Annual Meeting

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Dear Congregants and friends,

Tonight, Friday November 14 at 7pm, we will welcome Shabbat with song and camaraderie. We hope you can join us.
Sunday November 16, will also be a busy day at Beth El. We will have our Sunday school class at 10 am.
Intro to Judaism is now at 10:30 am so please note the new, earlier time!
At 12 noon, we would love as many folks as possible to come over for half an hour and help us move the playground!  We really need a lot of strong arms!
Beth El Annual Meeting will be this Sunday at 4:30 pm, with a kosher BBQ following. Everyone is welcome. Come hear what’s new at Beth El!
Wednesdays we continue our midweek Maariv service at 7pm, followed by Read Hebrew America at 7:30pm.
HOLD THE DATE: Next Friday November 28, please also plan to come for Friday night services followed by a lovely desert and coffee kidush. Hal and Elaine Jacobs have sponsored this event in honor of their visiting daughter, son in law and grandson. We hope you can make it.
We wish you a wonderful Shabbat! As always, go to our Facebook group, Beth El Austin or our website http://bethelaustin.wpengine.com/ for updates and to connect.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message:
This week’s parshah, Hayyei Sarah, begins with the death of The Matriarch Sarah, and Avraham’s purchase of a burial plot for her.  This is the first acquisition of land in Canaan by our ancestors, and has provided a model for us ever since.  Our Tradition teaches us that even before we build a synagogue, we are to see to the acquisition of a cemetery.  It is of primary importance that we assure that the bodies of our departed, bodies which once housed a Divine soul, are properly laid to rest.  The common Hebrew term for cemetery is “Beit ‘Almin”-literally, “eternal house”.  The synagogue is a “Beit K’nesset”, a “house of gathering”-a temporary place for us.  We make sure that members of our community have a permanent resting place, so that the body can return to the dust as it was, while the soul returns to God Who gave it.  May we always be mindful that our permanent home is beyond the bounds of this world-we are here temporarily, so we should make the most of the time that we have here.  Shabbat Shalom.