Friday night Services 8/30 – Selichot service 8/31 9pm

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Congregants and Friends,

We look forward to seeing you for our regular Friday night services tonight, August 30, at 7pm in which we will welcome in Shabbat with our beautiful song filled services.
Tomorrow night after Shabbat, starting at 9pm, we will have a special selichot service to usher in the High Holidays.  These special penitential poems and prayers of forgiveness are a meaningful way to usher in the Jewish New Year, starting Wednesday evening.
For a full list of the upcoming High Holidays, please go to www.bethelaustin.org
Shabbat shalom to you and your families.

Congregation Beth El

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message:

On this Shabbat, the last of the year 5773, we read the combined parshot of Nitzavim and Vayelech.  Nitzavim begins with the the words “Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem lifnei HaShem Eloheichem”  “You are present today, all of you, before HaShem your God.”  The teaching that Moses gives is for all of the People of Israel, not merely for an elite of priests and scholars, but for all of society, even to the “hewers of wood and drawers of water.”  This democratization of study and knowledge has set us apart throughout history, and has been instrumental in our survival as a people during the long exile from our home, the Land of Israel.
Moses goes on to express a great truth about our Torah, and about Jewish spiritual life-“Lo bashamayim hi“, “it is not in Heaven”.  The Torah is accessible to us at all times.  It is not some nigh-impossible standard to which normal humans can never attain, but is eminently doable.  To be sure, the Jewish spiritual path requires effort, but it is not out of our reach.  I might add that mitzvot, commandments, are not an all-or-nothing proposition.  Any mitzvah which we do is to our credit, even if we don’t fulfill all 613 (and in fact, no one can fulfill all of them). Parshat Vayelech goes on to detail Moses’ transfer of leadership to Joshua, and his preparation for his own imminent death.  Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our Master Teacher, sets us a wonderful example by willingly giving over the leadership of the People of Israel to his disciple.  The natural impulse of those in power is to retain it by any means possible.  Moses shows us a different way, which has been the model used by representative democracies-the orderly transfer of power.  The parshah concludes with an introduction to Parshat Haazinu, Moses’ swan song before his death. On behalf of Ilan, Eden and myself, I wish all of the Beth El family Shabbat Shalom and a Shanah Tovah Um’tukah, A Good and Sweet New Year.

Friday Night Services 7/19

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We look forward to seeing you for our regular Friday night services tonight, July 19th, at 7pm in which we will usher in Shabbat with our beautiful song filled services.   Shabbat shalom to you and your families.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message:

This week we read Parshat Va’et’hanan, the second parshah of the Book of Deuteronomy, which begins with a moving account by Moses of his plea to God to enter the Land of Israel.  It is surely one of the great tragedies of the Bible that Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our Master Teacher, who worked so tirelessly to bring the People of Israel out of Egypt and to the Promised Land, was unable to enter the Land himself.   Our parshah contains a number of significant passages.  One is the Torah reading for Tish’ah B’Av, the Fast of the Ninth of Av which we just observed last week.  The reading begins with a warning that forsaking the Covenant with God could lead to exile from the Land which B’nei Yisrael were about to enter, a warning which came true in 586 BCE.  However, the passage ends with a message of hope-that even in exile, if we seek out God and devote ourselves to living up to our end of the Covenant, then deliverance will surely come, and exile will come to an end.    Parshat Va’et’hanan also contains a recapitulation of the Ten Commandments, with one notable change.  In the original account of the Revelation on Mt. Sinai, the Fifth Commandment begins with the words “Zachor et Yom HaShabbat l’kad’sho“-“Remember the Sabbath Day to make it holy”.  In our parshah, the wording is “Shamor et Yom HaShabbat l’kad’sho“-“Observe the Sabbath Day to make it holy”.  Of course, it is not enough to remember, to be aware of Shabbat-we must also observe the Shabbat, do the things which make Shabbat not just another day, or even a weekend day, but rather a holy day of rest and restoration of the soul.  The Midrash teaches that the words “Zachor“, “Remember”, and “Shamor“, “Observe”, were spoken and heard at the same time during the original Revelation, but were written down separately.  Both are of course,equally necessary.  The most significant part of Parshat Ve’et’hanan is the first paragraph of the Sh’ma’-“Hear (or Pay Attention!)  Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.  And you shall love….”  The Sh’ma’ is the very heart of our liturgy, of our prayer service.  Morning and evening, every day we declare our loyalty and fealty to God, and our recognition that God alone is the center of all being.  These words are so significant that they are ideally among the last words said by a dying Jew.  The Sh’ma’ is ultimately the answer to the destruction, loss and grief of Tish’ah B’Av-our faith in the One God endures, even if Temples and monarchies are destroyed.    May we soon see the Final Redemption, when all suffering will cease, and see the Day which is all Shabbat for all eternity.  Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat b’Ha’alotechah – Healing the World and Frankie’s 13!

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A reminder of our regular Friday night services tonight, May 24th at our regular time of 7:00 pm.

Tomorrow morning, Saturday May 25, we will have Shabbat morning services at 9am, with the Torah service at 10am.  We would like to invite you all to come and celebrate with the Union family as Frankie is called up to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah.  We gratefully acknowledge Rachel Union for sponsoring a lovely kidush luncheon following the service.

We would like to wish you all a very meaningful Memorial Day and a heartfelt thank you to all our military forces who have served and those who currently serve this wonderful country.

Rabbi Peter Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha:

This week’s parashah is called “b’Ha’alotechah.  You will find it in the Book of Numbers 8:1 – 12:16.  The meaning of this section’s name is “when you bring up” yet ironically the weekly section deals with people who seem to be doing nothing more than trying to bring others down.  In this section, everyone seems to have had a complaint, everyone was unhappy, and no one was satisfied.  Even Moses’ own brother and sister revolt  against him and challenge his authority.  G’d reacts by meting  out punishments, one of which being that Moses’ sister, Miriam, was stricken by leprosy.

Why did G’d chose to punish Miriam with leprosy?  Is it that the Hebrew term for leprosy “Tzar’at” is also connected to the idea of idle gossip, negativity, complaining without offering solutions?  Is the text teaching us that leprosy exists not only as a physical ailment but also as a mental ailment?  That people who are negative and pessimists infect others? A theme then of this week’s section is that it is easy to complain, but a lot harder to offer solutions.

It is in this week’s parashah that Moses offers the first Hebrew prayer of petition.  The text tells us that G’d punished Miriam,with leprosy for her disloyalty toward her brother.  Moses could have found satisfaction in her suffering, but instead showed his love by offering a prayer.  In his prayer we see all of the emotion of a brother who loves his sister, who can forgive her, who seeks not revenge but healing. For many, this first Hebrew prayer is the essence of Moses’ leadership skills.  In it we have a model of how Moses not only defended his authority, but also knew when the time had come to reconcile.  Is Moses’ prayer only about his sister or is he teaching us that even in the political world, there are times that we need to learn to forgive and move on?

Moses composed a prayer of a mere five words:  “El na, Rfah na la./Please G’d: be so kind as to heal her.”  His is a prayer poignant in meaning.  Unfortunately, the poetry of the Hebrew is lost in the English translation.  The prayer’s very terseness speaks out to us.  Here is Moses, begging G’d to forgive his sister who has not just politically challenged him but tried to undermine his authority. Despite the challenge, Moses reacts as brother and not as a political figure.  He cries out to G’d and his cry resonates across the millennia.

What does this prayer teach us?  Are we capable of moving on?  How do we confront negative people who seek to destroy rather than to build?  Do we not both collectively and individually need healing?  What does this section teach us about modern society and its ills?

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message:

In this week’s parshah, B’haalotkha, we read of the pillar of cloud which led the People of Israel in their wanderings in the Wilderness.  When the cloud, a manifestation of God’s Presence, moved, so too did the People, and when the cloud stopped, the People rested.  It is important to note that the cloud of the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence was always in front of the People, and their gaze was to be ever forward.  In fact, when the People looked back nostalgically towards Egypt they were punished.  Their focus was to be on the future, on the Promised Land, not on a romanticized past.  We, their descendants, should also look forwards to what is to come, rather than backwards towards a past which was perhaps not as good as nostalgia makes it seem.  In so doing, we will be able to fulfill God’s plan for us.  Shabbat Shalom.

Parasha Emor – The Art of listening

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A reminder of services Friday night, April 26 and Saturday morning, April 28.  As always, Friday night services are at 7:00 pm and Saturday morning services start at 9:00 am.
Mitzvah Day – Sunday April 28 – From the Jewish Federation of Greater Austin  This Sunday, April 28 marks the return of Mitzvah Day, a community-wide Jewish day of service involving volunteers of all ages providing hands-on assistance at one of 30 plus projects in and around Austin.  Please consider sharing a few hours of your time as an individual, couple or family this Sunday. Bring a friend or make a new one. Share your expertise or step out of your comfort zone.  You can browse all the Mitzvah Day projects on the GivePulse.com website and sign up in advance for any opening. We don’t want to disappoint a single senior center, social service agency, school or shelter by having to cancel a project at the last minute because of a lack of volunteers.  More than 150 volunteers have signed up already. We need a minimum of 300 volunteers to fully deliver on the promise of Mitzvah Day.  Questions? Contact Dana Epstein, Assistant Executive Director, Jewish Federation of Greater Austin at 512-735-8008 or dana.epstein@shalomaustin.org.  Thank you for making a difference in your own life and in the lives of others.
From Rabbi Peter Tarlow’s Chadashot La’Shavuah   This week’s parashah is called “Emor”. You can find the parashah in the Book of Levitcus 21:1-24:3. This week’s Torah portion teaches us, as does so much of the Hebrew Bible, that understanding comes not only from what we see at the superficial level, but what we “hear” below the surface. Parashat Emor is a good example of this principle.  If we read it carefully we come not only to “see the text” but to “hear the text” and to learn that understanding often comes by “hearing what we read.” Perhaps it is for this reason that the Hebrew verbal root “K.R.Alef” means not only to “read” but also to “call out” and the Hebrew verbal root It is of “Sh-M-Ayin” means “to hear” and “to understand profoundly”. The language itself is saying: be careful, do not judge something only by what you see on the surface but rather “hear” what is below the surface.  This week’s parashah deals with issues such as the restrictions and limitations of those in the “priestly class” (cohanim), the calendar, the importance of Saturday as a day different from other days, the other holy days, and laws of blasphemy. At first glance, these chapters do not seem to be tied together by a common thread. Yet if we “hear” what we read rather than merely “seeing” what is on the surface of the text, we note that the idea of being specific and providing clarity lies just below the surface. One Hebrew Scripture’s main themes is that things gain essence when they are clearly defined and named. To choose to create a vocabulary that fogs and issue rather than speaking specifically to the issue is to create moral confusion and political mistakes. Is the Torah teaching us that when we fudge reality, when we confuse issues, when we call “X” “Y” and “Y” “X,” then clarity of thought soon dissolves? Is the text reminding us that when that with the loss of clarity our actions and our morals soon decline into a moral state of tohu vaVohu or moral and political chaos? Are we guilty of creating such chaos today when terrorists are called “militants”? Have the media created a new vocabulary of political correctness in which we no longer hear what is being said?  This week’s section forces us to confront the principle that for successful living we must have the ability to “hear” an issue. To “hear/understand” an issue means defining it, naming it, and “seeing it for what it is”. When we are merely re-actors to life’s crises rather than actors in the drama called life, then Judaism teaches that we set ourselves adrift on a sea of confusion. Has political correctness lead to a moral decline and stymied our ability to act? What do you think?
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message  The beginning of this week’s parshah, Emor, deals with various laws concerning the Kohanim, the priests. As they were expected to serve in the Sanctuary, they were expected to maintain, as much as possible, a state of purity. They were therefore prohibited from contact with the dead, and were in fact barred from funerals except for those of close kin. The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, actually could not go to any funerals at all-not even of his own parents, such was the level of purity that he was to maintain. There was, however, one exception to this rule-the case of the Met Mitzvah, someone who had died without family to make funeral arrangements, or who had died anonymously. In such a case, the duty of burial falls upon the community-and our Tradition teaches that if no one else is available to care for the Met Mitzvah, then that duty falls upon the High Priest himself. Such is the importance that Judaism places on l’vayat hamet, literally “accompanying the dead” to their final rest.  We look forward to seeing you this Shabbat as we join in prayer and in learning more about this parshah

Exciting Upcoming Events

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Tikkun Olam Lecture and Discussion – February 16 at 7:00 pm  Mr. Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla, community member and author of five ebooks, will explain the connection between the Shema Israel and early Greek philosophy and how this relates to today’s modern world.  Interested in Tikkun Olam, helping humanity, or improving our educational system?  If so, please plan to join us at Congregation Beth El on Saturday night, February 16.

PURIM  Join us at Beth El for the Megillah reading.  We will be celebrating Purim both Saturday night, 2/23, and Sunday morning, 2/24.  The Saturday night services start at 7:00 pm and Sunday morning service starts at 9:00 am.  Try to attend both, but if you can only make one, please plan to attend the Sunday morning service.

Crypto Judaism –Lecture March 2 at 7:30 pm Rabbi Peter Tarlow of A&M Hillel will be giving a lecture on Crypto Jews, Saturday night March 2, at Congregation Beth El. Rabbi Peter Tarlow is the director and Rabbi of Texas A&M Hillel for the last 27 years and has taught at the university level in both Sociology and Philosophy. Crypto-Judaism is the academic name describing those Jews who were forced to convert on the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th and then 16th centuries. Many of these people maintained a secret form of Judaism. Called in Hebrew “anusim”,the Jewish world has long seen these forced converts as national heroes. After the opening of the New World many Crypto-Jews fled to northern Mexico (now the US states of Texas, New Mexico, and the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon) to avoid the Inquisition. Today there are thousands of people whose last name ends in “ez” or refers to a geographic site (montaña, ríos) or something from the botanical worlds (flores, rosa, manzana) whose ancestors were forced to convert and then prosecuted.  This lecture will start with Havdalah led by Cantor Ben Moshe at Motz-ei Shabbat.

Passover Cooking Class: Passover is a special time of the year and one of the most celebrated Jewish Holidays. Families gather for the seder and enjoy the special meal with the traditional foods of matzah ball soup, chicken, kugels and kosher for Passover deserts. But since Passover only comes once a year, many people do not want or are overwhelmed by making dishes the way Bubbie used to. The easy alternative is to skip some of the cooking, but the best way to enjoy Passover is through the food. Congregation Beth El in its ongoing cooking classes is dedicating a special class on Passover cooking . Want to learn how to make awesome dishes for Passover? Want to learn some special recipes handed down generation to generation. If so, come to a cooking class at Congregation Beth El on Sunday March 10 at 1pm. The class is free and open to all.

Congregation Beth El’s Second Night Seder March 26, 6:20 pm  Interested in a lively participatory second night seder? If so, join us at Congregation Beth El as we continue our annual tradition of the second night seder. With hagadot in hand we’ll celebrate the second night, singing and learning while eating a delicious kosher meal. We’ll tell the story of our people’s freedom and eat all the Passover favorites. We promise a good night of friends, food, songs, stories, and all your seder favorites. We will begin reading the haggadah with Cantor Ben Moshe at 6:20 pm, and Morah Betsy and our children will act out the plagues section, including a dash to the Sea of Reeds. This seder is open to the community with a suggested donation of $10 for adults or $5 for children. RSVPs are preferred, but not required.

Cantor Ben-Moshe Message for 2/15: In this week’s parshah, T’rumah, we read of the commandment to build a sanctuary, the Mishkan, and about the materials to be used for its building. The Torah quotes God as saying “And they shall make Me a santuary, and I will dwell among them”. Our ancient ancestors almost certainly thought of the Mishkan, and later the Temple, as the literal “dwelling place” of God. However, by the end of the First Temple period, the era of the Classical Prophets, we recognized that no mere building could contain God, but that the Temple was actually meant to be a physical focus for our devotion. The Mishnah in Tractate B’rachot teaches that one is to face Jerusalem and the Temple Mount when praying, but if we do not know the proper direction, we should “turn our hearts to our Father in Heaven”. God, whose presence is everywhere, should be our ultimate focus.