.
If you need assistance, please email the office at admin@shir-hadash.org or call 847-498-8218 (messages left will be picked up remotely if no one is in the office). 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 .
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Creative Worship and Ritual
- Starts Tonight! Hanukkah Nightly Candle Lighting, December 10-17, 6:15 p.m.
- This Friday: Community Hanukkah Shabbat Service & Celebration! Friday, December 11, 7:00 p.m.
- Next Week: Shabbat Evening Service, December 18, 7:30 p.m.
The Rabbi's Corner -- "We Are Jews"
Religious School
- Religious School, December 13
- Register Your Kids! Religious School Hanukkah Virtual Celebration, December 13
Adult Education
- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Programs This Week
- Lunch & Learn with the Rabbi, Thursdays at 1:00
Membership News and Events
- Shir Hadash Needs Your Support! Take Advantage of Two New Tax Benefits for Charitable Donations
- Tonight! Mussar Discussion Group, December 10, 7:30 p.m.
- Next Week! Book Club, December 17
- Save the Date! Virtual Travels to Sites in Jewish History, December 23, 7:30 p.m.
- Save the Date! Shir HaNosh TV, December 27, 5:00 p.m.
- Max and Benny's Kits a Big Success
Social Justice
- White Fragility Multi-Part Book Discussion, Round 2
Ongoing Fundraisers
- Gift Cards for the Holidays Help Shir Hadash
- iGive, Amazon Smile, and ShopWithScrip
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
Starts Tonight! Hanukkah Nightly Candle Lighting with Rabbi Eitan, December 10-17 -- Join Rabbi Eitan on Hanukkah evenings for a special 15-minute candle lighting ceremony. The Rabbi will be on Zoom each evening of Hanukkah at 6:15 for a ceremony of song, readings, and blessings. Join on any or all nights, as you wish! (On Friday evening we will light the candles at the Shabbat service at 7:00 p.m.). Have your hanukiyot (Hanukkah menorahs) ready and we will all light together. Apart/Together - What a great way to celebrate our Festival of Light this year!
This Friday! Community Hanukkah Shabbat Service & Celebration! Friday, December 11, 7:00 p.m. - Light the lights and celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of freedom. Join your Shir Hadash family for a Zoom Hanukkah celebration and candle-lighting. Our Lahaka choir will sing a beautiful version of Ma'oz Tzur and the New Traditions choir will share a special Hanukkah song. We will hear a great Hanukkah story. Rabbi Eitan will share lessons of our tradition and lead us in song. Then, we will wave glow lights in the dark as we celebrate our Hanukkah holiday. Don't miss it.
Next Week: Shabbat Evening Service, Friday December 18, 7:30 p.m. -- "The Judgment of Solomon"
THE RABBI’S CORNER
December 11-12, 2020 / 26 Kislev 5781 / Shabbat Vayeshev - Hanukkah
Torah: Genesis 37:1-40:23 / Maftir: Numbers 7:18 - 7:29 | Hanukkah (Day 2)
Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14-4:7 | Shabbat Hanukkah
“We are Jews”
Dear Friends,
Hanukkah is our festival of Jewish identity. This week’s Torah portion carries that lesson as well. Joseph was sent by his brothers to Egypt as a slave. Even though he served in the house of Potiphor, was falsely accused and locked up in prison, and later interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he never forgot who he was. He was Joseph, the Hebrew.
Likewise, with us in our time. Even though we live in America, far from the Land of Israel, at a time thousands of years after the Bible, we are still focused on our enduring sense of peoplehood. In the candles of the Hanukkah lamp, we connect with the generations of our past ancestors and future descendants. We are Jews – members of a proud people and followers of a grand heritage and life affirming tradition. The simplest lesson of our Hanukkah celebration is that we are Jews!
Zay a mentsch – be a good person.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
Religious School, December 13 -- Be sure to join your Shir Hadash teachers on December 13 for a special Hanukkah celebration -- details below! If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Goldberg or Alan Bernover.
Religious School Hanukkah Celebration, Sunday, December 13, 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Register today to 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: Adults are welcome to join in the following adult education programs on Sunday mornings:
- 10:00 a.m. -- Torah and Jewish Philosophy via Zoom . PW is 756071. Contact Fred Andes for details. Call in number is 312 626 6799.
- 11:00 a.m. -- Hebrew Reading via WebEx -- contact Steve Lewin.
Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Eitan, December 10, 1:00 p.m. -- Join Rabbi Eitan for an engaging examination of the week's Torah portion via Zoom -- PW 6121824, call in number 312 626 6799. 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.
Tonight! Mussar Discussion Group, December 10, 7:30 p.m. – Mussar is a centuries old Jewish body of teachings, a perspective, and a disciplined practice that provides distinctively Jewish answers to the sorts of questions any thinking person asks about life. Our monthly Mussar discussion group will meet by Zoom at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 10. To participate, contact Lynn Liebling.
Next Week! Book Club, December 17, 7:30 p.m. - Our Book Club will be reading The Physician, a novel by Noah Gordon. Our virtual meeting will be December 17. Click here for details.
Save the Dates -- Details Coming Soon! Mark your calendar and watch for more details for two great events coming in late December:
- Virtual Travels with David Liebling to Jewish History Sites, Wednesday, December 23, 7:30 p.m.
- Shir HaNosh TV with Rabbi Eitan, Sunday, December 27, 5:00 p.m.
Max and Benny’s Kits a Big Success -- A big thank you to all the families who supported the Max & Benny's Kit Pickup last week! It was well received and deliciously fun. If you missed out on this one, don't worry - the Family Activities Committee is busy planning another pickup event in the next couple of months. The next one will be bigger and better. As always, watch the newsletter for details!
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Want to be a New Participant in Multi-Part Book Discussion of White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism? If you couldn't participate in our multi-session discussions of White Fragility in September, let us know if you might be interested in participating for four consecutive weeks in early 2021. Each session will last 90 minutes. Day and time are to be determined. If you might be interested or if you have questions, email Lisa Burton Radzely at socialactionsh@gmail.com.
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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