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Our staff is transitioning back to a primarily work-from-home schedule, due to the revised Illinois Health Dept Covid-19 recommendations. If you need assistance, please email the office at admin@shir-hadash.org., or call 847-498-8218 (messages will be picked up remotely). You may additionally reach the Rabbi on his cell 847-525-7746 at any time, and our President, Marc Fargotstein, who welcomes your calls on any matter, at 847-612-6579. For more information about our COVID-19 response plan, click here .
Please note that the Shir Hadash office will be closed from Thursday, November 26 through Sunday, November 29 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Creative Worship and Ritual
- Shabbat Dinner Blessings via Zoom, Friday November 27, 6:15 p.m.
- Next Week: Multigenerational Service via Zoom, Friday December 4, 7:00 p.m.
The Rabbi's Corner -- "God is in this Place"
Religious School
- Thanksgiving Break: No Religious School Youth Classes on November 29
- Save the Date: Religious School Hanukkah Virtual Celebration, December 13
Adult Education
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs This Week
- Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi Resumes December 3, 1:00 p.m..
Membership News and Events
- Shir Hadash Needs Your Support! Take Advantage of Two New Tax Benefits for Charitable Donations
- Food Kits from Max & Benny's: Order by December 1, Pickup at SH December 4
- Hanukkah Glow Stick Distribution, December 4
- "Unlock the Magic" Event for Grades K-7, December 6, 1:00 p.m.
- Book Club Selection
Social Action
- Final Days! Critical Shortage of JCFS Holiday Gift Sponsors, Donate by December 1
Ongoing Fundraisers
- Gift Cards for the Holidays Help Shir Hadash
- iGive, Amazon Smile, and ShopWithScrip
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
Shabbat Dinner Blessings via Zoom, Friday, November 27, 6:15 p.m. Join as we light candles, bless our families, sanctify the wine, and bless the challah before Shabbat dinner. Rabbi Eitan will lead a 20-minute ceremony to welcome our Shabbat dinners at home.
Next Week! Multigenerational Shabbat Service via Zoom, Friday, December 4, 7:00 p.m. - A Family Friendly service for all school families, seniors, not-yet seniors, and anyone else who would like to come worship with us as a community. Religious School Students will receive Hebrew names. Enjoy a Shabbat service with fun music, delightful stories, and Shabbat joy.
THE RABBI’S CORNER
November 27-28, 2020 / 12 Kislev 5781 / Shabbat Vayetze
Torah - Genesis 28:10-32:3 / Haftarah - Hosea 12:13-14:10
“God is in this Place”
Dear Friends,
So much was going wrong in Jacob’s life. He had just deceived his father and cheated his brother out of the birthright and blessing of the first born. His life was in danger and he needed to flee immediately. While on the run, he made camp and fell asleep, only to dream of a ladder reaching up to heaven lined with protecting angels. Jacob awoke and said, “Indeed, God is in this place and I did not know it.”
Likewise, we face a very difficult time in our lives. We have just come through a contentious election. The COVID-19 pandemic is raging in a second wave whose warning was not heeded. The economy is weakening, our children are grappling with learning online for hours a day, and our Thanksgiving dinners will have to be separate and apart. Nevertheless, Thanksgiving is a time to look beyond and see the blessings that abound even in these troubled times. Check in on each other. Whether we meet in masks, on the phone, or over Zoom and Facetime, say a ‘shehecheyanu’ for the abundance of family, friends, and community. This Thanksgiving, let us give thanks. Indeed, God is in this place.
I wish you all a healthy, happy, and safe Thanksgiving.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Read past editions of The Rabbi's Corner on the Shir Hadash website.
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
No Religious School Youth Classes on November 29 -- Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break! We will be back in session on December 6. If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Goldberg or Alan Bernover.
Save the Date! Religious School Hanukkah Celebration, Sunday, December 13, 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Join the Shir Hadash Religious School Community for an all-school Virtual Hanukkah Celebration. This event is open to all K-7th Graders of Shir Hadash, even if they are not enrolled in school this year, as well as non-members who have been invited by currently enrolled Religious School students.
The program will begin with a song and story session led by Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow and our Education Director Rachel Goldberg, followed by small group rotation to special activities led by our madrichim'ot (Teen Leaders) and our Family Activity Committee.
NOTE: All children participating should have paper, pencil, and coloring supplies nearby and ready when they log-in to the zoom event.
ADULT EDUCATION
Adult Ed Sunday Morning Programs: Our adult education classes will meet on November 29! Adults are welcome to join in the following adult education programs on Sunday mornings:
- 10:00 a.m. -- Torah and Jewish Philosophy via Zoom. Contact Fred Andes for details.
- 11:00 a.m. -- Hebrew Reading via WebEx -- contact Steve Lewin.
No Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Eitan on November 26 (Thanksgiving Day) -- Join Rabbi Eitan next week, December 3, for an engaging examination of the week's Torah portion via Zoom. Lunch and Learn meets on Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS AND EVENTS
Shir Hadash Needs Your Support! Take Advantage of Two New Tax Benefits for Charitable Donations – In this challenging year, Shir Hadash appreciates any extra support you can give. The 2020 CARES Act has special provisions to allow certain deductions for charitable giving from personal income tax returns, whether or not the taxpayer usually itemizes deductions. Click Here for more information, and please plan to include Shir Hadash in your year-end giving. Thank you!
Max and Benny's Food Kits: Order by December 1, Pickup at SH on December 4 – Enjoy fun food kits from Max and Benny’s with your family! Click here to preorder kits for home-baked bagels, decorate-it-yourself cookies, and/or a family lox box, then drive to Shir Hadash for a contactless pickup on Friday, December 4 between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Preorders must be placed by December 1 at 4:00 p.m. When picking up your order, please remember to wear masks and maintain social distancing. We're looking forward to seeing you!
Hanukkah Glow Stick Distribution, December 4 -- We are fast approaching our Community Hanukkah Celebration on Friday night, December 11. (More details coming next week!) To prepare for the celebration, we are coordinating a contactless pickup event on Friday, December 4 to provide glow sticks to everyone in our community and chocolate gelt for our youngest members. Our dedicated leader Marc Fargotstein will be at the Synagogue on Friday, December 4 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm to pass out bags with glow sticks and gelt in a contactless environment.
Simply drive up to the doorway to the Synagogue and let him know how many members are in your household so he can provide you with the correct number of glow sticks. Please also tell him how many children are in your home so he can ensure each child is provided gelt as a special treat too! While you’re there, you also can pick up any Max and Benny’s boxes (above) that you chose to pre-order.
Family Activities Committee presents "Unlock the Magic," December 6, 1:00 pm - Whether reading from a magical tome/ Torah or Talmudic text, your own Yad will help you follow along while you are reading. Hang out with friends and schmooze while making your own yad in this guided crafting event via Zoom! Registration for this event has closed. We will email you to arrange a supplies pickup. Email Elliott Simon for more information.
Book Club Selection for December - Our Book Club will be reading The Physician, a novel by Noah Gordon. Our virtual meeting will be December 17. Click here for details.
SOCIAL ACTION
Final Days! Critical Shortage of Holiday Gift Sponsors; Donate By December 1 If You Can Help -- Nearly 200 children do not have holiday gift sponsors and are in danger of receiving no holiday presents this season. You can help by making a monetary donation of any amount to JCFS Chicago Holiday Gift Drive, or you can send e-gift cards. The deadline is December 1st, so sign up soon! Please click here to sign up . If sending e-gift cards, remember to use Shop Shir Hadash so you also help the synagogue; instructions are in the Ongoing Fundraisers section of the newsletter, below. If you are able to sponsor a child or make a donation, thank you for taking part in Shir Hadash's annual holiday gift project, and more importantly, thank you for putting a smile on a child's face during this very difficult year.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Gift Cards for the Holidays Help Shir Hadash - SHOP Shir Hadash allows members to order physical and electronic gift cards from thousands of stores and Shir Hadash receives a portion of every purchase. Purchase can be for gifts or your personal use. Thousands of dollars can be generated for Shir Hadash at no cost to you. Click here for more information. Once registered, electronic and physical cards can be ordered instantly ordered using the RaiseRight app on your phone or through our vendor shopwithscrip.com. Contact Glenn Graff for more information.
When you’re 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 .
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.
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