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Shir Chadash Newsletter
February 8 - February 14, 2024
29 Shevat - 5 Adar I 5784
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Security Reminder: Please be aware that due to security concerns, we are, for the time being, implementing a new security protocol in which we will require Photo ID from non-members or unfamiliar faces joining us for services. We hope you understand and still decide to join us in prayer as we observe and celebrate Shabbat. | |
Health Reminder: With the return of Winter, also comes the return of rising numbers of Covid, flu, and RSV in our community. If you are feeling ill, please consider staying home and participating in services online to protect those around you, especially the more susceptible members of our Congregation. | |
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Please note that our office will be closed Monday and Tuesday, February 12-13, for Lundi and Mardi Gras Days.
Have a very happy Mardi Gras season and stay safe!
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Dear Shir Chadash community,
This week, I’ll offer a few suggestions about how to learn Torah from the land of Israel – even if you’re not actually in the land of Israel. The places I recommend in the next few paragraphs stand out to me because they satisfy my “double” requirement of being grounded in traditional text study on the one hand, yet maintaining a spirit of pluralism on the other.
First, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that there is a Conservative Yeshiva in Israel. It offers a number of online classes, but its most popular offerings are actually email communications. The two best are a daily Mishna study and a weekly Torah portion discussion. You can sign up to receive these in your email, or you can go on the website of the Conservative Yeshiva and find it yourself.
Second on my list is the Shalom Hartman Institute. Hartman also offers online classes, but in contrast to the Conservative Yeshiva, it has a network of teachers in North America available for in-person instruction. These courses are usually offered through the Federation, and I assure you they are always worthwhile. Shalom Hartman has on its faculty a number of recognizable figures, including Yossi Klein Halevi and Yehuda Kurtzer, to name just two.
Finally, you can try your hand at learning on your own through English language publications from Israel from Koren Publishers in Jerusalem. These include the Steinsaltz Talmud and the Koren Bible, both very well presented explanations of Talmudic and Biblical texts. And if you prefer ebooks, don’t worry – Koren has those as well.
Every Shabbat as we take out the Torah, we declare, “For the Torah will go forth from Zion, and the word of the L-rd from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3) Nowadays, it’s more true than ever – assuming we take it upon ourselves to see to its fulfillment.
Of course, if you need additional help, the leadership of both Shir Chadash and of the New Orleans Jewish community, are here to assist you. Below, you will find link to resources which can help, whether you are seeking pastoral support, an opportunity for pro-Israel advocacy, or a chance to help Israel financially, spiritually, or through volunteer work. Please feel free to take advantage of these resources as fully as you like. And if you need additional help, please feel free to call us in the office.
~ Rabbi Scott Hoffman
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Shir Chadash Calendar
All links have migrated to our webpage. Click here to get there!
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Thursday, February 8th
5 pm, YAS Does Muses - at the corner of Napoleon & Prytania- RSVP HERE
Friday, February 9th
6:15 pm, Shabbat Evening Services
Saturday, February 10th
9:30 am, Shabbat Morning Services, followed by Kiddush lunch
10 am, Babysitting
Sunday, February 11th
NO SHUL SCHOOL - MARDI GRAS BREAK
9:15 am, Minyan with Men's Club, followed by breakfast
Monday, February 12th - Lundi Gras
OFFICE CLOSED
Tuesday, February 13th - Mardi Gras
OFFICE CLOSED
Wednesday, February 14th
10 am, Sisterhood Class: The Bible Says...That?
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Thursday, February 15th
8 am, Morning Minyan on Zoom
Friday, February 16th
6:15 pm, Magical Musical Kabbalat Shabbat with Basya Schechter & David Buchbinder, followed by dessert oneg - Registration is appreciated
Saturday, February 17th
9:30 am, Shabbat Morning Services, followed by Kiddush lunch
10 am, Babysitting
Sunday, February 18th
9 am, SHUL SCHOOL, with special musical workshops for each class featuring Basya Schechter & David Buchbinder
9:15 am, Minyan with Men's Club, followed by breakfast
10:30 am, Sunday Mah Jongg - Open to all players of any experience level
Tuesday, February 20th
11 am, Lunch & Learn: Codes of Jewish Law
Wednesday, February 21st
10 am, Sisterhood Class: The Bible Says...That?
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Shir Chadash Events & Announcements | | |
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We invite you to join us as
Eve Elle Bradley
daughter of Rachel & Jeremy Bradley,
granddaughter of Diane & Mark Schleifstein,
and sister of Rose Ray Bradley
is given her Hebrew Name.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Morning Minyan at 9:30 AM,
followed by Ceremony and Brunch.
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CLASSES WITH RABBI HOFFMAN | |
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Great Jewish Novels
(of the 20th Century)
Once a month, Tuesdays, 7 PM
@ Rabbi Hoffman's Home
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Next Class: March 5th
"Call It Sleep"
by Henry Roth
The twentieth century saw the flourishing of multiple genres of Jewish literature. Great novels were written in pre-war Europe, the newly-established state of Israel, and the first immigrant generation in the United States. Come and discuss the ways in which this literature shaped, and was shaped by, our Jewish world.
Please RSVP to Rabbi Hoffman at rabbiscott@shirchadash.org
Click here for the full 2023-2024 schedule and book list
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Lunch & Learn:
Codes of Jewish Law
With gratitude to the Nat Leon Fund
Once a month, Tuesdays, 11 AM
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Next Class: February 20th
Join Rabbi Hoffman for a one-hour session followed by a delicious catered lunch, provided free of charge thanks to the generosity of the Nat Leon Fund. We will be looking at the various codes of Jewish law and see how Jewish sources have wrestled with questions both timeless and current. You do not need to bring anything but a hunger to learn – and perhaps a hunger for lunch. Translations will be based, wherever possible, upon the materials found in www.sefaria.org.
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Sisterhood Class: The Bible Says... That?
Wednesdays. 10 AM
In-person and available on Zoom
The so-called “historical” books of the Bible – that is, Judges, Joshua, I/II Samuel, and I/II Kings are filled with exciting and colorful stories. But are these stories satirical? Are they filled with hidden messages? Are they both didactic and entertaining? Come and join us for an exploration of these books of the Bible and learn that our ancestors’ tastes were not always far removed from our own. All materials will be provided, so just come and enjoy.
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MAH JONGG SUNDAYS AT SHIR CHADASH | |
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Come play Mah Jongg at Shir Chadash once a month on Sundays at 10:30 AM!
New and experienced players are welcome!
Upcoming Dates: February 18 | March 17
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Minyan will be in the Chapel
at 9:15 am, followed by breakfast.
Zoom participation remains an option.
Everyone welcome!
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Thursday Shacharit Minyan | |
Join us at 8 am for our
virtual weekday minyan.
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Click here for the most recent
Family Newsletter
to learn more about upcoming
children's programming!
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Click here for the most recent Shul School Recap!
If you have not yet registered your child(ren) and wish to enroll them,
please do so HERE or contact
Chaviva Sands at educationdirector@shirchadash.org.
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Top 10 Reasons to Join Sisterhood! | |
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10. Sisterhood needs & values you
9. Interesting discussions & conversations
8. Opportunities to learn new skills
7. Being a part of something bigger than yourself
6. Connections to individuals around the world
5. Longest ongoing Torah study class in NOLA
4. Innovative programming
3. Increased longevity & decreased stress
2. Unmatched support system
1. Lasting friendships
For details about membership, dues payments, or contributing, please click HERE.
Information and/or questions, contact Charisse Sands at 504-231-6464 or annsandsc@aol.com (Sisterhood in subject line)
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UPCOMING CLASSES & PROGRAMMING! | |
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Rosh Chodesh Gathering & Learning
As advertised, Sundays at 10:30 AM
Next Session: March 3rd
Rosh Chodesh is a special time for women to gather and learn. This year Sisterhood will be studying the Girls in Trouble curriculum, a project of Alicia Jo Rabins. We will follow individual women through their stories in the Torah by engaging in studying Torah text, considering the story’s relevance to our own lives, and generating our own creative interpretations. This curriculum brings biblical women to life, demonstrating the power of these often understudied stories and highlighting the ways in which they can help us navigate our own complicated lives.
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Community Events and Announcements | |
Now on exhibit at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, “A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America” is an evocative series of black-and-white photographs by Andrew Feiler memorializing the Rosenwald schools, a network of nearly 5,000 modest schoolhouses built to educate underserved Black students in the segregated south. The project, the joint dream of a Jewish philanthropist and a Black educator, narrowed the Black-white education gap that plagued Southern and border states, strengthened Black-Jewish relations, paved the way for the civil rights movement, and helped to build a new African American middle class. | |
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Contact Us
OFFICE HOURS: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 3 PM
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