Kol Nidre

/in , , /by

Kol Nidre services will begin this Friday at 6:45 sharp!  The calendar for Yom Kippur (and the next few months) is here, and you can learn more about Kol Nidre and the customs of Yom Kippur here. Customs and blessings for the meal before Yom Kippur are here, and there are notes about the liturgy here.

Yom Kippur Calendar:

Friday: Kol Nidre 6:45 SHARP!
Saturday: morning services at 9 am
Torah service at 10:30 am
children’s service 1t 10:30
Mincha at 5:30 pm
Neilah at 6:45 pm

Special notes:

  • Yertzheit candles are lit after the meal at home, but before the holiday candles.
  • It is customary to give tzedakah before the holiday.  In addition to your usual tzedakah donations, please consider giving specifically to organizations that help the homeless and hungry.  Our morning haftarah teaches (Isaiah 58):

5 Is such the fast I desire,
A day for men to starve their bodies?
Is it bowing the head like a bulrush
And lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call that a fast,
A day when the Lord is favorable?
6 No, this is the fast I desire:
To unlock the fetters of wickedness,
And untie the cords of the yoke
To let the oppressed go free;
To break off every yoke.
7 It is to share your bread with the hungry,
And to take the wretched poor into your home;
When you see the naked, to clothe him,
And not to ignore your own kin.

  • If you are accustomed to wearing a tallit, please bring one for Kol Nidre.  It is the only evening service of the year when congregants wear a tallit.
  • Please plan to park at the office park across the street or a few blocks away at Grace Church.  The driveway is reserved for disabled visitors and the residents of Dominion Cove have asked that we NOT use the north side of their street for parking.  The south side is available but limited.
  • Come early!

Did you know ???

This is the only Shabbat of the entire year that does not include a kiddush?  Come anyway!

Children’s Service for First Day Rosh Hashanah

/in , , /by


Once again this year, Morah Betsy will be leading a service for 6-12 year old students on the First Day of Rosh Hashanah (Thursday 9/29/11) at approximately 10:30 AM.  We will pray, have a Torah service with the congregation’s brand new student Torah scroll, read the Torah readings in English, discuss the prayers, and blow shofar.

We will also join the adult service in the sanctuary briefly for the sounding of the shofar there.

For our prayers and Torah selection, we will using the Tiku Shofar Machzor, kindly loaned to us from Congregation Agudas Achim, and we hope to use it again on Yom Kippur.

A Very Special Shabbat

/in , , /by

Dear Congregants and Friends,

Please join us this Friday night, September 23 at 7 pm as we welcome back Colonel and Elinor Pusin who are visiting from San Antonio for Friday night services.

As many of you know, Colonel Pusin, who is 93 and a founding member at Beth El, recently moved to San Antonio after many years in Austin and at Beth El.  He will be coming to Beth El to see old friends and the new sanctuary in his beloved shul.  His friends from the Jewish War Veterans will be joining us too and we will have a kiddish and kibbitz after services.
Tomorrow night, September 24 at 8 pm, we will be having a havdallah, followed by slichot services.  Again, please join us for this “kick-off” to the High Holidays.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s weekly message:

This Shabbat, the last before Rosh Hashanah, is the double parshah of Nitzavim-VaYelech.  Moses’ final oration to the People of Israel is drawing to a close, and he says “You are present here, today, all of you.”  All of B’nai Yisrael were listening to Moses, from the highest to the lowest.  These words were not just for those who were standing on the border of the Land of Israel, though.  They are addressed to us as well.  We must be present, here, today.  Jewish tradition bids us to practice mindfulness through the practice of mitzvot.  At this time of year, when the shofar wakes us up from our stale routine, we must remember to be present.  Here.  Today.
Shabbat Shalom and G’mar hatimah tovah.

Congregation Beth El

8902 Mesa Drive

Austin TX 78759

High Holiday Information

/in , /by

Cantor Ben Moshe dressing the Torah and the Ark in white, last year.

The high holidays are nearly upon us, and the schedule for services for Beth El is now finalized.  All events and services are free and do not require tickets, and the entire community is welcome to join us.  (We do gratefully accept donations, however, and invite you to discuss the possibility of membership.)

Beth El High Holiday Schedule 5772 (This is a PDF that you can print or download.)

The calendar for adult and junior congregation services is here.

Read more

High Holiday Cards!

/in , , , , /by

Still need Rosh Hashanah cards?  Shabbat cards to bring with your wine bottle or flowers when you’re invited to a Shabbat meal?  A Sukkot card to thank the friends who invite you to eat in their Sukkah?  How about Sukkot cards to use as invitations when you invite others to your sukkah?  We have even added Bar/Bat Mitzvah and thank-you cards to our collection.

Get your cards from Beth El and help our children raise money for child-size tallitot, story books, and costumes for Shabbat and holiday Junior Congregation programming.

click to enlarge

The kids have been busy, and so have I.  Here are 55 of the designs we have created, and there are samples available at shul entrance.  No cards will be sold on Shabbat, but if you order by email, I will leave your cards in the shul in an envelope for you. Remember also that we can custom paint, draw, or create a collage.   Children’s Services Fundraiser PO 2 page, or just email me.

The kids have assembled a wish list for Shabbat/holiday children’s services:

WISH LIST:

  • child-size ark & Torah scroll (We are already dancing with and reading from our scroll!  Thanks Mr. Arthur!)
  • child-size tallitot
  • costumes for kids & puppets
  • materials for holiday crafts
  • Torah books & stories

For more info, contact  MorahBetsy@gmail.com.