WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- Shir Hadash to Host Northwest Suburban JNF Dessert Reception, December 6
- New! Dinner-and-a-Movie Night, December 25
- Announcing the First Shir Hadash Cookbook and Top Chef Event
- SHOP Now for Hanukkah
- Hanukkah Candles Available at Shir Hadash
- Book Club
Creative Worship and Ritual
- This Week: Shabbat Evening and Morning Services, December 4 and 5
- Next Week: Lights & Miracles Services, December 11
The Rabbi’s Corner
- "Do You Believe in Miracles?"
- Sunday School Resumes December 6
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Schedule
- Sunday Morning Specials -- Bagels, Coffee, and Football on TV!
- Lunch and Learn with the Rabbis Resumes on Thursdays
- GMR South Suburbs Dance, December 5
- BBYO International Convention
Ongoing Fundraisers
- Help Shir Hadash Earn Free Donations with iGive
- Fundraising Opportunity with Amazon Smile
- Samuel I. Andes Scholarship Fund
- Permanent Restaurant Fundraisers: The Continental and Butterfield’s
SHOP Shir Hadash
MEMBERSHIP AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Shir Hadash to Host Northwest Suburban JNF Dessert Reception, December 6
Please join us as Shir Hadash hosts the Northwest Suburban Jewish National Fund Community Dessert Reception. We will have a special guest speaker, Rabbi Jonathan Schanzer, the Vice President of Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. He will be discussing the very timely topic of countering terrorism by following the money.
Please note that pre-registration is mandatory per JNF's security policy. No walk-ins will be admitted.
This event is at 7:00pm on Sunday, December 6 at Shir Hadash. We will be joined at this event by members of Congregation Or Shalom, Temple Chai, and Congregation Beth Judea. Please register for the event at jnf.org/chicagodessert.
New! Shir Hadash Dinner-and-a-Movie, December 25
What's a Jew to do on December 25? Come to Shir Hadash for dinner and watch Joseph an the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! Dinner will be at 5:00pm, with the movie following dinner. We will also have a potluck dessert after the movie. Admission will be $20 for adults, $13 for kids age four and up, and free for kids three and under.Watch for registration coming to the website soon -- the deadline will be Wednesday, December 23. Any questions? Contact Melanie Andes, fmandes@comcast.net or 847 913 9198.
What's a Jew to do on December 25? Come to Shir Hadash for dinner and watch Joseph an the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! Dinner will be at 5:00pm, with the movie following dinner. We will also have a potluck dessert after the movie. Admission will be $20 for adults, $13 for kids age four and up, and free for kids three and under.Watch for registration coming to the website soon -- the deadline will be Wednesday, December 23. Any questions? Contact Melanie Andes, fmandes@comcast.net or 847 913 9198.
Announcing the 1st Ever Shir Hadash Cookbook…and “Top Chef” Inspired Event!
We are going to publish the first ever Shir Hadash cookbook in Spring 2016, and we need your recipes! We want our cookbook to reflect our diverse membership, so please submit your family favorites, Sephardic specialties, gluten-free recipes, etc.
The cookbook will be professionally published and contain special pages of interest, a table of contents, an index, helpful cooking hints, and recipe category dividers. Please submit three to five of your favorite recipes. We will strive to include at least one of your recipes. Recipes are due by December 21, 2015. Visit our website for details and submission forms.
In conjunction with the cookbook publication, we will be holding a “Top Chef”-style event on Saturday, April 9, where congregants will prepare and bring their dishes, and attendees will taste each dish and select the winning dish in each category. Mark your calendar!
Hanukkah Candles Available at Shir Hadash
Our annual candle sale begins this week. They will be available at Friday night services and during Religious School. Get ready for the holiday and help Shir Hadash at the same time!
Book Club
Our next meeting will be in January to discuss "A Backpack, A Bear and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir” by Lev Golinkin. This book is the memoir of a 10 year old booy on his journey from the Ukraine to America in 1990, at the height of Soviet Anti-Semitism. The date and location for our meeting will be announced in future newsletters. For more information, contact Meryl Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com.
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
Shabbat Evening Service --"Thinking About Hanukkah", December 4, 7:30pm
On Friday night, December 4, we prepare for the upcoming holiday in a particularly Shir Hadash, Reconstructionist way -- by thinking (and talking) about Hanukkah, what it meant to Jews in history, and what we want it to mean for us now. Come to learn, to think, and to share your ideas!
Shabbat Morning Service, December 5, 10:00am
On Saturday morning, we will continue our new practice of
holding periodic morning services on Shabbats that don't have a bar or
bat mitzvah. So come and enjoy a Shabbat
morning service at Shir Hadash, complete with kiddush and light lunch
afterwards. Remember to bring your
tallit, and if you'd like a part in the
service, or would like to help with the
kiddush/lunch, please let us know at cwr@shir-hadash.org -- it would be such a mitzvah!
Light the lights and celebrate the Jewish festival of freedom—Hanukkah! This year, for our Lights and Miracles services, we'll have members sharing their storytelling, song, dance, and other talents. The program includes:
- Lessons from Rabbi Eitan and Rabbi Seeg
- The Mighty Shir Hadash Klezmer Band
- Menorah lighting
- Glow lights
- Singing, dancing, potato latkes, and doughnuts
Choose from two services on December 11:
- FAMILY Hanukkah Service, 6:15 to 7:00pm (for families with children from newborn through third grade):
- COMMUNITY Hanukkah Service, 7:30 to 9:00pm, for families with older children (grades 4 and up) and adults.
We’re looking forward to seeing you!
THE RABBI’S CORNER
December
4-5, 2015 / 23 Kislev 5776
Shabbat
Vayeshev
Torah
Reading: Genesis 37:1-40:23 / Haftarah Reading: Amos 2:6-3:8
“Do You Believe in Miracles?”
Dear Friends,
In 1980, during the waning seconds of United States Men’s
hockey team’s incredible victory over the Soviet Union, television announcer Al
Michael asked and answered a question that would forever be etched in the minds
of American sports fans: “Do you believe in miracles?…Yes!” To this day, that
victory is still called the “Miracle on Ice,” as a small band of college kids
somehow vanquished the mighty Soviet sports machine. In truth, most Americans
do believe in miracles—especially Jewish Americans, who proudly display their
faith in the miracle of the small cruse of oil that burned for eight days and
nights in the Temple in Jerusalem so many centuries ago.
Actually, not just one miracle occurred in the Hanukkah
story, but two.
Before the miracle of the Menorah in the Temple could even
be possible, the Jews needed a military victory. In the Al Hanissim prayer, we
give special thanks to God for the military victory during which God, “stood by
Jews in the time of their distress…waged their battles, defended their rights,
and avenged the wrong done to them. You [God] delivered the mighty into the
hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the
hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous…”
Yet our Jewish tradition does not let us sit back and rely
on miracles just happening. Rather, we
must be vigilant and prepared to do what needs to be done to make the world a
better place. For me, this may be in
fact a third miracle of Hanukkah, that we are always ready to get to work in
the cause of justice and righteousness, and actually make a miracle happen if
necessary.
Today, no objective observer can look at the modern marvel
of the Jewish state and consider it anything less than miraculous. Surrounded
on all sides by aggressive enemies bent at its destruction, Israel rebuffed its
enemies, settled the desert, harnessed the power of technology and is now
considered a world leader in military tactics, self-defense, and in fields as
diverse as cyber-security, water conservation and biotechnology. Yet, similar
to the story of Hanukkah this modern miracle was only possible because Israel’s
supporters refused to wait passively for a miracle, but instead committed
themselves to making one happen. Like the Maccabees did so many years ago,
today we do not wait for miracles to save the people of Israel. We work hard to
ensure that Jews worldwide have the tools we need to protect and defend our
people. But, after all is said and done, we must also look back at our efforts
and still quote the letters represented on every dreidel and say, “Nes Gadol
Hayah Sham”—“a great miracle happened there.”
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
We look forward to seeing all our school families at 9:00am.
Adult Education Classes on Sunday
Adult Ed is back on Sunday mornings at Shir Hadash! This year we have two of the regular favorites and then a new class especially for parents. The schedule for the day includes:
9:30-10:30 Torah Study/Modern Jewish Philosophy with Fred Andes
10:30-11:15 Adult Hebrew Reading with Steve Lewin
- Beginning this Sunday, December 6, the emphasis of the class will shift from sight-reading to vocabulary and grammar, focusing on the meaning of what we read. For those who already read Hebrew, but aren't sure what they're saying, now is your opportunity.
11:15-12:25 Jewish Spiritual Parenting: Raising a Mentsch with Rabbi Seeg and Rabbi Eitan
.
.
For more info about any of these adult ed programs, contact Rabbi Seeg at learning@shir-hadash.org.
Bagels and Coffee on Sunday Mornings
Each Sunday that we have Religious School, coffee and bagels are available in the lobby for purchase. President Glenn Graff and some Board members are usually around to discuss all things Shir Hadash. Stop in and sit and chat with your fellow Shir Hadashniks and enjoy the mornings!
Football Games on TV before Religious School Pickup
It's warm inside and the TV's on! When you're picking up the kids from Sunday School, come into our multipurpose room and watch the first 25 minutes of the Bears game.
It's warm inside and the TV's on! When you're picking up the kids from Sunday School, come into our multipurpose room and watch the first 25 minutes of the Bears game.
Lunch & Learn with the Rabbis
Rabbis Eitan Weiner-Kaplow & Scott Segal invite Shir Hadash members and friends to a a refreshing and contemporary exploration of the weekly Torah portion. Don’t be surprised if archaeology, sociology, contemporary world affairs as well as law, medicine, and business ethics enter the lively conversation as we plumb the deeper meanings of Judaism’s core text. We’ll meet on Thursdays from noon to 1:00pm. Pack a lunch and join us!
TEEN NEWS
GMR South Suburbs Dance, December 5
Barney Ross AZA and Chaverim BBG present GMR’s Annual South Suburbs Dance, The Hollywood Ball!
- When: Saturday, December 5, 7:00 to 9:00pm
- Where: Temple Anshe Sholom, Olympia Fields, IL
- Cost: $18, including bus transportation and snacks
For more information and registration, click here or call 224 406 9260.
BBYO’s International Convention Registration has opened and over 2,400 teens are currently registered including 80+ from GMR! The dates are February 10-15, 2016. If you registered for IC, more information will be coming out shortly about the waitlist and other details. If you haven’t registered yet and want to join us in Baltimore, visit www.bbyo.org/azabbgic for more info!
DONATIONS
To the General Fund
Gerry and
Dick Freibrun
- sending Mazal Tov and best wishes to Julie and Dan Wellisch in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Benjamin
- sending Mazal Tov and best wishes to Peggy and Burt Sharpe in honor of the Bar Mitvah of their grandson, Benjamin Wellisch
- in honor of Rabbi Eitan and Rabbi Seeg.
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.
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! Remember, 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!
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. 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 Hanukkah!
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.
Bonuses Starting December 5
American Eagle -- 2% December 5-18
Home Depot -- 1% December 5-11
Dell -- 2% December 5-18
Hallmark -- 2% December 5-11
Payless -- 2% December 5-18
JC Penney -- 1% December 5-18
Landry's -- 4% December 5-18
Subway -- 3% December 5-18
Stage -- 2% December 5-18
Ulta -- 1% December 5-18
Bonuses Available Now
Bass Pro Shops -- 4% til December 18
Bed Bath & Beyond -- 1% til December 11
Bob Evans -- 2% til December 11
Caribou Coffee -- 1% on physical cards til December 11
Carter's -- 1% til December 11
CVS -- 1% til December 11
Express -- 2% til December 11
Journeys -- 3% til December 11
Lane Bryant -- 1% til December 11
Red Robin -- 3% til December 11
LL Bean -- 2% til December 11
Osh Kosh B'Gosh -- 1% til December 11
Starbucks -- 2% til December 18
See's Candies -- 2% til December 11
SpaFinder -- 2% til December 11
TGI Friday's -- 3% til December 11
American Eagle -- 2% December 5-18
Home Depot -- 1% December 5-11
Dell -- 2% December 5-18
Hallmark -- 2% December 5-11
Payless -- 2% December 5-18
JC Penney -- 1% December 5-18
Landry's -- 4% December 5-18
Subway -- 3% December 5-18
Stage -- 2% December 5-18
Ulta -- 1% December 5-18
Bonuses Available Now
Bass Pro Shops -- 4% til December 18
Bed Bath & Beyond -- 1% til December 11
Bob Evans -- 2% til December 11
Caribou Coffee -- 1% on physical cards til December 11
Carter's -- 1% til December 11
CVS -- 1% til December 11
Express -- 2% til December 11
Journeys -- 3% til December 11
Lane Bryant -- 1% til December 11
Red Robin -- 3% til December 11
LL Bean -- 2% til December 11
Osh Kosh B'Gosh -- 1% til December 11
Starbucks -- 2% til December 18
See's Candies -- 2% til December 11
SpaFinder -- 2% til December 11
TGI Friday's -- 3% til December 11
Gift Card Holiday Wrappers Back in Stock
We have a colorful collection of gift card holiday wrappers back in stock and available for ordering. These colorful pre-cut glossy wrappers fold up to wrap your gift card in a fun, festive package. It even gives you space to leave a name, gift card amount, and a little note! The wrappers are available in a pack of 10 for $2, with a 10% non-profit contribution, and each pack includes 10 different seasonal designs.
Thanks to the following families for participating in SHOP this week:
- Zinbarg
- Schleicher
- Sulpar
- G. Graff
- M. Graff
- Fargotstein
- Fields
- Singer
- Friedman
- Pomper
- Farahmandpour
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