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
- Community Seder, April 4 – RSVP by March 30
- New! Groundbreaking Ceremony for our New Neighbor, April 1
- New! MOSH Penny Poker Night, April 15
- New! Board Meeting, May 17
- New! Board Positions Available
- Book Club Recap
- Shir Hadash Newsletter on Break Next Week
Creative Worship and Ritual
- Next Shabbat Service, April 10
Volunteer Opportunities
- Passover Basket Deliveries, March 29
- New! Stamp Out Hunger Food Pickups
- Disaster Recovery Service Project, July 15-19
- SHOP Needs You
The Rabbi’s Corner
- "For the Blessings"
Education
- Religious School on Spring Break, March 29 and April 5
- Last Day of Religious School Moved to May
- Tefillin Needed
- Geocaching Mitzvah Project, April 18
Teen News
- Upcoming Teen Events
- BBYO GMR Spring Convention, April 24-26
Adult Education
- Adult Ed Class on American Jewish History, April 12
- 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 – RSVP Deadline is March 30
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.
New! Groundbreaking Ceremony for our New Neighbor, April 1
On Wednesday, April 1 at 2:00pm, the LaSalle Group will be
hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for the start of construction of their new
facility. At the end of last year, the LaSallle Group purchased some of the
excess land next to Shir Hadash. They will be creating a senior assisted living
and memory care facility next door to us. They also will be constructing 33
parking spots for us, as well as landscaping a large green space for our joint
use. Come join the fun Wednesday.
New! MOSH Penny Poker, April 15
MOSH (Men of Shir Hadash) is hosting a penny
poker night on April 15, starting at 7:00pm, at the home of Sean Fisher-Rohde
in Deerfield. This is a great opportunity for current, new, and prospective
male members to get to know one another. There will be food, drinks, and good
times, so break open that piggy bank and spend tax day playing poker. Please
RSVP to Sean at srohde5@gmail.com.
New! Annual Meeting, May 17
On Sunday, May 17 at 9:30am, we will have our Shir Hadash
Annual Meeting. At the meeting, you can vote on the election of new Board
members and the approval of the annual budget. You will hear reports on
synagogue activities and plans, and you can ask questions and participate in
the discussion. Please come – we need a quorum!
New! SH
Board Positions Available
At the Annual Meeting, we will be electing members to serve in the
following positions: President, Executive Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer,
Vice-President for Programming, and four At-Large Board Members. If you are
interested in serving in one of these positions, please contact Fred Andes at
fandes@btlaw.com.
Book Club Recap
Ed Rice led a very animated and thought-provoking discussion on Son of Hamas last Thursday evening.
There were 16 Shir Hadash members at the meeting, including four members of the
Rice family! Thanks to Melanie and Fred Andes for hosting. Our next book will
be What We Talk About When We Talk About
Anne Frank by Nathan Englander. Date and location TBA soon. For more
information, contact Meryl Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com
Yoga at Shir Hadash, April 10
Our yoga program is taking next week off for Spring Break,
but will resume on Tuesday, April 10 from 6:00 to 7:00pm. Newcomers may still join
us! 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) is available. Please email
Joanne Litman at jolitman@gmail.com with questions.
Shir Hadash
Newsletter on Break Next Week
The newsletter will not be published on Thursday, April 2.
Remember that you can always stay up to date using the resources on the SH website, including our detailed calendar.
Creative Worship and Ritual
Next Shabbat Service, Friday April
10
Be sure to join us for the continuation of our new Shabbat Speaker
Series! More details to come.
Volunteer Opportunities
Passover Food Baskets, March 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. Baskets that were packed last
weekend will be delivered on 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 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.
New! Stamp Out Hunger Food Distributions
The Northwest Suburban Interfaith
Council, which includes Shir Hadash, will arranging pickups of food donations
collected at the Skokie Post Office through the USPS “Stamp Out Hunger”
program. The food will then be delivered to food pantries run by Interfaith
Council congregations. Details are still in the planning stages, but if you are
interested in learning about helping with this project contact Marla Callistein
at marlandan@yahoo.com
Disaster Relief Project, July 15-19
The Interfaith
Council will also 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 27-28, 2015 / 8 Nisan 5775
Shabbat HaGadol
Torah: Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36
Haftarah: Malachi 3:4 - 3:24 | Shabbat
HaGadol
“For the Blessings”
Dear Friends,
What are you thankful for?
On Shabbat Tzav we read in the Torah about a special Temple
sacrifice called the “Korban Todah” – the offering of thanksgiving. The
offering is given without strings and without requirement. It is given as a
freewill offering by those who are truly thankful for something or many things
in their lives. According to our
tradition, God responds by drawing close those who give offerings of
thanksgiving and appreciation.
This Shabbat is also Shabbat HaGadol, the great Shabbat that
precedes the celebration of Passover. It
is the Shabbat when we count our blessings and make ready to renew our peoples
ongoing journey towards freedom and justice.
What are you thankful for?
What are the things in your life that remind you of how blessed we all
are?
As we approach Passover, take some time to note the
blessings and abundance that surround us at each moment, morning, noon, and
night….
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 on Break, March 28 and April 5
Have a wonderful vacation!
Last Day of Religious School Moved to May 31
Due to the February snow day, the Education Committee has added an extra day to the school year. Be sure to join us on Sunday, May 31 -- it will be a great day to spend together.
Last Day of Religious School Moved to May 31
Due to the February snow day, the Education Committee has added an extra day to the school year. Be sure to join us on Sunday, May 31 -- it will be a great day to spend together.
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
Upcoming Teen Events
Monday, April
6th - 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Teen Stress Relief Program.
Monday, April
13th - 8:00 p.m. Ra'am Board Google Hangout
Sunday, April
19th - 8:30 a.m. Madrichim meeting before Sunday school
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 April 12
Upcoming meetings on the following Sunday mornings, 11:15 to
12:25 at Shir Hadash
- 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!
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 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:
Athleta – 2% March 28 to April 10
American Eagle – 2% March 14 to 27
Banana Republic – 2% March 28 to April 10
Build a Bear Workshop – 2% March 14 to 27
Burlington – 1% March 28 to April 10
Gap – 2% March 28 to April 10
Home Depot – 1% March 14 to 27
Joann – 2% March 28 to April 10
Journeys – 3% March 14 to April 3
AMC Movies – 5% March 21 to 27
Meijer – 1% March 21 to April 3
Old Navy – 2% March 28 to April 10
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
Sultion
Estes-Goldman
Fisher-Rohde
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