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
- Annual Meeting, May 17
- Yoga, May 21
- Shaumburg Boomers Baseball Outing, June 7
- New! Amazon Smile Fundraising Opportunity
- Book Club, June 11
Creative Worship and Ritual
- This Week's Services: Friday Evening and Saturday Morning Bat Mitzvah
- Shavuot Overnight Study Session, May 23-24
- Highlights: Aaron Freeman Presentation on May 8
Volunteer Opportunities
- Interfaith Council 5K Walk to Fight Community Hunger, June 28
- Rummage Sale, July 31 and August 2
The Rabbi’s Corner
- "Merger"
Education
- School Meets on May 18
- End of School Pancake Breakfast and Sports Event, May 31
- Tefillin Needed
- Madrichim: Final Weeks of School
- Upcoming Ra’am BBYO Events
Adult Education
- Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi, Tuesdays
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Class
Donations
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
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. If at all possible, please come to physically vote – we need a quorum! You do not need to stay for the whole meeting to vote. Bagels and coffee will be provided.
The open positions and candidates are:
- President: Glenn Graff, Deborah Newberger/Cindy Salomon (co-Presidents)
- Executive VP: Fred Andes
- Secretary: Dawn Allen, Sandi Schleicher
- Treasurer: Mehran Farahmandpour
- VP Programming: Joanne Litman, Carrie Matt
- At Large Member (four positions) - Melanie Andes, Nat Arons, Alan Bernover, Rhonda Carpenter, Arthur German, Lisa Settler
Yoga, May 21
Yoga at Shir Hadash has moved to Wednesdays! We have a fabulous certified yoga instructor who modifies the class for all levels, from yoga first-timers to advanced. Everyone over 12 years of age is welcome: men and women, members and non-members. Please bring a yoga mat. Weekly classes will continue on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:00pm. For more information, contact Joanne Litman at jolitman@gmail.com
SH Baseball Outing to Schaumburg Boomers, June 7—Sign Up Today!
June 7 will be Shir Hadash Day at the Schaumburg Boomers! Beginning at 1:00pm, friends and family of all ages are welcome for a day of fun at the Schaumburg Boomers minor league baseball stadium. Tickets are just $10! Click here for registration and direct payment on Shul Cloud. For more information, contact Stuart Aizenberg, stuartaizenberg@gmail.com.
New! Amazon Smile Fundraising Option
Shir Hadash is now registered with the Amazon Smile fundraising program. Just go to smile.amazon.com, search for Shir Hadash (be sure to select the one in Wheeling), and from then on 0.5% of your purchases will automatically be donated to Shir Hadash at no cost to you! Note that this works in conjunction with iGive (see below) and allows for double-dipping: if you go to Amazon through iGive.com or the iGive button, SH will get money from both Amazon and iGive. And to triple-dip, just pay for your purchases with a SHOP Amazon gift card! Happy Shopping!
Book Club, June 11
Our next meeting will be Thursday, June 11 (please note corrected date) at 7:30 at the home off Sandy Weiss, 2144 Walters Avenue in Northbrook. We will discuss What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander. For more information, contact Meryl Abensohn, abenkras@aol.com.
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
This Week’s Services
Shabbat Evening Service, Friday, May 15, 7:30pm
This Friday, our service will focus on the strong connections between our Jewish beliefs and our American heritage. This week's Torah portion challenges us to "proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof" -- the same words that are emblazoned on the Liberty Bell. After nearly 239 years of independence, has America fulfilled its mission of liberty and equality? What role will we Jews play in making America better? Join our Shabbat service where we will study these questions through reading, video, and discussion. Don't miss it, and don't forget to bring treats for the oneg. See you Friday!
This Friday, our service will focus on the strong connections between our Jewish beliefs and our American heritage. This week's Torah portion challenges us to "proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof" -- the same words that are emblazoned on the Liberty Bell. After nearly 239 years of independence, has America fulfilled its mission of liberty and equality? What role will we Jews play in making America better? Join our Shabbat service where we will study these questions through reading, video, and discussion. Don't miss it, and don't forget to bring treats for the oneg. See you Friday!
Shabbat Morning Service, Saturday, May 16, 9:30 am
We will celebrate the bat mitzvah of Zoe Berthold. All are welcome to participate in the service.
Shavuot Overnight Study, May 23-24
It is traditional on Shavuot to stay up all night and study in preparation for receiving the Torah the next day. To honor that tradition, we have planned a full and varied schedule of presentations and activites, starting with a service at 7:30pm Saturday and finishing with a catered breakfast at 7:00am Sunday. A highlight of our night’s programs will be a visit from a very special guest, Rachman Nachman, a young man from the Ugandan Jewish Community. The whole evening is offered free of charge, but please register to help us plan adequate food for everyone. For details about other activities and registration, visit the Shir Hadash Calendar, go to May 23, and click “go to event” for complete information.
Highlights: Aaron Freeman Presentation, May 8
On May 8, our Second Friday Speaker Series featured the brilliant comedian and teacher Aaron Freeman. Aaron spoke about his work as Artist in Residence at the Chicago Council on Science and Technology. He has been exploring ways to relate contemporary understandings about neuroscience research and discoveries to everyday life and learning. It was a fascinating and inspiring evening.
On May 8, our Second Friday Speaker Series featured the brilliant comedian and teacher Aaron Freeman. Aaron spoke about his work as Artist in Residence at the Chicago Council on Science and Technology. He has been exploring ways to relate contemporary understandings about neuroscience research and discoveries to everyday life and learning. It was a fascinating and inspiring evening.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Save the Date! Interfaith Council 5K to Fight Community Hunger, June 28
The Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council will hold “iWalk” on June 28, a 5K fundraiser to fight hunger in our local communities. Participants will walk from St. Mary’s Parish in Buffalo Grove to Hope Lutheran Church, enjoy refreshments, and then walk back. No entry fees required – donations will be accepted to help stock local food pantries. Walk registration begins at 1:15, and the actual event starts at 2:15. For more information, contact nwsuburbaninterfaith@gmail.com or talk to Shir Hadash’s council representative, Marla Callistein, at marlandan@yahoo.com.
The Rummage Sale is back, bigger and better! This year, we are going to try to do a tw- day sale on Friday, July 31 and Sunday, August 2. To make this a success, we need 100% participation from our members. We are asking for two hours from every household over the course of this project – that is on any of the seven different sorting, set up, or sale days. Last year we raised almost $2500 in one day with one-third of our membership actively participating, and we want to beat that this year.
Remember, fundraising like this helps us keep our dues down and provide more programming for everyone! Of course, we also need good quality rummage –click here to see a list of what we are looking for and a form to sign up for a work shift here. Questions? Contact Lise Schleicher at info@shir-hadash.org.
THE RABBI’S CORNER
May 15-16, 2015 / 27 Iyar 5775
Shabbat Behar-Behukotai
Torah: Leviticus 25:1 - 27:34 Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19 - 17:14
“Merger”
Dear Friends,
One of the most famous lines of the whole Torah appears in
this week’s portion, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the
inhabitants thereof.” It is emblazoned on
the Liberty Bell. The Hebrew word is dror often translated as liberty or
freedom. Yet, what does it mean to have
liberty?
For some it is the freedom to live where you want. For others it is freedom from hunger and
unemployment. For others it is freedom
to worship and to speak one’s mind and opinion.
For others, it is freedom to do what you want as long as it does not
harm others.
Lately, new kinds of freedom have emerged – the freedom from
prejudice, freedom from discrimination, freedom from brutality, freedom from
stereotyping, freedom from ignorance, freedom from corruption, freedom from
fear, …
Our society is rapidly changing and now is a good time to
look to Jewish values to help us through often troubling and uncharted waters….
To read the rest of the Rabbi’s blog or view past installments, please visit our website.
Recommendations for Nepal Relief Donations
I encourage you to make contributions to Nepali Earthquake Relief through the following organizations:
EDUCATION
Religious School This Week.
We’re looking forward to seeing all our students ready to learn at 9:15am on May 17.
End of School Parent-Child Pancake Sports Breakfast
Save the date for a special celebration to end the Shir Hadash school year! We will come together for a delicious pancake breakfast, followed by a presentation with former Illini basketball star and current UIC Assistant Coach Deon Thomas. He will speak about his career as a professional basketball player, including time in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and will sign autographs and take photos with students. More details coming soon!
Tefillin Needed
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.
TEEN NEWS
Madrichim
We’ll see you at Sunday School on May 17 and 31.. Please remember to let Emily or Carole know if you will be absent.
Ra’am BBYO Events – Mark Your Calendars!
Board Meeting, May 18
Fall Term Elections, June 4
Chapter Sleepover, June 11-12 – More details coming soon!
Please sign up for Ra’am’s Remind 101 group! It’s a super easy way for you to get quick updates about chapter events. All you have to do is text @raambbyo to 81010 and you’re good!
ADULT EDUCATION
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
"In View of Eternity" Choral Performance, May 29 and 31
Benjamin Rivera, our High Holidays Music Director, will be conducting his choral group "Cantate" in a program called In View of Eternity, including works from Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian traditions that discuss describe, or depict the eternal. The Jewish works include Hymn to the Eternal Flame by Stephen Paulus, which is an excerpt from the Holocaust memorial oratorio To Be Certain of the Dawn, and Enosh Kehchatzir Yamav by David White. Performances will be on Friday, May 29 on the north side of Chicago and Sunday, May 31 in Evanston. Discounted tickets are available for Shir Hadashniks! Click here for concert information. For discounted tickets, contact Benjamin at cantatechicago@googlemail.com.
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.
Low Denomination Gift Cards are Back!
We have a limited number of special small denomination gift cards available, perfect for teacher gifts and graduation parties! The following cards will be available:
• Albertsons and Supervalu $10
• Amazon.com Gift Cards $10
• AMC Theatres® $10
• Applebee's $10
• CVS/pharmacy $10
• Groupon $10
• IHOP $10
• Meijer $10
• Outback $10
• Panera Bread® $5
• Pizza Hut $5
• Regal Entertainment Group $10
• Starbucks $5 Teacher Card
• Target $10
Current Bonus Offers:
- Dell -- 2% til May 15
- Boston Market -- 2% til May 15
- Albertson’s – 2% til May 22
- Shutterfly – 2% til May 22
- Joann Fabrics and Crafts – 2% til May 22
- Caribou – 1% on physical cards, May til 22
Meijer Illinois Grand Opening Bonus: 4% on physical cards between May 16 and August 28.
Thanks to the following families for participating in SHOP this week:
- Zinbarg
- Schleicher
- Fargotstein
- Pomper
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