Shabbat Bamidbar

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Shabbat shalom to all and we look forward to seeing you tonight at 7 for our Friday night services and tomorrow morning at 9 am for our Shabbat morning services.


Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message:

This week we begin Sefer B’midbar, the Book of Numbers.  After two years at Sinai, the People of Israel are ready to move on, and a census is taken to see the strength of ‘Am Yisrael.  On the Jewish calendar, we are one week away from the end of the counting of the ‘Omer and the Festival of Shavuot, and on the secular calendar we are at Memorial Day.  To those who are traveling, safe journeys, and we hope to see those who are staying in Austin Friday night and Shabbat morning.  To all of the Beth El family and our guests, Shabbat Shalom.
Cantor Yitzhak  Ben-Moshe
www.bethelaustin.org

editorial note: Our apologies for the weeks where we have not been updating the website.  The website editor has been recovering from surgery.

Weekend Events — Shabbat K’doshim

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Congregants and Friends,

 

What an exciting weekend at Beth El.  Tonight we will have our regular Friday night services at 7 pm.

 

Tomorrow morning, starting at 9 am, we will have shabbat morning services and the baby naming of our newest twin congregants. We hope you can all join us for this special happy occasion.  Mazal tov to grandparents, parents, and the extendend family.  Welcome girls!

 

Also, please participate in the collection of toiletries for Caritas of Austin – the box is by the door and would love to be filled with shampoos, conditioners and soap for the less fortunate in our community.

Message from Cantor  Ben – Moshe

This week we read Parshat K’doshim, the Holiness Code of the Torah.  This parshah contains, as we might expect, rules about rituals, purity and impurity, and the like.  Interestingly though, the first elements of holiness in the parshah have to do with helping the poorest and weakest members of society.  Whether it is providing for the poor, protecting the disabled, or making sure that justice is available to the powerless, it is clear that holiness begins with social justice.  Indeed, that is the message of Passover-that God looks out for the most oppressed of society.  May we strive to fulfill the vision of holiness of our Holy Torah.  Shabbat Shalom.

Baby Naming April 30 at 9:00 AM

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Dear Congregants and Friends,

Please join us this Shabbat morning, Saturday April 30, 2011, as we welcome our two newest congregants during the 9:00 AM service.  Mazel Tov to the twin baby girls, their parents, and their extended families.

Congregation Beth El

Shabbat Pesach

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Congregants and friends,
May you all have a wonderful shabbat and rest of Passover.  Please note we have services tonight at 7pm and tomorrow morning at 9 am.  We look forward to seeing you all.
Shabbat Shalom!
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message:

On this, the Intermediate Shabbat of Pesah, it is customary to read Shir Hashirim, the Song of Songs.  The obvious link is the description in the Song of the season of spring.  However, there is a deeper connection to Pesah.  The time immediately following the Exodus was the honeymoon period for God and the People of Israel.  The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the Exodus and the period of wandering in the desert as “the love of your newlywed status”.  How appropriate then to read the sublime love poetry of the Song of Songs on this Shabbat.  May it be a sweet and lovely Day of Rest for us all.

Cantor Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Happy Passover! Community Seder 2nd Night

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Please join us at Congregation Beth El for a community/congregational seder for the second night.  We will begin reading the haggadah with Cantor Ben Moshe at 6pm, and Morah Betsy and our children will act out the plagues section, including a dash to the Sea of Reeds.

The meal will be Kosher-for-Passover  dairy pot-luck and you can contact Iris for details.

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The Caritas donations drive is ongoing and your gift of new bottles of shampoo and conditioner are welcome.  There is a box at the synagogue entrance.