Our current policies regarding our Bridge Phase practices, Building and Site Occupancy Limits, and Wellness Criteria can be found on the Shir Hadash website. Masks are to be worn at all services, meetings and programs. If you need assistance, please contact the office at 847-498-8218. You may additionally reach the Rabbi on his cell 847-525-7746 at any time, and our President Stuart Aizenberg at 847-840-7895.
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Creative Worship and Ritual . - High Holidays Info & Registration
- Friday: Hybrid Shabbat Service, "Recon 201", Friday August 20, 7:30 p.m. (RSVP Required for In-Person)
- Next Friday: Shabbat Dinner Blessings via Zoom, Friday August 27, 6:15 p.m.
- Next Saturday: Selichot Evening Service, In-Person and via Zoom, Saturday August 28, 7:30 p.m.
The Rabbi's Corner -- "A Window"
Membership News and Events
- Membership Renewal Now Open!
- Ends Tomorrow: School Supplies Donation Drive Now Through August 20
- Tonight: Book Club Meeting via Zoom, August 19, 7:30 p.m.
- NW Suburban Interfaith Council Meet, Greet and Eat at Culver's Buffalo Grove, August 26, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Mussar Discussion Group, August 26, 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday: High Holiday Food Delivery Event for Maot Chitim, August 29
Religious School- Monday: School Town Hall Zoom Meeting, August 23, 7:30 p.m.
Adult Education
- Today: Zoom Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Eitan, August 19, 1:00 p.m.
- Sunday Morning Virtual Adult Ed Classes, August 22
- Hebrew Reading, 9:30 a.m.
- Torah and Jewish Philosophy, 10:00 a.m.
Ongoing Fundraisers - Restaurants Support Shir Hadash
- ShopWithScrip, iGive, and Amazon Smile
CREATIVE WORSHIP AND RITUAL
High Holidays Coming - Please Register! The High Holidays are very soon - Selichot is on Saturday, August 28, and Rosh Hashanah starts on the evening of Labor Day, Monday, September 6! We will be both in-person and on Zoom this year. Adult services will be at Atlantis Banquet Halls in Arlington Heights (except for Rosh Hashanah Day 2 and Yom Kippur afternoon/concluding services, which will be at the synagogue). The children's programs will be held at the synagogue. Appropriate COVID precautions will be taken. By now, you should have received an e-mail with registration information. Please DO register! Click for complete Holiday information. If you have questions, feel free to contact the Shir Hadash office or Fred Andes, CW&R chair.
Friday; RSVP Required for In-Person: Hybrid Shabbat Service - In Person and on Zoom, Friday, August 20, 7:30 p.m. Special Topic: "Recon 201: Seeking God - Jewish Spirituality for the 21st Century" -- Throughout the course of our worship, Rabbi Eitan will offer explanations on what Reconstructionism teaches about the meaning of prayer and what we mean when we pray to God. For those joining in-person, register here before Friday, August 20 at 3:00 p.m. Attendance is currently limited to 40 people.
Next Friday: Shabbat Dinner Blessings via Zoom, August 27, 6:15 p.m. - Join us on Zoom 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 Saturday: Hybrid Selichot Evening Service, in-person and via Zoom, August 28, 7:30 p.m. Join us either in-person or via Zoom for an evening of reflection, study, and friends. Our Selichot observance will be a brief hybrid Saturday evening service to prepare us for the work of the High Holidays. Its readings and melodies are meditative, reflective, and stirring. Selichot is also about camaraderie, so we look forward to bringing our participants together. Watch for more details and in-person registration links coming next week.
Zoom Hosts Needed: We have an urgent need for volunteers to act as Zoom hosts for upcoming services. We can only continue to provide Zoom access to services if volunteers step up to host! Training on how to host can be provided. If you can help, please contact Fred Andes or Jerry Weiss.
THE RABBI’S CORNER
August 20-21, 2021 / 13 Elul 5781 / Shabbat Ki Teitze
Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19 / Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1 - 54:10
“A Window”
Dear Friends,
Are the Torah laws and punishments for infractions still applicable today? Throughout this week’s and other portions, we find that many violations of law were punishable by death, usually stoning. To our modern sensibilities however, Torah punishments seem excessive and extreme.
As Reconstructionist Jews, we understand the Torah as being composed, edited, and redacted in antiquity by our Israelite and Jewish ancestors. Like us, they were searching to understand God, godliness, and a deeper sense of spirituality. The Torah stories, lessons, and teachings were their way of presenting their religious yearnings and pathways to creating a just society. Thus, the Torah can be seen as a “window” into the lives, thoughts, and worldview of our ancestors. While it remains the bedrock text of our people’s tradition and heritage, nevertheless, we have come a long way since those times. Our tradition has evolved and transformed itself many times over. That’s the Reconstructionist process, through which each generation ‘reconstructs’ Judaism to adjust to new understandings and contemporary times.
Our ancient texts can be seen as “windows” on our ancestors through which we can learn the foundation of our tradition and grow from there.
Zay a Mentsch – Be a Good Person.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
You can read past editions of The Rabbi's Corner on the Shir Hadash website.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS AND EVENTS
Membership Renewal Now Open -- Membership for our 2021-2022 year is now available. Click Here for the Membership Renewal Forms. We'd love to have all of you renew and to do so promptly. Plus, we'd love to have new members join us. If you run into any problems or have questions renewing online, please contact Karen Burnham at (847) 498-8218. Also contact Karen for a paper form if you prefer that to signing up online.
High Holidays are very early this year. Erev Rosh Hashanah is Monday, September 6. Remember, your High Holiday "tickets" are included with membership. So, do not delay renewing or joining.
Ends Friday: School Supply Donation Drive, Through August 20 -- Many students in Wheeling public schools need help acquiring pencils, washable markers, crayons, colored pencils, highlighters, index cards, and wide-rule spiral notebooks. Please leave donations when you come to the Friday night service on the rack in the vestibule. If you have questions, contact our Social Action Chair, Lisa Burton Radzely.
Tonight: Book Club Virtual Meeting, August 19, 7:30 p.m. -- The Shir Hadash Book Club is reading Waking Lions, a novel by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen. The story of the lengths a man will to go save his family and his reputation after one night's deadly mistake, Waking Lions is described as "a gripping, suspenseful, and morally devastating drama of guilt and survival, shame and desire."
High Holiday Food Box Delivery -- For the last 17 years, Shir Hadash has been helping Maot Chitim pack and deliver High Holiday food boxes for those less fortunate in our community. The previously-announced in-person food packing event has been cancelled for safety reasons, but we still have opportunities for volunteers to deliver food in the Wheeling area on Sunday, August 29 from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. If you would like to participate, please email Social Action team member Mark Lenhart for detailed information.
NWSIC Meet, Greet and Eat at Culver's Buffalo Grove, Thursday, August 26, 5:00 p.m. --
The Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council invites you to a "Meet, Eat and Greet" event on August 26 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Culver's Restaurant in Buffalo Grove, 459 McHenry Road.
Come by and enjoy our fellowship and while you enjoy some tasty Culver's food. Mention the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council at time of food purchase and Culver's Buffalo Grove will donate 25% of the proceeds from any food purchased during the event.
Mussar Discussion Group, Thursday, August 26, 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. Contact Lynn Liebling or Kayla Shonberg to learn more about this spiritual practice and our Shir Hadash group.
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
Monday: Virtual School Town Hall, August 23, 7:30 p.m. -- Join us for a special Virtual Town Hall program to learn about what plans are being put in place to ensure a safe and joyous return to in-person learning for the upcoming 2021-2022 Religious School. We will set forth the protocols in place and answer any questions or concerns about a return to in-person learning. Watch for Zoom links in upcoming newsletters.
ADULT EDUCATION
Today: Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi via Zoom, August 19, 1:00 p.m. -Join Rabbi Eitan and Shir Hadash members and friends for a refreshing, contemporary exploration of the weekly Torah portion.
Virtual Adult Ed Sunday Morning Programs, August 22: Adults are welcome to join in the following adult education programs on most Sundays: - Hebrew Reading, 9:30 a.m. For more information, contact Steve Lewin.
- Torah and Jewish Philosophy, 10:00 a.m: If you would like to participate, contact Fred Andes.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS Restaurants Supporting Shir Hadash -- These restaurants donate a percentage of your bill when you mention Shir Hadash. Please support these generous community businesses: - Axel's Bistro Cafe, 131 W Dundee Rd, Buffalo Grove (former Flappy's location)
- Butterfield's, 4195 Dundee Road, Northbrook
- The Continental Restaurant, 788 S. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove
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, at no cost to you. Electronic and physical cards can be ordered instantly ordered using the RaiseRight app on your phone or through our vendor shopwithscrip.com. Click here for more information or contact Glenn Graff for assistance.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. Amazon Smile -- Amazon will automatically donate 0.5% of your purchase to when you sign up at smile.amazon.com and select "Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue-Congregation Shir Hadash" in Wheeling as your charity of choice.To view past editions of the Newsletter, please visit our website. |
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