Shir Hadash Weekly Newsletter -- November 17, 2016

For daily event updates, check our calendar. Like us on Facebook or Twitter.  

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE

"Let's Make Our Building a Home"

Membership News and Upcoming Events

• MOSH Family Game Night, November 19
• Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, November 20
• New Member Havdalah and Dinner, December 3
• Save the Date! Community Hanukkah Party, December 10
• WISH Challah Bake Recap
• Book Club
• Shir Hadash Gift Shop Now Open on Sundays

Creative Worship and Ritual

• Shabbat Evening Service, Friday, November 18, 7:30pm
• Shabbat No'ar Service for Teens, Saturday, November 19, 10:00am

The Rabbi’s Corner

• "Relationship Power"

Education Announcements

• Religious School, November 20
• SAC Meeting, November 20
• TOV Toy Drive
• Purim Carnival Brainstorming Session, December 4 
• Sunday Morning Adult Ed Classes
• Monday Night Adult Ed Classes
• Thursday Lunch & Learn Class On Break

Social Action

• Tikkun Olam Volunteers (TOV) Needs Help
• TOV Holiday Toy Drive

Ongoing Fundraisers

• Links to Fundraisers: Amazon, iGift, and More

SHOP Shir Hadash

MEMBERSHIP AND UPCOMING EVENTS  

MOSH Family Game Night, November 19
MOSH is sponsoring a Family Game Night at Shir Hadash on Saturday, November 19 starting at 7:00pm. We have some newer games for those who want to try something different, along with lots of classic game. Everyone is invited!

Please share the fun by donating a new, unwrapped game to our TOV Toy Drive when you come. You can give a new deck of cards, a card game, or a new board game so children's homes also can have fun playing games. Since teen boys get the fewest donations at holiday time, it's ideal to give something they would enjoy, but any new games would be appreciated.

We will order some pizza; please bring your favorite snack or drink to share. For details and to RSVP, click here.

Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, November 20
Shir Hadash will be participating in the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council's Thanksgiving Celebration on Sunday, November 20 at 7:00pm at St. Mary Parish, 10 North Buffalo Grove Road in Buffalo Grove. The main speaker will be Bishop Wayne N. Miller, President of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago, an interfaith organization. Also featured are the Interfaith Combined adult and children choirs, the Glory Finger puppets, and the Praise band and bell choir. Anyone interested in participating in the choirs should contact Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow. Non-perishable donations for area food banks will be collected.

After the celebration, there will be light refreshments. Bakers are always appreciated. Please bring your baked goods to St. Mary's that afternoon between 2:00 and 4:00pm at door #10, located between the directory and the school. For more information, call 224 699 0386.

New Member Havdalah and Dinner, December 3
Join the Shir Hadash community as we celebrate our new members! Everyone is welcome as we honor our new and returning members from the past year. We'll enjoy a vegetarian pasta dinner starting at 6:00pm. Free of charge for new members; suggested donation of $10/adult and $4/child ages 4 to 12. To RSVP, click here.

Save the Date! Community Hanukkah Party, December 10
Mark your calendar for a fantastic Hanukkah Party and Sing-along! This all-ages event will bring Shir Hadashniks together for music, food, entertainment, games, and much more. Plan to spend the evening -- details coming soon!

WISH Challah Bake Recap
WISH had a wonderful night at The Great Big Challah Bake North Shore with 500 challah makers. Shir Hadash filled five tables of bakers -- with 38 participants, one of our most successful events ever!  A huge shoutout goes to Cindy Grills for taking ownership of the event and handling all the details for us. Bravo! 

Because December is filled with other important events, holidays, and vacations; we are looking at January for our next night of fun.  Date and activity to be announced later!

Book Club

The next Book Club selection will be By Fire, By Water by Mitchell Kaplan. This is a historical novel set during the turbulence of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the Inquisition. The story revolves around Luis De Santangel, a converso , who was the Chancellor of the King of Aragon and the  chief financier of Christopher Columbus. The Book Club meeting will be held in early January, date and time TBA. For more information. contact Meryl Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com.

Recap: Coffee House Night -- Open Mic Style

Thank you everyone for making our November Open Mic Night another successful evening with great attendance and generous donations in our baskets! We had about 30+ people joining us, and we were entertained by 13 people gracing us with their talent.  One of our talented friends’ music inspired several of our audience to get up and start jitter-bugging in the aisles! Plenty of schmoozing and that feel-good feeling concluded our evening accented by encore performances by many of our Musicians.

Our beautiful Bake/Beverage Table, graciously attended by Mira Z and Katy Z, had a bounty of amazing treats; thank you to all who contributed their efforts towards making this so delicious and well managed.  Thank you also to our Front of the House team (Maureen R and Neil Z), our Tech Team (Dave L and Kristen L), and our Set-up Team (Don J).  Newsletter (Carolyn G) and Web/ in-house support (Geoff P and Rabbit Eitan) deserve a hearty thank you for getting the word out.

Our next Open Mic will be Saturday, January 28.  If you want to share your talent with our supportive audience or be part of the Coffee House Night team, please contact Margie at MargiePromoPro1@aol.com and put “talent” in the subject line to sign up.

Shir Hadash Gift Shop 
Stop by and check out our Gift Shop display case in the lobby. More Chanukkah items arriving soon!

There is a sign-up form on our website for those who would like to donate three hours of time on a Sunday morning to help us through the "Gift Giving Season".  The available dates are: November 13 and 20, as well as December 4 and 11. For any questions, contact Julie Wellisch at 847 345 9073 or stop by Shir Hadash during office hours for assistance. Happy Shopping!

CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL

Shabbat Evening Service, Friday, November 18, 7:30pm -- In this challenging time, our religion has much to teach us about dealing with anger and with hope.  Those are our topics for the service this Friday night. Last week, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (former Chief Rabbi of the British Empire) published a powerful article, challenging us all (in the US, the UK, and elsewhere) to go beyond the politics of anger and embrace the politics of hope.  Click here to read his article. Friday night, we will discuss how we as Jews can help bring understanding and repair to a world gripped by rage and fear. 
 Oneg volunteers are needed for this event and others. Please click this link to sign up.

Shabbat No'ar Youth Morning Service, Saturday, November 19, 10:00am -- Our next Shabbat No’ar will be Saturday morning, November 19 beginning at 10:00am.  This casual, musical service will take place in the youth lounge, last one hour, and include a discussion about the Torah portion (Parshat Va’year).  A light oneg will follow the service.

THE RABBI’S CORNER

November 18-19, 2016 / 18 Heshvan 5777

Shabbat Vayera

Torah Portion: Genesis 18:1-22:24 / Haftarah Portion: II Kings 4:1-37

“Relationship Power”

Dear Friends,

The Sages would describe Abraham as an “influencer.” He had the power to bring the messages of faith and spirituality to the ancient polytheistic world. He changed the world by changing lives, one at a time. When the text relates that Abraham and Sarah left their home on their way to Canaan with the “the souls that they had gotten in Haran,” the Midrash explains that this refers to all of their followers. They brought them into their new community of Hebrews through relationship power – by building relationships and sharing friendship, by showing kindness and compassion, by listening with true interest and sharing wisdom in return, and by welcoming all those who came their way with open arms, respect, and honor.

As we settle into the new reality that this year’s election results bring, regardless of how you voted, the power of personal relationships will be very important.  Reach out to each other – to those with whom you agree and especially to those with whom you differ.  Listen to each other, share, understand, and grow.  Reach out to your elected officials at all levels of government and share your opinions.  Every letter and email message gets read and every opinion is considered. Elected officials really do listen to passionate constituents willing to make the effort to discuss an issue, especially if you can meet them in person. It may not be easy, and it may take effort and time, but Abraham reminds us that there’s no more powerful way to affect change in the world than by relationship power.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

To read past entries of the Rabbi's blog, please visit our website.

EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENTS

Religious School, November 20
We look forward to seeing our students and families at 9:15.

SAC Meeting, November 20
Our next School Advisory Committee Meeting will be Sunday, November 20 at 10:30am. All school parents are invited to hear what will be happening for the rest of the year, and to share your thoughts on how school is going as the first semester winds down.

TOV Toy Drive
We are collecting unwrapped toys to brighten the holidays for children who otherwise might feel forgotten. Please scroll down to our Social Action section for details about dates and suggestions for donations. Thank you for your support!

Want a better Purim Carnival? Brainstorming Meeting, December 4

We want a bigger and better Purim Carnival this year!  Share ideas what we can do to make the Purim Carnival even more fun. We will meet Sunday, December 4, at 10:30 am, to brainstorm. If you can't make the meeting but have ideas, please email Rabbi Seeg at learning@shir-hadash.org.

Sunday Morning Adult Ed Classes 

Check out these engaging Adult Ed opportunities that meet during our Religious School hours. All are welcome.

• Torah and Philosophy, 9:30-10:30am 
• Learning the Shir Hadash Prayer Book, 10:30-11:30am -- We will be studying the Sh'ma and V'ahavta, including the origin, meanings, and its basis in Jewish life. 
• Modern Hebrew, 11:30am-12:30pm

Monday Night Adult Ed Classes

This year our Adult Education program will be exploring two themes: refuat ha’nefesh u’refuat ha’guf  (healing of soul and body) and Ethics. All courses are on Monday evenings from 6:30-8:30 with a soup dinner from 6:30-7 and the educational program from 7-8:30. For information about the complete schedule of topics, contact Rabbi Seeg, learning@shir-hadash.org.

Thursday Lunch and Learn on Break

There will be no class for the next two Thursdays (November 17 and 24).  We will resume our weekly studies on December 1 at 1:00pm with selections from the Books of the Maccabees.

SOCIAL ACTION

Tikkun Olam Volunteers (TOV) Needs Help

Our monthly social action projects (currently called Tikkun Olam Volunteers, or TOV) have gotten off to a great start! It's too much work for a couple of people to put it together every month, so we need help planning and carrying out these activities. Whether you'd like to play a small part or a big role for an activity (or more than one), please help out in some way. Getting some assistance is the only way we can continue having social action projects monthly. Please contact Lisa Burton Radzely at shirhadashsac@gmail.com if you'd like to help or if you have any questions.

TOV Toy Drive
Tikkun Olam Volunteers (TOV) will collect holiday toys for children who otherwise will not receive any gifts.  We will focus on teen boys, for they tend to receive the fewest donations at holiday time.  Fill A Heart 4 Kids will distribute them to teen boys living in group homes.Their wish lists include Lego sets, model airplane kits, decks of cards and other card games, board games, and science kits.  Arts and crafts as well as coloring books would be enjoyed and help strengthen fine motor skills, and stuffed animals provide some physical comfort.  Please no donations associated with violence, no ropes or string, and no toys requiring batteries.  Collection buckets will be in the lobby November 13 through December 11.  

Purchasing SHOP gift cards to buy presents or to donate to the toy drive will benefit Shir Hadash as well as these children! Stop by the SHOP desk at Sunday School or contact the office to make selections.

If you have any questions, please contact Chana Sulpar at csulpar@yahoo.com.

JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS

Register Now for the First Ever Reconstructionist Birthright Tour

Camp JRF, the Jewish Reconstructionist Communities, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College invite Jewish young adults (ages 21 to 26) to explore Israel over ten days this December. Hike, learn, sing, and connect with the land, people, history, and culture. The trip runs December 18-29, 2016. There are only 40 spots available, and they will fill fast! Go to campjrf.org/birthright to learn more and register now. 

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

Fall into SHOP!
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. Orders can be picked up in the Shir Hadash office or purchased during Sunday School.

Use SHOP to benefit the TOV holiday drive as well as Shir Hadash! 
Gift cards can be donated to the toy drive, and those gifts will be pooled together to buy bigger items for the group homes.  This also allows you to skip the store.  Or, if you're selecting donations yourself, buying a SHOP gift card to Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, Amazon, or other places will allow you to give to Shir Hadash before you head to the store.  

Thank you to the following for participating in SHOP this week:

Farahmandpour
Andes
Singer
Fields

To view past editions of the Newsletter, please visit our website.