Announcements for Passover

Dear Congregants and Friends,

We hope you can all join us this Friday night, March 30 at 7pm for our regular Kabbalat shabbat services and Saturday morning, March 31 at 9 am, with the Torah service at 9:45, for our shabbat services.  Also, don’t forget to send your RSVP by replying to this e-mail for the second night seder at Beth El a week from Saturday – April 7 at 6 pm.

This week we read in Parshat Tzav more of the rules of sacrifices-how they were to be offered, and for what reasons. This parshah, as well as most of the Book of Vayikra, Leviticus, are rather hard reading for us, living nearly 2000 years after the last sacrifice was offered in the Temple. What we need to do is to look at the Hebrew word for sacrifice-korban, meaning something that is brought near, or more to the point, something that brings us near to God. Our ancestors offered sacrifices in order to come near to God. How can we do so in our time? That is the central question that is raised by the Book of Leviticus, and a very important question for all Jews at all times.

This Shabbat is also Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat before Pesah. The Season of our Liberation is at hand, and we will be discussing the traditions and the meaning of Pesah this Shabbat.  Please join us Friday and Saturday.

Before services on Friday night, a sign-up sheet will be available for anyone to make me their agent for selling hametz to a non-Jew for the duration of the Festival.

Shabbat Shalom.

Cantor Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
8902 Mesa Drive
Austin, TX 78759