WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- Please Respond! Capital Improvement Survey
- Saturday! Wine Tasting Event, March 10
- Parents Note: Final Days to Sign Up for Youth Group Outing at Rockin’ Jump, March 11
- Next Week! Book Club, March 15
- MOSH Poker Night, March 17
- Community Passover Seder, March 31
- Save The Date! Prospective Member Open House, April 22
- Kabbalat Shabbat Service, March 9, 7:30pm
- Guest Speaker: Marlene Dodinval, Chicago Director of Jewish National Fund
- Next Week: Pausing in the Wilderness Family Service, Dinner, and Evening Service, March 16
- Oneg Volunteers Needed -- Sign Up Today
The Rabbi’s Corner
- “A Pause in the Brushwork”
- Religious School, March 11
- SAC Meeting, March 11
- Save the Date! Bring A Friend To School, April 22
Youth Activities
- Last Chance to Sign Up! Shir Hadash Youth Outing to Rockin’ Jump, March 11
Adult Education
- Torah and Jewish Philosophy Class, March 11
- Living Judaism Sunday Class, March 11
- Lunch and Learn at Shir Hadash, March 8
Social Action
- Passover Food Packing and Delivery, March 18 and 25
Israel Awareness
- Marlene Dodinval, JNF Speaker at Shabbat Services, March 9
- Did You Know? Fun Facts About Israel
- 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
Please Respond! Building Improvement Survey - Deadline Extended
What does Shir Hadash need to make our building a home? As with all homes, remodeling, and updating are necessary to keep it current, in good repair, and comfortable are essential. 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. It includes opportunities for you to rate proposed projects and to suggest other ideas that you feel are important. Please respond no later than March 31. Thank you for your participation!
Saturday! Wine Tasting Event, March 10
Please join your friends from Shir Hadash for an evening of wine tasting at Mehran Farahmandpour's house in Long Grove. We will have several wines to compare, ranging from sparkling wine, whites, reds, and even Mehran's own wine (if you feel adventurous). A variety of cheeses will be paired with the wines. We'll start at 7 PM. Bring a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, or a favorite cousin! Bringing a bottle to share is optional. For details and event registration, click here. The final day to register is Friday March 9.
Sunday! Parents Note: Youth Group Outing to Rockin’ Jump, March 11
The Shir Hadash Youth Group has an exciting outing planned at Rockin’ Jump Trampoline Park on this Sunday, March 11. Don’t let your kids miss out! Scroll down to the Youth Activities heading for details and to register for this fun event.
Next Week! 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.
New! 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).
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!
On April 22, have your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and anyone else you know join us to see how special Shir Hadash is! For each prospective member you refer to Shir Hadash and who comes to the Open House, you will receive a raffle ticket for a $50 gift card. You do not need to attend the Open House or be present for raffle drawing. More details next week....
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Guest Speaker, Friday, March 9, 7:30pm
This week, our Second Friday Speaker Series welcomes Marlene Dodinval, Chicago Director for the Jewish National Fund. Come learn about the important work being done in and for Israel by JNF. Please bring a treat to share at the oneg refreshments.
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 9-10, 2018 / 23 Adar 5778
Shabbat Vayak’hel-Pikudei/Parah
Torah: Exodus 35:1 - 40:38
Maftir: Numbers 19:1 - 19:22 | Shabbat Parah
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16 - 36:38 | Shabbat Parah
“A Pause in the Brushwork”
Dear Friends,
What is the true purpose of Shabbat? Of course there are many answers. The Torah tells us to rest because God rested on the Shabbat. The Torah also tells us to observe Shabbat as a reminder of God’s bringing us out of Egypt. Put both reasons together and a third reason emerges. We keep Shabbat because we are free.
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionism, offers another explanation for observing the Shabbat which relates to God’s resting after the six days of creation. Kaplan writes:
“An artist cannot be continually wielding his brush. He must stop at times in his painting to freshen his vision of the object, the meaning of which he wishes to express on his canvas. Living is also an art.... The Sabbath represents those moments when we pause in our brushwork to renew our vision of the object. Having done so we take ourselves to our painting with clarified vision and renewed energy.” Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion, 1937, p.59)
As we create our lives from day to day, we need time to pause, evaluate, consider, adjust, energize, and continue on our life journey. Shabbat gives us those moments of reflection and renewal to improve our lives and live to the fullest.
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.
SAC Meeting, March 11
The School Advisory Committee meets this Sunday, March 11, 9:30-11:00am in the annex conference room. All religious school parents are welcome.
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. More details next week.
We all enjoy the delicious bagels at Sunday school, graciously donated by Tammy Pomper. Now we need some volunteers to pitch in with set-up and clean-up. Please contact Glenn Graff, nflsunday1966@gmail.com, or Tammy Pomper, tammy.g.pomper@gmail.com, to learn more.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES
Last Chance to Sign Up! Shir Hadash Youth of All Ages: Jump High with SHY, March 11
This Sunday, Shir Hadash Youth Group goes to Rockin' Jump! On March 11, 1:00 to 3:00pm, all Shir Hadash youth are invited to jump and eat lunch. Just $15 for SHY members, $18 for non-youth group members, with online registration; $20 if you register in person. This price includes lunch, grip socks, and 90 minutes of jump time. More details and registration form can be found here. Register any time between now and Sunday, but earlier reservations will help us know how much food to order and prevent delays for those who register late.
ADULT EDUCATION
Torah and Jewish Philosophy Class, March 11
Instructor: Fred Andes
Join us to dig deep into the weekly Torah portion and take a look at modern Jewish philosophy.
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.
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.
ISRAEL AWARENESS
Tomorrow! Guest Speaker at Shabbat Services on March 9
Marlene Dodinval, the Executive Director for the Jewish National Fund in Chicago, will be our featured speaker for Shabbat services on March 9. As we approach the 70th anniversary of Israel, Marlene will be talking about the Jewish National Fund’s involvement in the creation of the State of Israel and their ongoing work to build a prosperous and sustainable country for all its citizens.
Did You Know? Fun Facts About Israel
- Israel is able to produce 95% of its food and is a major food exporter despite only 20% of the country being arable land. More than 40 percent of the country's vegetables and field crops are grown in the desert between Be'er Sheva and Eilat using sophisticated technology to grow crops in the salty desert.
- There is a surprisingly long history of growing crops in the desert. Near the Desert Plant Research Station of Ben-Gurion University in the Negev is a farm cultivated over 2,000 years ago by the earliest desert farmers, the Nabateans. Their agricultural methods were astonishingly sophisticated. By building terraces and clearing the soil of stones, every drop of runoff water was collected and then diverted to the lower-lying fields and orchards.
- Agriculture relies not so much on a “natural” comparative advantage in farming, but on an “induced” comparative advantage built on technological progress and innovation. Israel is a leader in these technologies and exports them globally. Israel is also a leader in developing new crops - such as the modern version of the cherry tomato which is now widely eaten in the US.
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.
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.
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).
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment