If you need assistance, please email the office at admin@shir-hadash.org or call 847-498-8218. You may additionally reach the Rabbi on his cell 847-525-7746 at any time, and our President, Marc Fargotstein 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 - Tomorrow: Shabbat Dinner Blessings via Zoom, Friday, February 26, 6:15 p.m.
- Next Friday:: Multigenerational Shabbat via Zoom, Friday, March 5, 7:00 p.m.
The Rabbi's Corner -- "Selflessness"
Religious School
- Religious School, February 28
- Purim Success - Thanks to You!
Adult Education- Sunday Morning Adult Ed Classes, February 28
--Torah and Jewish Philosophy, 10:00 a.m.
--No Hebrew Reading Class this Week - Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Eitan, Thursdays, 1:00 p.m.
Membership News and Events
- Grief Support Program from JCFS, Wednesday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.
- New: Defining Antisemitism, Thursday, March 4, 7:30 p.m.
- New: Trivia & Game Night, Saturday, March 6, 7:30 p.m.
- New: New Member Meet-and-Greet Havdalah, Saturday March 13, 5:30 p.m
- Update Your Zoom
Social Action - Support Shir Hadash Member's Emergency Relief Efforts in Texas
- From Mental Illness to Mental Fitness: Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic, February 28, 5:30pm
Ongoing Fundraisers - iGive, Amazon Smile, and ShopWithScrip
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
Tomorrow: Shabbat Dinner Blessings via Zoom, Friday February 26, 6:15 p.m. -- Rabbi Eitan will lead a 20-minute ceremony as we light candles, bless our families, sanctify the wine, and bless the challah to welcome our Shabbat dinners at home.
Next Week: Multigenerational Shabbat via Zoom, Friday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. -- A family-friendly Zoom service for all school families, seniors, not-yet seniors, and anyone else who would like to come worship with us as a community.
THE RABBI’S CORNER
February 26-27, 2021 / 15 Adar 5781
Shabbat Tetzaveh
Torah: Exodus 27:20-30:10
Haftarah: Ezekiel 43:10 - 43:27
“Selflessness”
Dear Friends,
What does it mean to be selfless? As Purim approaches, we see in the Megillah text how selfish so many of the characters were. The king wanted Vashti to dance at his party. She wanted her privacy and refused to dance. The king then wanted virgins so that he could select a new queen. Two of the palace guards wanted to kill the king. Haman wanted everyone to bow down to him. Then he wanted to punish Mordecai and finally, to kill the Jews.
In stark contrast to all this wanting and scheming are Mordecai and Esther. His only concern was for her well-being. Her only concern was for her life and the survival of her people. Each time she appeared before the king, he offered her anything, up to half his kingdom. She declined his offers, only to invite him and Haman to a banquet. She wanted nothing. Thus, when Haman’s plot was revealed and Esther was threatened, the purity of her motives and wishes became clear. She only wanted to live and for her people to survive.
We Jews are a people of life. Like Esther, may our motives and wishes be notable and exemplary. May we move from selfishness to selflessness in the pursuit of justice, kindness, fairness, and truth.
.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
Read past editions of The Rabbi's Corner on the Shir Hadash website .
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
Relgious School, February 28 -- We look forward to seeing all our student in their virtual classes at 10:15 a.m. Questions? Contact Rachel Goldberg or Alan Bernover..
Purim Success -- Thanks to You! Thank you to everyone who participated in Sunday’s Virtual Purim Carnival. It was a delight to see our school families participating, our amazing Madrichimot in the Spiel, and congratulations to our 50/50 Raffle and School Tuition drawing winners! A very special thank you to Rabbi Eitan, Rachel Goldberg, our School Parent Committee, teachers, and school families, as well as our larger Shir Hadash community for always supporting our efforts to ensure our school is a source of joy for all.
PS Parents, contact Shir Hadash this week to arrange a pick up of your child’s goodie bag & prizes. Call (847) 498-8218 or email admin@shir-hadash.org.
ADULT EDUCATION
Adult Ed Sunday Morning Programs, February 28: Please note that Hebrew Reading will not meet this week. Adults are welcome to join in the following adult education programs: - Torah and Jewish Philosophy, 10:00 a.m, via Zoom. If you would like to participate, contact Fred Andes for scheduling details. Call in number is 312 626 6799.
- Hebrew Reading will resume March 7 at 11:00 a.m. via WebEx. Contact Steve Lewin to participate.
Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Eitan, February 25, 1:00 p.m. -- Be part of an engaging examination of the week's Torah portion via Zoom.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS AND EVENTS
New: Grief Support Programs from JCFS -- JCFS provides a variety of support programs and opportunities for individuals dealing with grief, particularly with the added hardships of COVID-19 restrictions. On Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m., Grieving a Death During a Pandemic: An Evening of Support will provide a virtual setting for participants to mourn together, with support and wisdom from a grief counselor, a community member grieving a recent death and a cantor singing a niggun, reciting a poem and chanting El Malei Rachamim, a prayer of remembrance. You will be invited to share a photo of your loved one(s) during the program. Upon completion of our formal program at 8:30pm, participants are invited to stay online for brief personal sharing and information about upcoming JCFS support groups. This event is free of charge. Register here to receive the Zoom link to the program and additional information.
New: Defining Antisemitism, March 4, 7:30 p.m. -- Please join us for an enlightening conversation about defining antisemitism in the current political environment. How to define antisemitism has been a hot topic prompting statements from a myriad of Jewish organizations, including Reconstructing Judaism, and others such an many American and global cities and the Biden administration. Background information and a link to register can be found at the event page. This is a great chance to both learn and share your thoughts on this important topic. This event is sponsored by the Shir Hadash Israel Committee.
New: Virtual Trivia and Game Night, Saturday, March 6, 7:00 pm via Zoom – Join your Shir Hadash friends for several rounds of general trivia over Zoom, plus games and music! As always, will be raising funds to support the Religious School's Samuel Andes Scholarship Fund. RSVP here.There is no fee to join in the fun, but donations are welcome! Questions? Contact Sean Rohde.
Donations Welcome! If you can't join us for the event, but would like to donate to the scholarship fund, we welcome your support! Please click here, then in the section that asks 'Type', select 'Samuel Andes Scholarship Fund' from the dropdown menu, and please remember to also write 'Trivia Night' in the notes section. If you prefer to make a donation by check, please contact the office at admin@shir-hadash.org or call (847) 498-8218.
New: New Member Meet-and-Greet Havdalah, Saturday March 13, 5:30 p.m. -- The Membership Committee will be hosting a virtual Havdalah service as we celebrate our New Members for the 2020-2021 year. We will get to know each other over Zoom before and after the Havdalah service, which will be led by Rabbi Eitan. Members from Shir Hadash's many committees will also join us to share their goals and upcoming events. We encourage all Board Members and Committee leaders to join in the celebration. RSVP here.
Update Your Zoom -- As a friendly reminder, Zoom has recently updated their platform. To make sure you receive the same experience and abilities during our virtual programs, make sure to update your application.
SOCIAL ACTION
Support SH Member's Emergency Relief Efforts in Texas -- We are all saddened by what is happening in Texas. To support an on-the-ground relief effort, contact Shir Hadash member and EMT Nat Arons by calling or texting (224) 406-6315. Monetary donations are needed to purchase supplies, rent a truck, and cover travel expenses.
Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month -- Shir Hadash joins with Jewish organizations worldwide to raise awareness and to foster acceptance and inclusion of people with all types of disabilities. An upcoming recommended program:
From Mental Illness to Mental Fitness: Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic, February 28, 5:30pm -- Join Friendship Circle and RespectAbility for a fireside chat about mental fitness with motivational speaker Jennifer Fink, an accomplished social entrepreneur and management consultant. Due to an accident and illness in her mid-20s, Ms. Fink lives with nonvisible disabilities, anxiety, and depression. A captivating and relatable storyteller, Ms. Fink weaves humor and grace as she embraces and shares her story, wisdom, and lessons Register here.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Gift Card Purchases 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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