For daily event updates, check our calendar. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Download the Shir Hadash App forApple or Android
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Creative Worship and Ritual
- No Shabbat Evening Service on May 24
- Planning for Shavuot Programs, June 8
- Sponsor an Oneg
- Adult Ed: Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Eitan, Thursdays
- Adult Ed: Torah and Jewish Philosophy, Summer Sundays
Membership News and Events
- Join Shir Hadash in the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade, June 2
- Book Club, June 6
- Awards Presented at Annual Meeting
- Reconstructing Judaism Today - Link to e-Newsletter
- Sock Drive Success
Israel Awareness
- Israeli Film Series
- Did You Know? Facts About Israel - Food Edition
Jewish Community Events
- JUF Dinner Honoring Dr. Steven B. Nasatir, May 29
- JCC/JUF Presents "Chicago Loves Israel" Celebration, June 2
- "Anti-Semitism in Our Backyard," June 11
- Sponsor a Bimah Ark Panel
- SHOP Shir Hadash
- Simcha Tree Leaves
- Don’t Forget Our Permanent Restaurant Fundraisers!
- Shir Hadash Memorial Wall
- Links to Fundraisers: Amazon, iGive, and More
No Shabbat Evening Service on May 24 -- Enjoy celebrating Shabbat with your family.
Shavuot Programs, June 8 -- Our next holiday, Shavuot, starts on Saturday night, June 8. Shavuot is the holiday on which we celebrate the Jews receiving the Torah from God. And how do we celebrate? Well, two ways. One is to have evening sessions in which we study Torah or discuss other Jewish subjects. The other is to eat cheese and wheat - which we at Shir Hadash interpret as a commandment to eat blintzes!
Of course, even if you are not up to leading a session, we would love to have you there. And bring some cheese and wheat - we'll have blintzes from Max and Benny's, but other cheese and/or wheat items are allowed if blintzes are not your thing. And for those who can't eat cheese or wheat, other oneg items are always welcome. Come and be with us for a Shir Hadash Shavuot!
Sponsor an Oneg! Having a birthday, anniversary or remembrance? You can sponsor an oneg to celebrate. A dessert oneg is $136 and everybody appreciates and enjoys your hospitality. The donation covers all food, including a special celebration cake. Please contact Nancy Kekst at the synagogue office to make arrangements.
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.
May 24-25, 2019 / 20 Iyar 5779 / Omer Day 35
Shabbat Behar
Torah: Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2 / Haftarah: Jeremiah 32:6 - 32:27
“Caring for the Land”
Dear Friends,
This week’s Torah portion teaches us to count the years in 50-year cycles. We should observe seven cycles of seven years totaling 49 years. Then on the fiftieth year, a celebration called the Jubilee is proclaimed. Every seven years, the land is supposed to be left to rest. No agricultural activities are to happen and the fields are to lie fallow. Plenty of food will still grow from all the seed that was dropped during the last harvest. But, what is important is that the land is to receive a rest.
Rashi taught that just as the weekly Shabbat gives people a chance to find renewal, the sabbatical year gives a chance for the land to revitalize. Maimonides explained that “by releasing the land it will become invigorated; by lying fallow and not being worked it will regain its strength.”
This is a wonderful concept that we can apply to nature in general. As the human population grows and our effect on the environment increases, we must find a way to care for the land and ensure its future. Even nature and the land need a rest.
Zay a Mentsch – Be a Good Person.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Torah and Jewish Philosophy Summer Schedule -- While Religious School is on summer break, our Torah/Jewish Philosophy Adult Ed class with Fred Andes will continue to meet every other Sunday morning, at an off-site location that involves coffee and baked goods. Anyone who is interested in sitting in for any part of the summer should contact Fred at fandes@btlaw.com for details.
Shir Hadash is Blooming -- Congregants planted annuals to beautify the synagogue following the Annual Meeting last Sunday. Great job -- thank you, volunteers!
Synagogue Office Closed for Memorial Day -- Please note that our office will be closed on May 27.
Voluntary Commitment Model - Shir Hadash's new dues structure, an engaging approach we call the Voluntary Commitment Model, encourages you to determine how much to give based upon your level of commitment, Shir Hadash's needs, and what you can afford. Our goal is to recognize each person's personal journey, while embracing a congregation-wide commitment to meeting our congregation's fiscal needs. Additional information is available on our website.
March in the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade, June 2 -- Shir Hadash will participate in the first Buffalo Grove Pride Parade and Diversity Festival, celebrating diversity and showing our support for the LGBTQ+ community. We will be walking as a group! The instructions and the route are now posted on our registration page. All walkers will receive a Shir Hadash tie-dye bandana with our logo. Please sign up here so we know who will be marching with us.
Book Club, June 6 -- Our next meeting will discuss Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation by Paul Kriwaczek. This is a fascinating work of non-fiction covering the history of Jews in Europe beginning around 980 C.E. We will be meeting at the home of Sandy Weiss in Northbrook at 7:30 p.m. For more information or to RSVP, contact Melanie Andes, fmandes@comcast.net.
Awards Presented at Annual Meeting -- During last Sunday's annual meeting, we were pleased to honor a number of Shir Hadash leaders and volunteers for their efforts in support of the synagogue. This year's recipients of the Maury Andes Award were Art and Diane German. In addition, the following individuals received Kehillah Awards: Lynne Arons, Jen Bernover, Vicki Brice, Mehran Farahmandpour, Carolyn Gessner, Deb Harrison, Katie Pierce, Rachell Runion, Suzanne Sabransky, Lise Schleicher, Sandi Schleicher, Matt Settler, Nellie Settler, Rachel Siegel, Marilynn Singer, Margie Skora, Brad Steinback and Chana Sulpar. Kol Hakavod to all!
Reconstructing Judaism Today e-Newsletter -- Learn about what’s going on in Reconstructionist communities around the world, and gain access to exciting online learning opportunities and resources from the central organization of the movement, Reconstructing Judaism. To subscribe to receive Reconstructing Judaism Today, our e-newsletter, and receive other vital communication from Reconstructing Judaism, just click on this link and select which communications you’d like to receive.
ISRAEL AWARENESS
Israeli Film Series at Shir Hadash: Our next Israeli film showing will be after Yom Kippur in the fall. If you have any suggestions, please contact Burton Kopulsky, bkopulsk@chicagobooth.edu.
- The cherry tomato was engineered in Israel by two Hebrew University professors.
- Hummos is so popular in Israel, that an ice cream store in Jaffa actually sells hummos flavored ice cream.
- Tel Aviv has the third highest number of sushi restaurants per capita (after Tokyo and New York).
- Per capita, Israelis are the world’s biggest consumers of fruits, vegetables, and chicken.
- The James Beard Foundation recently named the Israeli restaurant Zahav (located in Philadelphia) as the best restaurant in the United States.
Sock Drive Success! -- Thank you for all the new socks donated by our Shir Hadash community during the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council’s spring “Knock Your Sock Off” drive. The “Knock Your Socks Off” container was overflowing with socks in a wonderful variety of colors, styles and sizes. Your donation will provide many people in need with an important article of clothing so many of us take for granted, socks! -- Kristen Levit, Treasurer, Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council
JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS
JUF Dinner Honoring Dr. Stephen Nasatir, May 29 -- JUF invites you to a very special evening celebrating Dr. Steven B. Nasatir to honor his 40-year tenure as President of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago on Wednesday May 29 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. For more details and registration, click here.
Chicago Loves Israel, June 2 -- JCC Chicago and Jewish United Fund present a full-day of fun activities for all ages celebrating Israel's 71st anniversary. Films, activities, and live music performances fill the Bernard Weinger JCC, 300 Revere Drive in Northbrook. Click here for details and registration.
"Anti-Semitism in our Backyard" June 11, 7:00 p.m. -- The Adult Jewish Education Co-op (AJEC) presents a discussion about the current anti-Semitic attitudes in the United States, the recently published anti-Semitic incident report, incidents and trends in the Chicago area, and how to respond. Speaker Michael Rothstein serves as a National Commissioner of the Anti Defamation League and is the former Chair of the ADL Midwest Board of Directors. The program is appropriate for young adults, sixth grade and older. The presentation will be held at Congregation Or Shalom in Vernon Hills and is open to the public free of charge.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Dedication of Twelve Tribes Bimah Panels -- On April 5, we dedicated our Twelve Tribes Bimah Ark Panels during our “Pausing in the Wilderness” service. Celebrating our fifth anniversary in our building, the panels are a combined creation of artists Maureen Fisher Schweit and Abe Schor, who worked together on concept, design and colors.
You are invited to participate in this fundraising historic project by dedicating all or part of a panel. Three panels have been dedicated and three more are under consideration--Each panel dedication is $1,800; panels may be dedicated by more than one person and families may pool resources to dedicate one panel (e.g, $180 each by 10 people). Donors will be acknowledged on our new donor wall next to the Simcha Tree. At present, four panels have been dedicated and two more are under consideration. To learn more about the Bimah Panels, click here. For questions, panel reservation, choice and payment options, contact Executive Director Nancy Kleine Kekst at (216) 789-2452 (mobile) or email execdir@shir-hadash.org.
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 - Now Including Flappy’s!--The Continental Restaurant in Buffalo Grove, Butterfield’s Restaurant in Northbrook, and now all three locations of Flappy’s 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 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 SHOP SHOP!--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.
No comments:
Post a Comment