Events in January 2013

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We have many wonderful events coming up that will help make Beth El 2013 a truly fabulous year. We have something for everyone at Congregation Beth El, so we hope you can join us in as many events as you can.
As every Friday night, services will be tonight, Friday January 4 at 7pm.  In January, Saturday morning services will be on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month which are 1/12 and 1/26.   Our Kiddush luncheon on 1/12 will be sponsored by Hal and Elaine Jacobs.  A special thank you to the Jacobs family!  Please let our congregation know if you would like to sponsor a kiddush in the coming year.

Our popular, Cycling with the Cantor, has been scheduled for Sunday January 13th at 3:30 pm.  The  bike ride will be through northwest Austin led by the Cantor. The route will not be too hilly. We will meet at Beth El, 8902 Mesa Drive. Bring your bike, a water bottle, and a good spirit. Please pass on to friends. The event is free and open to the community. You do not have to be a member of Beth El to join us on the bike ride.
Congregation Beth El will be holding a Tu Be Shevat Seder and dairy/parev potluck dinner on Friday January 25 at 6:30pm. Please bring your family and friends to our ever popular potlucks and celebrate this special Jewish holiday with us.

Highlights for February include a guest lecture and discussion by Rabbi Monty Eliasov in honor of the late Freddie Grant (z’l).  Join us on February 2 for havdallah service at 7:00 pm followed by a discussion on Kabbalah.  On Saturday March 2, we will continue our visiting lecture series with Rabbi Peter Tarlow of Texas A&M University who will give a talk about the fascinating topic of crypto-Judaism.  Additional details to follow by email.

Community Events in January:

  • An Evening of Comedy returns to the JCC on Saturday, January 26 at 8 PM. The cabaret evening features internationally renowned comedian MODI sharing funny life stories, shticks and giggles, one-liners, head shaking and general meshugas. The program opens with local favorites Shana Merlin & Merlin Works Improv Comedy. Tickets, which include general admission seating and one drink ticket, are $25 before January 23 at 5 PM and $30 after January 23 and at the door. Register online at www.shalomaustin.org/comedy.
  • Tapestry of Jewish Learning is celebrating its eleventh year of excellence in Jewish adult education and features 28 engaging classes led by dynamic experts, academics and area clergy on Sunday, January 27 at 10 AM at the JCC. The Chip Rainey Memorial Lecture features Dr. Leonard Saxe discussing “The Jewish Future in America: Musings of a Social Scientist.” Saxe is a Klutznick Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies and Social Policy at Brandeis University, where he directs the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute. Registration is $25 before January 23 at 5 PM and $30 after January 23 and at the door and includes a kosher lunch for all participants. Register online at www.shalomaustin.org/tapestry.

Cantor Ben- Moshe’s weekly message:  This week we begin the Book of Shemot (Exodus) with the parshah of the same name. The Sages explain the first verse as follows-“These are the names (shemot) of the Children of Israel who came to Egypt”. This refers to the fact that they kept their own names, and more generally their culture, and did not assimilate into Egyptian society. As a result, when Moses came to tell their descendants that the God of their ancestors had sent him, they knew the God to whom he was referring. Our survival as a people over the last 2000 years of exile has depended upon our preservation of our own culture-even when we take names in the language of the country in which we live, we preserve our Hebrew names for religious purposes. The Rabbis said that the fact that the Israelites preserved their names made them worthy of redemption from slavery. May we, their descendants who live in far better circumstances, also preserve our Jewish names as well as the rest of our culture, and may we be as worthy of redemption.