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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
For more information about our COVID-19 response plan,
please click here.
Our staff continues to work from home and the office as necessary. Messages via phone and email will receive a response within 24 hours. If you need any assistance, you may call Marc Fargotstein at 847-612-6579 or contact Office Administrator Karen Burnham at 847-714-6946. The Rabbi is also available on his cell phone 847-525-7746 at any time.
Please Note: Our regular Tuesday email from the Executive Director is suspended for the time being. Be sure to read your Newsletter on Thursdays to stay up to date to all the Shir Hadash happenings!
Creative Worship and Ritual -- Services Online
- Zoom Shabbat Evening Service, July 31, 7:30 p.m.
- Zoom Family Service and Pet Blessing, August 8, 10:00 a.m.
The Rabbi’s Corner
Religious Education
- Temporary Change in School Registration Procedure
- Adult Ed Programs Continue Online -- Open to All Members
- No Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi This Week
Membership News and Events
- Membership Renewal Forms Now Available Online
- High Holidays Schedule and Registration Online
- This Sunday! Shir HaNosh TV: Making Tadelicoos with Reba Meshulam, August 2
- Virtual Bingo, August 16
- Book Club, August 20
- Feedback Requested on Racism Program
- Smile! Special Family Photo Session Opportunity
Social Action
- ARK Food Pantries Now Accepting Donations
- Lambs Farm Seeking Gardening Volunteers
- Wheeling Township Food Pantry - Donations Needed
- Support Weekend Food Boxes for School District 21 Families
- Donate Books for Foster Teens
Support for Members
- CJE Support for Seniors in Need
- Meal Support for Children from KiwiKids
- Food Pantry for Wheeling Residents
- State Program Assists with Utility Payments and Household Needs
- Fresh Produce Distribution
- Donations Support Members in Need
- Shir Hadash Member Business Directory
Ongoing Fundraisers
- iGive
- Amazon Smile
- SHOP Shir Hadash
Shabbat Evening Service via Zoom, Friday, July 31, 7:30 p.m. -- Our “5th Friday Learner’s Service” offers a unique opportunity to ask your questions about the Shabbat worship service, the meaning of the prayers, why we do the things as we do, and just about anything else in Judaism. Student Rabbi Rachel Goldberg is ready to take your questions in this creative, lively, informal, and inspiring service style.
Family Service and Blessing of the Animals, August 8, 10:00 a.m.-- Bring your furry family members for this year's Blessing of the Animals Shabbat Service, which will be held via Zoom.
THE RABBI’S CORNER
Rabbi Eitan is on vacation this week. You can read past editions of the Rabbi's Corner on the Shir Hadash website here.
Temporary Change to Religious School Registration -- During the constantly changing pandemic restrictions, we have been continually evaluating and revising our program and reviewing our costs. We have elected to temporarily suspend the payment page on religious school, until we can officially present our program and its costs to you.
Please take this time to move forward and submit your Membership Renewal and most importantly, check the box on your renewal that lets us know you plan to register child(ren) for school! We will followup with everyone shortly. At that time, you will be able to complete your school registration and arrange your school payments. Meanwhile, go to the 'School Registration Form' in the Membership area of our website, and start filling it out, as it will save time later. If you have any questions, please contact Office Administrator Karen Burnham.
Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs: Online! All members are 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.
No Rabbi's Lunch and Learn in July -- The Rabbi's Lunch and Learn discussions will resume in August -- see you next week!
Membership Forms Now Available -- Shir Hadash's 2020-21 Membership Forms are now open. Click this link to renew your membership, become a new member, or register your children for Religious School (see note above). Paper registration forms are available for those that need them. Please call the synagogue at 847-498-8218 to request them. If you have any questions, contact Karen Burnham, Office Administrator, by email or call 847-498-8218.
High Holidays Schedule and Registration Now Available: Register by August 15 -- The High Holidays are approaching! Shir Hadash will be holding all of our customary services, this year via Zoom due to COVID-19. Each registered member will receive a unique viewing code. Visit our website for complete information about services and registration. (You will need to log into Shul Cloud to access member information.) Prayerbook order forms are available as well. Please remember that you must be a member in good standing with up-to-date payments in order to register for High Holidays. If you have any questions about High Holiday services, contact the Creative Worship & Ritual Committee at cwr@shir-hadash.org.
This Sunday! Shir HaNosh TV: Making Tadelicoos with Reba Meshulam, August 2 -- Introducing Shir HaNosh TV, Shir Hadash's member-led cooking network! Streaming live, we're bringing you a series of exciting cooking classes taught by Shir Hadash members. Come cook with us!
For our first class, on Sunday August 2 at 5:00 p.m., Reba Meshulam will be making tadelicoos, Sephardic crispy cookies from the Jews of Turkey. Click here to see the recipe and to register for this free event. Zoom links will be sent prior to the class.
Virtual Bingo, August 16 -- Enjoy a game of Bingo from the comfort of your home! Please invite family and friends to join us on Sunday, August 16 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Chana Sulpar will host this free Family Activity Committee event, and Kyle Sulpar will be the caller of the Bingo numbers. Please register here by August 13 to receive a Bingo card and Zoom link!
For our first class, on Sunday August 2 at 5:00 p.m., Reba Meshulam will be making tadelicoos, Sephardic crispy cookies from the Jews of Turkey. Click here to see the recipe and to register for this free event. Zoom links will be sent prior to the class.
Virtual Bingo, August 16 -- Enjoy a game of Bingo from the comfort of your home! Please invite family and friends to join us on Sunday, August 16 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Chana Sulpar will host this free Family Activity Committee event, and Kyle Sulpar will be the caller of the Bingo numbers. Please register here by August 13 to receive a Bingo card and Zoom link!
Book Club: New Selection -- Our next book club Zoom meeting will be on August 20. We will discuss The Weight of Ink, a novel by Rachel Kadish. Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. As the novel opens, Helen has been summoned by a former student to view a cache of seventeenth-century Jewish documents. Helen embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents’ scribe, the elusive “Aleph.”
Feedback Requested on Institutional Racism Classes and Potential Future Programs about Racism -- If you attended one or both of Rabbi Amram Abraham's classes about institutional racism and the history of racism, we would like to hear your feedback and to learn your preferences for future programs about racism. We put together a short survey; it is only six questions. Your answers are anonymous. If multiple people in your household attended one or both of Rabbi Amram Abraham's classes, please fill out a separate survey for each participant. Click here to start the survey.
Smile! Special Family Photo Session Opportunity -- There is an upside to being homebound with your family in the summer. It's the perfect time to take a family portrait! Our congregant Annette Leibovitz, who owns Mitzvah Photography, is offering mini sessions to take family portraits outside at your home or in a nearby area in a socially distant manner (and she wears a mask!). Schedule with several neighbors the same day and get a discount. The fee is just $75, and she will donate $25 back to Shir Hadash. All we ask is for you to give the synagogue one great family image that we can use on our website, in publicity (no names), and in our membership directory. To book your portrait, contact Annette Leibovitz at 847-913-5588 or write mitzvahphoto@aol.com.
SOCIAL ACTION
The ARK Now Accepting Food Pantry Donations -- The ARK Chicago and Northwest (Northbrook) have reopened their onsite food pantry donations. Call ahead (Chicago (773) 973-1000, Northbrook (773) 973-0011) to give them a time frame. When you arrive, ring the doorbell and leave your items.
Lambs Farm Looking for Gardening Volunteers -- Do you like gardening? Lambs Farm, which provides employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities, wants to begin sprucing up the grounds with general landscaping - weeding, trimming, raking, deadheading plants, watering, whatever the need is! - beginning in the front of the Farm so that we look presentable and inviting to our supporters that are returning. Gardening tools will be provided, just bring gardening gloves. They will make sure you are in an outdoor area to yourself, or if you bring a friend or two, you can still help while social distancing ~ there is plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the sunshine and nature while helping. You can help any time between 9 am - 3 pm Monday - Friday. Let Angela Ramert know when you would like to help by emailing asr@lambsfarm.org.
Wheeling Township Needs Food Pantry Donations --During this critical time, donations to the Food Pantry are welcome and appreciated. Volunteers in the Food Pantry are not needed at this time. The Food Pantry for Wheeling Township and the surrounding area is remaining open to serve the community, and they are dispensing pre-packed bags of food. Donations are accepted Mon-Fri from 9:00-4:00. A cart is stationed at the west entrance (parking lot side), as the doors to the building remain locked due to COVID-19. If there is no staff in the hallway, please ring the doorbell so that your donations can be retrieved. The list of most needed items are listed here. Monetary donations also are appreciated. Checks should be written to Wheeling Township Emergency Fund. Food gift cards to Jewel or Aldi for $25 or less are also welcomed.
Donate Books for Foster Teens - Fill A Heart 4 Kids is installing libraries at foster group homes. Drop off like-new books for middle schoolers and high schoolers at 400 E. Illinois Road in Lake Forest. Fill A Heart 4 Kids is located on the second floor.
Meal Support for Children from KiwiKids -- KiwiKids, a kids wellness initiative from Agudath Israel of Illinois, offers free, kosher breakfast and lunch meals for children 18 and under. There is a once-a-week pickup that contains the equivalent of seven servings of breakfast and lunch for each child. There is no income eligibility to receive these meals. To receive KiwiKids updates and see pickup times and locations, subscribe to the KiwiKids emails by clicking here.
Food Pantry for Wheeling Residents --The Food Pantry serving Wheeling residents distributes food on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00-12:00 or 1:00-4:00 from the west entrance (parking lot side). Pre-packed food bags are being distributed to residents in need. If you have used the Food Pantry before, no documents are required. If you are new to the Food Pantry, please call before you come. Forms are available for completion at the door if you are unable to call first. The number to call is (847) 259-7730. Residents using the Food Pantry may return every two weeks.
New Program: Assistance with Utility Bills, Rent, Food, and More -- Governor J.B Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) have launched a new program to provide home energy aid and other services during COVID-19. People who are eligible may receive assistance to cover costs of utility bills, rent, temporary shelter, food, and other household needs. To submit a pre-application, visit the Help Illinois Families website.
Fresh Produce for Families! - For those in need, free boxes of fresh produce will be handed out every Thursday through August 27th from 12:30pm – 5:30pm (while supplies last) at London Middle School, 1001 W. Dundee Road in Wheeling. Any area resident is eligible to participate in this program. The box of produce will be placed directly in the trunk of the car. No ID is needed. Participants will simply be asked to provide their name, address and family size. The information provided is kept strictly confidential as this information will be used only by the Food Depository to apply for and allocate funding for programs like this. This program is provided by CCSD21 in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Donations for Congregants in Need: Shir Hadash has been receiving some anonymous contributions to help congregants who may be in need of food or meal delivery. Should you want to make a donation, email Karen Burnham. If you are in need of food/services, email Rabbi Eitan.
Shir Hadash Member Business Directory – Click here to reach the Shir Hadash Member Business Directory, and please patronize member businesses if you can. If you would like to add your business to the page, there is a link on the right side you can click, or click here. Note: You must be a synagogue member and must be logged into the member portal to submit your listing.
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 2500 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! To double-dip, just pay for your purchases with a ShopWithScrip Amazon gift card! Happy Shopping!
Shop with Scrip! 50,000 organizations use ShopWithScrip gift cards to turn everyday shopping into earnings. Now, Shir Hadash 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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