Shir Chadash Newsletter
August 20 - 26, 2020
30 Av - 6 Elul, 5780
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This Week's Shir Chadash To-Do List |
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- August 21: Fancy Friday - Midsummer Mardi Gras! & Rosh Chodesh Elul
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Elul - Counting Down to the High Holy Days |
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We are four weeks away from Rosh Hashanah! We are providing some special materials for the month of Elul. Look our for a daily email (except on Shabbat), and please listen to the shofar (except on Shabbat)! Chodesh tov! |
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The Institute for Jewish Spirituality presents, The Shofar Project, a free, self-led program for Elul, where each week will focus on a different aspect of awakening and renewal. Once you sign-up, you will receive emails with the links to video teachings and a variety of live online events that explore the week’s theme.
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Let's hear that shofar blow! |
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As part of our virtual High Holiday services we are offering the opportunity to submit your own High Holiday greeting! Send us a picture and what you would like to say (be brief!) and we will compile everything into a slide show that will run online adjacent to our High Holiday services. All submissions MUST be in by Friday, September 4. The suggested donation is $36. There will be an option under your Chaverweb account to donate online.
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Be honest - have you been wearing the same pair of sweatpants for a while? Are you losing track of time because you're not dressing up for Shabbat? Shir Chadash has the answer...
FANCY FRIDAYS!
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This week: Midsummer Mardi Gras
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Spread the Smiles
We know that these last few months have been unlike any other and that we have all had to adjust to our new way of life in quarantine. We hope that along with all the change we have experienced, there have been moments of laughter and lots of smiles - and we would love to hear about them! Please share a fun moment or experience you have had while staying at home - whether it's a piece of writing, or maybe a photo - we would love to share a smile with the rest of the community.
If you would like to contribute,
Here are some entries from this past week:
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Mazel tov to Sandy & Elliott Raisen on their 70th wedding anniversary!
What a momentous milestone!
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Join us at 9:15am for our Sunday minyan followed by a check-in and a virtual L'Hayyim!
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You missed it!
Author Roberta Kwall spoke wisely and warmly about her personal experiences and those of others that prompted her writing the book Remix Judaism: Preserving Tradition in a Diverse World. One gem: Infuse with meaning the traditions you practice and being joyful and consistent generates excitement for you and those around you.
Dr. Evan Dvorin spoke on the topic of “Taking Charge of Your Healthcare”. The focus of the talk was joint patient/doctor relationships with (informed) patient priorities leads to quality of life being uppermost.
You won't want to miss these Sisterhood sponsored events:
Wednesday, August 26th at 10 am
Read & Lead series continues with a discussion on Wendy Wasserstein's essay from
The Right Words at the Right Time.
Tuesday, September 1st at 7 pm
Panel Discussion on "Me Too Affects You Too!"
Wednesday, September 2nd at 10 am
Read & Lead series continues with a discussion on At the Home by E. L. Konigsburg.
Wednesday, September 23rd at noon
Book Review with author Rina Neiman on
Born Under Fire
Wednesday, October 7th at noon
Book review of The Third Daughter by Talia Carner
Click here for more information on these upcoming events.
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Contributions to Sisterhood/Sisterhood Endowment Fund as well as paying dues, sending Shanah Tovah greetings to the congregation, etc. may be paid online on Chaverware or www.shirchadash.org or by sending a check to Madilyn Samuels.
For details about membership, dues payments, or contributing, please click HERE.
For questions or for more info about Sisterhood, contact Charisse Sands at
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We welcome Meryl Zimmerman as our new Interim Education Director! She looks forward to making this upcoming year one chock-full of learning and fun for your children. She recognizes the unique challenges that we are facing during this peculiar time, and is committed to working hard, thinking creatively, and utilizing all the resources at her disposal to meet these challenges and provide an exceptional year of Jewish education and holiday experiences for your kids. |
PJ Library is offering a collection of ways to keep your family busy over the summer.
Check out their July and August newsletters below for crafts, recipes, and more fun activities!
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Looking Ahead
(Click on the bold writing to join the ZOOM meeting)
SOME OF THE LINKS HAVE CHANGED.
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Thursday, August 20th
Friday, August 21st
Saturday, August 22nd
Sunday, August 23rd
Thursday, August 27th
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Friday, August 28th
Saturday, August 29th
Sunday, August 30th
Tuesday, September 1st
Thursday, September 3rd
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Buy Your Own Siddur Lev Shalem
Thanks to the generosity of our donor, we are able to offer the Siddur Lev Shalem for purchase at a price of $40.00 (a discount of $9.00 from the list price).
Additionally, anyone who wants to can borrow an 'old' Siddur Sim Shalom.
Please email the office if you would like to arrange a purchase or pick up – [email protected]
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Dear Shir Chadash community,
While we might feel that time has stood still for us since March, it is - astonishingly - Rosh Chodesh Elul, and four weeks from now it will be Rosh Hashanah. As you will have seen from this week’s emails, we are hard at work at Shir Chadash to make this season a memorable one - in the right way!
And I hope that you will find the materials in this week’s newsletter useful for getting yourselves into the mood for the High Holydays. Please do read and enjoy the daily email, which has been curated by my colleague Rabbi Amy Levin of the Masorti Movement in Israel. Please take a moment each day to let the sound of Josh Sands’ Shofar call to you. And on Shabbat, let us take some time to dream what this new year might hold in store.
“Rosh Hashanah” can be translated as “the beginning of change.” We have already endured so many changes this year - but there can still be new beginnings for us.
I wish us a hopeful, awakened Shabbat. Chodesh tov!
Rabbi Silver
PS - I always provide a few new links for Shabbat, so please scroll down…
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Virtual services and
pre/post Shabbat materials
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We hope that playing these in the background has been getting you in the mood for Shabbat!
Here is our Shabbat playlist and for our younger members, here is the Shir Chadash Youtube page, where you can spend some time with Miss Meryl and the Shabbat dinosaur!
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Our tradition teaches that the month of Elul is a time when we can feel closer to God. The imagery that is used is that “the king is in the field.” Here is a sweet video based on that idea: |
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Please join us for Kabbalat Shabbat at this link on Friday night at 6:15 pm.
PLEASE NOTE THE TIME CHANGE.
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Shabbat morning liturgy at home |
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I hope that by now we are in the habit of making a computer-free time on Shabbat to pray, to reflect and to study.
You can find an online Siddur here - please download before Shabbat.
At the end of this article is Rabbi Wayne Dosick’s prayer to say in place of Kaddish.
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Torah: Deuteronomy 16:18 - 18:5
Maftir: Deuteronomy 8:3-5
Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12
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Torah study
The Torah reading for this week is in the red panel above. If you do not have a Humash at home you can find it on the link below. We are reading Triennial Year 1, but you might like to read the full portion (“Full Kriyah”).
Here is an article about the month of Elul.
And here is a piece in which Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg mentions a key verse from on this week’s parashah.
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Brochure
Our Shabbat brochure with the Verse To Live By, yahrzeits, and simchas for this week is attached. You might wish to take special notice of those who are sick and take a moment to direct your thoughts towards them.
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Prayer for Medical Workers
We first created this prayer in the first week of the pandemic. It is as relevant now as it was then. Many members of our community are healthcare workers and have been steadily doing their best, day by day, to help deal with this unprecedented situation. You might wish to print out this prayer and make it part of your daily practice…
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Holy One
We ask your blessing for our doctors
for our nurses
for all our hospital workers
who stand between the living and the dying
as Aaron once stood.
Help them to know they are not alone
as they undertake the overwhelming holy work
of deploying and organizing,
of caring and healing and comforting.
Bring them strength
and fortitude
and grace.
May the work of their hands be blessed.
And we say,
Amen.
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The Blood Center needs your help to address New Orleans’ critically low blood supply at the start of hurricane season. Blood already on the shelves saves lives, and maintaining a sufficient blood supply is essential to ensure patients in need receive optimal treatment. Successful whole blood donations will be tested for COVID-19 antibodies.
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Community Events and Announcements |
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Honoring extraordinary social justice leaders
Sunday, August 23, 2020 | 11am - 12pm CT |
Online via Zoom
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Our very own Sylvia Finger is being honored at this event for her extraordinary work in the community. She is a cofounder of Engaging New Voices and Voters, a nonpartisan coalition of 16 organizations and more than 250 volunteers, that has registered 9,000 new voters in the past three years. Now, during the pandemic, the coalition under their leadership is finding new creative ways to register people and to advocate for the expansion of voting by mail. |
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L'Dor V'Dor:
Preserving Your Family Story
Sunday, August 23, 7 PM CDT
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Stuck at home with nothing to do? Do you have stacks of fading photographs, dog-eared documents, and crumbling scrapbooks in the attic and don’t know how to preserve them?
Join MSJE Curator Anna Tucker for an informative workshop focused on preserving your family’s history. Anna will provide easy-to-follow techniques to preserve documents, photographs, and artifacts, followed by a discussion on how to research and record your family’s stories.
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This program is FREE, but registration is required to participate via Zoom.
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Join JFS for a 6-week online therapeutic group. They'll discuss anxiety, depression, isolation, and more, especially as they relate to current events. Led by their master-level interns, their online therapy groups allow clients to find healing and share their experiences from the safety of their homes.
Click HERE for more information.
If you would like to learn more about JFS and the support they can provide, click HERE.
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in partnership with
presents
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The Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Halakha
Wednesday, September 2, 11 AM CDT
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Dr. Vered Noam, 2020 Israel Prize winner in Talmud, is full professor at the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud and currently the chair of the Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. She is also a Michael Bruno Memorial Award winner of the Rothschild Foundation. Publications include From Qumran to the Rabbinic Revolution: Conceptions of Impurity and Josephus and the Rabbis (with Tal Ilan).
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JTS, Ziegler, and the Conservative Yeshiva bring you virtual learning opportunities designed to bridge our Jewish experiences with our pressing challenges in the modern day, and providing intimate spaces for Torah Lishma, the study of Torah just for the sake of learning.
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Have you ever used ZOOM? We are holding meetings and classes using this online program. Please look at this tutorial so you can join us! We hope to see you soon!
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Thank you to all our generous donors. We are deeply grateful for your support. |
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Caring Committee Fund
To: Sarah Lustig
Thank you for being so sweet and so gracious on the phone. You're always a pleasure to speak to.
From: Elliott & Sandy Raisen
To: The Madderra Family
In memory of Andi Madderra. Our deepest condolences.
From: Ken & Sue Rae Brown Bishop
General Fund
To: Michael & Lisa Sackett
Wishing you a great mazel tov on the birth of your granddaughter!
From: Elliott & Sandy Raisen
To: Israel & Sylvia Finger
Mazel tov on your wonderful acheivement and accomplisment. We are so happy to celebrate with you!
From: Elliott & Sandy Raisen
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Stan Bleich Lagniappe Fund
To: Caron Bleich
Mazel tov on the birth of her new grandson, Bradley Noah Bleich.
From: Steven & Pat Klein
To: Michael & Lisa Sackett
Mazel tov on the birth of their new granddaughter, Pearl Cate Cancio.
From: Steven & Pat Klein
Yahrzeit Fund
In memory of Sol Sherman
From: Ken & Sue Rae Brown Bishop
In memory of Lee Shear
From: Gregory & Renee Rich
In memory of Meyer Goldberg
From: Sanford Pailet
In memory of Frances Waltzer
From: Bruce & Miriam Waltzer
In memory of Marcus Hirsch
From: Rachelle Hirsch
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Chaverweb Online Member Access |
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Watch the video above that another congregation put together with some basics about how to use ChaverWeb. (Please note - some of the functionality in this video is specific to the Beth Chaim Congregation and not yet available to Shir Chadash at this time.) |
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Did you get your welcome email?
If not, please contact the synagogue office.
Subject line: Welcome to Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation's Online Member Access!
With this online portal, you can manage your personal synagogue business online:
- Manage your account online
- Set a secure private password
- Update your info (name, address, photo, link yourself to family members and Yahrzeits)
- Check your account balance
- Make payments and donations
- RSVP for upcoming events (coming soon)
- and so much more!
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Rabbi
Executive Director
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Education Director
Sarah Lustig
Office Assistant
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