Congressman Schneider, State Rep. Nekritz to Attend Shir Hadash Synagogue Dedication This Sunday

Shir Hadash Synagogue will officially dedicate its new home in Wheeling at noon this Sunday, August 18, with a ceremony and community-wide celebration. Congressman Brad Schneider, Illinois State Representative Elaine Nekritz, and other local officials are expected to attend. Also in attendance will be Michael Balinsky, Executive Vice President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis. At least 60 congregation members and friends, including Congressman Schneider, will accompany the synagogue’s three Torah scrolls on a three-mile walk from the synagogue's former headquarters at 3340 W. Dundee Road in Northbrook to its new building at 200 W. Dundee Road. More than 200 people are expected to attend the Dedication. The public is encouraged to attend; register at www.shir-hadash.org.

Before entering the building, a dedication ceremony that includes speeches by Congressman Schneider and local and synagogue officials will be held. Then all the gathered will dance their way to the synagogue carrying the scrolls.

 The dedication will feature a Trio from the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, Shir Hadash musicians, and traditional dancing. Traditional songs will be sung and prayers said as the Torah scrolls are placed in the ark. After the ceremony, Kosher refreshments will be served. There will be children’s activities including a bouncy house.

The event will officially end the synagogue's 18-year search for a permanent home that included the use of rented facilities for prayer, community service programs, religious school, and administration in a number of north and northwest suburban towns.

Shir Hadash President Jeffrey Wallk said the new building, the former home of RAILS, a regional library agency serving the northwest suburbs, will enable the growing synagogue to put down its roots in the Northwest suburbs and to expand its social service programs for the area. "The building will allow Shir Hadash to provide a host of new and improved services that we can now offer to our members and to the communities we serve,” he said.

The building will serve as home for religious services, the synagogue's growing religious school, youth and social action programs, its music and arts activities and administrative services.

Shir Hadash Synagogue, a Reconstructionist congregation, attracts members from Northbrook, Glenview, Deerfield, Highland Park, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights and Palatine as well as Chicago, Skokie, Park Ridge, Barrington, and Gurnee. Shir Hadash is accepting registration to its one-day-a-week (Sundays) religious school. To register for the dedication, go to www.shir-hadash.org or call (847) 498-8218. If you are interested in joining Shir Hadash for the Torah walk, please see our website for details.