryl Abensohn, abenkras@aol.com.
Meditation Group, March 21
Our new member-led meditation group will have its next meeting on
Saturday, March 21 at 2:00pm at Shir Hadash. If you have ever practiced
meditation and would like to try practicing in a group, or if you’ve never
practiced but are curious to give it a try, please come join us! Our
meditations have been informed primarily by the mindfulness, but if you
practice another form of meditation please come and introduce us to your
favorite. For more information, contact Rick Zinbarg at 847 902 9703 or
rzinbarg@northwestern.edu.
Yoga at Shir Hadash, March 24
We have three more classes in our inaugural yoga series at Shir
Hadash! Newcomers may still join us on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:00pm. Our classes
are being taught by a certified instructor and are appropriate for men and
women, ages 14 and up with any level of yoga experience. We will even
accommodate those needing to work from a chair instead of a mat. For more info
and online payment please click
here. On site payment (cash, check or credit
card) will be available. Please
email Joanne Litman at jolitman@gmail.com with questions or to let her know
you'll be there (although a reservation is NOT necessary).
Town Hall Meeting Recap
The Membership Committee thanks everyone who attended the Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, which included small group sessions where members could talk about Shir Hadash's past, present and future. The Membership Committee will be sharing the information with the Board and with relevant committees so that the feedback can be incorporated into future plans. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Town Hall Meeting Recap
The Membership Committee thanks everyone who attended the Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, which included small group sessions where members could talk about Shir Hadash's past, present and future. The Membership Committee will be sharing the information with the Board and with relevant committees so that the feedback can be incorporated into future plans. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Creative Worship and Ritual
This Week’s Services
Shabbat Evening Service, Friday, March 20, 7:30pm
This Friday, our 4th, 5th and 6th graders will be leading our Shabbat service with Rabbi Eitan. We also will have the opportunity to hear our member Carly Matt, a professional singer and cantorial soloist, chanting Torah! And since Passover is getting close, we will have a discussion about how to get ready for the holiday. Don't miss the fun -- and don't forget to bring something for the oneg!
Shabbat Morning Service, Saturday, March 21, 10:00am
On Saturday we will continue our new practice of once-a-month Shabbat morning services on a Shabbat that does not have a bar or bat mitzvah. Come and enjoy our service, complete with kiddush and light lunch afterwards. Remember to bring your tallit. And if you'd like to read a part in the service or to help with the kiddush/lunch, please contact Fred at fandes@btlaw.com.
This Friday, our 4th, 5th and 6th graders will be leading our Shabbat service with Rabbi Eitan. We also will have the opportunity to hear our member Carly Matt, a professional singer and cantorial soloist, chanting Torah! And since Passover is getting close, we will have a discussion about how to get ready for the holiday. Don't miss the fun -- and don't forget to bring something for the oneg!
Shabbat Morning Service, Saturday, March 21, 10:00am
On Saturday we will continue our new practice of once-a-month Shabbat morning services on a Shabbat that does not have a bar or bat mitzvah. Come and enjoy our service, complete with kiddush and light lunch afterwards. Remember to bring your tallit. And if you'd like to read a part in the service or to help with the kiddush/lunch, please contact Fred at fandes@btlaw.com.
Volunteer Opportunities
Passover Food Baskets, March 22 and 29
Once again this year, Shir Hadash
will be joining with Maot Chitim of Greater Chicagoland to help them pack and
deliver Passover 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: Sunday, March 22, 9:30--10:15am, at 8220 N. Austin Avenue
in Morton Grove.
Delivery: Sunday, March 29,
9:30--11:30am 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.
To make this a smooth operation,
we need approximately 10 people for packing on March 22 and about 10 - 15 people
for delivery on the March 29. If you
are interested in helping on one or both of these dates, please respond as soon
as possible to Mark Lenhart at mjlenhart@comcast.net.
Disaster Relief Project, July 15-19
The Northwest Suburban Interfaith
Council, which includes Shir Hadash, will be joining in a service trip to
Brookport, Illinois to aid in the recovery efforts from the devastating
tornados of November 2013. Volunteers, skilled and unskilled, are invited to
participate in this reconstruction project. Whether you’re a professional
tradesman or have trouble swinging a hammer, you are welcome! For more
information, click here or contact Joanne Dicker, 847 459 8914.
SHOP Needs You!
Our ongoing, and vital, SHOP Shir Hadash fundraiser needs
volunteers to staff our table at Sunday School. It’s an easy job and a great
chance to schmooze with other Shir Hadashniks! Can you spare one Sunday morning
to help – just one – from 9:00 to 12:30? Click here to sign up for a day of your choice on Shul Cloud, or contact Gina
Zinbarg, gzinbarg@sbcglobal.net, for more info.
The Rabbi’s Corner
March 20-21, 2015 / 1 Nisan 5775
Shabbat Vayikra
Rosh Hodesh Nisan/Shabbat HaChodesh
Torah: Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26
Maftir: Exodus 12:1 - 12:20 | Shabbat
HaChodesh (on Rosh Chodesh)
Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16 - 46:18 |
Shabbat HaChodesh (on Rosh Chodesh)
“Drawing Close”
Dear Friends,
This week’s Torah portion, Vayikra, opens the book of
Leviticus and is all about sacrifice - rules and regulations for making
offerings of livestock and produce to God at the mishkan, the tent of meeting.
It is all about how our ancestors gave back to God some of the best gifts that
God had bestowed upon them.
Perhaps this can best be explained by citing the verse from the Talmud
Book Pirkei Avot or Ethics of the Sages, Chapter 3, section 8: “Tein lo
mi’shelo she’ata v’shelach shelo - Give unto God that which is God’s, for you
and all that you have is God’s.”
Our ancestors also knew instinctively that by giving a sacrifice (Latin
‘sacre’ meaning ‘holy’) or a korban (Hebrew meaning ‘draw close), one would
grow closer to God and rise in spirituality, holiness, wisdom and
understanding.
What about us?
What korbanot and sacrifices will we offer that will allow us to draw
close and ascend in holiness before God?
What precious time will we ‘sacrifice’ that we may study and learn? What precious resources will we ‘offer’
toward aiding our community and all in need?
The Book of Leviticus challenges each one of us to make
sacrifices - not the reluctant and begrudging kind - rather, the kind that will
enable us to give back to others and allow ourselves to grow in awareness and
purpose. As you grow Jewishly,
what are your sacrifices? As you
act Jewishly, what can you offer to bring greater holiness and connection to
our world?
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
To read the rest of The Rabbi’s Corner, or view past
installments of the Rabbi’s blog, please visit our website.
Education
Religious School, March 22
We will see all of our students at 9:15am.
Tefillin Needed
Rabbi Eitan is collecting sets of tefillin for his teaching
of traditional Judaism to our students. If you have an unused and
unwanted set to donate, please contact him at rabbi@shir-hadash.org or call the
office.
Geocaching Mitzvah
Project, April 18
Looking for a fun activity for the whole family? Zoe
Berthold’s Bat Mitzvah Project is both a good time and for a good cause! Drop
by The Grove (1421 Milwaukee Ave) in Glenview any time from 1-3 PM on Saturday,
April 18, for an introduction to a real-life scavenger hunt called Geocaching.
We will teach you how to use your smartphone to find containers called
“geocaches” hidden all around. After finding the three geocaches that we’ve
hidden with clues inside and solving the puzzle based off the clues, you get a
prize. There is a suggested donation of $5, but 100% of the proceeds go to the
Greater Chicago Food Depository! No registration required. Please email Julie
Berthold at Avergirl@gmail.com with any questions. Click here to learn more.
Teen News
Tonight! Ra’am BBYO Board
Meeting on Google, March 19
Board
members, don’t forget to join our online meeting at 8:00pm tonight, March 19.
Business Meeting and Stand Up Program,
March 23
On March 23
at 7pm, we will be having a business meeting and a Stand Up program at Shir
Hadash, 200 W Dundee. Business Meetings are actually a lot of fun and a time
for all of us to plan what we want the chapter to do - so we hope you all can
make it! This meeting is extremely special because we are also going to have a
Stand Up Social Action program that is super cool!
BBYO-GMR Spring Convention, April 24-26
Registration
is now open for the Spring Convention, which will be held at the Marriott
Lincolnshire. Join BBYO GMR for a weekend of fun programming, guest speakers,
Regional Board elections, and lots of socializing with friends. Early registration
(by March 30) is $279 for the weekend, later registration is $299. Scholarships
are available; applications are due March 30. Open to BBYO members in grades
8-12. For more information and registration, click
here or contact
Celia Livshin, clivshin@bbyo.org.
Adult Education
Winter Adult Ed Class on American Jewish History -- Next
Meeting March 22
Upcoming meetings on the following Sunday mornings, 11:15 to
12:25 at Shir Hadash
March 22; April 12; May 3
This survey course
focuses on the fascinating story of the Jewish community in America. Our study
will be divided into eight periods spanning colonial times to the present. Each
class session will include lecture, discussion, and reading through historical
source documents and artifacts. We will also touch on Jewish genealogy and
tracing our families’ roots. Students are encouraged to bring online/web
resources to class. Instructor: Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow assisted by Shir
Hadash members. Everyone is welcome to participate.
Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
All are invited to join Shir Hadash members and friends for
a refreshing and contemporary exploration of the weekly Torah portion. We
meet at noon on Tuesdays in the conference room.
Sunday Morning Adult Ed
Each Sunday when Religious School is in session, Fred Andes
leads a casual group as we meet at the synagogue from 9:45 to 10:45 for coffee
and engaging discussion topics. All are welcome.
Community Events
JUF Fundraiser, April 12 – RSVP Today!
By now, everyone should have received an invitation to the
20115 Northwest Suburban JUF Fundraising event. Please help make this
fundraiser a success by registering
online or through the mail with your paper
RSVP. We want Shir Hadash to be well represented at the dessert reception so we
can help support the important work of the JUF. It’s going to be a great event,
especially because of our guest speaker, Holocaust survivor Sam Harris. Our own
Rich and Rachel Schick Siegel are co-chairs for this event. Please contact
Ronna Leibach at RonnaLeibach@juf.org or 312 444 2812 with any questions. See
you on April 12!
Donations
To the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
- Richard and Rachel Schick Siegel, in honor of their daughter Emily’s Bat Mitzvah, thanking Rabbi Eitan for officiating and proud of how beautifully Emily led the service.
- Maggie and Barry Cain, in memory of Don Roiter, father of Bob Roiter
To the General Fund
- Richard and Rachel Schick Siegel, in honor of their friends at Shir Hadash and thanking Lise and Sandi Schleicher, Carrie Matt, Glenn Graff, Marc Fargotstein, Lilllian Zoloto, Julie Berthold, Jackie Kulesza, Pauline Levy, Glenn Farkas, and Lori and Steve Mesirow for all their support and logistical help with Emily’s Bat Mitzvah.
To the Camp Scholarship Fund
- Suzanne and Ken Wexler
Ongoing Fundraisers
Help Shir Hadash Earn Free Donations with iGive
You can help Shir Hadash every time you shop online – the
iGive Button makes it simple! iGive is a free and easy way to support the shul.
Average shoppers using iGive raise between $30 and $100 a year for their
causes. There are 1480 online retailers helping to make donations happen
through iGive.
Click here to learn more and join iGive. If you have
questions, contact Sandi Schleicher, finance@shir-hadash.org.
Scholarship Fund
To help families in financial need pay for their children’s
Jewish education at Shir Hadash, Melanie and Fred Andes created the Samuel I
Andes Scholarship Fund in memory of Fred’s great-uncle. They have graciously offered
to match all donations to the fund up to $11,000.00. Click
here to donate online or mail in your
check made out to Shir Hadash with “Scholarship” written in the memo line.
Don’t Forget Our Permanent Restaurant Fundraisers!
The Continental Restaurant in Buffalo Grove and
Butterfield’s Restaurant in Northbrook will donate 5% of your total bill to
Shir Hadash! No flyer needed – just mention Shir Hadash when you are paying or
fill out the Shir Hadash book behind the desk.
SHOP Shir Hadash
SHOP for Spring!
SHOP is our congregation’s ongoing fundraiser – and the
easiest way to support the shul without spending an extra dime! Purchase gift
cards through SHOP and the vendors pay a percentage back to Shir Hadash. SHOP orders of at least $400 are now payable by credit
card, as well as annual SHOP orders. Orders can be picked up at the synagogue
office.
SHOP Needs Your Help!
Please sign up to staff the SHOP table for a Sunday
morning. Full details in the “Volunteer Opportunities” section, above.
Bonus Offers:
Bed Bath & Beyond – 1% Bonus March 7 to 20
Cabela’s – 1% Bonus March 7 to 20
American Eagle – 2% March 14 to 27
Build a Bear Workshop – 2% March 14 to 27
Home Depot – 1% March 14 to 27
Journeys – 3% March 14 to April 3
AMC Movies – 5% March 21 to 27
Meijer – 1% March 21 to April 3
Regis Salon – 1% March 21 to 27
See’s Candies – 2% on $25 card, March
21 to April 3
Shutterfly – 2% March 21 to April 3
Thanks to the following families for participating in SHOP this
week:
Zinbarg
Schleicher
Wexler
Michaels
Zenn
Kulesza
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