Parashat Masei – Life is Growth – Sandy Kress special guest

chaiKaballat Shabbat services, TOMORROW, Friday July 13th at the regular time of 7 pm. We continue with our summer speakers by welcoming distinguished educator Sandy Kress to deliver a Dvar Torah! Please join us – Sandy is a great speaker!

Shabbat morning Services are also this week, July 14th, starting at 9 a.m., with the Torah service at around 9:45 a.m. We will have a light kidish after.

About Sandy Kress: Sandy Kress received his bachelor’s degree with great distinction from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. After a long career in law and public service, Sandy began a few years ago to devote most of his time and energy to study, writing, and teaching on religious and ethical matters. He now teaches weekly in a variety of synagogue, church, university, and neighborhood group settings.

Sandy’s weekly blog on Jewish wisdom and topics in the Tanach can be found at https://sandykress.wordpress.com.

Lesson plans, handouts, and audios of his full course on the 613 mitzvot, the entire Torah cycle, and a variety of other courses on Jewish topics at the Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church can be found under the Hebrew Bible Studies tab at https://www.thirdwell.org.

Sandy has begun podcast series, A Shared Word, with his good friend, Mark Charbonneau, pastor at the Vine in Austin. The first on Proverbs and other wisdom sayings can be found at https://itunes.apple.com/…/podc…/a-shared-word/id1375838631…
.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

This Shabbat we end the reading of Sefer B’midbar, the Book of Numbers, with the combined parshot of Mattoth/Mas’ei, and on Friday we begin the month of Av. The Sages taught “When Av enters, we decrease joy”. We are of course on the cusp of Tish’ah B’Av, the Fast of the Ninth of Av (this year observed on the Tenth, since the Ninth falls on Shabbat). We remember the destruction of the First and Second Temples, as well as other calamities that have befallen our People. This month’s mourning is directly opposite the rejoicing of the month of Adar, the month in which Purim falls, when disaster was averted. May we never know any more disasters, and may mourning be a matter of distant memory. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat candle lighting times are at 8:17 p.m.

Dive into the Talmud!
Next class TONIGHT 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, July 12, July 26, August 16, August 30, September 6.

Save the Date Guys!
Bowling with my Buddies –
Join the Men’s Club August 19 for an afternoon of fun, bowling and camaraderie. Open to all!

Enrolling now for Hebrew school starting in the Fall! Save your spot! Let your friends know about our amazing little school!

ALSO ENROLLING FOR CHAI MITZVAH TEENS!

Teen Chai Mitzvah Program
Congregation Beth El
Shereen Ben-Moshe
info@bethelaustin.org

Come meet other teens in the Austin Jewish community, learn together and volunteer your time to do good!
The teen program includes texts to spark discussions, suggestions for increasing meaning in ritual observances, and examples of volunteer opportunities for each topic that can inspire the group towards creative ideas for social action.

Upon completion of the 9-month program, through our partnership with Jewish National Fund, participants will have trees planted in Israel in their honor. Each participant will receive a tree certificate.

Hands-on leadership program:
Social Action opportunities
Builds self-esteem
Builds Jewish identity
Builds Jewish Literacy
Connects with other Jewish teens and with the community
Provides opportunities for positive personal expression
Open to the Jewish community.

When?
Chai Mitzvah Study Sessions – 2nd & 4th Saturdays each month 10AM – 11AM
(Teens are welcome to join in on Shabbat morning services following our class. We also invite you to join us for a delicious Kiddush lunch. Teens may be dropped off as early at 9 AM and picked up by 1:00. Families are invited to come for services and lunch as well. If twice per month is too much for your teen’s schedule, we encourage one Shabbat per month and our Sunday mitzvah day!)
Mitzvah Project -1 Sunday per month 10AM – 1:00PM to participate in a monthly community service project.
(Subject to change based on our mitzvah project or trip of the month. Teens can earn volunteer hours for this day.)

Cost: $150
(Sibling discount and tuition assistance available.)

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
on the weekly Parasha:

Etre ailleurs, “To be elsewhere – the great vice of this race, its great and secret virtue, the great vocation of this people.” So wrote the French poet and essayist Charles Peguy (1873-1914), a philosemite in an age of Anti-Semitism. He continued: “Any crossing for them means the crossing of the desert. The most comfortable houses, the best built from stones as big as the temple pillars, the most real of real estate, the most overwhelming of apartment houses will never mean more to them than a tent in the desert.”[1]
What he meant was that history and destiny had combined to make Jews aware of the temporariness of any dwelling outside the Holy Land. To be a Jew is to be on a journey. That is how the Jewish story began when Abraham first heard the words “Lech Lecha”, with their call to leave where he was and travel “to the land I will show you.” That is how it began again in the days of Moses, when the family had become a people. And that is the point almost endlessly repeated in parshat Masei: “They set out from X and camped at Y. They set out from Y and camped at Z” – 42 stages in a journey of forty years. We are the people who travel. We are the people who do not stand still. We are the people for whom time itself is a journey through the wilderness in search of the Promised Land.
In one sense this is a theme familiar from the world of myth. In many cultures, stories are told about the journey of the hero. Otto Rank, one of Freud’s most brilliant colleagues, wrote about it. So did Joseph Campbell, a Jungian, in his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Nonetheless, the Jewish story is different in significant ways:
[1] The journey – set out in the books of Shemot and Bamidbar – is undertaken by everyone, the entire people: men, women and children. It is as if, in Judaism, we are all heroes, or at least all summoned to an heroic challenge.
[2] It takes longer than a single generation. Perhaps, had the spies not demoralised the nation with their report, it might have taken only a short while. But there is a deeper and more universal truth here. The move from slavery to the responsibilities of freedom takes time. People do not change overnight. Therefore evolution succeeds; revolution fails. The Jewish journey began before we were born and it is our responsibility to hand it on to those who will continue it after us.
[3] In myth, the hero usually encounters a major trial: an adversary, a dragon, a dark force. He (it is usually a he) may even die and be resurrected. As Campbell puts it: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”[2] The Jewish story is different. The adversary the Israelites encounter is themselves: their fears, their weaknesses, their constant urge to return and regress.
It seems to me, here as so often elsewhere, that the Torah is not myth but anti-myth, a deliberate insistence on removing the magical elements from the story and focussing relentlessly on the human drama of courage versus fear, hope versus despair, and the call, not to some larger-than-life hero but to all-of-us-together, given strength by our ties to our people’s past and the bonds between us in the present. The Torah is not some fabled escape from reality but reality itself, seen as a journey we must all undertake, each with our own strengths and contributions to our people and to humanity.
We are all on a journey. And we must all rest from time to time. That dialectic between setting out and encamping, walking and standing still, is part of the rhythm of Jewish life. There is a time for Nitzavim, standing, and a time for Vayelekh, moving on. Rav Kook spoke of the two symbols in Bilaam’s blessing, “How goodly are your tents, Jacob, and your dwelling places, Israel.” Tents are for people on a journey. Dwelling places are for people who have found home.
Psalm 1 uses two symbols of the righteous individual. On the one hand he or she is on the way, while the wicked begin by walking, then transition to standing and sitting. On the other hand, the righteous is compared to a tree, planted by streams of water, that gives fruit in due season and whose leaves do not wither. We walk, but we also stand still. We are on a journey but we are also rooted like a tree.
In life, there are journeys and encampments. Without the encampments, we suffer burnout. Without the journey, we do not grow. And life is growth. There is no way to avoid challenge and change. The late Rav Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l once gave a beautiful shiur[3] on Robert Frost’s poem, ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,’ with its closing verse:
The woods are lovely dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
He analyses the poem in terms of Kierkegaard’s distinction between the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of life. The poet is enchanted by the aesthetic beauty of the scene, the soft silence of the falling snow, the dark dignity of the tall trees. He would love to stay here in this timeless moment, this eternity-in-an-hour. But he knows that life has an ethical dimension also, and this demands action, not just contemplation. He has promises to keep; he has duties toward the world. So he must walk on despite his tiredness. He has miles to go before he sleeps: he has work to do while the breath of life is within him.
The poet has stopped briefly to enjoy the dark wood and falling snow. He has encamped. But now, like the Israelites in Masei, he must set out again. For us as Jews, as for Kierkegaard the theologian and Robert Frost the poet, ethics takes priority over aesthetics. Yes, there are moments when we should, indeed must, pause to see the beauty of the world, but then we must move on, for we have promises to keep, including the promises to ourselves and to God.
Hence the life-changing idea: life is a journey, not a destination. We should never stand still. Instead we should constantly set ourselves new challenges that take us out of our comfort zone. Life is growth.

Parshat Pinhas

Let's Go BowlingKaballat Shabbat services, TONIGHT, Friday July 6th at the regular time of 7 pm. Cantor and Shereen Ben-Moshe are out of town this week, so this week’s Kaballat shabbat services are lay led.

Huge thank you to David Walker for such an interesting talk last week – below you will find the English translation of the fascinating “Case of the Animals”, by
Qalonymos.

We continue with our summer speakers on July 13, when we welcome distinguished educator Sandy Kress to deliver a Dvar Torah.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

In this week’s parshah, Pinhas, we read that Pinhas Ben El’azar HaCohen is rewarded for his summary execution of Zimri Ben Sallu and his Midianite paramour Kozbi Bat Tzur, stopping the plague that afflicted the People of Israel at Ba’al Peor. The Rabbis commented that God had to specifically reward Pinhas, as otherwise his action and his zealotry would have been considered criminal.

We are now in the Three Week’s, the period of semi-mourning leading up to the Fast of Av, when we grieve for the destruction of the Temples and the long centuries of exile from our Land. The Sages teach that the Temples, especially the Second Temple, were destroyed because of hatred and violence. We must always remember that force is only legitimate to defend human life and human rights, and not in the service of human greed or hatred. May violence and tyranny soon vanish from the Earth, and peace and justice prevail.

From the shores of the Pacific, Shereen and I wish Shabbat Shalom to all the Beth El family.

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.

Save the Date Guys!
Bowling with my Buddies –
Join the Men’s Club August 19 for an afternoon of fun, bowling and camaraderie. Open to all!

Article from this month’s Jewish Outlook: Check Beth El in te local news! Please subscribe to this wonderful, free, Jewish resource in Austin.

Congregation Beth El Kicks Off Summer with Adult Education
LOCAL SYNAGOGUES, COMMUNITY NEWS
http://www.thejewishoutlook.com/…/congregation-beth-el-kick…

Translation into English of Qalonymos ben Qalonymos’ translation of the Case of the Animals
Chapter 5

On the Answer of the Mule, Spokescritter for Animals against the words and views of the Ishmaelite speaker

The King said “You heard, you families of animals, the words of the man, his views and his received prophecy on what he claimed about you? Do you have an answer to his words?”
And there arose an advocate which they had appointed that day as their spokescritter, namely, the mule, and he said “Here I am, my lord, to dispute his words”
The King said, “speak.”
And he said “A prayer to the Living God, the Most Powerful, the Singular, the Ancient, the Victorious, who existed before all existence—outside of time and place, who at the beginning of His Creation said “Let there be light, and there was light blazing from Him from His hidden place and He created from the light the foundation of fire and air. And he created the sea and dry land to be the inheritance of all creation. And he created from the splendour of his glory stars and planets, and He gave them governance. And he spread out the great sea and made the mountains appear. Praised be the One who set the higher world as a dwelling for His servants. Day by day they offer Him His Psalms. And the earth He set as a place for vegetation and living things according to their kind, and he provided nourishment for them. He created the man as dust and ash, as it is found written in the book (Qur’an 32, 7 and 8)…and he planted his seed in the earth to settle it, but not to grow it, to keep and to feed the animals, that he should receive some benefit not that he should rob every one that he hasn’t murdered.
Now that I have extolled the Deeds of my Creator, I shall turn to the human’s words and say that there isn’t in it any claim of this man in the words of prophecy (he cited) nothing of the view which validates what he thought—that they are the lords and we are their servants. Although they say that pious ones relate the words of the prophecy—“They are for your enjoyment…” it is like the sun, the moon, the cloud and the wind that they are also for your enjoyment. Does it teach that they are servants for them, that they are their property? And know, our Lord, the King, that the Creator, May He Be Blessed, created everything which is in the heavens and earth and if he put some of them to some purpose, the Rock made animals for man—this was for their benefit and not to their harm, as I shall make plain after this, not as He intended it, contra what the humans think. And here, what he said that they are masters and we are servants is all burden and oppression.
And the mule added, as spokesman o the animals, to speak to the ears of the King, and said: “Our Lord the King, Here we and our forefathers lived in the land before the creation of mankind, settled in all corners, moving and roaming about all sides, we were going and coming in the land to seek our livelihood, and we use could use a restoration/return to our former lives. Every one turns back and forth in a good place or in a suitable settlement to dwell in it—from deserts to lakes or mountains. Or in a forest meadow or the banks of rivers, or valleys. And every type of us collaborates with others of our kind, and we occupy ourselves with raising our offspring and feeding our young ones with good food from what was apportioned to us of the food and water, and we dwelled securely, carefree in his life, happy and joyous to do the will of our master. We praised and glorified Him nightly and daily, we didn’t stray from it. And many days passed thus, and the Rock, Just in His Deeds, placed man in the land and his seed increased in the land, and he took the corners of the land and filled the sea and the dry land, and the mountain was laid low, until they pressed us from our places and separated us from our dwellings and took from us the sheep and the cow and the camels and the horses and the mules and the donkeys and wearied them with hard work and with burdens, and they made us serve in them in silly tasks and in difficult transport—in the carrying of their riders, and to pull carts and turn mills and to drag a plough, besides beatings…and all manner of curses and reviling words hurled at us. Which we suffer in whispers all the days of our lives until we escape from them—whomever can, escapes to deserts and to wilderness, and to mountaintops. And these people desire to pursue after us and to capture us with all manner of crafty plans. And whomever among us falls into their hands woe to him for his misfortune, for he shall be imprisoned and bound and cast down, and slaughtered and skinned and his body dismembered and plucked and shorn. And if that wasn’t enough sorrow, they prepare them in cold containers, put them on skewers, and devour them in all manner of affliction in ways beyond the power description. And those of us who remain are silent and suffer and don’t avenge our spilt blood. And even so, we don’t run away from these people and even held our hand while they claimed that this was our obligation to them for they are our masters, and we bowed to them. And whomever escaped from them, he is a rebel. And I don’t recognize their view, and their claim and proof, only their strength and victory. Judge, our Lord, between us and them.”

Parashat Balak – Birthday celebration

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

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

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?