Community Prayer service at the J

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Dear Members and friends,
Please see below the important message from Jay Rubin, CEO of the J regarding the terrible act of murder this morning in Jerusalem. We hope you can join the Austin Jewish community this evening at 6pm at CAA.

“Earlier today, four rabbis were murdered at morning services at Kehilat Yakov Synagogue in Jerusalem. The attackers left behind bibles and prayer shawls soaked in blood. We mourn with the families of Rabbi Moshe Twersky (59), Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky (43), Rabbi Avraham Goldberg (68) and Rabbi Kalman Levine (55). Rabbis Twersky. Levine and Kupinsky we dual Israeli and American citizens. Rabbi Goldberg was a dual Israeli and British citizen. Eight others were wounded, including one Israeli police officer.
 This was a premeditated act of terrorism.  The attackers — two cousins from East Jerusalem — entered the synagogue during the silent Amidah and began hacking and shooting while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” The terrorists, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, were killed by Israeli police at the scene. Hamas supporters in Gaza danced in the streets and handed out candy to celebrate the bloodshed.
Tonight, we come together as a community at 6 PM at an evening service here in Austin at Congregation Agudas Achim, 7300 Hart Lane, to mourn the innocent victims, to express solidarity with the people of Israel and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

Annual Meeting

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Dear Congregants and friends,

Tonight, Friday November 14 at 7pm, we will welcome Shabbat with song and camaraderie. We hope you can join us.
Sunday November 16, will also be a busy day at Beth El. We will have our Sunday school class at 10 am.
Intro to Judaism is now at 10:30 am so please note the new, earlier time!
At 12 noon, we would love as many folks as possible to come over for half an hour and help us move the playground!  We really need a lot of strong arms!
Beth El Annual Meeting will be this Sunday at 4:30 pm, with a kosher BBQ following. Everyone is welcome. Come hear what’s new at Beth El!
Wednesdays we continue our midweek Maariv service at 7pm, followed by Read Hebrew America at 7:30pm.
HOLD THE DATE: Next Friday November 28, please also plan to come for Friday night services followed by a lovely desert and coffee kidush. Hal and Elaine Jacobs have sponsored this event in honor of their visiting daughter, son in law and grandson. We hope you can make it.
We wish you a wonderful Shabbat! As always, go to our Facebook group, Beth El Austin or our website http://bethelaustin.wpengine.com/ for updates and to connect.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message:
This week’s parshah, Hayyei Sarah, begins with the death of The Matriarch Sarah, and Avraham’s purchase of a burial plot for her.  This is the first acquisition of land in Canaan by our ancestors, and has provided a model for us ever since.  Our Tradition teaches us that even before we build a synagogue, we are to see to the acquisition of a cemetery.  It is of primary importance that we assure that the bodies of our departed, bodies which once housed a Divine soul, are properly laid to rest.  The common Hebrew term for cemetery is “Beit ‘Almin”-literally, “eternal house”.  The synagogue is a “Beit K’nesset”, a “house of gathering”-a temporary place for us.  We make sure that members of our community have a permanent resting place, so that the body can return to the dust as it was, while the soul returns to God Who gave it.  May we always be mindful that our permanent home is beyond the bounds of this world-we are here temporarily, so we should make the most of the time that we have here.  Shabbat Shalom.

Simchat Torah celebrations

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Dear Congregants and Friends,
Please join us tomorrow evening, October 16th at 7:30 pm as we joyously dance with the Torah for the special holiday of Simchat Torah!  We will start right at 7:30 and conclude with coffee and deserts. Please join us and bring your whole family!
Friday night we have services at our regular time of 7 p.m.
This Sunday morning we will be having Sunday school at 10 am, but concurrently, the older class and all congregants who can make it are going to bury our old books which are no longer usable in Eloise Woods in a space graciously donated by community member and owner of Eloise Woods, Ellen MacDonald.  Please join us in this special and respectful service and let us know if you would like to car pool. http://www.eloisewoods.com/
Only one week till Hebrew Across America! We will be having a Hebrew Reading Crash Course starting in October 22. This program concentrates on teaching the Hebrew alphabet and basic reading skills. The class will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm. The class willrun for 5 weeks, ending on Nov 19. This class is free and open to the community.
Chag Sameach to you all.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly message:
As we end the Festival of Sukkot, so too we end the yearly cycle of reading the Torah-and of course we begin again.  The death of Moses is followed immediately by the birth of the world, year after year.  The year goes into winter, and our lawns and trees and gardens become dormant, but they will return in due time.  Every ending carries with it the seeds of a beginning-in the world of nature, in the Jewish calendar, and in our own personal lives.  May we always be aware of the cycle of life, that there is no real ending-for the Hand of God, Who is Eternal, is everywhere and in everything.  Hag Sameah and Shabbat Shalom

Weekend services and upcoming Simchat Torah celebration

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Dear Congregants and Friends,
Please join us tonight at 7pm for our weekly kabbalat Shabbat services at 7pm.
Tomorrow morning, Saturday October 11 at 9 am, we will have our Shabbat morning services. We will have the Torah service at approximately 9:45 and a children’s story time concurrently. Please join us in thanking our kidush sponsors this week, Dani Kadosh and Juliette Meinstein as they celebrate their one year anniversary. A hearty mazal tov to you!
Sunday morning at 10am we will be having Sunday school as per our schedule and the children will be having their snacks in the sukkah that they helped decorate. Ms. Carol Rubin will be bringing her guitar to sing beautiful songs with the children.

Intro to Judaism class this Sunday afternoon will be at 3:30 pm. This is a great class given by our very own Cantor Ben-Moshe and all are welcome to join.
Wednesday evenings at 7pm, we have mid-week evening services which we invite you to participate in. They are short and sweet and a meaningful way to break up the week.
Thursday, October 16, 7:30pm Simchat Torah Evening Services and deserts. Please join us in this joyous celebration as we dance with the Torah.
DON”T FORGET:  October 22 at 7:30pm, we start for the first time ever at Beth El a national program called Read Hebrew across America. This crash course in Hebrew reading will be offered free of charge and we welcome you all to attend this amazing five week program.
Rabbi Peter Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha :

The month of Tishre is the holiest of Jewish months.  Beginning with Rosh Hashanah,  when we take an inventory of our lives, we then move on to the Ten days of Repentance, when we make amends with our friends and family, co-workers and colleagues. These ten days lead us to the month’s apex, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when each of us receives G’d’s final judgement.  Then as the sun sets on Yom Kippur and the final blast of the shofar is heard at Yom Kippur’s Neilah Service we immediately begin the third of Tishre’s holidays: Sukkot.

Sukkot is different from the month’s other two holidays. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a journey into our individual and national soul.  Sukkot, on the other hand, translates the spiritual  part of each person’s life into the daily aspects of life. Everything about Sukkot is practical and specific.  It is the original harvest thanksgiving holiday.  It is a week that reminds us that neither G’d nor life owes us anything; that it is we who must be grateful for whatever blessings we may receive. Sukkot takes us from our inner lives to our outer lives.  We are commanded to eat in the sukkah, to perform the mitzvah of ushpizin (hospitality), to interact with the world. The holiday is a celebration of this interaction.  It reminds us that we are part of the world and that perhaps one of the greatest of sins is to waste a precious day of the time that we are in this world

Sukkot is the motivator that reminds us that in the end, what we say or claim to believe about life is a lot less important than what we do in life.  Sukkot teaches us that there is a time for praying and introspection and a time for doing and harvesting. The days of reflection, the High Holidays, have come to a conclusion.  Now it is our responsibility to incorporate the lessons learned during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur into the way we harvest our good deeds and live our lives.

 My family joins me in wishing you a Happy and Joyous Sukkot, Chag Sameach.

Gmar Hatima Tova

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Dear Congregants and Friends:

Tonight, we usher in Yom Kippur at 7 pm with Kol Nidrei.   Services start at 9am, with the Torah service at 10am. Mincha will be at 5pm and Neilah at 6pm.  We will be having a children’s story time at 11 am with Morah Anat! We wish you all a meaningful Yom Kippur and a Gmar Hatima Tova: may you all be inscribed for a good year.
Sunday morning we will not be having Sunday school as per our schedule.  Intro to Judaism class this Sunday afternoon will be at 3:30 pm. This is a great class given by our very own Cantor Ben-Moshe and all are welcome to join.
Wednesday evenings at 7pm, we have mid-week evening services which we invite you to participate in. They are short and sweet and a meaningful way to break up the week.
A huge thank you for all those that helped with the Break the Fast and getting the shul ready for Yom Kippur. Many have helped out and it’s part of what makes Beth El so special.
Wednesday October 8th we will have a sukkot service and pot luck dinner in the sukkah!
Please note that Rabbi Tarlow will not be able to make the class Saturday October 1 and this popular Crypto Judaism will be rescheduled.
Thursday, October 16, 7:30pm Simchat Torah Evening Services and deserts.
October 22 at 7:30pm, we start for the first time ever at Beth El a national program called Read Hebrew across America. This crash course in Hebrew reading will be offered free of charge and we welcome you all to attend this amazing five week program.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message:
This Shabbat is of course Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and the only Shabbat of the year on which we fast.  Fasting is normally forbidden on Shabbat, since the Day of Rest is supposed to be a day of joy as well, and normally fasting is a sign of mourning or grief.  Yom Kippur though is itself called a “Shabbat Shabbaton”-a “Sabbath of Sabbaths”-and it is not a sad day.  Actually, Yom Kippur is a joyous day in its own way.  Since we know that God is “compassionate and gracious, patient and abounding in lovingkindness and truth”, we can be confident of forgiveness if we truly repent of our misdeeds.  Indeed, the Sages said that there was no more joyous time than Yom Kippur.  So let us remember that while Yom Kippur can be challenging, physically and spiritually, the challenge is like running a marathon-and we can smile as we cross the finish line on Saturday evening.  Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Hatimah Tovah-may we all be sealed for good in the coming year.

Rabbi Peter Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha: 

Friday evening Oct 3 is a special day. Not only does it mark the beginning of the Sabbath but as the sun sets, we gather for Judaism’s holiest of days.  Yom Kippur is in many ways the essence of Judaism.  Perhaps no holy day better than Yom Kippur symbolizes Judaism’s belief that there can be no intermediary between G’d and each of us. Perhaps no other day forces us to examine our individual and collective errors, admit them and seek to repair the damage that each of us has done advertently or inadvertently to others.  It is for this reason that Judaism lacks a professional class of people who intercede to G’d on our behalf. The job of facing G’d is ours alone.

Judaism emphasizes that life is a tablet for us to write on as we wish.  We can use our life to be people of character by performing mitzvoth throughout our lives, or give in to moments of rage, anger, selfishness and egocentricity.  From Yom Kippur’s perspective the choice is ours and ours alone. What makes Yom Kippur special is that it teaches us to stop blaming others, to examine our own weaknesses, and to ask ourselves: Where did I go wrong?  What errors did I make? How am I responsible for both the good and the bad in my life?   Do I understand that I cannot escape the events of my life, and that the quality of my life is determined by how I face these events and learn to deal with them? For this reason, Yom Kippur demands of us that we face G’d directly and be adult enough to account to the “Judge of Judges” for our actions, be they of an individual or of a collective nature. Yom Kippur teaches us that only we can correct our faults.
These tasks are not easy, nor is the day easy.  Yom Kippur’s fast pushes us to the physical, psychological and spiritual limit. It is hard to go from sundown to sundown without food or
water. How quickly even the strongest person realizes how frail s/he is in the eyes of G’d.

Perhaps even harder than fasting is the realization that although G’d gives us the gift of life,  it is up to us to determine what we do with that gift.  It is not easy to fast and it is even harder to examine both our individual and collective failings.  To examine the totality of one’s life, to realize that all of us are fallible, means that we must not only demand that we improve but be willing to demand that we forgive others who seek to improve.  Forgiveness (teshuvah) in Judaism, however, comes with a price.  Repentance is only granted to those who sincerely desire to recognize their errors, to repent, to change their ways, and to begin again. No easy task, but then Yom Kippur is not meant to be an easy day.

On this Yom Kippur, may your fast be helpful and your thoughts be deep.