For daily event updates, check our calendar. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Download the Shir Hadash App for Apple or Android
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Creative Worship and Ritual
- Register Today for High Holidays!
- Services this Week: Shabbat Evening, Morning Bat Mitzvah and Selichot Eve
- Sponsor an Oneg
- Religious School, September 22
- Adult Ed: Torah and Jewish Philosophy, Sundays
- More Adult Ed: Hebrew Reading, Sundays
- Rabbi's Lunch & Learn, Thursdays
- Membership Renewal Forms are Open
- Tonight! Mussar Study Group Resumes
- New Book Club Selection
- Visit our Reading Corner
- Reconstructing Judaism Today - Link to e-Newsletter
Social Action
- Sunday! Holiday Food Baskets -- Delivery September 22
- Tzedakah to help Legal Immigrants, Asylum Seekers, and Unaccompanied/Separated Children
Jewish Community
- Volunteer Opportunity for Spanish Speakers with HIAS
Israel Awareness
- Israeli Film Series Presents "Ushpizin," October 12
- Sponsor a Bimah Ark Panel -- Only Three Left!
- SHOP Shir Hadash
- Simcha Tree Leaves
- Don’t Forget Our Permanent Restaurant Fundraisers!
- Shir Hadash Memorial Wall
- Links to Fundraisers: Amazon, iGive, and More
Time to Register for High Holiday Services -- Believe it or not, the High Holidays are coming soon! Selichot is this Saturday, September 21, and Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of Sunday, September 29. All of the information that you need to register – and the whole Holidays schedule – are on the website If you have any questions about the Holidays, feel free to e-mail cwr@shir-hadash.org . We’ll see you all on the Holidays!
Services this Week:
Shabbat Evening Service, Friday September 20, 7:30pm --
"Getting Ready: Preparing for the High Holidays” As the High Holidays approach, we will study some of the ancient and contemporary texts that help us move through this holy time of year. Repentance, introspection, growth, compassion, love, community, family, spirituality, and more are all pieces of this mosaic we call the Days of Awe. We will sound the shofar, enter our prayer, study the texts, and share oneg refreshments at this moving and transforming Shabbat experience.
Shabbat Morning Bat Mitzvah Service, Saturday September 21, 9:30am
Selichot Eve Observance, Saturday, September 21, 7:30pm -- Join us for an evening of reflection, study, and friends. Selichot is a brief Saturday evening service that prepares us for the work of the High Holidays. Its readings and melodies are meditative, reflective and stirring. Selichot is about study. Our study program will explore Jewish teachings about the immigrant experience. We will watch a short movie about a Reconstructionist congregation in Montreal that hosted a Syrian refugee family.Selichot is about camaraderie. Bring a special treat to share in our dessert refreshment buffet following our film and discussion study session.
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, execdir@shir-hadash.org to make arrangements.
September 20-21, 2019 / 21 Elul 5780 / Shabbat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 / Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22
“Abundance”
Dear Friends,
Our ancestors in ancient times were farmers in the Land of Israel. Some farmed the land and others had orchards. Some had vineyards and others raised animals. Our Torah portion teaches how each year in the springtime, at the festival of Shavu’ot, our ancestors were to give thanks for the abundance. They were to bring some of the first fruits of the springtime yield and offer them up before God in thanksgiving.
Like our ancestor farmers, we can celebrate the abundance in our lives and give thanks for the blessings that are showered upon us each and every day. Give thanks for the blessings of family and community. Give thanks for the blessings of life, health, food, clothing, and shelter. Give thanks for our caring and creative community at Shir Hadash. On each and every day, find a way to give thanks.
Zay a Mentsch – Be a Good Person.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Religious School, September 22 -- School is back in session! We look forward to seeing all our students at 9:15 a.m.
Adult Ed: Torah and Jewish Philosophy Class Sundays, 9:30 to 10:30 am -- Instructor: Fred Andes. Be part of an open, free-wheeling discussion of Torah portions, modern Jewish philosophers, and how all of that relates to our daily lives. And if you miss a week, there’s a new portion, and a new topic to discuss, the next week! If you have any questions, just contact Fred at frederic.andes@btlaw.com.
More Adult Ed! Adult Hebrew Reading, Sundays 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. -- Instructor Steve Lewin. Students will learn to read and understand the key prayers of the service including the Barechu, Shema/V'ahavta, Amidah, and Aleynu. We will also learn to chant the Torah blessings. It will also serve as the foundation for anyone considering becoming adult bar or bat mitzvah.
Today! Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi, Thursdays --Join Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow, Shir Hadash members and friends for a refreshing and contemporary exploration of the weekly Torah portion, a selected book of the Bible, or a contemporary work of Jewish wisdom. We meet on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 2:00pm. Don’t be surprised if archaeology, sociology, 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.
Membership Forms Now Available Online -- Have you renewed your membership? Don't be left behind! You can't register for high holiday services until you do! Our membership forms are online and awaiting your information! Simply visit this link to renew your current membership, become a new member, and register for religious school! You must be a member in order to register for school. Please complete the forms on a computer. If you do find any issues that need correcting, simply write us at admin@shir-hadash.org and we will assist you, or call the office at 847-498-8218.
Book Club; Meeting October 17 -- The Shir Hadash Book Club is reading The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty. The author, a renowned culinary historian, offers a fresh perspective on our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry—both black and white—through food, from Africa to America and slavery to freedom. We will meet on Thursday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. - location TBA. For information, contact the office at admin@shir-hadash.org or (847) 498-8218.
Shir Hadash is offering an opportunity to get some background in what Mussar is all about. Our core text is Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis. Please obtain the book either through your local library or purchase and begin reading Part One.
The first regular session for the entire group is on Thursday, September 19 at 7:30 pm. We will discuss the middah (character trait) of Yirah (Awe or Wonder). Subsequent meetings TBA. For more information, contact Lynn Liebling, lliebling@sbcglobal.net or Kayla Shonberg, klashon74@gmail.com.
Visit our Reading Room -- Have you seen our new mini-reading room? It is now located in the hallway outside the sanctuary, across from the restrooms. There are many books of interest. Please feel free to take one, enjoy it, and pass it along to a neighbor, but DON"T return it! We have more books to put out!
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 the e-newsletter Reconstructing Judaism Today, and receive other vital communication from Reconstructing Judaism, just click on this link.
SOCIAL ACTION
Holiday Food Baskets -- Delivery September 22 -- Once again this year, Shir Hadash will be joining with Maot Chitim of Greater Chicagoland to help pack and deliver High Holiday food boxes for needy Jewish families all over the Chicago area. Delivery of food packages will take place on Sunday, September 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Buffalo Grove/Wheeling area. We will be delivering about 100 food packages, which will be in large boxes weighing approximately 20 lbs. each.
We need approximately 10 - 15 people for delivery on the September 22. If you are interested in helping on one or both of these dates, please contact Mark Lenhart, mjlenhart@comcast.net, as soon as possible.
Final Week -- Support Legal Immigrants, Asylum Seekers, and Unaccompanied/Separated Children: Tzedakah, Now Through September 25 -- Help provide on-the-ground assistance to legal immigrants, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied/separated children. Now through mid-October, tzedakah will be split between JUF Asylum Seekers Fund and HIAS Border Response. These funds provide housing, basic necessities like clothing and toiletries, training on their rights, and legal assistance to legal immigrants, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied/separated children. For more information on the JUF Fund, click here. For more information about HIAS' efforts, click here.
Cash or checks can be placed in the tzedakah box located near the prayer books, or it can be given to the office. You can give tzedakah any time the building is open or you can mail a check to the synagogue. Checks should be made out to JUF Asylum Seekers Fund, HIAS, or to Shir Hadash with a note that it's for tzedakah.
If you have questions, ask Lisa Burton Radzely or email her at socialactionsh@gmail.com.
Wheeling Elementary and Middle Schools Thank You for School Supplies -- Your donations made a big difference to students in our local community!
"We ran out of supplies, but now we have enough for all of our students."
"I am so grateful that you brought us so much. This makes a huge difference for the kids."
"Shir Hadash Synagogue is a wonderful part of the Wheeling community. Thank you for taking care of the local students."
- quotes from staff at Holmes Middle School, Walt Whitman Elementary School, and Mark Twain Elementary School
Shir Hadash's School Supply Drive filled *11* 18-gallon Rubbermaid totes with school supplies! Social workers at local schools no longer are stressed how students will get basic supplies. Thank you for helping children in our community - at Wheeling schools - who were supplied and ready for a new school year with your support.
Volunteer Opportunity with HIAS in El Paso/Juarez -- There are currently more than 13,000 asylum seekers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. These asylum seekers are not aware of their legal rights and don’t understand the very complicated process of seeking asylum in the U.S.
HIAS is seeking volunteers to stay in El Paso, Texas and travel into Ciudad Juarez daily to assist local staff in serving asylum seekers by providing Know Your Rights presentations and screening asylum seekers for potential legal representation. Each delegation of two to eight volunteers will last from Sunday-Friday. All volunteers must be at least advanced-proficient Spanish speakers, but need not have any experience working with asylum seekers or in immigration law. You can find out more information about this opportunity here.
ISRAEL AWARENESS
Israeli Film Series at Shir Hadash Presents "Ushpizin,” October 12 - Come to Shir Hadash at 7:30pm on October 12 for a screening of “Ushpizin.” This film is a heartwarming story for the Sukkot holiday, which begins the following evening. Admission is free and snacks will be available. Donations to help offset costs are always appreciated.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Twelve Tribes Bimah Panels: Only Three Panels Left to Dedicate! -- Celebrating our fifth anniversary in our building, our Twelve Tribes bimah ark 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. 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. The panel dedications will remain in perpetuity, or as long as the art remains in our sanctuary. (They will not expire in 18 years as originally stated.) 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 --The Continental Restaurant in Buffalo Grove, Butterfield’s Restaurant in Northbrook, and 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.
To view past editions of the Newsletter, please visit our website.
No comments:
Post a Comment