WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Membership News and Upcoming
Events
Community Passover Seder, March 31
Tonight! Book Club, March 15
Saturday! MOSH
Poker Night, March 17
New Series! Environmental
Preservation, April 20
Save The Date! Prospective
Member Open House, April 22
Please Respond! Capital
Improvement Survey
Creative Worship and Ritual
Friday! Pausing in the Wilderness Family
Service, Dinner, and Evening Service, March 16
Oneg
Volunteers Needed -- Sign Up Today
The Rabbi’s Corner
“Judaism Without Animal Sacrifices”
School News
Religious
School, March 18
Save the Date! Bring A
Friend To School, April 22
Youth Activities
Jump-tastic Fun for Shir Hadash Youth Group
Adult Education
Torah
and Jewish Philosophy Class, March 18
Living
Judaism Sunday Class, March 18
Lunch
and Learn at Shir Hadash, March 15
Social Action
Passover
Food Packing and Delivery, March 18 and 25
Domestic Abuse Education Series Continues,
April 12
Israel Awareness
Israel Speaker Series
Israeli Film Series
Did You Know? Fun Facts About Israel
Ongoing
Fundraisers
Simcha Tree Leaves
Don’t Forget Our
Permanent Restaurant Fundraisers!
Shir Hadash Memorial Wall
Links to Fundraisers: Amazon, iGive, and More
SHOP Shir Hadash
MEMBERSHIP
AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Community 2nd Night
Passover Seder, March 31
Registration is now open for our Community Seder, to be
held at the synagogue on Saturday evening March 31 beginning at 6:00pm. This
special Shir Hadash tradition includes a wonderful seder led by Rabbi
Weiner-Kaplow and a delicious veggie/dairy potluck meal. Click here for complete
details and registration. Note that seating is limited and we often have
waiting lists. Don’t delay, RSVP today!
Tonight!
Book Club, March 15
The next book for Book Club will be The Two Family House by Linda Cohen Loigman. This book is a
multigenerational tale taking place in Brooklyn involving gender expectations
and secrets. The Book Club meeting will be March 15, 7:30pm, at the home of
Cheryl Schultz, 1381 Sunnyside Avenue in Highland Park. To RSVP, contact Meryl
Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com.
MOSH Poker Night,
March 17
Come for an evening of poker, pizza, and socializing with
Men of Shir Hadash. We will meet the home of Dan Wellisch, 14 Whitehall Court in
Buffalo Grove, at 7:0pm. $20 chip buy in plus approximately $10 for pizza.
Please RSVP to Dan at danwellisch@gmail.com or 847 254 9356 to reserve your spot
(maximum of 14 players).
New
Series! Environmental Preservation, April 20
We are launching a new educational series on the vital
issues of environmental protection. Our first guest speaker, on April 20, will
be Mary S. Allen is the Recycling and Education Director for the Solid Waste
Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), a not-for-profit intergovernmental
agency with 23 member municipalities including the Village of Wheeling. We will
provide an overview of key programs and resources that focus on waste
prevention and recovery, as well as highlight sustainability initiatives. Come
and learn what more you can be doing to reduce your carbon footprint to be a
better steward of the Earth.
Save
the Date! Religious School Bring a Friend Open House, April 22
During Religious School on April 22 we are having an Bring
A Friend Open House. Students and Members are encouraged to bring a friend to
learn more about Shir Hadash and our Religious School. Help us share the
excitement of our innovative school and our progressive Synagogue by inviting
your friends to attend. For each friend you bring you will receive
a raffle entry for a $50 gift card.
During the open house your friends will get to:
●
Meet Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow and Education
Director Geoff Prass
●
Tour our warm and inviting classrooms, youth lounge,
and sanctuary
●
Sit in on an age appropriate class
●
Have a nosh, a cup, and meet parents with children
currently enrolled
●
Please click
here to RSVP.
Please
Respond! Building Improvement Survey - Deadline Extended
What does Shir Hadash need to make our
building a home? The Building Committee has created a list of items it believes
are needed to make our building a home. What do you think we need? Your input
will shape decisions that affect us all as a congregation. Please take three
minutes to complete the survey found here. The survey closes
on March 31. Thank you for your participation!
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
Pausing in the Wilderness: Family Service, Dinner, and
Evening Service, Friday, March 16
Join us for an evening
that truly has something for everyone! Our “Pausing in the Wilderness”
observance celebrates Passover with story, song and prayer for a uniquely Shir
Hadash experience.
5:30 Family Service geared toward younger children
6:15 Community Dinner
7:30 Evening Service
Click here for details
and to register for dinner..
Oneg
Volunteers Needed for Services
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
March 16-17, 2018 / 1 Nisan 5778
Shabbat Vayikra/HaChodesh
Torah: Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26
7th aliyah: Numbers 28:9 - 28:15 | Shabbat
HaChodesh (on Rosh Chodesh)
Maftir: Exodus 12:1 - 12:20 | Shabbat
HaChodesh (on Rosh Chodesh)
Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16 - 46:18 | Shabbat
HaChodesh (on Rosh Chodesh)
“Judaism Without Animal Sacrifice”
Dear Friends,
When Rome destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in 70
CE, that could have been the end of Judaism. Up to that point, for virtually
all of Israelite history, animal sacrifice was the way of communing with God.
Yet, with the Temple in ruins, sacrifice discontinued, and the priesthood
inactive, a new leadership was required to carry the Jewish people forward.
That leadership came from a group of scholars known as the Rabbis.
The rabbis focused not on sacrifice, but on
studying our sacred Jewish texts. They focused not on Temple ceremony, but on
worshipping God through prayer with two new inventions – the prayer book and
the synagogue. They focused not on the priests as a link to the divine, but on
the acts of loving-kindness that each of us can do to make the world better for
all. Torah, Prayer, and Good Deeds became the Jewish spiritual path.
In the rabbinic commentary Avot de-Rabbi
Natan, it is reported that the great Rabbi Yochanan be Zakkai told his students
not to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the holy Temple. He said to his
students, “Do not grieve. We have a means of atonement that is equal to
sacrifice. It is the doing of kind deeds. For God teaches us, ‘I desire mercy,
not sacrifices…’ “(Hosea 6:6).
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
To enjoy
past entries of the Rabbi's Corner, please visit our website.
SCHOOL NEWS
Religious School, March 11
We’re
looking forward to seeing our students ready to go at 9:15 on Sunday, for an
exciting school day.
Save
the Date! Bring A Friend To School, April 22
On April 22, have a friend join you at religious school
and show them how wonderful our Sunday School is! You will receive a raffle
ticket for each friend you bring, with an opportunity to win a $50 gift card.
Scroll back to the top of the newsletter or click here for details!
YOUTH ACTIVITIES
Jump-tastic Fun for Shir Hadash Youth Group
20 people had a
rockin' time last Sunday when Shir Hadash Youth Group went to the trampoline
park, Rockin' Jump. We jumped, played
dodgeball, shot hoops, jousted, scaled the climbing wall, hung out with friends
and made new ones, and had a great time.
ADULT EDUCATION
Torah
and Jewish Philosophy Class, March 18
Instructor: Fred Andes
Join us to dig deep into the weekly Torah
portion and take a look at modern Jewish philosophy.
Living Judaism:
Introduction to Jewish Spirituality & Civilization Resumes March 18
Sundays, 11:15 am to
12:25 pm on March 11, 18; April 15, 22, and 29, 2018.
Instructor: Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
A survey of essential and fundamental concepts of Judaism
- its roots, history, sacred texts, holidays, and life cycle celebration. This class offers a great opportunity to
learn what Judaism offers us to live, learn, celebrate and relate to life’s
challenges in a Jewish way, today! This
class is for everyone – from those with no Jewish background to those with a
strong Jewish background, and all in between.
Lunch
and Learn at Shir Hadash, March 15
Join Rabbi Eitan and Shir Hadash members and
friends for refreshing and contemporary Jewish learning. We are currently studying Talmud,
specifically the Mishna Trachtate Berachot.
Everyone is welcome. No prior
study, expertise, or background required. We will meet this week on Thursday,
February 15 at 1:00 pm at Shir Hadash. Feel free to bring your lunch.
SOCIAL ACTION
Passover
Food Packing and Delivery, March 18 and 25
Shir Hadash is again joining with Maot Chitim of Greater Chicagoland to help
pack and deliver Passover food boxes for needy Jewish families all over the
Chicago area. There are two different ways you can participate:
●
Packing boxes, Sunday, March 18 from 9:30 to 10:30am. The address for the packing is 7100 N. McCormick Blvd, Lincolnwood,
IL. (Located at the Lincolnwood Town Center across the parking lot from Kohl's)
●
Delivering food packages on Sunday, March 25, from 9:30 to 11:30am in the Buffalo Grove/Wheeling area. We will be delivering
approximately 100 food packages, which will be in large boxes weighing
approximately 20 lbs. each. We deliver to several large complexes and use a
rental truck to transport the boxes.
We need
approximately 10 people for packing on March 18 and about 10 - 15 people for
delivery on the March 25. If you are interested in helping on one or both of
these dates, please email Mark Lenhart, mjlenhart@comcast.net ASAP.
Domestic
Abuse Education Series Continues, April 12
The second of our discussions on domestic
abuse will be led by guest speaker Anita Pildes, Community Education and
Outreach Coordinator for SHALVA. We will explore the different types of
domestic abuse: physical, emotional, financial, sexual, spiritual, and
electronic. The presentation will include the following topics:
What is domestic
abuse?
●
Types of domestic abuse
●
Myths about domestic abuse
●
What is SHALVA and what are its
services?
The discussion
begins at 7:00pm on Thursday, April 12. All are welcome. Future workshops are
scheduled for June 7, August 2, October 4 and December 6.
ISRAEL AWARENESS
Israel
Speaker Series
Marlene Dodinval, the Executive Director for
the Jewish National Fund in Chicago, gave an interesting presentation to the
congregation on the Jewish National Fund at last Friday's service. We are
currently finalizing details for our next speaker, tentatively scheduled for
April 13. It should be an exciting and different approach from our other
presentations.
Israeli
Film Series
We are also finalizing details for our next
Israeli film screening, tentatively scheduled for May 5. Look for more details
soon.
Did You Know? Fun Facts About Israel
Israel produces
about 18 –24 full length feature films annually.
Israel is the host
of five major recurring film festivals.
Israel has 12 film
and television schools located throughout the country, some of them offering
B.A and M.F.A degrees. Some of the schools are internationally recognized and
with international reputation and acclaim.
Five
not-for-profit Israeli groups provide about $20M in annual funding for movie
and TV productions.
Israel has signed
movie co-production agreements with 21 different countries.
NORTHWEST SUBURBAN INTERFAITH
COUNCIL
News
from the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council
Shir Hadash is an active member of the
Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council. We look forward to the spring and summer
with the following upcoming programs:
- “Knock Your Socks Off”: Our second annual collection for men’s women’s and children’s new
socks for distribution to our homeless neighbors in the Northwest
Suburbs. Please help fill the box
during April and May!
- Stamp Out Hunger, May 12, sponsored by the US Postal
mail carriers: You place non-perishable food in your mailbox and the mail
carriers will collect it. The
Interfaith Council will then pick up the food and distribute it to our
pantries that serve our community.
- 5th Annual
i-Walk Against Hunger, June 24: A family walk
from St. Mary Parish to Hope
Lutheran Church and back. All donations collected go to assist our food
pantries. We need walkers, sponsors
and volunteers.
- 5th annual service trip
to Detroit on August 1-5: Volunteers will work with Cass Community
Social Services to repair, maintain and build facilities to benefit the
hungry, homeless, and unemployed.
For more information and to register, click here.
- Interfaith Trip to
Israel, summer 2018: details forthcoming.
- Food Donations: Please remember those less fortunate. Donations of canned goods
are accepted throughout the year at our food pantries located at
Congregation Beth Am (1370 Abbott Court, Buffalo Grove), Kingswood
Methodist Church (401 W. Dundee, Buffalo Grove) and St. Mary Parish (10
North Buffalo Grove Road.)
We are discussing ideas for further
educational programming. Our last panels covered questions on Christianity and
Judaism. If you have any suggested
topics, please contact Suzanne Wexler at skwexler@yahoo.com or 847-769-8257.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Simcha Tree Leaves Available for Purchase
Our Tree of Joy—a Simcha Tree—is situated in our Community
Room to remind us of all the joys of our lives. The leaves come in copper,
silver, and gold. Each leaf marks a lasting memory of a joyous simcha in the lives of members of Shir
Hadash. We invite you to add your loved
ones’ simchas to our Tree and share your nachas
with our congregation or just add your loved ones’ names out of love. Leaves
can be purchased to mark your special family or individual accomplishments. Click here to see additional information and make your purchase.
Don’t Forget Our Permanent Restaurant Fundraisers!
The Continental
Restaurant in Buffalo Grove or Butterfield’s Restaurant in Northbrook will
donate 5% of your total bill to Shir Hadash! No flyer needed – just mention
Shir Hadash when you are paying or fill out the Shir Hadash book behind the
desk.
Shir
Hadash Memorial Wall
Having a Memorial Plaque for a loved one in
Shir Hadash’s Memorial Wall ensures that Yahrzeit will be observed for them in
perpetuity by our congregation.The cost for a plaque is $360. Many congregants
prepay and reserve plaques.You may register for the plaque(s) through our website, 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. For more
information, email Michelle at SHOP@shir-hadash.org.
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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