WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- Community Seder, April 11 -- RSVP by Friday, April 7
- MOSH Game Night, April 15
- Coffee House Night, April 22
- Chili Cook-Off, April 29
- Synagogue Open House for Prospective Members, April 30
- Annual Meeting and Elections, May 21
- Book Club Selection for May
Creative Worship and Ritual
- Two Special "Pausing in the Wilderness" Services, Friday, April 7
- Family Dinner and Service, 5:30pm
- Community Service, 7:30pm
- Shabbat Morning Bat Mitzvah Service, Saturday, April 8, 9:30am
The Rabbi’s Corner
Youth Education Announcements- "The Cup of Redemption"
- Family Passover Program Special Schedule, April 9
- School Advisory Committee (SAC) Meeting, April 16
- Sunday Morning Adult Classes
- Thursday Lunch 'n Learn
- New! Sunday Speaker Series: "Is It Good for the Jews?" April 30
Social Action
Community Events
- Caitlyn's Evening of Music for Bright Pink, April 8
- New! Sock Drive for the Homeless
- Subscribe to Reconstructionism Today Newsletter
- Donations to Shir Hadash in Honor of Lillian Zoloto
- Shir Hadash Memorial Wall
- Links to Fundraisers: Amazon, iGive, and More
SHOP Shir Hadash
MEMBERSHIP AND UPCOMING EVENTS
RSVP by Friday, April 7
MOSH Game Night, April 15
If you like Risk, Stratego, or Monopoly as as kid, come try out the modern wave of European, thematic strategy, and social strategy games. Ira and Susan Kalina will host a game night for adults (over 18) on Saturday, April 15, starting at 7:30pm. Men and women invited -- learn a new game and make some new friends! To RSVP, click here.
Our next Coffee House Night evening will be Saturday, April 22. Did you know you don't have to be a performer to share in the Coffee House experience? Everyone is invited to enjoy a relaxing evening, with delicious treats and amazing talent provided by our friends in a club-like atmosphere. We love a big audience and we already have a great line up of talent developing! The doors open at 6:30pm with performances running from 7:00 to 10:30.
Attention Talent: All types of acts are welcome to take the stage! If you are planning to perform, please click here to register so we can coordinate with the tech crew to help you look and sound your best. Plan on a two-song or 10-12 minute set. If you'd like to help in any other way (baking, tech crew, front of house, etc) let us know that too. See you all April 22!
Chili Cook-Off, April 29
Mark your calendar and get ready to show off your chili-making skills -- or just enjoy a delicious dinner prepared by fantastic SH cooks! It is the biggest (...and the only) Kosher food event in all of Wheeling, Illinois! The Great Shir Hadash Chili Cook-Off will be April 29, beginning at 6:30pm. To register or learn more, visit our website by clicking here.
School and Synagogue Open House for Prospective Members, April 30
Do you know families who would like to make a change or are ready to start religious education for their children? Would they love our amazing one-day-a-week school? Encourage them to come to our Open House on Sunday, April 30 from 10:00am to noon! Families will meet with our Rabbi, Education Committee Members, and Director of Education. Click here for more information to pass on to your friends.
The Shir Hadash 2017 annual meeting will be held on Sunday, May 21 at 9:15am at the synagogue. (The meeting will be followed by the annual end-of-the-year School Assembly.) You will be asked to vote on nominees for open positions on the Board of Directors, and to approve the Shir Hadash budget for 2017-18.
We have several open positions on the Board for the coming year. Interested in getting involved? Contact Fred Andes, fandes@btlaw.com, for information. Completed nomination forms must be returned to the office by March 31.
Book Club Selection for May
The next Book Club selection will be Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt by Robert Gottlieb. This is the
biography of a famous – and infamous – Parisian actress who was Jewish. Art
Deco posters of the actress by Alphonse Mucha are currently on display at the
Driehaus Museum at 40 East Erie Street in Chicago. The Book Club will meet in
May, date and location TBA.
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
Join us as
we usher in the Passover season with a special worship service of the arts. There will be
two services that evening, a family event with children's dinner and service
beginning at 5:30pm and a community service beginning at 7:30pm. Both are open to the public. See more details on the Chicago Tribune website.
Marilyn Price will tell stories at both services. A
nationally-acclaimed storyteller, educator, and puppeteer, she inspires her
audiences to open their minds and their hearts.
In addition to Marilyn's guest performance, the Lahaka
adult choir will present a beautiful setting for the prayers and Passover songs
and dancers will offer a dance of freedom. Don't miss this wonderful Shir Hadash tradition, and please remember to bring something for the oneg!
We welcome Sara Kulesza to the bima as Bat Mitzvah.
THE RABBI’S CORNER
April 7-8,
2017 / 12 Nisan 5777
Shabbat
Tzav/Hagadol
Torah:
Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36
Haftarah:
Malachi 3:4 - 3:24 | Shabbat HaGadol
“The Cup of Redemption”
Dear Friends,
We drink four cups of wine at the Passover Seder and then
pour a fifth cup—a Cup of Elijah—that is left untouched. According to the Ga’on
of Vilna, there is a rabbinic dispute about whether we must drink four or five
cups of wine—a dispute that was never resolved. Thus, the custom developed to
pour the fifth cup but not drink it. It was given the name “Cup of Elijah”
because it is foretold that Elijah will one day resolve all of our disputes and
disagreements.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed noted that the four cups of wine
represent the four verses of God’s redemption found in the book of Exodus
(6:6-7): “I will bring you out…I will deliver you…I will redeem you… I will
take you…” But there is also a fifth expression of Redemption: “I will bring
you into the Land…” (6:8), which could correlate to the 5th cup.
Today, we pour the fifth cup as a symbol of our faith in the
future. We call this cup the “Cup of Elijah” to connote our faith in the return
of the famed prophet, as we note in the haftarah of Shabbat Hagadol: “Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day
of the Eternal One.” (Malachi 3:23)
The Cup of Elijah demonstrates that words are not enough;
they must be backed by action. While we pray and yearn for redemption for us,
all humanity and the earth, only when we combine faith with action does change
become a reality. That is the true meaning of the Seder. Beyond recalling our
history, the story must spur us to greater action.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Same’ach – Happy Passover.
Shabbat Shalom,
To enjoy past entries of the Rabbi's Corner, please visit our website.
YOUTH EDUCATION
This Sunday, April 9, we return from Spring Break with a Family Passover Program as the centerpiece of our Sunday School programming.
- The day will begin with Hebrew for students from 9:15-10:00am, during which time Rabbi Eitan and Sean Fisher-Rohde will lead a "Seder Swap" program for parents (and non-parents too). The "Seder Swap" will be an opportunity to share best practices from our own Passover seder experiences and learn about ways to personalize the seder that we may not have tried before.
- At 10:00, parents will be reunited with their children and have the opportunity to explore a variety of Passover themed programming at different stations.
- At 11:30 we will bring our program to a close. Parents and students will be released to go get ready for Pesach (or do whatever it is you plan to do that afternoon).
This is a day of Sunday School, so all students are expected to attend and parents are strongly encouraged to participate with them. Please contact Rabbi Seeg at learning@shir-hadash.org if you have any questions.
School Advisory Committee (SAC) Meeting, April
16
All school
parents are encouraged to attend the next School Advisory Committee (SAC)
meeting to discuss how the school year has been going and what we can do to
help the school. We will meet April
16, 10:30-12:30, in the annex's conference room.ADULT EDUCATION
Everyone is invited to participate in our adult education classes. Our regular Sunday schedule is:
New! Sunday Speaker Series: Cheryl Banks, "Is It Good for the Jews?" April 30
- Torah and Philosophy, 9:30-10:30am
- Learning the Shir Hadash Prayer Book, 10:30-11:30am
- Modern Hebrew, 11:30am-12:30pm
Thursday Lunch 'n' Learn
Join Rabbi Eitan or Rabbi Seeg for a refreshing and contemporary exploration of the weekly Torah portion. We meet every Thursday at 1:00pm, no RSVP necessary. Don’t be surprised if archaeology, sociology, and 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. Participants are encouraged to share their views, questions, and opinions.
New! Sunday Speaker Series: Cheryl Banks, "Is It Good for the Jews?" April 30
Join us for a nuanced perspective on the background and context of current events, with a focus on
Israel. We will review the most topical headlines surrounding Israel, anti-Semitism, and US politics and try to figure out: “Is it good for the Jews?"
Cheryl
Banks, M.A. is a historian and frequent lecturer who speaks throughout the
Chicago area and nationally. Her expertise includes the history of Islam and
Jewish-Islamic relations, and she has taught adult classes on comparative
religions, Middle Eastern history, the evolution of the Sunni/Shia split, the
history of ISIS, Zionism and the history of Israel, Jewish education and the
recent election vis a vis the Jews.
Our discussion begins at 11:00am. Bagels and coffee will be served. No RSVP necessary.
SOCIAL ACTION
As part of her bat mitzvah project, Caitlyn Guth presents an evening of singing, dancing, and music at Shir Hadash on Saturday, April 8 at 7:00pm. Proceeds will benefit Bright Pink, which strives to save women's lives from breast and ovarian cancer by empowering them to live proactively from a young age. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children under $10. Click here to learn more.
The Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council is sponsoring its first "Knock Your Sock Off" sock drive to help the homeless in our communities. Donate new socks for men, women, and children in the collection box in the Shir Hadash lobby. Thank you for your generosity!
COMMUNITY NEWS AND EVENTS
Are you receiving the latest news from the Reconstructionist Movement? Interested in finding some resources for you and your family, and perhaps a few nuggest of wisdom? If so, click here to subscribe to the Reconstructionist movement's monthly email newsletter!
DONATIONS
Gifts to Shir Hadash in Honor of Lillian Zoloto
Rabbi's
Discretionary Fund
- Suzanne and Ken Wexler, Jeffrey, Lauren and Alyssa
- Diane and Art German
- Marilyn and Dan Soglin, Spencer and ELizabeth
- Andrea Idelman
Samuel Andes
Scholarship Fund
- Luba Rothblatt
School Wish
List
- Bev and Doug Lieberman, Alex and Tory
General Fund
- Carole and Michael Mostow, Danny, Sam, and Julia
- Debra and Jeff Justman
- Beth and Neil Hirshman, Jason, Rachel, and Anna
Oneg Fund
- Mehran Farahmandpour
- Glenn Graff
- Melanie and Fred Andes
- Lisa and Howard Radzely
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Shir Hadash Memorial Wall
Shir Hadash is installing a Memorial Wall with individual plaques recording the Hebrew and English name of the deceased and the date of birth and passing. The plaques will be located at the back of the sanctuary. Having a Memorial Plaque for a loved one ensures that Yahrzeit will be observed for them in perpetuity by our congregation. On the Yahrzeit, or anniversary of the death, the lights next to the plaques of those whose death occurred on the same Hebrew date will be lit.
The cost for a plaque is $360. Many congregants prepay and reserve plaques. As always, Shir Hadash is extremely grateful for your contributions. What better way to both commemorate a loved one and support our congregation than to purchase a Yahrzeit Plaque on our Memorial Wall? You may register for the plaque(s) through our web site, or request a paper order form by calling the office (847 498 8218),
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!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.
Thank you for supporting Shir Hadash with your SHOP purchases!
To view past editions of the Newsletter, please visit our website.
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