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:
THE VIRTUAL EDITION
THE VIRTUAL EDITION
With an abundance of caution and to ensure the health and safety of our staff, the Synagogue building is closed at least through the duration of the Illinois shelter-in-place order.
Our devoted staff will be working from home and messages via phone and email will be responded to within 24 hours.
If you need any assistance, you may call Marc Fargotstein at 847-612-6579 or contact Executive Director Nancy Kleine Kekst at 216-789-2452. The Rabbi is also available on his cell phone 847-525-7746 at any time.
Our devoted staff will be working from home and messages via phone and email will be responded to within 24 hours.
If you need any assistance, you may call Marc Fargotstein at 847-612-6579 or contact Executive Director Nancy Kleine Kekst at 216-789-2452. The Rabbi is also available on his cell phone 847-525-7746 at any time.
Creative Worship and Ritual -- Services Online via Zoom!
- Shabbat Evening Service, Friday April 17, 7:30 p.m.
- Yom Ha'Shoah Service, Monday, April 20, 7:30 p.m.
The Rabbi's Corner -- “You Are What You Eat"
Religious Education
- Religious School e-Learning Continues This Week
- Adult Ed Programs Continue Online -- Open to Everyone!
- Worldwide Synagogue Sing, April 18 -- Online!
Membership News and Events
- Communication Channels - ZOOM Update
- 2020 Event Plans- Updates
- Tonight! Mussar Discussion Group, April 16
- Book Club -- Virtual Meeting April 23
- Annual Meeting, Postponed to June
- Shir Hadash Welcomes Geese
Social Action
- Social Action Committee Meeting, April 19
- JUF Coronavirus Community Resources
- ARK Volunteers Needed
- Buffalo Grove Food Pantry Food Donations Needed
Resources for Today
- Links to Help You and Your Family Work Safely, Take Care of Each Other, and Have Fun
Ongoing Fundraisers
- iGive
- Amazon Smile
- SHOP Shir Hadash
Join us online for exciting online* worship experiences!
ZOOMing Kabbalat Shabbat and Social Hour, Friday, April 17, 7:30 p.m., Shabbat Shmini– Let’s welcome Shabbat together with an on-line Kabbalat Shabbat service via ZOOM. Rabbi Eitan will lead the service from his home with meditations, prayer, readings, story, and song. Then using the same link, at 8:15 tune in for a social hour oneg live from your kitchen! Be sure to have your kiddush cup and treat on the table.
Yom HaSho’ah V’hagvurah Commemoration – Holocaust and Resistance Memorial Day, Monday April 20, 7:00 p.m. -- Join with our Shir Hadash family and the Jewish Community worldwide in our annual commemoration of the Holocaust. This special ZOOM experience will be led by Rabbi Weiner-Kaplow and include readings, stories, songs, and prayers that take us through the Holocaust experience, from destruction to redemption.
THE RABBI’S CORNER
April 17-18, 2020 / 24 Nisan 5780 / Shabbat Shemini
Torah: Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 / Haftarah: II Samuel 6:1 - 7:17
“You Are What You Eat”
Dear Friends,
Why do we keep kosher? We have just concluded the annual Passover festival during which so many become concerned with eating kosher foods and keeping the special dietary laws of the holiday. This week’s Torah portion presents some of the key aspects of kashrut, such as eating animals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud. It also includes a discussion of which birds, fish, and insects are permitted.
Some say that the kosher laws are all about health and fitness. Others argue that keeping kosher is designed to separate us from other peoples by not letting us eat with them. My understanding is that kashrut is about identity. Simply put, this is the customary way that Jews eat. Kosher laws enshrine the rules that our people has followed over the centuries living in the Land of Israel. When we keep kosher, we are connecting with Jews the world over through space and time. Eating “Jewish foods” links us with our tradition.
So, I encourage you to explore keeping kosher in a way that is meaningful and life affirming to you. See it as a way of bonding with our Jewish heritage. You are what you eat!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Religious School e-Learning Continues This Week: Watch for details!
Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs: Online! Everyone is welcome to participate. Contact the class facilitator, below, for information.
- 10:00 a.m. -- Torah and Jewish Philosophy Class via ZOOM. Contact Fred Andes for details. Call in number is 312 626 6799.
- 11:00 a.m. -- Hebrew Reading Class via WebEx -- contact Steve Lewin.
- 11:15 a.m. -- Judaism's Best 10 Ideas via ZOOM -- contact Rabbi Eitan.
Today! Rabbi's Lunch and Learn via ZOOM, April 16 -- Join Rabbi Eitan and Shir Hadash members for an engaging discussion of this week's Torah portion. Call in number is (312) 626 6799. All are welcome to participate.
Communication Channels: We will continue our email blasts to congregants at least twice a week: our regular weekly roundup on Tuesdays and the Synagogue newsletter on Thursday mornings, plus additional information as needed and late breaking developments.
A note about ZOOM meetings: ZOOM has updated their security protocols, and has instituted passwords for scheduled events. We will give you links that include the passwords, and also provide you with separate passwords and call in numbers if you need. We are using ZOOM as our primary method of delivering Services and other events, which allows for better participation than the Facebook platform. If you need ZOOM assistance, let us know and we will have someone contact you. For now, please advise us if you are unable to participate in a video conference either on a tablet, smartphone, computer or other similar device. If so, we can make arrangements to allow you to participate. We also have congregants who can help you get connected. Just drop us a line or call the office!. For those congregants who do not have computer access, the staff will be making telephone check-in calls.
Another primary way to stay in touch with members is through our closed (private) Facebook group, Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue - Current Members. You need to have a Facebook account to access this group. It’s a great way to watch live streamed services. If you're having a problem creating a Facebook account, contact Nancy Kleine Kekst 216-789-2452, Marc Fargotstein 847-612-6579 or Karen Burnham 847-714-6946 and we will help you.
Also please follow —and encourage your friends to follow — our Shir Hadash General Community page.
And to learn more about Facebook or ZOOM, search for and watch free instructional videos at http://youtube.com. If you need a device to help you connect to these sites, or need one-on-one assistance on how to connect, please call the office and leave a message. We will seek ways to help you.
Overview of Upcoming Events -- Be sure and check the Shir Hadash calendar for the latest updates on events.
- April 25: Israeli Movie Night - Postponed
- May 2: 25th Anniversary Gala - Postponed
- May 16: Coffee House - Postponed
Book Club, April 23 -- Get ready for the first virtual meeting of our Book Club on April 23! We are reading Maimondes by Sherwin B. Nuland. About the book: "Moses Maimonides was a Renaissance man before there was a Renaissance: a great physician, a dazzling Torah scholar, a daring philosopher. Eight hundred years after his death, his notions about God, faith, the afterlife, and the Messiah still stir debate; his life as a physician still inspires; and the enigmas of his character still fascinate. Nuland’s portrait of Maimonides that makes his life, his times, and his thought accessible to the general reader as they have never been before." Details about how to participate in the discussion will be coming soon.
Annual Meeting Postponed to June-- During these difficult times, being together – even if not physically – as a warm, welcoming community is more important than ever. For that reason, we intend to have our Shir Hadash annual meeting this spring online! We are still working out all of the details, including as to voting procedures, but our current plan is to have a virtual meeting (date and time TBA).
At the meeting, we will share important information about our plans for Shir Hadash, and also want to hear your ideas. You will also be asked to vote on nominees for open positions on the Board of Directors, and to approve the Shir Hadash budget for 2020-21. We are also looking at confidential online voting options. If you will need an absentee ballot, please call the office and leave a voicemail message.
Board Positions to be Filled -- At this time, we are seeking members who are interested in serving in the open Board positions. As a Board member, you can play a significant role in shaping Shir Hadash’s future. Here are the open positions:
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Vice-President for Building
- Vice-President for Education
- Four At-Large Board Members for 2-year terms
Shir Hadash Welcomes Geese -- We are excited to have our resident goose family setting up housekeeping on our roof again this spring. Don snapped these photos this week with the note, "Mom is letting me get much closer. Dad was watching the entire time from the neighboring roof."
SOCIAL ACTION
Social Action Committee Meeting, April 19 -- The Social Action Committee will meet via ZOOM on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Contact socialactionsh@gmail.com for information.
Coronavirus Community Resources from JUF of Chicago --A good place to get help or give help, connect with others, or bust your boredom.
Ark Food Pantry Volunteers Needed - The ARK is in need of volunteers to help prepare food packages and distribute them to clients. Volunteer groups are limited to three people to be mindful of social distancing and taking every possible precaution. Masks and gloves will be provided for your safety. To help out, click here register for a time slot.
Help Buffalo Grove Food Pantry with Food Dropoffs or Deliveries: A Buffalo Grove food pantry is dangerously low on food as it tries to keep up with the increased demand during these challenging economic times. Reverend James Preston reached out to Rabbi Eitan and other faith leaders in the area to see if we could help. (This is the pantry Rabbi Eitan mentioned during seder.) The list below shows what is most needed at the food pantry. You can order online and have it shipped, or you can shop yourself and drop off at the main door of Kingswood Church (far north door-handicap entrance is open from 8am to 8pm). If shipping, send to Kingswood Church, 401 West Dundee Road, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089.
- The following (unexpired) items are needed: Grape jelly, creamy peanut butter, boxed cereal (Cheerios or similar), cooking oil, flour (white), canned corn, canned peas, canned green beans, apple sauce or canned fruit, pinto beans (bag preferred), cans of chicken noodle soup or equivalent, Can of Vegetable soup or other, Can of tomato soup or equivalent, cans of chili with beans, cans of tuna or chicken in water, spaghetti or equivalent box or bag of pasta, jars or cans of spaghetti sauce, macaroni & cheese, bag or box of white rice.
- The food can be dropped off between 9AM and 5PM on all days, including weekends, with the exception of Thursdays. Place the food on the tables, inside the church entrance on the east side of the building at 401 W. Dundee Rd., Buffalo Grove. There are signs by those tables on the left side as you walk about 20 feet past the entrance doors. If the tables are full, please place the food underneath the tables.
RESOURCES FOR TODAY
NCJW presents Shanghai Before the Ghetto, on April 21, 7:30 - 8:30 pm, a fascinating look at Shanghai before WWII. Author Susan Blumberg-Kason offers a virtual tour of pre-war Shanghai including the true story of Bernardine Szold Fritz, a Jewish woman from Peoria who travels lead her 1929 Shanghai where she established the International Art Theater.
Illinois has launched a new program, Call4Calm, to assist Illinois residents during these challenging times. Residents will be connected to a mental health professional, free of charge, during the COVID-19 crisis by texting the word “TALK” to 552020.
PBS Learning Media has curated a special collection of resources for children grades PreK-12, organized by grade and subject area.
Stay active with exercises you can do during commercial breaks or between virtual meetings.
Yale University’s mega-popular course The Science of Well-Being is now free to audit online.
Adam Sandler hails doctors, nurses and essential workers, while poking fun at life during coronavirus with The Quarantine Song.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
If you are home and shopping online, be sure to consider these resources. You can help support Shir Hadash AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU through these donation programs. We will need funds to help our congregants in need.
Help Shir Hadash Earn Free Donations with iGive --You can help Shir Hadash every time you shop online – the iGive Button makes it simple! iGive is a free and easy way to support the shul. Average shoppers using iGive raise between $30 and $100 a year for their causes. There are 1480 online retailers helping to make donations happen through iGive. Click here to learn more and join iGive. If you have questions, contact Sandi Schleicher, sschleicher@onebox.com.
Amazon Smile Fundraising Option
Shir Hadash is registered with the Amazon Smile fundraising program. Just go to smile.amazon.com, search for Shir Hadash (be sure to select the one in Wheeling), and from then on 0.5% of your purchases will automatically be donated to Shir Hadash at no cost to you! Remember, if you go to Amazon through iGive.com or the iGive button, SH will get money from both Amazon and iGive. And to triple-dip, just pay for your purchases with a SHOP Amazon gift card! Happy Shopping!
SHOP SHOP SHOP! --ShopWithScrip 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. 50,000 organizations use ShopWithScrip gift cards to turn everyday shopping into earnings. Now, Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue is using gift cards to offset our costs and create more opportunities for families. Shop at 750+ brands with gift cards to earn on gas, groceries, eating out, clothes—the list goes on. It’s easy, it’s rewarding, and it fits right into your busy schedule. Watch for full details, an invitation to participate and enrollment codes--coming soon!
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