Sukkot 5778

6a0120a610bec4970c014e8c36834e970dWe want to wish you all a Chag Sameach for the Joyous festival of sukkot which begins tonight at sunset.
Sukkot
Friday October 6 – Friday Night Services at 6:30 PM with Dinner in the Sukkah immediately following. We will have a delicious Italian dinner a la Yosef and invite you and your friends to help us fulfill the mitzvah of celebrating this joyous holiday. Free and open to the community.
Huge Toda Rabas/Thank yous!!
Once again, the Beth El High Holiday volunteers knocked it outta the ballpark with a spectacular set of services. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who contributed— from Cantor Ben-Moshe’s amazing services, to all the service helpers, readers, kidush food preppers and stuff schleppers, the many visitors who found a warm shul to celebrate in, and everyone in between—we couldn’t have done it without you. Next up, the celebrations continue with Sukkot this Friday night. Next Shabbat morning services are a week away, Saturday October 14.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly message:
We begin the Festival of Sukkot on Wednesday evening, the ancient festival of the fall harvest. As our ancestors did when they were farmers in the Land of Israel, and needed to stay in the he fields as long as possible, we will dwell (or at least take our meals) in temporary huts, sukkot, for the duration of the holiday. The Torah tells us that this is also to remind us of our homelessness as we wandered in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.
As Rabbi Alan Lew taught us, this holiday season actually begins with Tish’ah B’Av, when we remember the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. Rabbi Lew points out that Tish’ah B’Av teaches the difficult lesson that nothing of this earth is permanent-not even God’s House, certainly not our own homes. These past few weeks it has been brought home to us how fragile a house can be-in Houston, in Florida, in Mexico or Puerto Rico. The sukkah reminds us that houses are ultimately temporary-but God’s Presence and love are eternal, and in that recognition we can find joy even in the midst of fear and doubt. May this Sukkot Holiday hold joy for us and all of the House of Israel, and may all people everywhere be at peace and secure in their dwelling places. Hag Sameah.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
Sunday school this week is at 10 a.m. We look forward to seeing our BERS and learning more about Sukkot and Simchat Torah, shaking the lulav and etrog and making Jewish learning fun for our children.
PLEASE note that the Beth El sukkah will be available for all to use over the festival of sukkot. You may use the side gate and bring your snack or meal there. If you would like to borrow our lulav and etrog, just let us know.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/…/lulav-and-etrog-the-fou…/
Congregation Beth El’s 36th Double Chai Anniversary is Sunday November 5th 2017 at 6:15 PM. We will have an elegant kosher dinner, silent auction and entertainment. Save the date and send in your RSVP as soon as you can!
GET INVOLVED
Beth El is a completely DIY Shul. All events — from services and celebrations to learnings and lunches — happen because this incredible community steps up and contributes skills, time, ideas, and funds. Thank you to those who are involved – there’s something for everyone at your special shul, so please get involved.

Yom Kippur 5778

YKYom Kippur begins Tonight with Kol Nidrei at 7 PM sharp.
This email includes all of the details and information for Yom Kippur. Of course, if you have any questions, please let us know. We look forward to seeing you!
Schedule: Yom Kippur
September 29 – Friday Evening – Kol Nidrei at 7:00 PM
September 30 – Saturday Day – Yom Kippur Shachrit Service at 9 AM
Yom Kippur Torah Service around 10:15 AM
Children’s services at 11 AM
Mincha at 5:15 PM, Neilah around 6:30 PM
Shofar – Tekiah Gdolah 7:45 PM followed by Break the Fast
Seating: We anticipate a large crowd and if requested are reserving places for our members. If you have a particular seat preference or would like seats reserved, please let us know ASAP.
Parking: Similar to years past, please reserve the places in the front of the building for the elderly and please note that parking should be only on the south side of Dominion Cove. Since it is an evening and shabbat, we may also park across the street in the office parking lot.
Participating: We need people to help with English readings, be ushers, and more. If you would like to help, please let us know.
Costs: As always, there is not a specific charge for the High Holidays and we are not taking tickets, but please be sure to send in your dues. If you did not receive a dues statement or have any questions about your dues, please let us know. You can go to www.bethelaustin.org/donate to donate or pay dues.
Kiddush: We gratefully thank Dani Kadosh and Juliette Meinstein for sponsoring a beautiful Break the Fast.
We extend our sincere gratitude to Elaine Shapiro for sponsoring the beautiful High Holiday flower arrangements.
We wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom and Gmar Hatima Tova.
גמר חתימה טובה
Other important Dates:
Sukkot
October 6 – Friday Evening – Friday Night Services at 6:30 PM with Dinner in the sukkah following services
Simchat Torah
October 12 – Thursday Evening – Simchat Torah Evening Services at 7:15 PM
Beth El’s 36 Anniversdary Dinner
Sunday November 5 at 6:15 PM at Beth El
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly message:
This Shabbat is of course Yom Kippur, the “Shabbat Shabbaton”-the Sabbath of Sabbaths. This is the holiest day of the year, when we fast and spend the day in prayer in order to make atonement for our misdeeds. The day can seem overwhelming-rather like a marathon, and like a marathon, we can feel exhilaration at the end. It is important to remember, though, that the fasting and prayer are a means to an end-to repentance, to improving our souls. Even if we cannot fast for medical reasons, we can still do the inner work of self-examination and repentance. This year, and every year, may the spirit of Yom Kippur carry into the days that follow, so that we can be wholehearted in our faith and in our practice, and may we all find atonement for our human frailties. Shabbat Shalom, and my we all be sealed for goodness and life in the coming year.
I am attaching a prayer for those who are unable to fast, and wish to dedicate themselves to repentance on this holiest of days.
https://reformjudaism.org/…/meditation-yom-kippur-one-who-c…
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
Pictured below is our beloved Morris Shapiro (z’l) of blessed memory last year when the Cantor went and blew the shofar for him and sweet Elaine.

No Sunday school this week, but please note that we need help to build the sukkah at 10 a.m. We invite our Chai Mitzvah Teens, and anyone else in the school and their parents to please help us build and decorate the sukkah.
Congregation Beth El’s 36th Double Chai Anniversary is Sunday November 5th 2017 at 6:15 PM. We will have an elegant kosher dinner, silent auction and entertainment. Save the date!
Rabbi Peter Tarlow’s Parashat Hashavua:
Rosh Ha’Shanah provided us with an opportunity to take an inventory of our own lives and our relationships with others. Tomorrow night as the sun sets Yom Kippur enters into our lives. Yom Kippur demands of us that we to turn to G-d, that we realize that each of us is a mere mortal, and asks us to seek G-d’s forgiveness for our failures and sins. Below is a list of actions about which each of us needs to contemplate and consider. As you think about your past year we hope that your fast be not only be easy but also meaningful and filled with a sense of spirituality and humility.
On Yom Kippur it is traditional to think about our failures. During the day think about these failures. Try to be totally honest with yourselves. Here are some things to consider:
Answer these questions in the privacy of your thoughts.
Have I lied this year?
Did I distort facts or manipulate my words and those of other people?
Did I pass judgment without knowing the facts?
Did I deceive others and yourself with half-truths?
Did I use other people’s failings to justify my own faults?
Did I do what I wanted to do without regard to others?
Did I use other people as mere instruments to satisfy my own needs?
How have I been selfish and/or self-serving?
Have I committed malicious gossip?
In any aspect of life have I been gluttonous?
Did we act in an arrogant or superior manner?
Do I demand one form of behavior for others and another form for myself?
Have I failed my family and friends?
How do I heal the hurts that I have committed?
What do I hope to do differently in this new year?
How have I lied to myself when I answered these questions?
During your fast, try to take the time to think about each of these questions and how G’d might judge your answers. May 5778 be a good year for each of you!
Our Best Wishes for an Easy and Meaningful Fast
“On Tzedakah” – By Gabbai Bam Rubenstein
On Sunday, 24 September, 2017, I had the opportunity to do a mitzvah, in the place of a different mitzvah. I joined a group of friends, and we went to an area that was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, to do “Tzedaka.” Allen has a huge smoke pit on a trailer. David also knows his way around a grill. Thom, Jeffrey, Holly and I were more like window dressing, but we did get the chance to do our part.
We started with about 250 or so pounds of meat. We also had enough buns for all the meat. We had at least 5 or 6 cans of beans, that I saw. And we had enough bags of cabbage, and carrots, and bins full of dressing, to make enough slaw to go around. We also had cases and cases of water, which we continuously added to an iced cooler.
People came up and asked, “How much?” and we got to tell them, “It’s free. How many would you like?”
One lady offered me a monetary donation. I got to tell her that her money was no good; but if she felt that she needed to donate, she should try a charity that her church likes.
However, the thing that made me stop in my tracks, have to turn away from the crowd and catch my breath, was when a woman came over and asked how much the water was. When she was told that it was free, you could feel the weight in her words, with what she said next. She looked at one of the guys helping her to her car and said, “The water is free? You’re giving it away? We haven’t had water for days.”
I’m pretty sure that the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are meant for doing things like this. And it felt good. Let’s strive for more Tzedakah in our community, and the world at large, as we enter 5778.

Rosh Hashanah 5778 and all the info you need

honey cake 1Rosh Hashanah begins Wednesday evening.
This email includes all of the details and information for the High Holidays. Of course, if you have any questions, please let us know. We look forward to seeing you!
Schedule: The High Holiday Schedule is posted on our web page http://bethelaustin.wpengine.com/high-holidays/ and copied below.
Seating: We anticipate a large crowd and if requested are reserving places for our members. If you have a particular seat preference or would like seats reserved, please let us know ASAP.
Parking: Similar to years past, please reserve the places in the front of the building for the elderly and please note that parking should be only on the south side of Dominion Cove. Consider parking at Grace Church around the corner and take a short walk to the building.
Participating: We need people to help with English readings, be ushers, and more. If you would like to help, please let us know.
Costs: As always, there is not a specific charge for the High Holidays and we are not taking tickets, but please be sure to send in your dues. If you did not receive a dues statement or have any questions about your dues, please let us know. You can go to www.bethelaustin.org/donate to donate or pay dues.

Kiddush: We will have apples and honey cake on the first evening of Rosh Hashanah and kiddushes following services on Thursday, Friday and Saturday! If you would like to help sponsor or bring something to the Kiddush, please contact us.
We wish everyone a Happy and Sweet New Year. May you all have a year of good health, peace and blessing.
שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה
Some of our Chai Mitzvah Teens delivering delicious Honey Cake baked by the BERS for our community members. Fred’s grin definitely says it all! Thank you to the many bakers and to those who helped deliver the cakes.
We would all like to wish Hal Jacobs a very speedy recovery from heart surgery. Hal is going to the Heart Hospital of Austin on Erev Rosh Hashanah. His surgery will be Wednesday this week and he and Elaine would love to have visitors at the hospital during his recovery. Please call the hospital to find out when Hal can receive visitors or check with us. The Heart Hospital is 3801 N Lamar Bvld. Austin 78756. Thank you in advance for the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Rosh Hashanah Message:
As we begin Rosh Hashanah this week, we begin a three-day period with much music. From the chanting of the prayers with their unique melodies to the reading of Parshat Ha’azinu, Moses’ last song to the People of Israel, on Shabbat, this time is filled with tunes. Music is very much a part of the High Holidays.
Music serves two main purposes at this time of year. One purpose is didactic-words are easier to learn when set to music. This is the reason for chanting the Torah. Indeed, Moses states that the reason for his song is so the People will remember his teaching. The other reason is to set a mood. There are two main musical modes for the High Holidays. One is a major mode which conveys God’s sovereignty-a maiestoso, majestic mode. The other is the minor mode of S’lihoth, prayers of penitence.
As we sit in the synagogue this year, let us try to learn the lessons which we need to learn, and to let the music transport us emotionally, even if we do not understand all of the words.
Shereen, Ilan, Cayla, Julia and Eden join me in wishing Shanah Tovah and Shabbat Shalom to the entire Beth El family.

Happy New School Year!

Chai mitzvah teens
Morah Maya's class

Fantastic Sunday at Beth El Religious School!

Today our dream team of teachers (Morah Iris, Morah Maya, Morah Noa, Morah Anat, Cantor Ben-Moshe, and Morah Shereen, Morah Iris) welcomed back our returning students and many new students to Beth El Religious School. A fantastic morning was had by all.
This year we have 4 classes and a teen group. Stay tuned…we may be adding a preschool aged group in the coming weeks!
Next week we will be baking honey cakes and making Rosh Hashanah cards for senior Jewish members of Austin. If you know of someone we should deliver to, or would like to help make deliveries, please contact Shereen Ben-Moshe at 512-550-3735.

Parashat Ki Tetze and Hurricane Harvey Relief

sisterhood planningPlease read below for URGENT Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts.
Kabbalat shabbat services Friday September 1 at the regular time of 7:00 PM. We hope to see you. As the Chazzan noted, special prayers go out to all those affected by this terrible hurricane. May God bless and protect all those in harm’s way and all the first responders.
Shabbat morning services are Saturday September 9 at 9!

Beth El beautification Day – Sunday September 17 at 12:00 noon. Please volunteer an hour or two to help clean and spruce up the building.
SAVE THE DATE: Sunday November 5th at 6 PM Beth El is holding our 36th Anniversary dinner! Please plan to attend this wonderful evening celebrating our congregation. Invitations will be mailed out shortly.
Candle lighting in Austin is at 7:35 PM and
Havdallah is Saturday at 8:28 PM Motzei shabbat.
Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message

This week’s parshah, Ki Tetze, begins with a rather curious commandment-a victorious warrior who spies a captive woman whom he finds desirable, cannot take advantage of her then and there, but must bring her home, let her mourn for a month, and only then he may marry her, and he may not sell her into slavery. This is of course a corrective to one of the horrors of war, but Rabbi Alan Lew, of blessed memory, made a connection to our live in his book, “This Is Real, And You Are Completely Unprepared”. Rabbi Lew regards this as a lesson for all of us-that we should not act on impulse, but should take our time and examine our desires. Perhaps upon examination, the thing we desired is not so desirable, and we can do without it. As we prepare for the High Holidays and examine our actions and how we respond to impulses, this is a valuable lesson. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
URGENT COMMUNITY NEWS: HARVEY RELIEF EFFORTS.
Please help donate these urgently needed items for the Jewish Community in Houston. We were going to have the items collected at Beth El, but the need is so urgent that we request you to help as soon as you can by donating items straight to the Dell Campus. There is a truck there ready to go to Houston Friday afternoon. There is also an option below to buy items through Amazon.
Up to date info :
https://shalomaustin.org/ways-you-can-help
Here is the list of items needed.
Heavy Work Gloves Plastic Storage Bins
Sharpies Heavy Duty Trash Bags
Duct Tape Packing Tape
New Boxes Rubber Gloves
Painters Masks Disinfecting Wipes
Hand Sanitizer Rubber Gloves
Mops Jab Saws
Buckets Washcloths/Towels for Cleaning
Rubber Mallets Hammers
Box Fans Inflatable Mattresses
New Pillows Gift Cards to Home Depot, Lowes, HEB
Bubble Wrap
To participate in this effort, view details:
Please complete this Google Form with the item(s) you would like to donate.
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdbRA8WyZVhD65-H9…/viewform
Drop off-times: Thursday, August 31 from 8am-9pm. and Friday, September 1 from 8am-5pm
Drop-off location: Front circle drive located on the Dell Jewish Community Campus, 7300 Hart Lane
We are only accepting new, unopened items in original packaging from the list above.
Additionally, to donate supplies online, visit our Amazon Wish List (
https://www.amazon.com/…/16A4JZV34DK…/ref=cm_sw_em_r_d_g__wf) . All donated items will be delivered directly to the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston and distributed to those in need. For even more ways you can help and latest updates, please visit our website.
Thank you to those who have donated items and for everyone’s support.
Rabbi Daniel Septimus
Chief Executive Officer
Shalom Austin
Sisterhood planning meeting this week was amazing. From Shereen’s Solar Eclipse Ice Breaker activity to the actual getting on paper a bunch of exciting activities, we have a great year planned. Please be on the lookout for upcoming events and please plan to join us. The sisterhood is open to all and a very welcoming place.