Friday Night Kaballat Shabbat Services, Tonight 10/23, at 7 PM. We hope to see you! We’ll be there, rain or shine! Lots of spirited singing promised!
Tomorrow morning, Saturday, October 24, at 9 AM, we will be having our regular Shabbat morning services, with the Torah service at about 9:45 and a children’s story time at 11 AM. We will have a special kiddush lunch immediately following. Thanks to Bam Rubenstein for sponsoring the kiddush in memory of his beloved late mother, Barbara, may her memory always be for a blessing.
Please consider sponsoring upcoming kiddushes – we can always use supplies, in-kind donations and sponsorships. email bethelaustin@yahoo.com if you would like to help.
Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week’s parshah, Lekh L’kha, sees God commanding Avram (his name changes to Avraham at the end of the parshah) to leave his home in Haran, Syria, to go to what will be his new home and that of his descendants. When Avram comes to the Land of Canaan, he does not do so arrogantly, even though he comes with God’s promise and blessing. He comes in peace and establishes friendly relations with others in the Land. Of course, we see that he is also capable of fighting, waging war against those who had taken his nephew Lot into captivity. Our ancestor thus sets an example for us – we are to, in the words of Hillel, “love peace and pursue peace”, while defending ourselves and those dear to us. In these troubled times, may Israel’s defenders find the strength to protect our people, and may Israel’s government find the strength and wisdom to seek peace. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
Hebrew school Sunday Funday continues this Sunday at 10 am!
SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, November 15th, join Beth El in a special evening honoring our very own Chazzan, Cantor Ben-Moshe.
Invitations are in the mail – you can email us with any questions. We want everyone to come! It will be a special and meaningful night. Thank you to the many volunteers, spearheaded by our very own Elaine Jacobs, who are working to make this absolutely magnificent!
*Please send your RSVP to the November 15 Tribute Dinner as soon as you can. Thank you to everyone who has already done so! It will be lovely – catered kosher dinner, silent auction, and entertainment. Included in the silent auction are tickets to Ballet Austin, Zach Scott Theatre, Esther’s Follies, a variety of amazing pieces of artwork, Yoga session, personal training, hand-crafted jewelry by Jacob Gilboa, a custom made tallit by AustinCustomTallit.com and much, much more.*
LOVE TO RUN? JOIN Team “BETH EL BANDITS” for the Turkey Trot this year.
On Thanksgiving day, November 26, Beth El will be entering its own team of runners, merry makers and cheerers. Please let us know if you would like to enter the Turkey Trot with us. It promises to be a lot of fun. info@bethelaustin.org to save your spot on the team.
THANK YOU KIDDISH CREW: Thank you so much to the amazing kiddish crew for a creative shabbos feast. You all are the best. This week we are grateful to Bob for his famous cholent, Claudia, Mary, Rachel, Sarah, Genevieve, Michelle, and Iris.
Rabbi Peter Tarlow’s weekly Parasha:
T his week’s parashah (Torah portion) introduces one of the great literary vignettes of history. Called Lech L’chah (found in Genesis 12:1-17:27) the parashah starts with perhaps the Bible’s most famous Divine call to action. The verse begins with G’d’s command to Abraham: Lech L’cha. The Hebrew is translated into English is “Go forth”, though in reality these words might be better translated as: “Go away from place X toward place Y if you are ever to become who you were meant to be”. Unlike Moses, who also hears a Divine call Abraham accepts G’d’s call to act.In this week’s section, Abraham, perhaps the most influential man in history, accepts G’d’s challenge, leaves Haran for Canaan and becomes the father of three of the West’s religions. For Jews and Muslims, Abraham is family. He is a direct blood descendent. Christians, of course, have no family linkage to Abraham, but rather see him as their spiritual father. Abraham is one of the world’s most complicated heroes. There are times when we are in awe of him. He haggles with G’d over saving Sodom and Gomorrah. He is a great warier and a brilliant negotiator. Yet Abraham is profoundly human and flawed. Although he was willing to stand up to G’d to protect Sodom and Gomorrah, he was silent at the Akedah (binding of Isaac). His relationship with his wife Sarah appears to be more of a business deal than a marriage of love. Abraham was a spiritual pillar of truth, yet he lied to the Egyptians about Sarah. Perhaps that is why we have such a hard time translating the term Lech L’cha into a foreign language. The term refers as much to his, and our, spiritual journey as it does to the physical journey across the Fertile Crescent. Abraham’s voyage is our voyage. Like any human being, at times he seems to advance and at other times his actions at best confound us and all too often anger us. How similar are we to Abraham? Do our journeys through the juxtaposition of time and place take us closer to ourselves and toward our role in the ongoing drama that we call life?Does our introduction to perhaps the greatest of national leaders teach us that none of us is perfect? In life despite his imperfections, Abraham does the best he can. He goes forth both as a spiritual gesture but also perhaps as an act of selfishness. He seeks the good of the community but also must deal with his own ego. He is a great leader, but perhaps not the best father. He teaches us that no one can have it all, that to live is to make compromises, and to live successfully is to find a way to make the most of the flaws within each one of us. What does Abraham’s history teach us about the politicians? Do we live in a world in which the media concentrate one candidates’ flaws rather than on ideas and concepts? Are the media fair in how they report about each candidate?It is for reasons such as those stated above that the text has remained fresh and relevant. It is still very much a text that has inspired Jews, Christians and Muslims. It asks each of us, like Abraham, to “Lech l’chah/to go toward” a goal not only for the goal’s sake but also for our sake so that we become the best that we can be. How does the text speak to you?
COMMUNITY NEWS:
Beth El is a proud co-sponsor of the Austin Jewish Film Festival!
(AJFF) is now in its thirteenth exciting year. The 2015 Film Festival is scheduled from October 24-30 and will offer a potpourri of notable films, speakers, and panels that our patrons, sponsors and festival attendees have come to expect each year. We roll out the Red Carpet to one and all, as we attract a wide range of attendees from the Jewish and non-Jewish Central Texas community. Congregation Beth El presents this film as a supporter of the AJFF. Once in a Lifetime!
