Shir Chadash Newsletter

February 2 - February 8, 2023

11 Shevat - 17 Shevat 5783

We are pleased to announce that our website, www.shirchadash.org, has gone through a complete overhaul and is now all yours to explore! We have combined our helpful, easy-to-use membership portal with a new, revamped, beautiful interface. We hope that these changes make your online experience with Shir Chadash even better!

To help navigate these changes, our very own Jackie Dallimore has created a brief explanatory video that will walk you through some of the website's new features and layout. Please click HERE to watch. Enjoy!

Thursday, February 2nd

6 pm, YAS (Young Adults at Shir Chadash) Happy Hour at Parleaux Beer Lab (634 Lesseps St.)

Friday, February 3rd

6:30 pm, Davening, Dinner, and Discussion - Altering the Humane Genome: The Ethics of a Brave New World - Registration is now closed

** Please note the later start time for Shabbat Evening Services. Although the dinner and discussion will be in-person only for those who purchased tickets ahead of time, anyone may still attend services in-person or live-stream them online.**

Saturday, February 4th

9:30 am, Shabbat Morning Services, followed by Kiddush lunch

10 am, Babysitting

10:30 am, Children's Services

Sunday, February 5th

9:15 am, Minyan with Men's Club, followed by breakfast



10 am, SHUL SCHOOL: Special Tu B'Shevat Program at Longue Vue Gardens - Register HERE

3 pm, Kids' Mega Challah Bake at Slater Torah Academy - Register HERE

Wednesday, February 8th

10 am, Sisterhood Class: The Land of Truth



Thursday, February 9th

8 am, Morning Minyan on Zoom

Friday, February 10th

5 pm, SWUSY Mardi Gras Shabbaton for 6th-12th Graders This event has been cancelled

6:15 pm, Shabbat Evening Services

Saturday, February 11th

9:30 am, Shabbat Morning Services, followed by Kiddush lunch

10 am, Babysitting

6 pm, Mardi Gras Lock-In

Now open to 2nd - 8th Graders - Register HERE

Sunday, February 12th

9 am, SHUL SCHOOL

9:15 am, Minyan with Men's Club, followed by breakfast

Wednesday, February 15th

10 am, Sisterhood Class: The Land of Truth

Thursday, February 16th

8 am, Morning Minyan on Zoom

Our Health Committee update as of December 7, 2022 is as follows:



'Tis the season for respiratory viruses . . . A "tridemic" of COVID, influenza, and RSV is currently upon us. As a result, we strongly encourage you to stay up to date with your COVID and flu vaccines. Bivalent COVID boosters are available for those ages 5 years and older. Flu vaccine is available for those ages 6 months and older.  Please visit vaccines.gov to find a location near you.  We also encourage frequent handwashing and wearing a mask in crowded indoor spaces. And if you are feeling sick, please stay home to help reduce the transmission of virus to others. Zay gezunt! Be well!

Please click HERE to read our guidelines in full.

Mazel Tov!

No registration required. If you can't find the group,

please text or call Chaviva Sands at (504) 237-1522.

We look forward to seeing you TONIGHT!

** Please note the later start time for Shabbat Evening Services**



REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

Although the dinner and discussion will be in-person only for those who purchased tickets ahead of time, anyone may still attend services in-person or live-stream them online.

Have a challah baking BLAST as we make and braid some challah together! 

Join us on February 5th at 3:00 pm, 

for a fun-filled afternoon with family and friends at the 

KID'S MEGA CHALLAH BAKE and Tu B'shvat fair!

Fun for all ages. 

- Make your own challah (from scratch!)

- Tu B'shvat crafts and activities!

- Interactive game show!

- Souvenir challah apron!

-Special activities for toddlers!

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

(Adults attend for free.)

For more info, please reach out to Zalman 704-648-7966 or Libby libby@jewishlouisiana.com.

Unfortunately the SWUSY Mardi Gras Shabbaton for 6th-12th Graders has been cancelled, HOWEVER, we are expanding our February 11th Mardi Gras Lock-In to include 2nd-8th Graders!

All Jewish children in 2nd-8th Grade

in New Orleans are invited!

$45/child

(Sibling discount available)

Registration closes February 7th

This program was made possible by

the generosity of the Will Samuels Memorial Fund

Everyone can be part of the campaign to replace 19 of our worn Torah covers. Giving opportunities from $36 to $2000+ (including inscription, 17 still available). From now almost until Passover (April 1, 2023) your donation to the Fred Bronfin Torah Preservation Fund will be a part of this campaign. Give in honor of any occasion: birthday, anniversary, thank you, or just because. The goal is to have the new covers on display for Rosh Hashanah 5784.  

To make your donation, contact the shul office or click the button below.

CLASSES WITH RABBI HOFFMAN

This Sunday, February 5, volunteers from all over Jewish New Orleans will come together between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie for Federation’s annual phonathon benefiting the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. At this energetic event, we will reach out to hundreds of members of our Jewish community to raise the dollars necessary to support our community’s agencies and organizations.

Phone and clerical shifts are available throughout the day, and breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided for all volunteers.

We invite volunteers to dress in Pelicans colors and join us at 9:45 a.m. for coffee and bagels - phone calls will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m., and clerical work will begin at 11:00 a.m.

MSJE and Chabad of Louisiana are teaming up to host a family hamentaschen-making workshop at MSJE on Sunday, February 26 at 3:00pm. You’ll make the dough and choose your perfect down-home filling, with everything from pecan praline to apricot jam available, then leave the mess behind and take your hamentaschen home to bake – just in time for Purim. There will also be crafts and snacks for the kiddos. All ingredients and snacks are kosher. Perfect for families with children of all ages!

The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience is excited to announce the opening of its newest Special Exhibit! Titled “God, Goats and Pickup Trucks: Maurice Schmidt’s Visions of Texas,” the exhibition features 23 artworks celebrating the deep connection between the land and the divine that has come to characterize life in the Bible Belt. The collection ranges over the diverse Texas landscape through subjects both pastoral and holy.

Come see the exhibit, on display at MSJE until May 31, and mention that Shir Chadash is your congregation for a discounted ticket!

SAVE THE DATE!

LIMMUDFEST 2023 GOES LIVE! 

The lineup of local, regional, and national presenters and information on their sessions is now available! This year's sessions will cover a wide variety of issues and topics, such as:

• Arts and Culture
• Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity
• Family
• Food
• Hands-on
• History
• Israel

• Music
• Social Justice
• Southern Jewish Life
• Spirituality
• Text & Thought
• Teen Limmud
• Young Limmud

Each week we will be featuring two of their amazing presenters!

Ben Jaffe is a son of Preservation Hall’s co-founders, Allan and Sandra Jaffe. Raised in the company of New Orleans’ greatest musicians, Ben returned from his collegiate education at Oberlin College in Ohio to play with the group and assume his father’s duties as Director of Preservation Hall. Today, he serves as Creative Director for both the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Hall itself, where he has spearheaded such programs as the New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund.

Limmud 2023 session: Ben Jaffe: My Life in Music

Laura Stein is the co-Founder and Executive Director of Dancing Grounds (DG), a nonprofit organization that brings inclusive and accessible dance programs to people of all ages in New Orleans. Originally from Philadelphia, she has lived in New Orleans since 2012. From 2003-2011, Laura worked in arts education and public policy in NYC. In 2010, she created community dance programs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with the American Jewish World Service. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from New York University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. Laura was featured in the Gambit’s “40 Under 40” list in 2018.



Limmud 2023 session: Where Does Jewish Culture and Ancestry Live In Our Bodies? A Movement Exploration

Visit www.limmudnola.org to see the full line-up of sessions and to register for LimmudFest 2023.

CHESED OPPORTUNITIES

Some of our congregants have some difficulty driving at night, but still wish to attend evening services and programming. Shir Chadash wishes to be as inclusive as possible and hopefully provide assistance to those who may need it.

If you need assistance in getting to shul in the evening OR are able and willing to provide a ride to those in need, please fill out the survey below.

Assistance Requested

Beloved member of the New Orleans Jewish community, Nita-Joan Sams, is seeking a full-time, live-in mature female companion who can also assist with transportation. Free room and board plus payment for services. Respondents must have a current driver's license and computer skills. If interested, please call 504.833.2428.

Jewish student from New Orleans

requesting help for undergraduate thesis

Blake Ziegler, a New Orleans native and Gates of Prayer member, is now a senior studying political science and philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. As part of his degree, he is completing an undergraduate thesis that explores how political affiliation influences interdenominational relations in the American Jewish community, particularly how American Jews consider their political and religious identities when voting. 

The primary aspect of his thesis involves a survey of American Jews that will take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Anyone interested in assisting this young man is encouraged to participate by clicking the button below. Information pertaining to informed consent is available on the first page of the survey along with Blake's contact information if you have any further questions about the study or his thesis.

Vanessa Cohen is an early childhood educator at the New Orleans JCC. This will be her sixth year teaching there. Vanessa was recently diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer. She is taking at least the first semester off from teaching to undergo aggressive cancer treatment which includes radiation and chemotherapy. If you know Vanessa, then you know she is one of the most caring and loving humans on this planet. She takes an interest in every single student. Teaching young and curious minds is Vanessa's greatest love, so for her to have to take extended time off of work must have been an especially challenging decision for her. As a teacher at the JCC, Vanessa has always supported her students and their families with so much enthusiasm and warmth. 

Even with health insurance, Vanessa will have many medical bills and extra expenses as a part of her treatment. FMLA will not be enough to support Vanessa with all of her routine and extra expenses. Now is our time to give back and show our support for Vanessa. Please donate if you can and please feel free to pass this on to anyone who may be willing to help.