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
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
- Rosh Hashanah Service Schedule
- Erev Rosh Hashanah, Friday September 18, 7:30 p.m.
- Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Service, Saturday September 19, 10:00 a.m.
- Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Service, Sunday September 20, 10:00 a.m.
- Upcoming Services
- Shabbat Dinner Blessings with the Rabbi, Friday September 25, 6:15 p.m.
- Shabbat Morning B'nai Mitzvah Service, Saturday September 26, 9:30 a.m.
- Kol Nidre, Sunday September 27, 7:00 p.m.
- Yom Kippur Services and Programs, Monday September 28 -- Full Schedule Online
The Rabbi’s Corner --
Religious School and Adult Education
- School Registration and Start of School Schedule
- No Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs This Week
- Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi, Thursdays
Membership News and Events
- Membership Renewals Due -- Complete Your Forms Online!
- Part 3 Tonight! Multi-Part Book Discussion: White Fragility, Thursdays in September
- Book Club New Selection; Meeting October 15
Social Action
- Dignity Bags for Domestic Violence Victims & Survivors
- Thank You for Supporting the Annual Food Drive
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 email, please contact admin@shir-hadash.org .)
By now, each household that has registered for the Holidays should have received their own Zoom link, unique to them, which will be used for Erev Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah Days 1 and 2. (It was emailed to you directly from Zoom.) 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 email that we sent out to you on Wednesday, September 9.
NOTE: Due to Zoom procedures, you will be receiving a Zoom reminder (which will likely come from “Shir Hadash Meetings”) about one hour before every service. It will contain a Zoom link – which will be the same one that you have already received. So, keep using that same link! And if you have any questions, just send a note to cwr@shir-hadash.org or call our Holiday technical support number, 224/292-8326.
We look forward to being with you for the Holidays – on Zoom!
Rosh Hashanah Service Schedule
- Erev Rosh Hashanah, Friday September 18, 7:30 p.m.
- Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Service, Saturday September 19, 10:00 a.m.
- Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Service, Sunday September 20, 10:00 a.m.
Upcoming Services
- Shabbat Dinner Blessings with the Rabbi, Friday September 25, 6:15 p.m.
- Shabbat Morning B'nai Mitzvah Service, Saturday September 26, 9:30 a.m.
- Kol Nidre, Sunday September 27, 7:00 p.m.
- Yom Kippur Services and Programs, Monday September 28 -- see full schedule online
September 18-19, 2020 / 1 Tishrei 5781
Rosh Hashana
“Peace”
Dear Friends,
Watching reports of this week’s White House ceremony for the signing of peace agreements between Israel and both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain was inspiring and moving. It reminded me of the ceremonies when Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel and even the signing of the Camp David Accords. It reminded me of President Saadat’s visit to Jerusalem and of the numerous Arab leaders who came to Jerusalem to attend Yitzchak Rabin’s funeral. For millennia, thousands of years, our people has prayed for peace. For more than 70 years, the State of Israel has sought peace with her neighbors. Following Egypt’s and Jordan’s leads, the UAE and Bahrain have now recognized and created relationships with Israel. BBC News featured a clip from a Zoom call between 20-something Israelis and Emiratis where they were asking each other questions and sharing about their lives and their countries. The mood was joyous, open, and hopeful.
The Rosh Hashana Torah portion tells us about the birth of Isaac and the taunting he received from his older brother Ishma’el. Tradition teaches that this was the beginning of the conflict between Jews and Arabs. The Yom Kippur Torah portion tells us to “choose life” so that we and all people may live full and meaningful lives of peace, understanding, and coexistence. As we enter a New Year, may today’s events be a harbinger of a better year to come and of a better future for Israelis and Arabs, for Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and for all who dwell on earth.
L’Shana Tova – Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, and sweet New Year,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Read past editions of The Rabbi's Corner on the Shir Hadash website here.
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL & ADULT EDUCATION
School Registration and Start of School Schedule -- 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). Follow the links above to get started! This registration process is for all grades, K-7 as well as Madrichim, Grades 8-12.
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.
Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs: Our regular Sunday morning classes will not be held this week as we observe the second day of Rosh Hashanah. The Torah & Jewish Philosophy and Hebrew Reading classes will resume on September 27.
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 3 Tonight! Multi-Part Book Discussion: White Fragility – Thursdays in September: We continue increasing our awareness of racism this Thursday as we discuss Chapters 5-8 of White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism, from 7:00pm until 8:30pm. Zoom link has been sent to participants. Remember to read though Chapter 8 before tonight's session, and save the date for our final discussion on September 24, 7:00-8:30pm. Questions? Email SocialActionSH@gmail.com.
Book Club's Next Selection: Meeting October 15 -- Book Club's next selection is Farewell to Salonica: City at the Crossroads by Leon Sciaky, a memoir of growing up in Salonica, 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 Luggage for Freedom Event: Create Dignity Bags at Home -- Shir Hadash will participate again in the annual Luggage for Freedom event providing personal care items to domestic violence shelters. Due to COVID-19, it's happening differently this year yet continues to provide critical help. 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. A receptacle labeled “NCJW Gives Back – Dignity Bags” will be available outside the front doors of the following locations:
- 1705 Clavinia Ave., Deerfield
- 1329 Eastwood Ave., Highland Park
- 3803 Oak Ave. Northbrook
- 1111 Golfview Road, Glenview
- 2114 Lincolnwood Dr., Evanston
Alternatively, if you cannot deliver the dignity bags, 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, and thank you for helping women and children who have experienced domestic violence.
Thank You for Supporting Food Drive -- Thank you to all who donated items for our annual High Holiday ARK Food Drive by participating in our drive-thru event this past Sunday. It is so crucially needed, especially during COVID. It is through your generosity that so many people's lives will be touched. A special thank you to Chana Sulpar for coordinating this food drive, as well as to food drive volunteers Tammy Pomper and Ari Cohen and others who offered to help on Sunday. Thank you also to Lisa Burton Radzely, Rabbi Eitan, Jerry Weiss, Alan Bernover and Rachel Goldberg who helped make this event so successful.
If you didn't get a chance to participate and still want to help, The ARK welcomes monetary and in-kind donations. 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment