Firsts, firsts and More firsts!

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What an amazing day of Firsts we had!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udYceQyukic?rel=0]

The first day of Hebrew school, with a brand new class, a brand new children’s Torah scroll, a chance to watch the workmen assemble our brand new chairs, and the opportunity to sound the shofar for the first time.  We began the afternoon with a visit to the sanctuary, where we sang “Mah Tovu” and wondered at the gorgeous new room in which we plan to pray.  We then looked at, hugged, lifted, and read a few letters from our brand new student Torah scroll, and then began our alef-bet studies in a manner reminiscent of some of our great grandparents — we each ate a letter written in honey on an apple in order to have the sweet taste of Hebrew and on our tongues for our entire student careers.

We also learned to sing the chorus of Adon Olam and plan to sing with the congregation Shabbat morning.

Adon Olam chorus only

Today’s big thinking question (relating to Rosh Hashanah):  Is it God’s birthday on Rosh Hashanah? Does God have a birthday?

A note: registration is still open!  Class for kinder-third grade is Monday afternoon from 4-5:30, and we will have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah class Tuesday evenings.  If upper elementary students want to join us, we will find a time and schedule a class!  For more information, email Betsy@MorahBetsy.com.

9/11 commemoration, High Holiday class, and Shabbat message

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Dear congregants and friends,

Please note that Beth El is participating in a special September 11th commemoration at the JCAA this Sunday morning starting at 9:30 am at the Flagpoles at the Dell Campus.  We hope you will join us and the Austin Jewish community.

Friday night, September 9th, we will hold our regular Friday night services at 7pm.  Again, we welcome you all.

Finally, pease join us next Wednesday, September 14 at 7pm for our High Holiday primer class held at Beth El.  Come with all your high holiday questions or just to learn in this informal class led by Cantor Ben-Moshe.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s message:   This week’s parashah is Ki Tetze, an eclectic collection of laws, ranging from building codes (houses need parapets around the roofs to prevent people from falling) to laws pertaining to the ethical treatment of debtors and of day laborers.  The concluding ‘aliyah, the maftir, is a bit puzzling, though.  This is the maftir of Zachor, remember.  Remember what ‘Amalek did to us.  The puzzling thing is the end of the maftir.  After God has delivered us from all of our enemies, then we are to destroy the memory of ‘Amalek.  Why would we need to destroy the memory of ‘Amalek?  Presumably, the ‘Amalekites are one of the enemies that would have already been destroyed!  The answer, I think, is that the “memory of ‘Amalek” is a spiritual concept.  We need to destroy the spirit of ‘Amalek, the spirit of hatred and violence that exists in all of us.  We cannot be fully redeemed until that evil spirit is gone from us.  So too, we cannot fully enter the spirit of the High Holidays with hatred and violence in our hearts.  May we indeed destroy the “memory of ‘Amalek” in ourselves and our society.

Shabbat Shalom.

Cantor Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Elul and Shabbat Shoftim

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This week we read the Parsha Shoftim, which contains one of the most famous phrases in all of Torah, the sentence that tells us pursue justice.  This is such an important commandment that the word justice (tzedek צֶדֶק) is repeated twice.  Justice, JUSTICE shall you pursue.   –Betsy

Rabbi Ben Greenberg explains the importance of this repetition:

There is another way to read this phrase though and that is the interpretation of Ibn Ezra. He reads the double usage of the word tzedek to emphasize the importance of pursuing righteousness. No matter whether the righteousness “benefits you or harms you”. The work of justice is not meant to be a money making scheme or a path to getting rich quickly. On the contrary, it could harm chances for moving up the employment ladder, could distance a person from others and could seriously harm a person’s chance for material success. If, on the other hand, it does contribute to the financial success of a person that is fine and not to be looked down upon but that is not the goal of working towards justice.

A reminder of our regular Friday night and Saturday morning services this weekend, September 2 and 3.  Friday night services start at 7:00 pm and Saturday morning start at 9:00 am.

 

From Cantor Ben Moshe:
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, this I request-to dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life….”. We are now in the month of Elul, approaching the Days of Awe, and we read these words from Psalm 27 morning and evening. At this time of year, we become more aware that we do live in the Presence of the Holy One, and that we should conduct ourselves accordingly. The shofar sounds in the morning, reminding us to wake up and take heed of our actions.
May this month of Elul be truly a time of heshbon nefesh, accounting of the soul, for us and for the entire House of Israel.

Shabbat Shalom.

Shabbat Re’eh, Friday evening services, and high holiday planning

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Congregants,
As we do every Friday night, we will have services tonight at 7:00 pm.
Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message The week to come marks the beginning of the month of Elul, when we begin to think about the upcoming High Holidays.  We turn our thoughts inward, toward self-improvement and repentance.  The shofar is sounded in the morning, calling us to wake up and examine our ways.  Currently, our sanctuary here at Beth El is being renovated.  Come Rosh Hashanah, we will be meeting in a renewed and revitalized space.  This is also a time to renew and revitalize ourselves.  Unlike the synagogue building, though, we humans have the privilege of being able to renew ourselves every year, and indeed every day.  While we temporarily pray in the social hall, let us remember that renovation is not only for physical space, but for the spirit as well.
High Holiday Schedule 
Rosh Hashanah is a little over a month away and we have begun preparations for our services.   See attached schedule for times and dates for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.
You can also prepare for the high holidays by buying the high holiday cards children created.  More information here:  Cards

We look forward to seeing everyone at services tonight at 7pm.
Shabbat shalom,
Congregation Beth El
8902 Mesa Drive

Beth El Updates and Services Tonight and Tomorrow

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Congregants and Friends,

A reminder of our regular Friday night and Saturday morning services this weekend, August 19th and 20th.  Friday night services start at 7:00 pm and Saturday morning start at 9:00 am.

SANCTUARY RENOVATION – Beginning Monday, August 22, we will take our sanctuary out of service while we install new chairs, new carpet, a new ark, and other improvements.  During this renovation, we will continue to hold Friday night services in the social hall.  If all work goes as scheduled, services will resume in the sanctuary on the weekend of September 16 and 17.

Thank you to everyone who have generously donated, invested time, and helped on these improvements.

Cantor’s Message – This week’s parashah, ‘Ekev, contains the famous words “Man does not live by bread alone”.  The Torah is teaching us that material things, while important, are not of ultimate importance.   We also need the metaphysical, the spiritual.  In a similar vein, the sad observance of Tish’ah B’Av teaches us that the Temple in Jerusalem was not as important as God, to Whom the Temple was dedicated.  As we prepare to celebrate our last Shabbat in the current configuration of Beth El’s sanctuary, let us remember that a congregation is much more than the building in which it meets, and that a congregation’s ultimate purpose is the worship of God.  Still, we also rejoice in the opportunity to fulfill the hopeful words read at the end of the Book of Lamentations-“renew our days as of old”.  Shabbat Shalom.
 
Congregation Beth El
8902 Mesa Drive