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
Please Take Note of High Priority Items Marked in Red!
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. For more information about our COVID-19 response plan, click here.
Creative Worship and Ritual -- Upcoming Services
- Register for High Holidays
- Multigenerational Zoom Kabbalat Shabbat, September 4, 7:00 p.m.
- Next Week: Zoom Shabbat Service, "19 Years Since 9/11"
The Rabbi’s Corner -- "Ein Kemach"
Religious Education
- Update: School Registration and Tuition Commitment Window Extended; Changes to Start of School Schedule
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs Continue Online
- Torah and Jewish Philosophy
- Hebrew Reading
- Modern Israel
- Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi, Thursdays
Membership News and Events
- Don't Delay! Membership Renewals Due -- Complete Your Forms Online!
- Starts Tonight! Multi-Part Book Discussion: White Fragility, Thursdays in September
- Mussar Study Group, September 10
- Shir HaNosh TV: Blintzes with Bev Lieberman, September 13
- Book Club New Selection; Meeting October 15
Social Action
- Annual High Holiday Food Drive, September 13
- New Year's Cards for Maot Chitim
Support for Members
- Mortgage Relief for IL Homeowners: Application Due Tomorrow, Friday, September 4
- Food Distribution for Veterans, September 4
Ongoing Fundraisers
- iGive
- Amazon Smile
- SHOP Shir Hadash
High Holidays Schedule and Registration Now Available -- 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.
Zooming Multigenerational "Camp Style" Kabbalat Shabbat, Friday, Sept 4, 7:00 p.m. - It’s Labor Day Weekend...and there is still no where to go. So, let’s welcome Shabbat together with a Summer Camp-Style online Kabbalat Shabbat service via ZOOM. Rabbi Eitan will lead the service from his back yard with meditations, prayer, readings, story, and song for the young-at-heart. Some students will help read the prayers. Special pre-High Holiday story: "The Apple Tree's Discovery."
Next Week: Zoom Shabbat Service, "19 Years Since 9/11", Friday, September 11, 7:30 p.m.
September 4-5, 2020 / 16 Elul 5780 / Shabbat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 / Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22
“Ein Kemach”
Dear Friends,
This week’s Torah portion includes the famous line, “Man does not live by bread alone.” Life is more than eating to survive. Our lives become full and enriched when God’s presence and abundance is recognized in all its glory. However, what happens when one does not even have ‘bread?’ What happens when one is hungry? The rabbinic sages teach, “Ein kemach, ein Torah – Without food, there can be no Torah study.” Without food, there can be no life.
Please help those who are hungry - those who have no food to eat. Support our Shir Hadash food drive for the Ark Food Pantry coming up on September 13th. Contribute to food assistance programs in your neighborhoods. Check on shut-in neighbors and make sure that they have enough food in their homes.
True, a person does not live by bread alone. But, first and foremost, a person needs bread.
Zay a mentsch – Be a good person.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Read past editions of The Rabbi's Corner on the Shir Hadash website here.
Update on School Registration: Enrollment and Tuition Commitment Window Extended - Shir Hadash's 2020-2021 Religious School Registration is open! Parents will need to complete two forms - the Tuition Commitment form and the School Registration form (in addition to your annual Membership Renewal, which should be completed now – see note below). Follow the links above to get started! Please note that this registration process is for all grades, Kindergarten through 7th Grade, as well as Madrichim, 8th Grade through 12th Grade.
UPDATE: After being in touch with many families this week, we are no longer planning a formal school kick-off event with an in-person option on September 13 as most are uncomfortable with the in-person option. We are hoping to create an informal opportunity to see familiar faces in the parking lot while Rabbi Eitan plays guitar for the families yearning for this, and are planning to do a virtual info session for parents to answer questions as you are imagining how virtual religious school could fit into your family's new normal this school year. Details to come.
We recognize that school families are currently adjusting to specific demands and realities for the new school year. We want your experience as members of our school community to nourish your whole family through this difficult time, and do not want to add to stress while so many families are currently navigating a very steep learning curve with whatever your M-F school plan is. We imagine this intense period many families are experiencing will simplify with time, and therefore we are extending the enrollment window for the start of the school year to relieve the pressure of needing to think about one more commitment in this very stressful time. The first official day of school will be after the High Holidays, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah, and meet weekly from 10:15-12:15, beginning Sunday, October 18.
Important Note on Membership Renewal: While the school registration deadline is being extended, families still need to renew their membership for the synagogue at this time. If you opt to renew membership now and register for school later, that is absolutely fine. For now, be sure to renew your synagogue membership so we can process it and assign your Zoom link to you for the HH Services.
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 via ZOOM \ Contact Fred Andes for details. Call in number is 312 626 6799.
- 11:00 a.m. -- Hebrew Reading via WebEx -- contact Steve Lewin.
- 11:15 a.m. -- Modern Israel: Incredible History and Awesome Guests via Zoom Contact Rabbi Eitan for more information.
Rabbi's Lunch and Learn, Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.-- Join an engaging examination of the week's Torah portion via Zoom.
NEWS AND EVENTS
Don't Delay! Complete Your Membership Renewal -- We are very happy that so many people have renewed their memberships and signed up for High Holiday services. For those that haven't, do it today! Click this link to renew your membership, or become a new member. Your membership must be current to receive access to the High Holidays services Zoom links. If you require a paper registration form, call the office at (847) 498-8218.
Starts Tonight! Multi-Part Book Discussion: White Fragility – Thursdays in September: As we prepare for the High Holidays, this is a season of personal reflection in the Jewish calendar. In partnership with Or Shalom, we will be engaging in this personal reflection when it comes to race and racism by reading and discussing the book White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.
This in-depth book discussion will have four sessions, all via Zoom: September 3, 10, 17, and 24 at 7:00-8:30pm. Participants are expected to attend at least three of the four sessions, and preferably all of them. There's still time to sign up today! Registration is required to receive the Zoom link; click here to sign up.
Read at whatever pace suits your time. The sessions will focus on discussing these chapters:
- September 3, Chapter 1
- September 10, Chapters 2-4
- September 17, Chapter 5-8
- September 24, Chapters 9-12
It should take only a couple of hours to read the chapters for each session.
Questions? Contact our Social Action Chair, Lisa Burton Radzely, SocialActionSH@gmail.com.
Mussar Study Group, September 10 -- The Mussar study group will meet via Zoom on Thursday, September 10, at 7:30 p.m. If you are interested in getting involved in Mussar, please email Lynn Liebling or Kayla Shonberg.
Shir HaNosh TV, September 13 – Join us in the virtual kitchen for our next episode: Shir HaNosh TV: Beautiful Blintzes, Sunday, Sept. 13, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Bev Lieberman will demonstrate her family blintz recipe! Blintzes are a perfect part of a Yom Kippur break-the-fast meal. Bev will teach us how to make this classic Ashkenazi dish and will tell us about her family's cooking history. You can watch or cook along. The recipe is included. You can have blintzes for dinner that night or freeze them for Break Fast! RSVP is not required but we would like to have an idea of how many people are joining in on the fun. Questions? Contact Melanie at fmandes@comcast.net.
Book Club's Next Selection: Meeting October 15 -- Book Club's next selection is Farewell to Salonika: City at the Crossroads by Leon Sciaky, a memoir of growing up in Salonika, a diverse city of the Ottoman Empire, on the eve of World War I. Join in our lively conversation on October 15 at 7:30pm. Zoom link will be sent out the week of the meeting. Click here for more information!
SOCIAL ACTION
Annual High Holiday Food Drive, September 13 -- We will once again be participating in our annual non-perishable food drive during the High Holidays for The ARK. Due to COVID-19, we are arranging contactless dropoff at our synagogue parking lot on Sunday, September 13, with our own volunteers, from 1:15p-3:15p. Click here for information about The ARK's most-needed items and other donation requirements. Please mark your calendars to help support this important Social Action event!
This year, we can help Maot Chitim clients know that we are thinking about them this Rosh Hashanah by making a New Year's card. While we can't pack and deliver packages to let them know we care, we can give them a handmade card that will be delivered with a Jewel Osco gift card. We may be doing it differently this year, but individuals in need still will have a nice Rosh Hashanah meal and know that fellow Illinoisans care about them. The goal is to deliver 4,800 cards; everyone's help is needed, so people of all ages, please make a card.
SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS
Mortgage Relief for IL Homeowners: Application Due Tomorrow, Friday, September 4 -- The Illinois Housing Development Authority is accepting applications through September 4 from homeowners affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Only one application per household is allowed, and an application is not a guarantee of assistance. If you are approved, you will receive a grant of up to $15,000 that will be sent to your servicer to be applied against your mortgage. You may receive less than $15,000.
Free Groceries for Veterans, September 4—Midwest Veterans Closet continues its food distribution program for veterans in need of assistance this Friday, September 4, 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm at 2323 Green Bay Road, North Chicago. A volunteer wearing protective gear will place a package of groceries in your vehicle. You will not be allowed to exit your car. Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last.
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ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
If you are home and shopping online, be sure to consider these donation programs that support Shir Hadash at no extra cost to you!
iGive -- There are 2500 online retailers helping to make donations happen through iGive. Click here to learn more. or contact Sandi Schleicher, sschleicher@onebox.com.
Amazon Smile -- Amazon will automatically donate 0.5% of your purchase to when you sign up at smile.amazon.com. Be sure to select "Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue-Congregation Shir Hadash" in Wheeling as your charity of choice.
Shop with Scrip -- ShopWithScrip gift cards are available for more than 750+ brands and each purchase provides a donation to Shir Hadash. Click here for complete details!
To view past editions of the Newsletter, please visit our website.
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