Shir Hadash Weekly Newsletter -- May 25, 2017

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

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE

Membership News and Upcoming Events

New Board Members Installed
Volunteers Recognized with Community Builder Awards
Shir Hadash App Available Now
Book Club Recap
Office Closed for Memorial Day, May 29

Creative Worship and Ritual

No Shabbat Services This Week
Shavu'ot Service and Teach-In (with Blintzes!), Tuesday, May 30
Community Drums a Send-off for Rabbi Seeg
Family and Community Shabbat Services, June 2
Oneg Volunteers Needed -- Sign Up Today

The Rabbi’s Corner
“The Wilderness"

Youth Education Announcements

End of Year Celebration, and a Fond Farewell
A Letter from Rabbi Seeg

Adult Education
Thursday Lunch 'n Learn

Social Action

Tikkun Olam Opportunity, July 30 - August 3
Sock Drive for the Homeless

Community 
Subscribe to Reconstructionism Today Newsletter

Ongoing Fundraisers
Shir Hadash Memorial Wall
Links to Fundraisers: Amazon, iGive, and More
SHOP Shir Hadash

MEMBERSHIP AND UPCOMING EVENTS  

New Board Members Installed
At the Annual Meeting on May 21, all the nominees for Board positions were elected by the membership. Welcome and congratulations to:
President: Marc Fargotstein
Executive Vice President: Stuart Aizenberg
Vice President (Programming): Melanie Andes
At-Large Board Member (Two Year Term): Alan Bernover
At-Large Board Member (Two Year Term): Fred Andes
At-Large Board Member (Two Year Term): Glenn A. Graff
At-Large Board Member (Two Year Term): Lisa Settler
At-Large Board Member (One Year Term): Cindy Grills

Julie Wellisch Recognized with Maury Andes Award

Shir Hadash congratulates Julie Sharpe Wellisch for being awarded the Maury Andes Award at the Annual Meeting. The award is presented annually to the volunteer who best exemplifies Maury’s characteristics: Hard work, dedication to the community, humility, kindness and compassion.

Julie has been an active member of Shir Hadash for 15 years. She chairs our Women in Shir Hadash ("WISH") group, participates in the School Advisory Committee and joined the Board of Directors. Shir Hadash has been lucky to have Julie all these years and even luckier that she recently accepted a position to become our Office Administrator. Congratulations, and thank you Julie!

Volunteers Recognized with Community Builders Award

Also at the Annual Meeting, Shir Hadash presented the Kehillah Community Builders award to volunteers who, in the past year, have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Congratulations and thanks to Cindy Grills, Michelle Fisher-Rohde, Brad Steinback, Ralph Nach, Marilynn Singer, Carolyn Gessner, David Levit, Scarlett Andes, Lynne Jacobson Arons, Mark Lenhart, Jeri Ettleson, Katie Pierce, Jennifer Bernover, and Dan Wellisch.

Shir Hadash App Now Available

We are excited to announce the Shir Hadash App is live and ready to be downloaded!   Simply go to the Apple App store and/or Google Play Store, search for "Shir Hadash," download it, and voila!  Some of the things you can do with the app are:

* Access your synagogue account

* RSVP for upcoming events

* Make Donations easily from your account

* Access to the synagogue membership directory and call from within the app

* Make payments and more!

* View our calendar and add events to your personal calendar

Click here for the iOS version and here for the Android version.

Book Club Recap
Nine of us met at the Northbrook Sunset Foods on May 16 to discuss Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt (Jewish Lives) by Robert Gottleib. We all agreed that Sarah Bernhardt was not only a great and unique French Jewish actress but a phenomenal patriot and mother. She was true to herself and quite different -- having a personal zoo and sleeping in a coffin. Also, she continued to act for many years after a leg amputation! The book left us with many questions about her.

The next book will be a mystery with a Jewish theme. The title, date, and location will be announced shortly.

Office Closed for Memorial Day, May 29
Please note that Shir Hadash will be closed next Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL

No Shabbat Services this Week
We hope you enjoy celebrating Shabbat with your family.

Shavuot Service & Teach-In (with Blintzes!) Tuesday, May 30

Come join us for a very special Shavuot program next Tuesday! We will start at 7:30, with a brief holiday service. Then we will have three discussion sessions – because Shavuot (which celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai) is all about learning.  And, of course, about food, especially dairy – so we will have a blintz bar, with your choice of toppings!  Coffee too – an assortment of coffees that you can choose from to use in one of our Shir Hadash Keurig machines. 

What will we be studying while eating?  Well, first, the Rabbi will do a presentation about our history – what do we know about the routes that the Jewish people may have followed as they exited Egypt and headed toward Sinai?  He’ll present the latest archaeological thoughts on that issue.   Then, Lynn Liebling will teach us about the increasingly popular Jewish ethical practices from the Mussar movement, which help us to become better people.  Finally, we’ll have a group discussion about what we received at Sinai: The Ten Commandments!  Do you remember them all?  Which ones do you think are most important?  Are there ones that you might want to replace with some new ones?  And don’t worry, we’ll have you home before it’s late. Come and be part of the discussion!

Next Week: Family and Community Shabbat Services, June 2, 5:30 and 7:30

Plan to join us for one or both of our Shabbat services next Friday! Our family Shabbat observance kicks off with a pasta dinner at 5:30pm followed by a kid-friendly service, activities, and treats. Our regular Community Service will begin at 7:30. More details to come in next week's newsletter.

Community Drums a Send-off for Rabbi Seeg

During last Friday's Shabbat service, we wished Rabbi Seeg well on his upcoming move to Colorado and celebrated his accomplishments as Director of Lifelong Learning.  Through speeches and poems, we paid tribute to his contributions to the religious school, services, adult education, and youth activities.  The Shiviti Drum Circle joined us, giving everyone the opportunity to play a percussion instrument as Ken Monroe led us.  It was a fitting way to honor Rabbi Seeg's percussion playing at our services.  Keeping in mind Rabbi Seeg's love of music and coffee, we gave him a mezuzah that has a drum and guitar on it, a mug with the Shir Hadash logo, and a gift certificate to a coffee roastery near his new home in Colorado.  We also made a donation in his honor to Mazon, a Jewish organization that combats hunger in the U.S. and Israel.  We wish Rabbi Seeg a fond farewell as he moves to Colorado.

Oneg Volunteers Needed for May and June Services
Please sign up to help as an oneg volunteer for one of our upcoming services. It's easy: just click here to pick a date, bring a challah, and show up! You'll receive a reminder email the week before with more details. For more information, contact Sean Fisher-Rohde at oneg@shir-hadash.org.

THE RABBI’S CORNER

May 26-27, 2017 / 2 Sivan 5777

Shabbat Bamidbar

Torah: Numbers 1:1 - 4:20 / Haftarah: Hosea 2:1 - 2:22

“The Wilderness”

Dear Friends,

Why was the Torah given in the desert?  What is it about wilderness that is so fundamental to Israel’s development as a people?

This week’s Torah portion is the first chapter of the Book of Numbers, which in Hebrew (BaMidbar) means “In the Wilderness.” The desert wanderings form the core of this book’s narrative.  At the end of the book, the Children of Israel will be on the shores of the Jordan River, ready to enter the Promised Land.

Many commentators have pondered the awesome connection to wilderness. The philosopher Philo, explained that the Torah was given in the desert because cities are filled with evils of all kinds – corruption, luxury, idolatry and more. For one to be ready to receive the Torah, one must separate from the wickedness of the city.  In Pesikta de Rav Kahana, it is argued that the Torah was given in the wilderness to teach us that just as the desert is open, so too must we be open to all of the Torah’s teachings.

Whatever the reason, we understand that only in the wilderness, forest, glade, or mountaintop, can we truly tune out the distractions of the world and focus on what really counts in life – health, family, community, productive work, and good values for a start. There we can center ourselves and finally think clearly about where we are in life and where we are going from here.

On Tuesday evening, May 30, come join our Shavu’ot study evening celebrating the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.  This spring and summer, take some time to go hiking.  Find a quiet spot in nature and listen…

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

To enjoy past entries of the Rabbi's Corner, please visit our website.

YOUTH EDUCATION 

End of Year Celebration, and a Fond Farewell

During the end-of-school assembly, we said goodbye to Rabbi Seeg on his final day leading our school. We thanked him for the many ways he has strengthened our religious school and for bringing so much energy, creativity, and humor. Students, madrichim, teachers, and others wrote notes and drew pictures to thank Rabbi Seeg, talk about things he has done that have stood out for them, and wish him well in Colorado. They were presented to him as a memory book. Given his memorable shofar playing to signal the start and end of each period or any other time the students should be moving, the School Advisory Committee (SAC) and the teachers gave Rabbi Seeg a shofar-themed basket. It was filled with a notepad that said "Keep Calm and Blow a Shofar" as well as a set of magnet, trivet, and coasters that had a photographic image of a shofar laying on an open prayer book.  Thank you, Rabbi Seeg, for your leadership at Shir Hadash's Sunday School, and best wishes in Colorado.

A Letter from Rabbi Seeg

This past Sunday we came together for our final day of Sunday School for the 2016-17 school year; we had a great time celebrating the year we have had together.  During tefilah (services) we had the opportunity to hear from the students of Lynne Aron’s Reconstructionist Judaism class how they have “reconstructed” a few of the prayers to better reflect there own ideas and experiences.  We also got to see a dance interpretation of the V’ahavta from Rebecca Rice’s dance class.  It was amazing to see the thoughtfulness and wisdom of our students expressed in this way. 

I have been blessed to work with a phenomenal community of teachers during my tenure.  The level of creativity, kindness, and wisdom among our teachers is spectacular and rare.  Our students are extremely fortunate to have such wonderful educators.

In saying good-bye to the school year we also had to say good-bye (or better perhaps “see you later”) to Lizzy and Spencer Soglin, our two graduating Madrichim.  Lizzy and Spencer have been an invaluable part of the school community first as students and then, for the past 5 years, as madrichim.  We wish them much joy and success as they move on to the next phases of their lives at the University of Illinois (Spencer) and Western Michigan University (Lizzy).  They will be missed at Shir Hadash but it is exciting to imagine what kinds of great things are in their futures.

I also had the opportunity to say l’hitraot (see you later) to the students and parents who have been such a huge part of my experience at Shir Hadash.  I was honored and humbled to receive a binder full of notes that the students, madrichim, and others had written for me wishing me luck and success as I make may way to Colorado.  I am so thankful for the opportunities I have had to teach, learn, pray, and play with our students, parents, and the entire Shir Hadash community.  I look forward to staying in touch and seeing the students continue to grow and learn.

Thank you to everyone who has been involved in the school over the past two years. I would especially like to thank Lisa Burton Radzely and the members of the School Advisory Committee (SAC) who have been a tremendous source of support, ideas, encouragement, and a lot of laughs. 

While I am extremely excited for the next phase of my family’s journey I will miss being able to spend my Sundays with such a fun, engaging group of students, teachers, and parents.  I am ever appreciative of the opportunities that I have had and look forward to staying in touch as we move forward.

--Rabbi Seeg

ADULT EDUCATION 

Thursday Lunch 'n' Learn 

Join Rabbi Eitan 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.

SOCIAL ACTION

Tikkun Olam Opportunity, July 30 - August 3

Interfaith Council presents the Fourth Annual Mission trip for families to help rebuild the lives of those who have suffered extreme loss in the St. Louis area, rebuilding homes destroyed by flooding in 2015.  Skilled and unskilled help is needed. 31 people have already signed up! Please consider joining with our interfaith community on this special trip. Click here for more information.

Sock Drive for the Homeless Going on Now
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

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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!

ONGOING FUNDRAISERS

Shir Hadash Memorial Wall

Shir Hadash is installing a Memorial Wall in the sanctuary, with individual plaques recording the Hebrew and English name of the deceased and the date of birth and passing. 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.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. For more information, email Michelle at SHOP@shir-hadash.org.

Thank you to the following families for supporting Shir Hadash with your SHOP purchases this week!

Anes
Idelman
Weiss
Soglin
Zweiban
Fisher-Rohde

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