Parashat Achrei Mot

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Special shiva minyan 7 AM Friday morning, May 6. Please join us in a short morning service and shiva minyan for Cantor Ben-Moshe’s late father.

Friday Night Shabbat Services are at 6:45 PM. We will have another shiva minyan, followed at 7 PM by regular Friday night services.

Candle lighting in Austin is at 7:54 PM
Parashat Achrei Mot – Nisan 28

Another thank you to our lay led service leaders last weekend who came together in a special and touching way to enable us to have a meaningful service and Yizkor. We are immensely grateful to our Beth El community! May you all go from strength to strength.

The meymuna last Sunday was amazing. Over a hundred people enjoyed delicious Moroccan delicacies and lively music! As with all Beth El events, we couldn’t have done it without our precious volunteers! Shiry Turjeman – you are unbelievable for initiating this and the countless hours you spent baking goodies. Huge shout out to Idit, Claudia, Tamar, Shay, Mary, Genevieve, Rinat, Mirit and all the others who helped cook and clean up after both on the day and the week before. This may have to be an annual chagigah!

THERE WILL BE NO SUNDAY SCHOOL THIS SUNDAY, MAY 8th. Talmidim (students), please thank your moms!

One week away from Vania’s Bat Mitzvah, Friday May 13. PLEASE let us know if you can help with the kidish crew for this special event, this Sunday morning, May 8th at 9 AM, Thursday May 12 at 6 PM onwards and Friday morning at 9 AM. Claudia would greatly appreciate the help.

SAVE THE DATE: Our annual “state of the shul” meeting will be held on Sunday, June 5, at 4:45 pm followed by a Kosher cookout. We plan to discuss shul business and elect officers for the upcoming year.

Passover VIII and Meymuna next week!

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Friday Night Shabbat Services are at 7 PM.
Candle lighting in Austin is at 7:50 PM

Shabbat morning services are THIS SATURDAY morning – Pesach VIII, Saturday, April 30, at 9 AM. Please join us for this lay led shabbat service. The kosher for Passover kidish has been generously sponsored by Javis Howeth in memory of her beloved mother, Ruby Lee Campbell Howeth, a.k.a. “Judy” of blessed memory. There will be a Yizkor service.

Meimuna, THIS SUNDAY, May 1st, at 4 PM – a joyful celebration to mark the end of Passover.
Bring yourselves, your friends and community. Shiry, Claudia, Mary, Genevieve, Idit, and others, have been working tirelessly to make the delicious pastries and mufleta. Come and enjoy. You may bring dried fruits and nuts, cold drinks (kosher please), fresh fruit or paper goods if you like.

The Passover seder was truly one incredible evening. We had a full house of over a hundred people and I know people enjoyed it immensely. We will also always treasure the memories of that special evening with the Chazzan and his lovely family, including his father Milton, z’l.
Here is just one quote from Herschel that pretty much sums it up:
“We really enjoyed the Seder. It was one of the best we have ever attended. You did a fantastic job. You and the Cantor, should put this on a road show. We also feel lucky to have all of you as part of our family.”

WE HAVE SUNDAY SCHOOL THIS SUNDAY, MAY 1ST, 10 AM!

Thank you to all our Passover helpers!!! Many many folks helped us. Jared, Gracie, Mary, Sarah, Genevieve, Rachel, Larry, Elaine, Doris, Yosef, Kevin, Iris, Sara, Bob, Yesenia, Carmen, Scott, Art, Rinat, Claudia, Javis, Tamar, Anat, Lori and David. Many others helped on the night and please forgive if your name is not on the list – everyone really did lend a hand.

Dvar Torah from Rabbi Peter Tarlow of the Center for Jewish Hispanice relations:
This weekend marks the end of the Passover holiday and the return to eating chametz. During the last week, we were to think about the meaning of freedom and when we lacked both national freedom and also personal freedom. One of this holiday’s aspects that makes Passover so unique is that it is a time when we are “chametz-free”.
The term chametz is not easy to translate. We often translate it as “leavening”, or something that makes food rise. Thus, Jews around the world refrain from eating most bread products and beers throughout the holiday. Can we see Passover as the first “gluten-free holiday”?
In reality, as almost every Jewish person knows, translating the word chametz for someone outside of Jewish culture is not an easy. The word conveys a sense of “puffed-up” and of “self-importance”. Thus, it has booth a food-science meaning and a spiritual and national meaning. Chametz reminds us that we are free but only within the confines of society. The term also reminds us that each of us is just one small dot in the scheme of history, that to rid oneself of self-importance is another way to rid oneself of perpetual slavery.
The word “chametz” is not only used, however, with the holiday of Passover. Thus, in chapter 2 of Leviticus we read: “No meal offering that you offer to the Lord shall be with leaven (chametz), for you shall burn no leaven (se’or) or honey in any fire offering to the Lord.” (2:11)
And again in chapter 6 of Leviticus we read: “… its remainder (of the meal offering) shall be eaten by Aaron and his sons; it shall be eaten as unleavened cake (matzot) in the sacred precinct … It shall not be baked with leaven …” (6:9-10). Does being chametz-free here symbolize the unfinished, the work that has yet to be done to complete a task?
As we finish the holiday of Passover we remember that the search for freedom and human dignity is also an unfinished business. To be chametz free then represents the beginning of a yet-unfulfilled process. Now that we are about to end the Passover holidays and enter the comforts of the chametz world, it is our responsibility to remember that our journey to collective and personal freedom is not yet complete, that all too many of us have become spoiled and at times selfish. How do each of us remember the lessons of Passover and the meaning of freedom throughout the rest of the year? What do you think?

In memory of Milton Mann z’l

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Dear Congregants,

Below is the obituary for Milton Mann, z’l, father of our dear Cantor Yitzhak Ben-Moshe and friend to us all at Beth El. His funeral will be held today at 1PM in Jacksonville, Florida. Again, we would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the entire family.

“HaMakom yenachem et’chem b’toch shar avay’lay Tzion ve’Yerushalayim.
May the Omnipresent comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”

In Memory of Milton Bernard Mann
February 23, 1931 – April 25, 2016
Dr. Milton B. Mann, age 85, passed away on Monday, April 25, 2016. He was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1931 to Israel and Ruth Mann. He is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Clara; his loving children, Yitzhak Ben-Moshe and Irene (John) LeJeune; his grandchildren, Ilan and Eden Ben-Moshe; future daughter-in-law, Shereen Canady; his devoted sister, Shirley Goldman, as well as many nieces and nephews who loved their Uncle Milton.
He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina Medical School and practiced Psychiatry in Jacksonville for 33 years at Baptist Medical Center and the Veterans Administration, and was loved by the many patients he helped over the years. He was a life member of the Duval County Medical Society, the Jacksonville Jewish Center where he served on the board for many years, as well as a long-time volunteer medical advisor to the Jewish Family and Community Services, and a proud member of the American Legion. Milton had a wonderful sense of humor and vibrant personality, and he made friends wherever he went. He was passionate about his family, his work, travel, history, archaeology, and the State of Israel.
A graveside funeral service will take place on Thursday, April 28th at the New Center Cemetery (Evergreen Cemetery) at one o’clock in the afternoon. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Stronger Than Stigma or the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America.

Passover weekend

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No Friday Night Shabbat Services tonight as it is the first seder. This is the only time of the year we don’t have Friday night services.

Candle lighting in Austin is at 7:45 PM

Shabbat morning services are TOMORROW morning
Saturday April 23 at 9 AM. Please join us for this special and beautiful service in which we sing Hallel.

Saturday April 23 at 7:00 PM is our wonderful 2nd night at Beth El.

This month, we are adding a special shabbat morning service on the fifth shabbat, Saturday April 30, with a special Yizkor service.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message
This Shabbat is of course Pesah, Passover. We celebrate the liberation of our ancestors from slavery in Egypt with the ritual of the Seder-the most observed of all Jewish rites. It is notable that the main character of the Exodus story does not appear in our Haggadah-the name of Moses is never mentioned in the entire Seder. Our Tradition thus teaches us not to idolize any human, great though he may have been. Our reliance is on God alone-the real hero and worker of our deliverance. Leaders may come and go, but God’s lovingkindness is everlasting, as we sing in the Hallel. May we all feel truly free, may all of humanity be free, and all of us feel God’s kindness in our lives. Shabbat Shalom and Hag Kasher v’Sameah.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

From Rabbi Peter Tarlow of the Center for Jewish Latino Relations:
Passover Prohibited Foods/Alimentos prohibidos durante Pésaj
A number of people have asked for a definition of “Chametz” and which foods belong to the “chametz” category” To help here is a good partial list.
Varias personas han pedido que les demos una lista de los alimentos que se clasifican como “Jametz”. Para ayudarlos, aqu’ hay una lista.
“Chametz” is classified as: Se clasifica “jametz” como:
1) all foods made with leavening/todo hecho con levadura;
2) cereals/cereales;
3) The following grans/los granos que siguen:
a) wheat/trigo
b) oats/avena
c) barley/cebada
d) smelt/centeno
e) corn/maiz (precise definition unclear/no hay ninguna definición precisa)
4) For some: What is called Kiniyot/Lo que se llama kiniyot.
These include/Incluyen
Legumes, green beans, lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas soya,
Legumbres, porotos, lentejas, garbanzas, habas, arvejas (guisantes), soya
Things derived from the above: pasta, beer, wisky
Todo lo que se deriva de los alimentos de arriba: masas, cerveza, whisky
Sephardic Jews reject the idea of the kiniyot and tend to eat:
Los sefarditas rechazan el concepto de los kiniyot y comen:
Green beans/porotos
Peas /arveja (guisantes)
Lentils/lentejas
Rice/arroz
Sesame seeds/semillas de sesamo
Sunflower seeds/semillas de girasoles
Peanuts/maní (cacahuete)
Most US Jews eat peanuts/ La mayor parte de los jud’os norteamericanos consumen cacahuete.
Quinoa is kosher for Passover/Quinoa es kasher l’Pesaj
Passover’s laws go into effect around midday April 22 until the sighting of
three stars on April 30tth.
Las leyes de Pesaj se empiezan alrededor de mediod’a 22 de abril hasta la
vista de tres estrellas por la noche de 30 de abril.

Thank you to all our helpers!!! Many many folks helped us get ready – whether you climbed the roof to clean gutters, cleaned, cooked, changed balasts and more, we are extremely grateful: Jared, Gracie, Mary, Sarah, Genevieve, Rachel, Larry, Elaine, Doris, Yosef, Kevin, Iris, Sara, Bob, Yesenia, Scott, Art, Rinat, Claudia and Javis.

We have a first for Beth El at the end of Passover! We are going to have a traditional Moroccan Meimuna. This promises to be a great new and meaningful and extremely delicious event, one that is enjoyed by Jews in Israel and soon, by us here. Sunday evening, May 1. Yesher Koach to Shiry for organizing. Let us know if you want to help cook.

Happy birthday this week to Gabbai Bam, Yosef Aguilar, David Henderson and Larry Butler!
Let us know your special occasion and we’ll give you a Mazal Tov!

From Phil and Keren who recently moved to Israel:
“Shalom to our dear friends at Beth El,
We wish you all a Chag Pesach Samech! All is well here in Ariel. Our container arrived last Sunday so we have spent the last week unpacking some boxes and moving others to our upstairs attic for storage until we do our renovations. Today was a good day and we got a lot done. I got to finally set up my kitchen! Yeah! I now have more than 2 pots to cook with and I have all my spices! Tomorrow we will be up early for a final clean up of the floors and entry way and a quick trip to the market before Pesach. We are looking forward to a day of rest! Baruch Hashem Phil has been feeling great and has been strong with all this moving of boxes. It truly is a land blessed by God and being here we feel very blessed too. We have not started Ulpan yet so we have been using Google translate to help us communicate. We live in an apartment building with 4 units. Two of the units are Russian families so we will eventually learn Hebrew and perhaps a little Russian too! They are all very nice people and have been very kind to us. And we are getting along OK without a car. Learning the bus system was a little challenging at first but we have learned and are doing fine now. Doing a lot of walking too which is good for us! Our dog, Ruby has adjusted pretty well and is very fascinated by the native turtle that lives in the yard below us! She also enjoys watching the cats and occasionally has to bark and harass them! But there is a lovely park nearby to take her to play frisbee when there is no one else around so she still gets her exercise.
The streets of Ariel are lined with banners for Pesach and the kids get a 3 week vacation this year! Pesach is a big deal in Israel!
Chag Sameach,
Keren and Phil”

Parashat Metzorah

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Friday Night Shabbat Services Tonight 4/15, at 7:00 PM.
Candle lighting in Austin is at 7:36 PM

Passover countdown – one week away.

Shabbat morning services Saturday April 23 at 9 AM.
Second Night Seder, 7PM

This month, we are adding a special shabbat morning service on the fifth shabbat, Saturday April 30, with a special Yizkor service.

Our deepest condolences to the Shapiro family and relatives on the passing this week of Milton Simons, z’l, who passed away at the age of 99. May his memory be a blessing and may you be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message
Our parshah this week, Metzora’, details the ceremony by which one became purified after the affliction of tzara’at clears up. The first step is that a Cohen, a priest, is notified of the change in status, and then goes outside the camp to inspect the afflicted person, to validate that the affliction has indeed passed. This is significant-the Cohen “lowers” himself to approach the impure person, in order to more swiftly facilitate his or her return to the community.
In the haftarah for Shabbat Hagadol, the Shabbat before Pesah, we read that Elijah the Prophet will come to turn “the hearts of parents to children, and of children to parents”. In the context of ancient Israelite society, this is remarkable. It was the norm that children were subservient to parents in ancient times-so for parents to first attempt to reconcile with their children, and only then for the children to reciprocate would be unheard of.
In both of these instances, our Tradition is teaching us an important lesson. Too often, we humans allow conflict to go on and fester because we are unwilling to “lower ourselves” by reaching out to an opponent. It is in our nature to hold a grudge rather than to “pursue peace”. However, we are called upon by our Torah to overcome our nature and to seek reconciliation even when it is uncomfortable. Unchecked pride can lead to fatal deterioration of relationships. Indeed, we are taught that God approaches us for reconciliation-and we are called upon to walk on God’s ways.
At this time when families gather together to celebrate and retell the Liberation from bondage, let us also liberate ourselves from the bondage of pride and of holding grudges. May we all celebrate true freedom-us, our families, all the People of Israel and all of humanity. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
Saturday April 23 at 7:00 PM is our wonderful 2nd night Seder at Beth El.
Remember, you can help in the following ways: volunteer to cook with the kidish crew, bring in kosher for Passover items like kosher for Passover deserts from the kosher HEB and kosher for Passover wine or grape juice and of course making a donation.

Mini work day and afternoon of cooking this Sunday April 17 at 12 PM – just after Sunday school. We need help with light yard work, cleaning and setting up the tables, as well as cooking. Next Tuesday 19 and Thursday 21 we will also be cooking, from 11 AM on both days. Please let us know if you can help.

We have a first for Beth El at the end of Passover! We are going to have a traditional Moroccan Meimuna. What is a meimuna you ask – more details to follow, but it will be a great new and meaningful and extremely delicious event, one that is enjoyed by Jews in Israel and soon, by us here. Sunday evening, May 1.

Please see the lovely article written by Bev Golden in this month’s Jewish Outlook about our sisterhood and the good deeds and fun moments they share, page 108. Also, check out a wonderful article about the Szyk exhibit from the Philipson collection on page 100. Go the the website directly
http://shalomaustin.org/outlook. E-edition.

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday April 17 at 10AM. “Ms Carol” Rubin is coming to do a special activity and songs with the children.

Happy birthday to our Gabbai Bam! (20 April) Until 120!