WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
"Let's Make Our Building a Home"
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- Head of Reconstructionist Movement to Visit SH for Shabbat, December 17
- Easy Ways to Help Shir Hadash While You Shop
- Book Club, January 21
- Coffee House Night, January 28
- Shir Hadash Gift Shop
Creative Worship and Ritual
- Shabbat Evening Service, December 16, 7:30pm
- Shabbat Morning Service with Rabbi Deborah Waxman, December 17, 10:00am
The Rabbi’s Corner
Religious School- "Welcoming Family"
- Religious School on Winter Break
- January/February Schedule Change
- Winter/Spring Registration (Grades 3-7)
- Religious School Staff Appreciation
- Dinner/Movie/Havdalah Night for Grades 2-4, January 14
Youth Activities
- Teen Tubing Trip, January 22
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Classes on Break
- Monday Night Adult Ed Class, December 19
Social Action
Ongoing Fundraisers
- Social Action Planning Meeting, January 8
- Links to Fundraisers: Amazon, iGift, and More
SHOP Shir Hadash
MEMBERSHIP AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Head of Reconstructionist Movement to Visit SH for Shabbat, December 17
We are excited to welcome Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D.,
President of Jewish Reconstructionist Communities and the Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College, to our Shabbat Morning Service on Saturday. The first woman
Rabbi to head a Jewish congregational union and lead a Jewish seminary, Rabbi
Waxman emphasizes Reconstructionist Judaism’s distinctive path toward meaning
and connection. She will be joining us for Shabbat morning services, followed
by lunch. This will be a very special service and a wonderful opportunity to
ask questions and express ideas. Please plan to join us!
Easy Ways to Help Shir Hadash While You Shop!
Last minute gifts? We make it easy to get the gift cards you need for friends and family, and a portion of each card benefits Shir Hadash at no additional cost to you! Hundreds of gifts cards are available. There are multiple easy ways to get your gift cards:
- Pick them out in person on Sundays during Religious School
- Send an email to SHOP@shir-hadash.org to place your order, or
- Order online through https://www.shopwithscrip.com/.
For more information about SHOP, go to http://www.shir-hadash.org/shop/.
Online Shopping Helps Too! Remember to use both iGive and Amazon Smile as you shop for the holidays. iGive is a shopping portal that not only donates a portion of the proceeds to Shir Hadash, but also collects money saving coupons. Amazon Smile is an official part of Amazon.com and is exactly the same as regular Amazon, but going through Smile will direct a portion of your purchase to Shir Hadash. These are effortless ways to help your Shir Hadash community, so please sign up before you shop!
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. We will meet on Thursday, January 21 at 7:30pm at the home of Mickey Herbin, 4050 Dundee Road #103 in Northbrook. For more information. contact Meryl Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com.
Coffee House Night -- Open Mic Style, January 28
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.
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
THE RABBI’S CORNER
Shabbat Vayishlach
Torah Reading: Genesis 32:4 - 36:43 / Haftarah Reading: Obadiah 1:1-21
“Welcoming Family”
Dear Friends,
Judaism is so much more than religion, prayers and rituals. As Reconstructionists, we teach that Judaism
is a whole religious ‘civilization’. Starting from Jewish religion at its core,
it radiates peoplehood, language, arts, food, history, holy land, and so much
more. In addition to the Jewish
civilization concept, I often refer to Judaism as a family of families. We are one nation, one people, and one Jewish
family.
Family. That’s the way it has been since the beginning of our
people. Jacob learns this when he runs
from his raging brother Esau and finds welcome and refuge with relatives far
away in Babylonia. Jacob finds it again,
when twenty-one years later they meet and embrace with forgiveness and
brotherly love. Throughout our sacred
texts and holy history, wherever Jews travel in the world they find the
welcoming embrace of fellow Jews, sometimes related and sometimes not. Yet we are all a family.
When we will light the Hanukkah candles later this month, I urge you to
come together with fellow Jews – relatives and friends – to renew the bonds of
peoplehood that create our Jewish family and celebrate our people’s festival of
freedom. This Saturday morning at 10 am,
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
and the Jewish Reconstructionist Communities, will be coming to Shir Hadash to
join us in worship and study. Let’s be
sure to welcome Rabbi Waxman as family.
That’s the way it has been since the beginning of our people. And
that’s the way it still is and always will be – one big, warm, welcoming,
Jewish family.
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
To read past entries of the Rabbi's blog, please visit our website.
EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
We are on break December 18, December 25, and January 1. We look forward to seeing our rested, happy students and families return on January 8.
January/February Schedule Change
Originally the 6th-12th grade regional retreat (aka Kallah) was going
to be scheduled for January 13-15 (MLK Jr. Weekend) and so, as has been the
custom, that Sunday was designated as an off day. Kallah has been shifted to February 17-19
(Presidents' Day Weekend) so the off day will shift as well. Now we WILL have school on Sunday, January
15th and we WILL NOT have school on February 19th. We apologize for any confusion or
inconvenience this causes. Please contact Rabbi Seeg, learning@shir-hadash.org, you have any questions or to find out more about Kallah.
Winter/Spring Registration
(Grades 3-7)
The new curriculum this year includes courses during the Winter/Spring
semester that are different than those offered during the fall. While new
courses are to be chosen for the two Jewish Studies periods (9:15-10:05 and
11:40-12:30), students will remain in the same Hebrew classes during the middle
period (10:15-11:30). Even though the
registration references "Period 1" and "Period 2" this only
refers to the fact that there are two Jewish Studies periods. Registration is first come, first served so please
sign up early to get your first choices.
There is a 15-student limit per class.
7th graders will be prioritized for the Holocaust class. Registration is
to be completed before Wednesday, December 28 at 9:00am. Students who are not registered at that point
will be assigned to classes. Click here for the registration page.. Please contact Rabbi Seeg if there are any
questions or if you have issues with the registration page.
Religious School Staff Appreciation
Thank you to our religious school staff for giving our students a learning environment that is warm, vibrant, engaging, creative, and student-focused. The school parents, School Advisory Committee (SAC), and Board of Directors were pleased to provide the annual luncheon as an expression of our appreciation.
Dinner/Movie/Havdalah Night for
Grades 2-4, January 14
On Saturday, January 14, there will be a special program for our
2nd-4th graders. We will get together beginning at 5:30 for dinner, a movie and
Havdalah. The program is expected to run until approximately 7:30. Parents are
not required to stay with their kids but are welcome to if so desired.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES
Teen Tubing Trip, January 22
On Sunday, January 22 our 8th-12th graders will be going snow tubing at
Wilmot Mountain! We will leave by bus at approximately 2:00pm and ride up to
Wilmot for two hours of snow tubing with an expected return time of approximately
6:00pm. (The times are subject to change as Wilmot has not yet posted their
tubing calendar but they will not be too different than this.) Stay tuned for
more specifics on timing and cost.
ADULT EDUCATION
Sunday Morning Adult Ed Classes
Check out these engaging Adult Ed opportunities that meet during our Religious School hours. All are welcome. (We are on Winter Break untill January 8)
We will have a soup dinner beginning at 6:30pm, followed by the class beginning at 7:00. Please RSVP to Rabbi Seeg at learning@shir-hadash.org if you are planning to attend.
- Torah and Philosophy, 9:30-10:30am
- Learning the Shir Hadash Prayer Book, 10:30-11:30am
- Modern Hebrew, 11:30am-12:30pm
Monday Night Adult Ed Class: "Ethics of Business/Commerce," December 19
This month of rampant materialism provides a unique context for a
discussion of business ethics. This
course, taught by Rabbi Scott Segal, will use both traditional and modern
commentaries to explore such issues as honesty in advertising, fair wages, and
the concept of “caveat emptor” (i.e. buyer responsibility). We will also take an opportunity to consider
the commercialization of the winter holidays and how that has impacted their
religious foundations.
We will have a soup dinner beginning at 6:30pm, followed by the class beginning at 7:00. Please RSVP to Rabbi Seeg at learning@shir-hadash.org if you are planning to attend.
Thursday Lunch and Learn, December 15
We will continue our weekly studies today, December 15, at 1:00pm.SOCIAL ACTION
Social Action Planning Meeting, January 8
On January 8, 10:00-11:15, let's brainstorm ideas for social action activities and start planning them. If you can't attend the meeting but are interested in helping or have ideas, please email Lisa Burton Radzely at shirhadashsac@gmail.com.
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 Hanukkah and More!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.
Thanks to everyone who participated in SHOP this week:
- Michaels
- G. Graff
- M. Graff
- Herbin
- Sharpe
- Wexler
- Zweiban
- Idelman
- Soglin
- Radzely
- Kulesza
- SAC families
- Religious School Families
To view past editions of the Newsletter, please visit our website.
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