Shir Hadash Weekly Newsletter, April 18, 2013

To view this blog in its entirety, go to our website.  For daily event updates, visit our calendar.  

What’s Happening at a Glance

Membership News and Upcoming Events  

• Construction Update
• Spread the Word with Shir Hadash T-Shirts
• April Book Club: Everything is Illuminated, April 25
• Shir Hadash Annual Meeting, May 5
• Coming Soon: New Membership Online Profiles

Education Update  

• Yom Tikkun Olam, April 21
• Upcoming school schedule
• Religious School Open House, April 28 

Teen News  

• Madrichim meeting, April 28
• JUF Teen Engagement Fair Changed to April 28
• High school event with JRC, May 11

Creative Worship & Ritual  

• Upcoming Service: April 19

The Rabbi’s Corner  

• Boston Marathon Tragedy 

Community News  

• Parent & Family Connection for LGBTQ Jews in Chicagoland
• JUF Israel Solidarity Day, April 28   

Membership and Upcoming Events

Construction Update  
On April 13, the Shir Hadash board signed a contract to officially hire as our architect the firm of Maemar PC, led by Shir Hadash member Mehran Farahmandpour.  As our architect, Mehran will be leading us through the bidding and construction of our Phase 1 plan for the new building.  He has already prepared and disseminated the RFP to four general contractors, and met with those same several times at the property to answer questions.  The bids will be coming in soon and Mehran will be helping the building committee choose one GC to recommend to the board for the project.  After the GC is selected and the board signs a contract, the construction project will begin in earnest.  This will all hopefully be occurring in just the next couple of weeks.  Sandi Schleicher will serve as liaison between Maemar PC and the membership/board of Shir Hadash.  If you have questions, comments, or concerns regarding the architecture or design, construction, the general contractor, sub-contractors, etc., please contact Sandi at finance@shir-hadash.org and he will address concerns with the architect, building committee, or GC as appropriate. 

If you have ideas or skills to share, want to volunteer for a committee, or help with planning, managing, or maintaining the building or grounds, we would love to hear from you.  Please direct your good intentions to the chairman of the building steering committee, Marc Fargotstein, marcfargo@triangleconsulting.net.     

Spread the Word with Shir Hadash T-Shirts  Celebrate our new home – and let your friends know you love Shir Hadash – with a  “Shalom to Our New Home” t-shirt! These white shirts have the graphic you see pictured here on the front, and our official logo on the back. They are available in men’s, women’s and kids’ sizes for $10. To order, contact Lisa McCulloh, 847-814-2922 or jjlisamc@gmail.com.  
 

Book Club  The next Book Club will be held on Thursday, April 25 at 7:30pm, at the home of Stacy Laner, 1047 Shambliss Court, Buffalo Grove. The book will be Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. This is the story of a young American Jew who flies to the Ukraine to search for the woman who saved his grandfather's life during the Nazi invasion. For more information, contact Meryl Abensohn at abenkras@aol.com.   

Coming Soon: New Membership Management Program  Shir Hadash is planning to purchase a membership management package that will provide our members with online forms to simplify membership renewals and education signup, and also improve enrollment of volunteers for events.  Members will be able to maintain customized profiles for themselves and their family members, with the capacity to capture their Yahrzeit and lifecycle events in one place.  Please look for future announcements about these new services in the next few weeks and months. If you have questions, please contact Jeff Wallk at president@shir-hadash.org or Lise Schleicher atinfo@basketworks.biz.   

Education Update 

Upcoming Events at School  Sunday, April 21-- Yom Tikkun Olam  Sunday, April 28-- Sunday School, Prospective Member Open House  Monday, April 29--Havayah BBQ at David's House  Sunday, May 5-- Last day of Sunday school  
 

Yom Tikkun Olam: Sunday, April 21  Shir Hadash  is conducting the 8th Annual Day to Repair the World (Yom Tikkun Olam). This day is our opportunity to give back and make a difference in the world.  Our religious school students and their families, along with other members of the congregation, will participate in activities of their choice.  Activities include crafts and bingo at a senior residence, clean-up at a nature center, gathering and organizing books to be donated to schools in need, and making greeting cards for Israeli soldiers. For complete descriptions, including times and locations, click here. If you haven’t signed up yet, please contact Education Director Emily Ascher ASAP ateddirector@shir-hadash.org. Please watch for a confirmation email to be sure you have the correct information.  

Updated project info:

• We need people for Bingo and Fun at Gidwitz! Sign up today, make some seniors happy.
• If you are going to The Grove, the time has changed to 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
• Please contact Judy Kleinman if you are interested in going to the Ark in Chicago (there may be a few slots open for non-7th grade families)

See you all on Sunday for Yom Tikkun Olam!  
 

Religious School Open House  
Do you have any friends who are shopping around for a religious school for their children? If so, please invite them to our Religious School Open House on Sunday, April 28, at 11:30. Be sure to tell them about our fantastic, innovative once-a-week school – not to mention our beautiful new building. For more information, contact  Education Director Emily Ascher at eddirector@shir-hadash.org.  

Teen News

Teen Engagement Fair, April 28  Note: New Date, Time & Place! The JUF Teen Engagement Fair will now be part of Israel Solidarity Day on Sunday, April 28. This is a great event for 7th and 8th graders and their families to show you how Jewish life really begins AFTER your b’nai mitzvah, with travel opportunities, organizations, programs and more. Plus they’ll have raffles, information, and lots of other activities. To learn more and RSVP, visit http://juf.org/teen.  Scroll down to “Community News” for detailed info on JUF’s Israel Solidarity Day.

Madrichim  We will have 2 more meetings this year!  Meet on Sunday, April 28th at 8:45 a.m. to talk about the Open House event scheduled for Sunday School on April 28th.   We will also meet on Sunday, May 5th to review the year.  

Save the Date:  Saturday evening, May 11th- High School event with JRC.  Details to follow... stay tuned!

Creative Worship & Ritual

Upcoming Service:April 19 -- Setting Our Jewish Compass (Set Your GPS for the Synagogue)
On Friday, April 19 (7:30 pm), we have our next Friday night service - and it will be our first full service in our synagogue!  (We did have a very quick service there a few weeks ago, coupled with the building discussion, but this one will be a bit more leisurely.  Plus, now we actually own it!)  

Given that we're all finding our way to the new place, our topic for this service is very relevant: How do we set our Jewish ‘compass,’ our conscience, for living a good life? Well, the Holiness Code of Leviticus 19 (this week's Torah portion) forms a list of great dos and don'ts for living a blessed and holy life.  Yet the code was written more than 2,500 years ago.  Do its precepts still apply to us today?  If not, then how can we reconstruct them to speak to our lives?  We’ll read Torah, study the ancient teachings, and then break into small groups to craft our contemporary version of the rules that can direct us in modern times.   Plus, we'll have a baby naming!  So don't miss it - and don't forget to bring something for the oneg!

Adult Education

No Class on April 21  Due to Yom Tikkun  Olam, there will be no adult ed class this week.

The Rabbi’s Corner

April 19-20, 2013 / 10 Iyar 5773Day 25 of the OmerShabbat Aharei Mot-KedoshimTorah Portion:  Leviticus 16:1-20:27 / Haftarah Portion: Amos 9:7-15
“Boston Marathon Tragedy”

Dear Friends,
How can we understand the horror of the bombing at this year’s Boston Marathon?  Who could do such a thing?  One of the commentators has explained that at the time of the bombing, most of the runners on the course were ‘charity runners’ – those raising money for various causes through their incredible athletic accomplishment.  The pictures are appalling.
This week’s Torah portion, Aharei Mot-Kedoshim, includes a section called the “Holiness Code.”  It is a list of rules for living together as a caring community based on principles of common decency and the rule of law. Amongst the laws is ‘Do not stand by the blood of your neighbor. I am the Eternal One.’  Many scholars have weighed in on the meaning of this line.  For some, it means that we are not to do anything that endangers our neighbor’s life.  For others, it means that we are not to abandon a fellow human being in their time of danger.  Still others interpret this line as telling us not to associate with those who are bloodthirsty and seek to the harm of others.
On this day of national alarm, all three interpretations shed light on this event….

To read the rest of The Rabbi’s Corner, click here to visit our website.

Community News

Israel Solidarity Day  JUF is hosting its annual Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration at the 2013 Israel Solidarity Day, which will be held on Sunday, April 28th at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park.  Event highlights will include the Walk with Israel, fabulous all-day entertainment in Ravinia’s Pavilion featuring the King David Drummers, The Maccabeats and Matisyahu - acoustic, food for purchase and festivities for all ages.The day’s agenda is as follows:
10:00 a.m. Teen J-Serve Project* (on site)11:00 a.m. Registration opens11:30 a.m. King David Drummers12:15 p.m. The Maccabeats1:00 p.m. Israel Solidarity Day Kickoff Rally1:15 p.m. Three-Mile Walk with Israel & One-Mile Family Walk2:30 p.m. King David Drummers3:00 p.m. Matisyahu - acoustic4:00 p.m. Program concludes
* 8th to 12th graders are invited to participate in a city-wide service project.
For detailed information and registration, visit the JUF website.

Parent & Family Connection for LGBTQ Jews  Is your child gay, lesbian, transgender, queer, or questioning? Do you want to talk to other Jewish families with LGBTQ children? If so, join the monthly discussions with Parent & Family Connection for LGBTQ Jews in Chicagoland. Upcoming meetings will be held on April 22 and May 20. Upcoming topics will include: transgender youth; passing--who knows, who doesn’t know; navigating a hetero-sexist world; healthy relationships and violence in the GLBTQ community; and conversation about creating inclusive communities.

With support from Keshet, Response provides group support for those dealing with any stage of the coming out process. Response helps adolescents in the Jewish and general community develop skills in communication, decision-making and leadership necessary to deal with life’s challenges. Response is a program of JCFS, a partner in serving our community, supported by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation.