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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
- High Holidays Update
- Zoom Shabbat Service, "19 Years Since 9/11" - September 11, 7:30 p.m.
- Zoom Selichot Eve Service, Saturday September 12, 7:30 p.m.
The Rabbi’s Corner -- "Return"
Religious School and Adult Education
- Update: Changes to Start of School Schedule -- Plus, School Family Event at Food Drive, September 13
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs Continue Online
- Torah and Jewish Philosophy
- Hebrew Reading
- Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi, Thursdays
Membership News and Events
- Don't Delay! Membership Renewals Due -- Complete Your Forms Online!
- Part 2 Tonight! Multi-Part Book Discussion: White Fragility, Thursdays in September
- Tonight! Mussar Study Group, September 10
- This Sunday! Shir HaNosh TV: Blintzes with Bev Lieberman, September 13
- Book Club New Selection; Meeting October 15
Social Action
- Sunday! Annual High Holiday Food Drive, September 13
- Dignity Bags for Domestic Violence Victims & Survivors
Support for Members
- Genetic Screening Services Available
Ongoing Fundraisers
- iGive
- Amazon Smile
- SHOP Shir Hadash
High Holidays Update -- High Holidays Schedule and Registration Available Online -- Shir Hadash will be holding all of our customary services this year via Zoom, due to COVID-19. Visit our website for complete information about services and registration. (You will need to log into Shul Cloud to access member information.) Please remember that you must be a member in good standing with up-to-date payments in order to register as a member (with no charge) for High Holidays. If you have any questions about High Holiday services, contact the Creative Worship & Ritual Committee at cwr@shir-hadash.org.
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, you should have received an email with the complete details as to the Zoom services on Rosh Hashanah. (If you did not get that e-mail, please send a note to admin@shir-hadash.org .) Here are some key details as to what will be happening over the next week:
- On either Sunday, Sept. 13 or Monday, Sept. 14, each household that has registered for the Holidays will receive their own Zoom link, unique to them, which will be used for Erev Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah Days 1 and 2. It will be sent to you by Zoom directly, in an e-mail. (If you have registered children for the children’s programs, you will use a separate Zoom link for those programs. It is included in the e-mail that we sent out to you on Wednesday.)
- On Wednesday, Sept. 16, we will have Zoom test sessions, so we can have you try out your special Rosh Hashanah Zoom links and make sure that they work. You can click on your link between 3:30 and 4:30 pm, or between 7:30 and 8:30 pm. That will take you into the test session.
If you have questions about any of these High Holiday programs, please send an e-mail to admin@shir-hadash.org. Thanks, and we look forward to being with you for the Holidays – on Zoom!
Zoom Shabbat Service, Friday, September 11, 7:30 p.m. Let’s celebrate Shabbat together with an on-line full Shabbat service via ZOOM. Rabbi Eitan will share the pages of the prayer book on screen and lead the service from his home with meditations, prayer, readings, story, and song. It has been nineteen years since 9/11. We will reflect on the event with special memorial readings before kaddish.
Zoom Selichot Service, Saturday, September 12, 7:30 p.m. 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 camaraderie. Following our service, we will unmute everyone so that we can talk and shmooze.
September 11-12, 2020 / 23 Elul 5780 / Shabbat Nitzaveem-Vayelech
Torah: Deuteronomy 29:9 – 31:30 Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 – 63:9
“Return”
Dear Friends,
This week we read a double Torah portion, Nitzaveem-Vayalech. In the first ten verses of chapter 30, words containing the Hebrew root shin, vav, bet occur seven times. This Hebrew root means to return, turn back, or repent. How interesting that this portion is read only two weeks before the start of the High Holidays. How interesting that Nitzaveem is the portion we read on Yom Kippur morning.
Now that we are in the midst of Elul, the Jewish month preceding Rosh Hashana, the message is clear. It is time to prepare for the awesome work of returning, turning back, and repenting. Take time over the next week to begin examining your life and deeds from the past year. Take time to begin to envision the future. Take time to get ready for intense spiritual work. The High Holidays are almost here.
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.
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL & ADULT EDUCATION
Update on School Registration: Enrollment and Start of School Schedule Changes - 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! This registration process is for all grades, K-7 as well as Madrichim, Grades 8-12.
- Important Note on Membership Renewal: While the school registration deadline is being extended, families still need to renew their synagogue membership at this time. You may opt to renew membership now and register for school later. 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.
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. We 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.
In the meantime, school families are invited to an informal opportunity to see each other and wave hello to familiar faces in our parking lot on Sunday, September 13 from 11:00-12:15. Families can drop off pantry items for our High Holiday food drive for The ARK, pick up Rosh Hashanah treats like apples and pomegranates, and hear Rabbi Eitan play guitar. This will NOT be the first day of Religious School. Click here for suggestions of most-needed food drive items. Please note, all food donated to The ARK needs to be kosher and must have at least six months until expiration.
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.
- 10:00 a.m. -- Hebrew Reading via WebEx-- contact Steve Lewin.
Rabbi's Lunch and Learn, Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.-- Join an engaging examination of the week's Torah portion via Zoom.
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.
Part 2 Tonight! Multi-Part Book Discussion: White Fragility – Thursdays in September: Our discussion of White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism got off to a great start last week, with 29 participants. We continue increasing our awareness of racism this Thursday as we discuss Chapters 2-4 from 7:00pm until 8:30pm. Zoom link has been sent to participants. Remember to read though Chapter 4 before tonight's session, and save the date for our continued discussions on September 17 and 24, 7:00-8:30pm. Questions? Email SocialActionSH@gmail.com.
Tonight! 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.
This Sunday! 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! Please RSVP here (not mandatory, but appreciated!) so we know 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
Sunday! 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. Note: school families are encouraged to drop off their donations from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 pm.
Click here for information about The ARK's most-needed items and other donation requirements. All food donated to The ARK needs to be kosher and must have at least six months until expiration.. Please plan to stop by on Sunday to support this important Social Action event!
Dignity Bags Made at Home for Domestic Violence Victims and Survivors -- Assemble any number of bags - even as little as one - to provide victims and survivors of domestic violence with personal care products. Fill a one-gallon Ziploc bag with one of each of these eight small or travel-size products: soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss. These bags will be collected at various spots throughout the suburban area on October 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Alternatively, if you cannot deliver them, they can be picked up from your home. Email communityservice@ncjwcns.org prior to October 1 in order to arrange a pickup. Click here for more information.
SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS
Genetic Screening Services Available -- The Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics provides education and screening services in support of genetic health of the Jewish community. No one is turned away due to financial hardship, and their services continue to operate during the pandemic. Please contact them at jewishgenetics.org or at (312) 357-4718 for further information on hereditary cancers, recessive disorders, affordable screening programs, and genetic counseling.
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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