Parashat Balak – Birthday celebration

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mama mia 1Shabbat services, TONIGHT, Friday June 29th at the regular time of 7 pm. We have a special speaker and a special birthday. We hope you can join us tonight at 7 p.m. Happy Birthday to our dear Barbara! We will have coffee and cake right after services.

Friday night summer speaker series kicks off with our first guest David Walker, who will be talking about the 14th century Hebrew translation of a remarkable work in Arabic from 10th Century Basra–the Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, translated by Qalonymos ben Qalonymos. This is a delightful story of animals suing humankind in the court of the Djinn. The talk is in honor of this week’s parasha, Balak, about a talking Donkey no less!

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

This week we read Parshat Balak, which tells of the eponymous Balak Ben Tzipor, King of Moav, who hires the seer Bil’am Ben Beor to curse the People of Israel. Bil’am of course ends up blessing our People, with the words “Mah tovu ohalecha Yisrael”, which we say when we enter the synagogue in the morning. He is regarded as wicked, though, in spite of his blessings, because he tried to curse but was prevented from doing so by God. The Midrash actually places him, as well as Yithro, the priest of Midian, at the beginning of the Exodus story. Midrash tells us that Bil’am, Yithro and Eyov, Job, were advisers to the Pharaoh of the Opression (often identified as Seti I). Bil’am, it is said, foresaw the birth of Moses, and advised Pharaoh to pursue the cruel and heartless policy of tearing Hebrew babies from their parents’ arms to kill them. Yithro counseled against this evil action, and was exiled. Job took no stance either way, but merely said that Pharoah had the right to make laws in his own country. Bil’am eventually met his end at the hand of Israelite warriors, Eyov lived but endured great suffering-but Yithro merited being the father-in-law of Moshe and a valued advisor to the People of Israel. Our Torah and our Sages teach us that we must not only refrain from evil, but we must “not stand idly by the blood of our fellow humans”. We are called upon by God and our Tradition to oppose evil, to be a force for good in this world. Shabbat Shalom.

Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat candle lighting times are at 8: 19 p.m.

Dive into the Talmud!
Next class July 12 at 7pm.

The Talmud has been compared to a vast sea, in which one can swim forever. The Talmud is a vast compilation of law, legend and scholarly discussions, which also gives us a window into the lives of our ancient ancestors.

Come dip a toe into the sea of Talmud as we begin to explore Massecheth B’rachoth, the Tractate of Benedictions, which deals with prayer. The class, led by Chazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe, will meet on alternate Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM, beginning on June 21, July 12, July 26, August 16, August 30, September 6.

Thank you to Juliette for hosting an amazing movie night! Mama Mia with our sisterhood was a blast. And not to mention the wonderful Greek food served! WATCH this space for movie night to watch Mama Mia Here We Go Again, coming soon.

Sisterhood Book Club.
Judas by Amos Oz –
available in Hebrew and English

The sisterhood is reading Amos Oz’s 2016 novel, Judas. We will meet at the end of the summer to have a stimulating discussion, so get your copy soon.

Rabbi Pater Tarlow of the Center for Jewish Hispanic Relations. Rabbi Emeritus Texas A&M

An examination of both Parashat Chukat (Numbers: 19:1-22:1) and also, Parashat Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9):
Of the two, Chukat is the less “interesting” to read. It deals with issues of water, for purification, for drinking, and as an essential resource for life.
The second Parashah, the one read during this Shabbat, deals with blessings and curses, and recounts the story of Balaam and his famous talking donkey.
Reading the text in a foreign language such as English there appears to be no connection between these two sections. Viewing the text in the original Hebrew, however, provides a very different perspective. The Hebrew text revolves around four words: water, a pool of water, life, and blessing. These four words are not related in English but in Hebrew the reader sees a very clear relationship between them. Water in Hebrew is “mayim;” life is “chayim.” Both words sound related and are plural verbal-nouns indicating both motion and consistent change. In a like manner, the Hebrew word for blessing “brachah” is related to the Hebrew word for “pool of water” (brechah). Thus, the Hebrew reader connects the constant flow of water to that of a stream of life and understands that without the physical pool of water (brechah) the spiritual blessings of life (brachah) cannot exist.
The second parashah tells the story of Balak’s asking the “prophet” Balaam (Bilaam in Hebrew) to curse Israel and instead Balaam’s curse becomes a blessing. The parashah concerns a number of “reversals”, things simply do not turn out according to plan. Not only does Balaam’s curse become a blessing, but the tale’s hero is not a human being but rather a mere donkey. The tale is one in which the human acts as an “ass” and the “ass” acts as a human.
While Balaam is arrogant, blind to reality and simply stupid, his donkey sees what he does not, talks to him, and shows both wisdom and compassion.
On the micro level, Balaam and his ass/donkey force us to ask the questions such as: what does it mean to be human? Who was more human Does this Biblical story teach us that people can become “asses” (In Hebrew the word for “ass/donkey” can also mean “stupid”) while some animals act more like people than do people? Do we sacrifice principles on the altar of greed?
In a sense these two sections read together teach us that life has both a material and spiritual side. Both sections deal with the “stated” and the “hidden”, the apparent and the less apparent. Life contains both the tangible and the intangible elements that distinguish it from other forms of existence. These sections remind us that to be successful in life we need to deal with all its aspects, and that life, like water, is an ever-moving stream.
What is true of people is also true of societies. Societies that do not change, that are stand still, soon die. The way we combine these elements of life helps to determine if we drink from the well of bitter waters or of living waters, waters filled curses or with blessings. From which well do you tend to drink, do you see only the apparent or also the hidden?

Parashat Hukkath and weekend of joyful services

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Talmud class 2

Who’s coming for Kaballat Shabbat services, TONIGHT, Friday June 22nd? We hope it’s you! Joyful Judaism is the name of the game at Beth El. We hope you can join us tonight at 7 p.m.

Also, please join us THIS shabbat morning June 23rd at 9 a.m. Torah service at around 9:45 a.m. and children’s services with our own Shereen at 10:30 a.m. Light Kidush nosh immediately following. There may be a fair number of folks out of town, so we would appreciate all who can make it to please join us!

Friday night summer speaker series kicks off next Friday June 29 with our first guest David Walker, who studied medieval Hebrew literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. David will be talking about the 14th century Hebrew translation of a remarkable work in Arabic from 10th Century Basra–the Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, translated by Qalonymos ben Qalonymos. This is a delightful story of animals suing humankind in the court of the Djinn. The talk is in honor of that week’s parasha, Balak, about a talking Donkey no less!

Other speakers include Marty Price of the Hebrew Free Loan Association and Jewish educator Sandy Kress. Watch this space for more details.

Dive into the Talmud began this week and continues throughout the summer every other Thursday. See below.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

This week’s parshah, Hukkath, begins with the law of the Red Heifer-the purification ritual for contact with the dead. The context is that B’nei Yisrael are getting ready to enter the Land, and to go to war. The ritual is puzzling, though-why a red heifer? What does everyone who prepares the sacrifice, who must perforce be pure, become impure when he participates in the ritual, while the ritual itself purifies the impure? The classic teaching is that this is a “hok”-a law whose reason and logic are unknown. We don’t know the answers to these questions, we can only speculate. Ultimately, we need to accept that this is the law without knowing the reason. There are many things in life which we do not know, and probably will never know. Nonetheless, we accept that gravity exists, even though we don’t know the mechanism by which it works. We go on through life with faith that God knows the things that we do not, and that one day we may learn the answers. Shabbat Shalom.

Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat candle lighting times are at 8: 18 p.m.

Dive into the Talmud!
Next class July 12 at 7pm.

The Talmud has been compared to a vast sea, in which one can swim forever. The Talmud is a vast compilation of law, legend and scholarly discussions, which also gives us a window into the lives of our ancient ancestors.

Come dip a toe into the sea of Talmud as we begin to explore Massecheth B’rachoth, the Tractate of Benedictions, which deals with prayer. The class, led by Chazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe, will meet on alternate Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM, beginning on June 21, July 12, July 26, August 16, August 30, September 6.

Macrame and Margaritas!
THIS Sunday June 24 @ 4pm @ Beth El

Join the Beth El sisterhood for Macrame making with our wonderful teacher Anat who will show us the ins and outs of this fun craft. And just for fun, we will all be bringing super healthy salads to share and making Margaritas to sip. Open to all! A $5 donation to help cover costs.

WE WILL HAVE THE CLASS AT SHEREEN’S HOME – ONLY ONE MILE FROM BETH EL. RSVP FOR ADDRESS.

MAMA MIA MOVIE NIGHT!
THIS TUESDAY June 26 @ 7pm @ Juliette’s home.

Join us as we watch the musical Mama Mia together on June 26 at the home of Juliette. RSVP for directions or to get a ride. As soon as Mama Mia, Here We Go Again comes out, we will watch it as a sisterhood!

Sisterhood Book Club.
Judas by Amos Oz –
available in Hebrew and English

The sisterhood is reading Amos Oz’s 2016 novel, Judas. We will meet at the end of the summer to have a stimulating discussion, so get your copy soon.

Check out the wonderful article in Shalom Austin’s The Jewish Outlook – this month featuring our own Chai Mitzvah teens pictured with our beloved Mr. Fred at Brookdale.

http://www.thejewishoutlook.com/home/2018/5/31/better-together-jewish-organizations-congregations-evolve-to-meet-changing-needs-of-austin-adults-55

Also pictured are our recent Bar Mitzvah Boys Jonathan Silberstein and David Adi – please follow the link:
https://etypeservices.com/SWF/LocalUser/jewishoutlook1//Magazine220229/Full/index.aspx?II=220229#62/z

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks – The consolations of mortality!

Chukat is about mortality. In it we read of the death of two of Israel’s three great leaders in the wilderness, Miriam and Aaron, and the sentence of death decreed against Moses, the greatest of them all. These were devastating losses.
To counter that sense of loss and bereavement, the Torah employs one of Judaism’s great principles: The Holy One, blessed be He, creates the remedy before the disease.[1] Before any of the deaths are mentioned we read about the strange ritual of the red heifer, which purified people who had been in contact with death – the archetypal source of impurity. That ritual, often deemed incomprehensible, is in fact deeply symbolic.

It involves taking the most striking emblem of life – a heifer that is pure red, the colour of blood which is the source of life, and that has never been made to endure the burden of a yoke – and reducing it to ash. That is mortality, the fate of all that lives. We are, said Abraham, “mere dust and ashes” (Gen. 18:27). “Dust you are,” said God to Adam, “and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19). But the dust is dissolved into “living water,” and from water comes new life.
Water is constantly changing. We never step into the same river twice, said Heraclitus. Yet the river maintains its course between the banks. The water changes but the river remains. So we as physical beings may one day be reduced to dust. But there are two consolations.

The first is that we are not just physical beings. God made the first human “from the dust of the earth”[2] but He breathed into him the breath of life. We may be mortal but there is within us something that is immortal. “The dust returns to the earth as it was but the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
The second is that, even down here on earth, something of us lives on, as it did for Aaron in the form of his sons who carry the name of the priesthood to this day, as it did for Moses in the form of his disciples who studied and lived by his words as they do to this day, and as it did for Miriam in the lives of all those women who, by their courage, taught men the true meaning of faith.[3] For good or bad, our lives have an impact on other lives, and the ripples of our deeds spread ever outward across space and time. We are part of the undying river of life.

So we may be mortal, but that does not reduce our life to insignificance, as Tolstoy once thought it did,[4] for we are part of something larger than ourselves, characters in a story that began early in the history of civilisation and that will last as long as humankind.
It is in this context that we should understand one of the most troubling episodes in the Torah, Moses’ angry outburst when the people called for water, for which he and Aaron were condemned to die in the wilderness without ever crossing into the Promised Land.[5] I have written about this passage many times elsewhere, and I do not want to focus on the details here. I want simply to note why the story of Moses hitting the rock appears here, in parshat Chukat, whose overarching theme is our existence as physical beings in a physical world, with its two potentially tragic consequences.

First, we are an unstable mix of reason and passion, reflection and emotion, so that sometimes grief and exhaustion can lead even the greatest to make mistakes, as it did in the case of Moses and Aaron after the death of their sister. Second, we are physical, therefore mortal. Therefore, for all of us, there are rivers we will not cross, promised lands we will not enter, futures we helped shape but will not live to see.

The Torah is sketching out the contours of a truly remarkable idea. Despite these two facets of our humanity – that we make mistakes and that we die – human existence is not tragic. Moses and Aaron made mistakes, but that did not stop them being among the greatest leaders who ever lived, whose impact is still palpable today in the prophetic and priestly dimensions of Jewish life. And the fact that Moses did not live to see his people cross the Jordan did not diminish his eternal legacy as the man who turned a nation of slaves into a free people, bringing them to the very brink of the Promised Land.
I wonder if any other culture, creed or civilisation has done greater justice to the human condition than Judaism, with its insistence that we are human, not gods, and that we are, nonetheless, God’s partners in the work of creation and the fulfilment of the covenant.

Almost every other culture has blurred the line between God and human beings. In the ancient world, rulers were usually thought of as gods, demigods, or chief intermediaries with the gods. Christianity and Islam know of infallible human beings, the son of God or the prophet of God. Modern atheists, by contrast, have tended to echo Nietzsche’s question that, to justify our dethronement of God, “Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”[6]

In 1967, when I was just beginning my university studies, I listened to the BBC Reith Lectures, given that year by Edmond Leach, professor of anthropology at Cambridge, with their opening sentences, “Men have become like gods. Isn’t it about time that we understood our divinity?”[7] I recall that as soon as I heard those words, I sensed that something was going wrong in Western civilisation. We are not gods, and bad things happened when people thought they were.

Meanwhile, paradoxically, the greater our powers, the lower our estimate of the human person. In his novel Zadig, Voltaire described humans as “insects devouring one another on a little atom of mud.” The late Stephen Hawking stated that “the human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate size planet, orbiting round a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a billion galaxies.” The philosopher John Gray declared that “human life has no more meaning than that of slime mould.”[8] In his Homo Deus, Yuval Harari reaches the conclusion that, “Looking back, humanity will turn out to be just a ripple within the cosmic data flow.”[9]

These are the two options the Torah rejects: too high or too low an estimate of humankind. On the one hand, no man is a god. No one is infallible. There is no life without error and shortcoming. That is why it was so important to note, in the parsha that deals with mortality, Moses’ sin. Likewise it was important to say at the outset of his mission that he had no special charismatic endowments. He was not a natural speaker who could sway crowds (Ex. 4:10). Equally the Torah emphasises at the end of his life that “No one knows his burial place,” (Deut. 34:6) so that it could not become a place of pilgrimage. Moses was human, all-too-human, yet he was the greatest prophet who ever lived (Deut. 34:10).
On the other hand the idea that we are mere dust and nothing more – insects, scum, slime mould, a ripple in the cosmic data flow – must rank among the most foolish ever formulated by intelligent minds. No insect ever became a Voltaire. No chemical scum became a chemist. No ripple in the data flow wrote international bestsellers. Both errors – that we are gods or we are insects – are dangerous. Taken seriously they can justify almost any crime against humanity. Without a delicate balance between Divine eternity and human mortality, Divine forgiveness and human error, we can wreak much destruction – and our power to do so grows by the year.

Hence the life-changing idea of Chukat: we are dust of the earth but there is within us the breath of God. We fail, but we can still achieve greatness. We die, but the best part of us lives on.

The Hasidic master R. Simcha Bunim of Peshischke said we should each have two pockets. In one should be a note saying: “I am but dust and ashes.”[10] In the other should be a note saying: “For my sake was the world created.”[11] Life lives in the tension between our physical smallness and our spiritual greatness, the brevity of life and the eternity of the faith by which we live. Defeat, despair and a sense of tragedy are always premature. Life is short, but when we lift our eyes to heaven, we walk tall.
Shabbat shalom.

Parashat Korach and weekend services

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korachWe’d love you to join us for our Kaballat Shabbat services, Friday June 15, at the special time of 6:30 p.m. We will have a lovely meat kidush in honor of Sara K’s bat mitzvah weekend.

Also, please join us for shabbat morning services Saturday June 16th at 9 a.m. Torah service at around 9:45 a.m. and children’s services with our own Shereen at 10:30 a.m. Kidush lunch immediately.

Watch this space for summer speaker series and summer Talmud classes at Beth El. Our first guest will be David Walker, who studied medieval Hebrew literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, speaking on June 29.

Dive into the Talmud starts Thursday June 21 at 7pm and continues throughout the summer on every other Thursday.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

This week’s parshah, Korah, deals with the rebellion of the title character against the leadership of Moshe and Aharon. Joined by Dathan and Aviram of the Tribe of Reuven, Korah is ultimately regarded as rebelling against God, who chose Moshe and Aharon, and is punished accordingly in a theatrical manner-the rebels are swallowed alive by the earth. The Torah tells us, however, that the sons of Korah did not die with their father. In fact, if we look at the Book of Psalms, we see some that are attributed to the Sons (or descendants) of Korah. Apparently, they became leaders in the Levitical guild of Temple musicians. This illustrates a principle of the Torah-no one is punished for the sins of their ancestors, there is no familial guilt. Of course, our actions may affect what happens to our descendants, and we should act in such a way as to ensure a good future for our offspring-but ultimately, we all all responsible for our own actions. May all of our actions be good, and may we be remembered not like Korah, the egotistical protagonist of our parshah, but like his descendants who made sweet music before God. Shabbat Shalom.

Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat candle lighting times are at 8: 16 p.m.

You all are invited to the Bat Mitzvah of Sara K. THIS weekend, June 15 and 16. Iris and Kevin would be deeply honored to have their Beth El family attend. There will be Friday services at 6:30 p.m June 15, followed by a dinner and also Saturday morning services, followed and a kidush lunch.

Dive into the Talmud!
Thursday June 21 at 7pm.

The Talmud has been compared to a vast sea, in which one can swim forever. The Talmud is a vast compilation of law, legend and scholarly discussions, which also gives us a window into the lives of our ancient ancestors.

Come dip a toe into the sea of Talmud as we begin to explore Massecheth B’rachoth, the Tractate of Benedictions, which deals with prayer. The class, led by Chazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe, will meet on alternate Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM, beginning on June 21, July 12, July 26, August 16, August 30, September 6.

Macrame and Margaritas!
Sunday June 24 @ 4pm @ Beth El

Join the Beth El sisterhood for Macrame making with our wonderful teacher Anat who will show us the ins and outs of this fun craft. And just for fun, we will all be bringing super healthy salads to share and making Margaritas to sip. Open to all! A $5 donation to help cover costs.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

we will also be watching the musical Mama Mia together on June 26 at the home of Juliette and then as soon as Mama Mia, Here We Go Again Comes Out will watch it as a sisterhood!

Sisterhood Book Club.
Judas by Amos Oz –
available in Hebrew and English

Summertime and the reading is easy – or at least incredibly interesting. The sisterhood is reading Amos Oz’s 2016 novel, Judas. We will meet at the end of the summer to have a stimulating discussion, so get your copy soon.

Rabbi Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha:

This week’s Torah portion is found in Numbers 16:1-18:30. This parashah is the most famous of the revolt sections. It tells the story of Korach’s attempted coup d’état. Within the Torah’s five books, this is the most politically charged text, and in a time such as ours, with great political divisions throughout the land, it presents both challenges and great insights.

Korach argues that Moses, who represents the central government, has become too powerful; that decision-making should be spread evenly throughout the community.

The issue of power, of which the parashah speaks, is one that has plagued political scientists and social reformers ever since. How much freedom is too much? Because Judaism is a religion of questioning rather than blind faith we tend to question all forms of authority.

To question is never easy and ever since Korach we the Jewish people have struggled with maintaining a fine line between support of our leaders and being too critical of them, between the realization that leaders must seek consensus and the realization they cannot make every decision according to how the political winds may blow at a specific point in time. The art of questioning has forced us to seek to balance personal and communal responsibility, to find ways to argue with each other and yet come together and learn to accept that others may have different viewpoints from those that we hold.
Perhaps it is for this reason that the text teaches us that while we must judge our leaders with a critical eye, we must also avoid falling into the trap of cynicism and crisis management. To do so is to encourage those who hope to gain power by self-promotion and agitation.
In times such as ours, where so many are convinced that only they are correct and the other is wrong, this section reminds us of the arrogance of certainty.
Just as in the days when we travel through the Sinai desert on route to Israel we too live in a time of hyper political sensitivity, where both sides have ceased to listen to the other and seek to overwhelm rather than to bond.

In the Biblical text the end of the revolt comes with the ground swallowing up Korach and his men and all of their families. As we in the United States approach our 242nd Independence Day from British tyranny, this section forces us to ask: Have we learned how to listen to each other or shall we too be swallowed up by the sands of political discord and arrogance?

Annual meeting and shabbat services

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2018AM-Onlyshelach lechaA lot going on this weekend – please read! We’d love you to join us for our Kaballat Shabbat services, Friday June 8, at the regular time of 7:00 p.m.

Saturday June 9th at 9 a.m. we have our Shabbat morning services. Torah service at around 9:45 a.m. and children’s services with our own Shereen Canady at 10:30 a.m. Kidush lunch immediately following.

Sunday June 10 at 4:30 p.m. is Beth El’s Annual Meeting. See Below.

Watch this space for summer speaker series and summer Talmud classes at Beth El. Our first guest will be David Walker, who studied medieval Hebrew literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Cantor Ben-Yitzhak Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

Our Parshah this week, Sh’lah L’kha, deals with the sending of scouts into the Land of Israel, how they brought back a bad report which discouraged the People, and how the People of Israel were condemned to wander for a generation before entering the Land. The parshah concludes with a series of laws, the last of which is to wear tzitIth, the fringes on the corners of ones garment, or tallith. In Biblical times, this was a cloak that was normally worn at all times, but by the Rabbinic Era it was a ceremonial garment, similar to the Roman toga. The purpose of the tzitzith remains the same-as a reminder of God’s commandments. We are to look at the fringes and to remember what we are to do, to be mindful and not distracted. May we always be mindful of our responsibilities and live in the way that God desires. Shabbat Shalom.

Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat candle lighting times are at 8: 14 p.m.

Our annual “state of the shul” meeting will be held THIS Sunday, June 10, at 4:30 p.m. followed by a Kosher cookout.

We plan to discuss shul business and elect officers for the upcoming year. The meeting is open to all – always a great deal of fun and very inspiring. We are blessed to be part of this small, yet vibrant and truly chesed filled congregation.

You all are invited to the Bat Mitzvah of Sara K. on the weekend of June 16. Iris and Kevin would be deeply honored to have their Beth El family attend. There will be Friday services at 6:30 followed by a dinner and Saturday morning services and a kidush lunch.

Macrame and Margaritas!
Sunday June 24 @ 4pm @ Beth El

Join the Beth El sisterhood for Macrame making with our wonderful teacher Anat Inbar who will show us the ins and outs of this fun craft. And just for fun, we will all be bringing super healthy salads to share and making Margaritas to sip. Open to all! A $5 donation to help cover costs.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

we will also be watching the musical Mama Mia together on June 26 at the home of Juliette and then as soon as Mama Mia, Here We Go Again Comes Out will watch it as a sisterhood!

Sisterhood Book Club.
Judas by Amos Oz –
available in Hebrew and English

Summertime and the reading is easy – or at least incredibly interesting. The sisterhood is reading Amos Oz’s 2016 novel, Judas. We will meet at the end of the summer to have a stimulating discussion, so get your copy soon.

Rabbi Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha:

This week we turn to the section of the Book of Numbers known as “Shalach L’chah”. You will find it in Numbers 13:1-15:41. The parashah’s name is poorly translated into English as “Send forth”. The Hebrew reader will immediately note the inadequacy of this translation. While “Shlach” does mean: “send” the second word (l’chah) being the indirect object pronoun (dative case) means something such as “to yourself; for yourself”. It will immediately remind the Hebrew reader that this section offers a direct parallel between G-d’s commandment to Abraham (Genesis 12:1, Lech l’chah: also mistranslated as “go forth”) and the current commandment to Moses (Shlach l’chah, mistranslated as “send forth”). In both cases, Israel’s greats are commanded to go/send people into the land. The problem then is what does the text mean by its use of the dative pronoun l’chah after the verbal command.
The medieval commentator Rashi (Rabenu Shlomo ben Yitzach) offers a possible explanation. Rashi postulates that the word l’chah used after the verb indicates that it is the subject’s choice as to whether or not to fulfill the command. In fact, Rashi argues that G-d knew that the Israelites were not yet ready to send spies into the land, but gave Moses the option of making his own choice.
What the text may be saying is that in life G-d gives all of us choices. Sometimes we choose wisely and at other times we can only hope to learn from our mistakes. G-d permits each of us to determine our own path and how we choose has a great deal to say about who we are and what we will do/accomplish in life.
Is the text then telling us that both Abraham and Moses had to enter into the land of Israel not for G’-d but for themselves? Do we claim that we do things for others when in reality we are doing taking these actions for ourselves? In a like manner we need to be cognizant that our actions have both personal and group consequences. This week’s section asks us to think of the consequences before we act and then to choose wisely.

Parashat B’haalotkha

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Shabbat shalom! Please join us for our Kaballat Shabbat services, Friday June 1, at the regular time of 7:00 p.m.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

This week we read Parshat B’haalotkha, which begins with a description of the menorah and how it was to be lit by the High Priest every evening. The haftarah echoes the theme, with its own description of the menorah. This haftarah from the Book of Zechariah is also the haftarah for the Shabbat of Hanukkah. The haftarah also deals with a High Priest-Yehoshu’a, who was Kohen Gadol after the return from Babylonian exile. The Prophet has a vision of angels taking filthy clothing from Yehoshu’a and clothing him in clean robes. This is usually interpreted as a symbol for the redemption of the Jewish People from exile, but can also be seen as a symbol of the potential for any of us to find redemption. Our Tradition teaches that no one is beyond redemption, that we are all able, like the High Priests of old, to rekindle light in our lives and the lives of those around us. Shabbat Shalom.

Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat candle lighting times are at 8: 10 p.m.

www.bethelaustin.org/donate

Macrame and Margaritas!
Sunday June 24 @ 4pm @ Beth El

Join the Beth El sisterhood for Macrame making with our wonderful teacher Anat who will show us the ins and outs of this fun craft. And just for fun, we will all be bringing super healthy salads to share and making Margaritas to sip. Open to all! A $5 donation to help cover costs.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

we will also be watching the musical Mama Mia together on June 26 at the home of Juliette and then as soon as Mama Mia, Here We Go Again Comes Out will watch it as a sisterhood!

Sisterhood Book Club.
Judas by Amos Oz –
available in Hebrew and English

Summertime and the reading is easy – or at least incredibly interesting. The sisterhood is reading Amos Oz’s 2016 novel, Judas. We will meet at the end of the summer to have a stimulating discussion, so get your copy soon.

Also, save the date. Our annual “state of the shul” meeting will be held on Sunday, June 10, at 4:30 p.m. followed by a Kosher cookout. We plan to discuss shul business and elect officers for the upcoming year. To nominate a current member as an officer, please send an email to Bob Miller, chair of the nominating committee at bob.miller@milleruniforms.com Nominations should be submitted no later than 15 days before the board meeting. The meeting is open to all – they are always a great deal of fun and very inspiring. We are blessed to be part of this small, yet vibrant and truly chesed filled congregation.

And finally, you all are invited to the Bat Mitzvah of Sara K on the weekend of June 16. Iris and Kevin would be deeply honored to have their Beth El family attend.

Please join Shalom Austin on Sunday June 3 at the Dell Jewish Community Campus for their wonderful and family friendly SPLASH BASH. From 11 to 3. Free and open to the community.

Rabbi Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha:

This week’s parashah (Book of Numbers 8:1-12:16) is called “B’haalotechah.” The name means “when you raise yourself up” and the name teaches us a great deal about its themes.

The parashah is another long section. In this week’s section, we find a weary Moses. He has dealt with non-stop complaining and although the text is terse with its words, the reader gets the sense that Moses is experiencing leadership burnout. It must have seen to him that whatever he did was wrong. Perhaps the pinnacle of this professional weariness is when in 12:1 the text tells us that “Vtidabber Miriam vAharon b’Mosheh al-odot ha’ishah ha’cushit asher lakach…Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married….”

Now Moses must deal with criticism from the two people in the world whom he always thought he could count on, his brother and his sister. Furthermore, it is unclear exactly what the complaints were. Were Moses’ siblings angry at him for ignoring his wife or did she do something wrong? Is this a case of racism or were Moses’ siblings standing up for Tziporah? Is such criticism part of leadership or do we still treat our leaders unfairly?
If we read the text carefully we note that Moses reacts very gently to their criticism. It is as if he is tired, understands that they too may be tired and realizes that often we take out our frustrations and our jealousies on those we love. It must have been somewhat frustrating for Aaron and Miriam to be second to Moses. It is also part of human nature sometimes to hurt those who have helped us most.
The text shows us Moses greatness by the fact that instead of insisting that G-d punish his siblings, Moses’ only words are directed to G-d when he utters the Bible’s first prayer of petition asking healing for his sister Miriam: “El na rfa na la/O G’d, please heal her now.” (12:13
Although the text indicates that G-d punished Miriam for her disloyalty, we have to ask ourselves if Moses was also asking G-d to heal her of her envy and perhaps jealousy. Is the text teaching us that our need to bring down those whom have helped us most is a form of leprosy of the heart? Perhaps that is why this week’s portion is called “B’haalotechah /when you bring yourself up”. It teaches us that our task is to raise ourselves up by what we accomplish rather than by lowering those who seek to help us.
What does this section teach us about our own hyper-politicized world, a world filled with the politics of personal destruction? Are our leaders and media outlets acting more like Miriam or Moses? What do you think?
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