WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Membership News and Upcoming Events
- Annual Meeting, May 6
- Saturday! Coffee House Concert Series presents Classical Guitarist Mitchell Green, April 28
- Israeli Film Series, May 5
- Book Club, May 22
- Open House Boosts Growth - Recap
- New! CJE Resource Specialist at Shir Hadash, Thursdays
- Check Out the Shir Hadash Business Directory
Creative Worship and Ritual
- No Shabbat Evening Service April 27
- Oneg Volunteers Needed -- Sign Up Today
The Rabbi’s Corner
- “Love Your Neighbor”
School News
- Religious School, April 29
- Teacher Appreciation Gift Donations Being Accepted Now
- Tzedakah Challenge - Help Our Students Meet Their Goal
- Save the Date! Free End of the Year Party, May 20
Adult Education
- Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi, April 26
- Torah and Jewish Philosophy, Sundays
- Living Judaism: Introduction to Jewish Spirituality & Civilization, Next Class on May 20
- Starts Today! A Taste of Mussar Class, Thursday Evenings
Israel Awareness
- Israeli Movie Night on May 5
- Did You Know? Fun Facts About Israel
Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council
- Sock Drive for the Homeless Going on Now
- More Events and Programs from Interfaith Council
- Seeking an Additional Shir Hadash Rep for Interfaith Council
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
Annual Meeting, May 6
Join us for our Annual Meeting. Have bagels and lox while you hear from candidates for the Board of Directors and hear the reports from the President and Treasurer. We will then vote for Board Members and to approve the Annual Budget.
This Saturday! Coffee House Night - Concert Series presents Mitchell Green - Classical Guitarist, April 28, 7:30 pm
Coming to Shir Hadash this weekend: Coffee House Night – Concert Series event featuring one of our own: Mitchell Green – Classical Guitarist. Mitchell has prepared a glorious 90-minute concert featuring music from traditional Spanish guitar repertoire as well as contemporary composers. Background lore will augment each piece.
Coming to Shir Hadash this weekend: Coffee House Night – Concert Series event featuring one of our own: Mitchell Green – Classical Guitarist. Mitchell has prepared a glorious 90-minute concert featuring music from traditional Spanish guitar repertoire as well as contemporary composers. Background lore will augment each piece.
We are expecting a rather sizable group. Please be sure to reserve your seats so we can set up the Coffee House to accommodate everyone. Please click this link or email Margie at MargiePromoPro1@aol.com with “Mitchell Green Concert” in the subject line. If you’d like to be part of the Coffee House Night Team or to bring a treat for our Dessert & Beverage Table, please indicate your interest area in the Reservation form or email Margie using the above link.
This event is offered for a free-will donation. You will not want to miss this rare opportunity to see Mitchell in concert! Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday at 7:30.
Israeli Film Series, May 5 - 7:30 pm
We have an exciting and unusual movie planned for the evening of May 5. We will be showing The Ballad of the Weeping Spring. Torn apart by tragedy, a legendary band reunites to play an emotional final concert in this stylized homage to Spaghetti Westerns, samurai epics, and South American mysticism, shot entirely in Israel but set in a mythical time and place. With a pervasive pan-ethnic soundtrack serving as the film’s backbone, the story centers on the brooding Jossef Tawila, once the leader of a Mizrahi band (a unique musical form combining Middle Eastern and North African influences), who lives a hermit-like existence in the wake of a terrible accident. In a series of quirky vignettes across stunning exotic locations, Tawila brings together his old musician buddies to grant the last wishes of a dying friend, while healing his own tortured soul. Nominated for nine Israeli Academy Awards, with wins for Best Original Music, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design. Admission is free and snacks will be available for purchase.
Book Club, May 22
The Book Club’s next selection will be The Bridal Chair by Gloria Goldreich. This is an exciting historical novel about the artist Marc Chagall: his personality, his physical flight from Russia to Paris (later Nazi-occupied) to America, and his daughter’s love. Our meeting will be on May 22, 7:30pm, at the home of Rebecca Rice, 3641 Bernay Drive in Northbrook. For more information, contact Meryl Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com.
Open House: A Great Start to School and Membership Growth
Our Open House on April 22 was a tremendous success (and a great start to adding more people to our school and shul for next year. Keep the referrals coming)! Numerous prospective families came to Shir Hadash to learn about our religious school and synagogue. Children participated in our amazing Sunday School classes, adults experienced our interesting adult education offerings, and families toured our beautiful building as well as talked with Rabbi Eitan, Geoff, and lay leaders.
The Open House went so well thanks to the efforts of these individuals who created materials, worked on marketing, talked with prospective members, and povided activities for children who chose not to attend classes or were too young to do so:
Dennis Bailen, Alan Bernover, Steve Fisher, Sean Fisher-Rohde, Glenn Graff, Katie Pierce, Tammy Pomper, Lisa Burton Radzely,Sandi Schleicher, Lisa Settler, Rachel Siegel, and Chana Sulpar.
A big thank you to our staff, for the Open House couldn't have happened without Rabbi Eitan, Geoff, and Julie. They were invaluable preparing materials, offering guidance, speaking with prospective members, and conveying how special Shir Hadash is.
Thanks as well to our teachers. We appreciate their flexibility and being so accommodatng with classroom visitors. Every guest raved about their classroom experience, and it exemplifies the excellent job our teachers are doing.
Look for information coming soon about continuing our Gift of Membership program. Start thinking who you would like to give the gift of one year of free membership at Shir Hadash. Help us grow our membership and have more people be a part of our amazing synagogue.
CJE Resource Specialist at Shir Hadash
Welcome to Irina Polishchuk, CJE (Council for Jewish Elderly) Senior Resource Specialist. Irina will be at Shir Hadash on Thursdays from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm meeting with Jewish seniors in the community who need assistance on a wide range of issues. To schedule an appointment with Irina, call 773-428-3058. We are delighted to be partnering with CJE to bring this vital service to our community.
Check Out the Shir Hadash Business Directory!
Looking for a business? What could be better than working with another Shir Hadash Member! Shir Hadash has a business directory that includes many businesses -- from child care, to gift baskets, to auto sales and magicians and more. Just click here and see all that our members have to offer. And if you would like to list your business, just click on the above link and look on the right for the "Would you like to be included on this page?" link. Note that you have to be logged into Shul Cloud to submit a business listing.
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
No Shabbat Evening Service on April 27
Enjoy celebrating Shabbat with your family.
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
April 27-28, 2018/ 13 Iyar 5778
Omer Day 28
Shabbat Aharei Mot - Kedoshim
Torah: Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27
Haftarah: Amos 9:7 - 9:15
“Love Your Neighbor”
Dear Friends,
What does it mean to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’? Sounds rather simple, but in reality it is a real challenge. This week’s Torah portion includes the Holiness Code – a long list of ethical and moral dos and don’ts that begin with the proclamation, “You shall be holy, for I the Eternal your God am holy.” Some of the rules include: don’t eat rotten food, revere your mother and father, don’t curse the deaf or cause the blind to stumble, and reprove your fellow if you see him about to commit a sin. The long list ends with the commandment to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The simple part of this commandment comes when the people around you are very similar to yourself. It’s easy to love those with whom you have so much in common. What about loving those who are not as kind or considerate as you are or hope to be? The Torah commentator Pinchas Peli summed it up this way. “It does not take much effort to love good people, nice people. The test of the fulfillment of the commandment is in loving those who are not as good and lovable in one’s eyes. ‘Love your fellow human -- as yourself,’ as you accept yourself with all your faults and shortcomings, accept others the same way.”
Zay a Mentsch – Be a good person.
Omer Day 28
Shabbat Aharei Mot - Kedoshim
Torah: Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27
Haftarah: Amos 9:7 - 9:15
“Love Your Neighbor”
Dear Friends,
What does it mean to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’? Sounds rather simple, but in reality it is a real challenge. This week’s Torah portion includes the Holiness Code – a long list of ethical and moral dos and don’ts that begin with the proclamation, “You shall be holy, for I the Eternal your God am holy.” Some of the rules include: don’t eat rotten food, revere your mother and father, don’t curse the deaf or cause the blind to stumble, and reprove your fellow if you see him about to commit a sin. The long list ends with the commandment to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The simple part of this commandment comes when the people around you are very similar to yourself. It’s easy to love those with whom you have so much in common. What about loving those who are not as kind or considerate as you are or hope to be? The Torah commentator Pinchas Peli summed it up this way. “It does not take much effort to love good people, nice people. The test of the fulfillment of the commandment is in loving those who are not as good and lovable in one’s eyes. ‘Love your fellow human -- as yourself,’ as you accept yourself with all your faults and shortcomings, accept others the same way.”
Zay a Mentsch – Be a good person.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
To enjoy past entries of the Rabbi's Corner, please visit our website.
SCHOOL NEWS
Religious School, April 29
We’re looking forward to seeing all our teachers and students ready to go at 9:15 this Sunday.
Teacher Appreciation Gift Donations Being Collected Now
Thank you to everyone who already has contributed toward the teachers' gifts. If you would like to donate toward the end-of-year present, please give your contribution at the SHOP table on Sunday mornings or online here. Any contribution is appreciated; no amount is too big or too small. Recommended amount is $10 per student. In-person donations will be collected through May 6, and online donations until May 15. Click here for more info; to make an online donation, click here.
Tzedakah Challenge - Help Our Students Meet Their Goal!
If the students collect $500 in tzedakah contributions this year, all students will receive a prize to celebrate how much they've done to help others. We are only $75 away from reaching this goal, and we have 3 weeks left of school! Over the next few weeks, each class will decide where they wish to donate the funds they have raised this year.
Save the Date! Free End-of-Year Party After School on May 20
After school on the last day, we will have a free end-of-year party filled with fun activities. Lunch will be provided compliments of Youth Group. Families are welcome, or students can attend by themselves. More details coming next week.
ADULT EDUCATION
Torah and Jewish Philosophy Class, Sundays
Instructor: Fred Andes
Join us on Sunday mornings at 9:30 to dig deep into the weekly Torah portion and take a look at modern Jewish philosophy.
Living Judaism: Introduction to Jewish Spirituality & Civilization, Next Class on May 20
Sundays, 11:15 am to 12:25 pm
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, April 26
Join Rabbi Eitan and Shir Hadash members and friends for refreshing and contemporary Jewish learning. We are studying the books of Joshua and Judges, which cover the fascinating period of Jewish history from the crossing of the Jordan River until the first kings of Israel. Everyone is welcome. No prior study, expertise, or background required. Feel free to bring your lunch.
Starts Today! A Taste of Mussar
An introduction to the study and practice of Jewish spiritual ethics. Mussar is a centuries old Jewish body of teachings, a perspective, and a disciplined practice that provides distinctively Jewish answers to the sorts of questions any thinking person asks about life.
The class meets on Thursdays, April 26, May 3, 10, and 17. Shir Hadash member Lynn Liebling, who has studied Mussar for seven years, will facilitate. The fee for the course is $36.
ISRAEL AWARENESS
Israeli Film Night on May 5
Scroll up to the Member Events and Worship & Ritual sections to read about the screening of planned for the coming weeks from the Israel Awareness Committee.
Did You Know? Fun Facts About Israel
- Jerusalem was founded as the City of David in 1010 BCE, but there’s evidence of settlements there going back all the way to 4500 BCE.
- Jerusalem has been conquered more than 40 times including by the Persians, the Romans, the Ottoman Turks, and the British Empire. More than 100 battles have been fought for control of Jerusalem over the course of its history.
- Jerusalem has more than 2,000 active archaeological sites.
- Neil Armstrong said when he visited Jerusalem, “I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”
- Jerusalem is home to an American football stadium, donated by the Kraft family, who are the owners of the New England Patriots.
NORTHWEST SUBURBAN INTERFAITH COUNCIL
Sock Drive Going on Now
Interfaith Council’s annual Knock Your Socks Off collection for mens’, womens’, and childrens’ new socks is going on now. Please bring new socks to help fill the box near in the Shir Hadash lobby during April and May. Donations will be distributed to our homeless neighbors in the Northwest Suburbs.
Other Events and Projects 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:
- 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, 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.
Seeking Shir Hadash Representative for Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council
Please consider joining Suzanne Wexler in representing SH at the Interfaith Council, a group of 10 congregations from synagogues and churches in Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights and Long Grove. The council members meet on the first Monday of each month from 7:30-9:00pm. We share ideas from our congregations as well as plan and execute community-wide programs to serve our communities, including our neighbors in need. Please contact Suzanne Wexler if you are interested in hearing more: 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 (at Last!)
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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