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 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 Stuart Aizenberg at 847-840-7895.
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT A GLANCE
Creative Worship and Ritual .
- High Holidays Info & Registration
- Friday: Shabbat Dinner Blessings via Zoom, Friday August 27, 6:15 p.m.
- Saturday: Selichot Evening Service, In-Person and via Zoom, Saturday August 28, 7:30 p.m.
- No Friday Night Service on September 3
The Rabbi's Corner -- "Borei P'ri Ha'adamah"
Membership News and Events
- Tonight: NW Suburban Interfaith Council Meet, Greet and Eat at Culver's Buffalo Grove, August 26, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Tonight: Mussar Discussion Group, August 26, 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday: High Holiday Food Delivery Event for Maot Chitim, August 29, 9:30 a.m.
- New: Bystander Intervention Trainings to Combat Hate and Harassment
- Shir Hadash Office Closed September 6 (Labor Day/Erev Rosh Hashanah)
Adult Education
- Today: Zoom Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Eitan, August 26, 1:00 p.m.
- Sunday Morning Virtual Adult Ed Classes, August 29
- 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 are Here - Please Register! The High Holidays begin this weekend with our Selichot services 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. 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). Appropriate COVID precautions will be taken. The children's programs have been changed to a Zoom format. 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: 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.
Saturday: Hybrid Selichot Evening Service, in-person and via Zoom, August 28, 7:30 p.m. -- This hybrid Zoom and in-person event will be a brief 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. Please click here to watch the short film "The Haka" on YouTube beforehand. This recent 15-minute film is based on an incident that occurred during World War I between German soldiers and Maori soldiers from New Zealand, and has been described as follows: “This film, with humour and sensitivity, gives us faith and hope in humanity.” Please watch, and then we’ll discuss at Selichot!
For those attending in person, registration is required by this Friday at 3:00 pm. Click here to register!
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 27-28, 2021 / 20 Elul 5781 / Shabbat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 / Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22
“Borei P’ri Ha’adamah”
Dear Friends,
It is mid-August and my vegetable garden is in its full glory. The cucumbers and tomatoes are abundant. The carrots are thick and melons are swelling on the vine. Butternut squash are hiding under large fan-like leaves and the peppers and eggplant are on the way. Ears of corn are ready for the picking and huge sunflower heads with thousands of seeds are hung up and drying in the garage. The fall lettuce, spinach, chard, radishes, and kale have just sprouted and are waiting for the cool weather.
When working up close with these plants, I see how each fruit, each stem, each root, and each leaf are true miracles. The complexity is astounding. Just consider an ear of corn – how each strand of corn silk is a tube that carries pollen down to only one kernel on the cob. Consider the sunflower, which is made up of thousands of mini-flowers on each head. Consider the bees, moths, and wind that pollinate the flowers. Truly amazing.
Our Jewish tradition offers a blessing to awaken us to the awareness of the miracles that lie in a vegetable or fruit:
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam, borei p’ri ha’adamah
Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills creation, You create the fruit of the earth.
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
Tonight: 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 visit 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.
Tonight: 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.
New: Bystander Intervention Trainings to Combat Hate and Harassment -- Do you know what to do if you see someone being harassed or experiencing another form of hate? What are the 5 Ds of bystander intervention? Join a public virtual training to learn about bystander hate incident intervention, and how you can combat hate and harassment. Advancing Justice Chicago will lead the free training session. It will focus on anti-Asian harassment, and the skills you learn can be applied to any type of harassment. Multiple sessions are being held. Register now before they fill.
Today: Thursday, August 26, 4:00PM CST: Register here
Wednesday, September 8, 12:30PM CST: Register here
Tuesday, September 14, 3:00PM CST: Register here
Thursday, September 23, 3:00PM CST: Register here
Tuesday, September 28, 12:30PM CST: Register here
Sunday: High Holiday Food Box Delivery, 9:30 a.m. -- 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. Volunteers are needed 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.
Shir Hadash Office Closed September 6 (Labor Day/Erev Rosh Hashanah) -- Keep in mind that the Shir Hadash Office will not be open on Monday, September 6. Be sure to complete your High Holiday registration ahead of time -- why not do it right now?
ADULT EDUCATION
Today: Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi via Zoom, August 26, 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 29: 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
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.
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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