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.
For Security, links to ZOOM meetings are included in the emailed version of the newsletter. If you need assistance, please contact the office or the event organizer.
Creative Worship and Ritual -- Services Online via Zoom!
- Shabbat Evening Service, Friday April 24, 7:30 p.m.
The Rabbi's Corner -- “Stay Home Chicago"
Religious Education
- Religious School e-Learning Continues This Week
- Adult Ed Programs Continue Online -- Open to Everyone!
- Worldwide Synagogue Sing, April 26 -- Online!
- Today! Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi, Thursdays
Membership News and Events
- Communication Channels - ZOOM Update
- 2020 Event Plans- Updates
- Tonight! Book Club -- Virtual Meeting April 23
- Annual Meeting, Postponed to June
Social Action
- JUF Coronavirus Community Resources
- ARK Volunteers Needed
- Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council Seeks Food Pantry Food Donations
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, Friday, April 24 - 7:30 pm Shabbat Tazria-Metzora Let’s welcome Shabbat together with an on-line 45 minute Kabbalat Shabbat service via ZOOM. Rabbi Eitan will lead the service from his home with meditations, prayer, readings, story, and song.
April 24-25, 2020 / 1 Iyar 5780 / Shabbat Tazria-Metzorah
Torah: Leviticus 12:1 - 15:33
Maftir: Numbers 28:9 - 28:15 | Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
Haftarah: Isaiah 66:1 - 66:24 | Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
“Stay Home Chicago”
Dear Friends,
The Torah knows all about plagues, epidemics, contagion, and quarantine. Numerous times in the Bible plagues and epidemics raged through and ravished the people. Even this week’s Torah portion discusses what to do when individuals with contagious skin diseases sought medical treatment. The priests were tasked with diagnosis and care for the sick. One of the procedures was quarantine – isolating the ill to protect the broader population. Incidentally, the word ‘quarantine’ is from the Italian, meaning ‘forty’ – the number of days that someone sick with a contagious illness was kept in isolation.
Apparently not much has changed in 3,000 years. However, now we know more about the nature of virus transmission. Thus, isolating the entire population in a ‘shelter at home’ procedure is the best and quickest way to stop a world pandemic. Even though patience is running thin and we want a quicker solution, we must do our best to help flatten the curve and slow the spread. Watch the video that my son Ayal and I created on Facebook for the “Stay Home Chicago” campaign. We are delighted that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reposted it to her page. You can find it on the Shir Hadash Facebook page as well. Zay Gezunt - Be healthy and safe.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Religious School e-Learning Continues This Week: School families, 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. Call in number is 312 626 6799.
- Also on Sunday -- Family Activity Committee Meeting viz ZOOM, Time TBA
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.
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!.
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.
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
Tonight! Book Club, April 23 -- Call in Phone number is 312-626-6799. Get ready for the first virtual meeting of our Book Club! 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."
Annual Meeting Postponed to June-- Se intend to have our Shir Hadash annual meeting this spring online! We are still working out all of the details, 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 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
SOCIAL ACTION
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.
News from the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council from President Joanne Dicker: Our food pantries desperately need your help! Due to the continued issues with the coronavirus, many more of our neighbors are in need of food and everyday supplies. Please help us support our local food pantries either through monetary donations or purchasing of needed supplies.
If you are able, please purchase and donate any of the following items:
- Canned Goods: Soup, Chili, Fruit, Vegetables, Tuna, Chicken, Spaghetti O’s
- Crackers
- Cereals and Oatmeal
- Ramen Noodles
- Peanut Butter
- Grape Jelly
- Boxed Pasta, Mac & Cheese, and Pasta Sauce
- Bagged Rice
- Snacks
- Flour
- Vegetable Oil
- Toiletries: Shampoo, Soap, Toothpaste
- Paper Towels and Toilet Paper
- Laundry Detergent
- Baby Diapers
- St. Mary Parish: 10 N. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove. Food is distributed on the third Saturday of the month. (Two forms of ID needed.) Food Donations will be collected on May 2 from 4-5 p.m. and Sunday May 3 from 10:00a.m. to 12:00p.m. If you cannot donate at these times, please contact the parish office at 847-541-1450 ext. 131 to make arrangements.
- Kingswood Methodist Church: 401 W. Dundee Road, Buffalo Grove, IL. Food is distributed on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Food donations are collected 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except for Thursday. Please leave food donations inside the church on the east side entrance on the tables provided.
- St. Alphonsus: 411 N. Wheeling Road, Prospect Heights. Food is distributed on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month from 1-:00 a.m. to Noon. (ID and proof of residency needed.) Food donations are collected between 9:00 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.
- Beth Am: 1377 Abbot Court, Buffalo Grove. Food is distributed on the last Sunday of the month or call: 847-383-5017. (ID required.)
- Vernon Township: 3050 N. Main Street, Buffalo Grove. Hours are Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30 (847) 634-4600
For more information on any of our programs, please contact us by e-mail or telephone: nwsinterfaith@gmail.com, 224-699-0386 or visit our website at: http://www.northwestsuburbaninterfaith.org
Donations may be made directly to: Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council, PO Box 5301, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089.
RESOURCES FOR TODAY
Quarantine Birthday Ideas, Gifts and Cards:
How to stream and study Shakespeare
Tour the Botanic Garden
A nutritious chickpea snack
Storytime: Mondays with Michelle Obama
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 with Scrip! 50,000 organizations use ShopWithScrip gift cards to turn everyday shopping into earnings. Now, Shir Hadash Reconst Synagogue/ Northbrook,IL 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. Click here for complete details!
To view past editions of the Newsletter, please visit our website.
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