WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- New! MOSH Mini-Golf and Dinner, April 9
- WISH Girls Night Out, April 10
- WISH Bakers are the Best
- Community Seder, April 23
- SH Donors Stack Up the Mac for Wheeling Food Pantry
- Mitzvah Project Donation Request
Creative Worship and Ritual
- Services This Week: Friday, April 1
- Family Service, 5:30pm
- Shabbat Evening Service with 5th Grade, 7:30pm
The Rabbi’s Corner
Education Announcements- "Here Chicken, Chicken, Chicken..."
- Sunday School on Spring Break, April 3
- Thank You to Carnival Volunteers and WISH Bakers
- Youth Group Event at Color Me Mine, April 24
- Upcoming Service Dates -- Grades 5 and 6
- Lunch and Learn with the Rabbis, Thursdays
Teen News
- Fundraiser at Panera, April 4
- Register Now for GMR Spring Convention
Donations
Jewish Community News
SHOP Shir HadashJewish Community News
- JUF Dessert, April 17
- Reconstructionism Today Newsletter
MEMBERSHIP AND UPCOMING EVENTS
New! MOSH Mini-Golf and Dinner at Roti, April 9
Spring is here -- we hope! Weather permitting, MOSH will be meeting for a fun round of mini-golf at Par-King, 21711 N. Milwaukee Road in Lincolnshire. (The park should be open if the weather is dry and over 50 degrees.) Families are welcome, and we get a discount if we have a group of 20 or more. Meet in the Par-King lot at 3:50 so we can start our rounds of golf at 4:00pm. Afterwards we plan to have dinner at Roti, 1240 E. Route 45 in Vernon Hills, which is hosting a Shir Hadash fundraiser that night! More details coming soon. RSVP to Dan Wellisch, 847 254 9355.
Spring is here -- we hope! Weather permitting, MOSH will be meeting for a fun round of mini-golf at Par-King, 21711 N. Milwaukee Road in Lincolnshire. (The park should be open if the weather is dry and over 50 degrees.) Families are welcome, and we get a discount if we have a group of 20 or more. Meet in the Par-King lot at 3:50 so we can start our rounds of golf at 4:00pm. Afterwards we plan to have dinner at Roti, 1240 E. Route 45 in Vernon Hills, which is hosting a Shir Hadash fundraiser that night! More details coming soon. RSVP to Dan Wellisch, 847 254 9355.
WISH Girls Night Out, April 10
Opa! It's time for a Girls Night Out! Please join Women In Shir Hadash (WISH) for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 at the AMC Theater in Northbrook Court on Sunday, April 10. All the adult women of Shir Hadash are invited. The evening begins at 5:30pm with dinner at Stir Crazy. Then we head over to the movie theater for the 7:45 pm showing of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2." Participants will be responsible for the cost of their own meals and tickets.
Please RSVP to Andrea Idelman at Andrea0822@yahoo.com or Marilyn Idelman Soglin at soglinm@gmail.com by Friday, April 8, so we can let the restaurant know how many to expect. Feel free to join us for the movie even if you can't join us for dinner; let us know that as well. WISH you will join us!
WISH Bakers are the Best
WISH's hamantaschen sale at the Shir Hadash Purim Carnival was a great success. We sold 102 bags of goodies! Many thanks to all the bakers that participated.
Save the Date! Community Seder, April 23
Mark your calendar for the Ninth Annual Shir Hadash Community Seder on April 23 at 6:00pm. Click here for complete details on the website. Questions? Contact Melanie at fmandes@comcast.net.
WISH Bakers are the Best
WISH's hamantaschen sale at the Shir Hadash Purim Carnival was a great success. We sold 102 bags of goodies! Many thanks to all the bakers that participated.
Save the Date! Community Seder, April 23
Mark your calendar for the Ninth Annual Shir Hadash Community Seder on April 23 at 6:00pm. Click here for complete details on the website. Questions? Contact Melanie at fmandes@comcast.net.
Many thanks to everyone who donated boxes of macaroni and cheese to our food drive. The boxes were fun to use as groggers, and the Wheeling Food Pantry appreciated the donations that will provide meals for many area families.
Bar Mitzvah Project Donation Request
Mikey Grills, one of our students, is performing a mitzvah project to help the family of a young relative who is battling serious illness. He is collecting used DVDs, Blu-Rays, video games, and CDs for re-sale, with proceeds going to help the family. Please support his efforts by leaving items in the labeled box near the coatroom. Thank you!
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
- Family Service, 5:30pm: Join us for an engaging evening with young families in preparation for Passover. We'll start our event with homemade matzoh ball soup at 5:30pm, followed at 6:00pm by a family-friendly service and a Passover-themed craft project. RSVP to Alan Bernover (bernover@litchfieldcavo.com), and please bring a treat to share at the oneg. Click here to learn more.
- Shabbat Evening Service, 7:30pm: Our regular Shabbat Evening service begins at 7:30pm, and our 5th grade Sunday School class will help lead the service. This week we'll explore a topic - like the "Jewish
magic" that we talked about last month - that is not usually part of a
service: Jewish humor! Join us to
explore the ways that Jewish humor has helped us cope with the bad times and
brought joy to the celebration of the good times. We’ll tell some classic Jewish jokes, talk
about some of our people’s greatest comedians, and watch some hysterical Jewish
videos. Contact Rabbi Eitan if you would
like to tell a joke at the service (an appropriate one, of course). Plus - our 5th grade class will help lead the
service!
THE RABBI’S CORNER
April 1-2, 2016 / 23 Adar II 5776
Shabbat Shemini/Parah
Torah: Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47
Maftir: Numbers 19:1 - 19:22 | Shabbat Parah
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16 - 36:38 | Shabbat Parah
“Here Chicken, Chicken, Chicken”
Dear Friends,
There is a wonderful scene in the 1979 Gene Wilder movie The Frisco
Kid, where a very hungry Rabbi Avram Belinski is chasing a chicken somewhere
out on the plains. He tries to coax the
chicken by saying, “Here chicken, chicken, chicken. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to make you kosher!”
This week’s Torah portion introduces the kosher laws to the Children of
Israel. The portion lists the land
animals, sea creatures, and birds that are permissible to eat and those that
are forbidden. We Jews have been
debating for thousands of the years the origins of these laws and their
importance in Jewish tradition. Some
believe that they are ordained and commanded by God. Others believe that they are ‘folkways,’
customs our Jewish ancestors developed in the Middle East over centuries that
became a central pillar of Jewish life.
While my wife Dawn and I were not raised observing the kosher laws in
our families, we do keep them now. Over
the years, little by little, we explored the world of kashrut and became
comfortable with keeping a kosher home.
We do so for reasons of strengthening our sense of Jewish
identity. First, is our connection to
the land and people of Israel, where virtually all the food is kosher and most
people follow some version of kashrut.
Second, is our connection to Jewish culture and civilization. Kashrut is a ‘folkway,’ a custom that Jews
have been following for thousands of years.
By keeping kosher, we connect up with our ancestors and with our descendants. Third, is Klal Yisrael – the unity of the
Jewish people. By keeping kashrut, we
are assured that any and every Jew can eat in our home. Fourth, is the sanctity of the Jewish
home. By observing kashrut, we are
constantly reminded that Judaism happens in the home, not only in the
synagogue.
I urge all Shir Hadash members to try explore aspects of kashrut and
see how keeping kosher can add value, meaning and connection to your sense of
Jewish identity.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sunday School on Spring Break
Our Religous School will continue to be on break April 3. We'll see you all on April 10!
A Big Thank You to the Purim Carnival Volunteers and to WISH (Women In Shir Hadash)!
The Purim Carnival was a big success, and we couldn't have done it without the numerous people who volunteered. Thank you to everyone who helped set up the carnival; sold the tickets, food, and drinks; ran the games, and helped clean up. The school also appreciates WISH baking and selling hundreds of delicious hamantashen.
Youth Group Event at Color-Me-Mine, April 17
On April 17 from 3:00-4:30pm, we will have an expanded youth group excursion at Color-Me-Mine in Glenview. The event is open to 2nd-7th graders, and is a great opportunity to make a lovely, personalized Mother’s Day present or simply create something awesome. Space is limited, so RSVPs will be taken at learning@shir-hadash.org on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost for this event is $20 for Shir Hadash members or $25 for non-members; this will enable your son or daughter to pick and design one piece that will be ready to take home the following Sunday (April 24).
Reminder of Upcoming Friday Evening Services
- Kitah Heh (5th grade): Friday, April 1 -- Regular Service at 7:30pm.
- Kitah Vav (6th grade): Friday, May 6 -- Regular Service at 7:30pm
Lunch & Learn with the Rabbis
All are welcome to join our rabbis for a contemporary exploration of the weekly Torah portion. We meet on Thursdays from noon to 1:00pm at Shir Hadash. Pack a lunch and come in!
TEEN NEWS
Here's a delicious way to help Ra'am BBYO -- stop by the Deerfield Panera restaurant anytime on Monday, April 4 and Ra'am will receive a portion of the proceeds! You must print and bring in this flyer to participate. Panera is located at 190 N. Waukegan Road in Deerfield.
The BBYO Great Midwest Region Spring Convention will be April 15-17 at the Renaissance Hotel in Northbrook. Open to all BBYO members in grades 8-12. Registration is open now -- sign up by March 24 to qualify for the early registration discount. Click here for complete details.
DONATIONS
To the General Fund
- Rivian Rosenbloom, in honor of her son Jay Rosenbloom for a swift recovery.
JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS
Shir Hadash is proud to join with Temple Chai and Congregations Beth Am, Beth Judea, and Or Shalom to present the 2016 Dessert Reception, a benefit for the Jewish United Fund's Annual Campaign. The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Steven Nasatir, President of JUF/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Join committee members Richard and Rachel Schick Siegel at Congregation Beth Judea in Long Grove, beginning at 7:00pm on April 17. For more information and registration, click here.
Reconstructionist Movement Newsletter for March
As a member of the Jewish Reconstructionist Communities, we are happy to be able to share the Reconstructionism Today newsletter. Click here to enjoy this month’s edition.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Fundraiser Information Now Available on Shul Cloud
You can help Shir Hadash at no extra cost to you by taking advantage of a variety of ongoing
fundraisers, including iGive, Amazon Smile, and more. For complete details, click here.
SHOP SHIR HADASH
SHOP for Spring Break!
SHOP is 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.
Click here for information about this week's special bonus offers!
