Parashat Vayishlach
Please join us for Friday Night Shabbat Services
December 16, at the regular time of 7:00 PM.
Shabbat morning services are a week away Saturday December 24.
Sunday school THIS Sunday December 18. Lots of fun activities and Ms. Carol Rubin coming to sing with the children.
HOLD THE DATE : THE HANNUKAH PARTY OF THE YEAR! Now only a week away, plan to join us on Sunday December 25 at 5 PM at Beth El for one cool Hannukah party. Live music with Los Klezmeros, Kosher food including Guy’s famous Israeli sufganiot and candle lighting! Free and open to the community. Thank you to Avigail Adaky for sponsoring the party in honor of her 80th birthday!
Candle lighting in Austin is at 5:15 PM
Please consider an end of year donation to Congregation Beth El, where good deeds and mitzvoth are taken seriously! Every dollar donated goes towards providing a meaningful and joyful Jewish experience for the community.
http://bethelaustin.wpengine.com/donate/
Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week in Parshat Vayyishlah, we read much about names. Ya’akov is renamed Yisrael-twice-but is otherwise consistently referred to as Ya’akov. Ya’akov twice renames the place where he first encountered God as Beith El-for a total of three times. And finally, the youngest son of Rahel and Ya’akov has his name changed from Ben-Oni to Benyamin.
Names have great significance in the Torah, and in Jewish Tradition. The naming of a baby is an important ceremony, a Jew By Choice is given a new name when he or she joins the Covenant, and we even have a custom of changing the name of one who is gravely ill. To name a person is to determine their character, to change a name is in essence to change the person or the place. We should always try to live up to the best of our names, and we should always strive to make a good name for ourselves. Shabbat Shalom
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
HOLD THE DATES: Guest speakers at Beth El.
Friday January 6, Rabbi Daniel Septimus CEO of the Austin JCC will likewise be our guest speaker at Beth El.
On the first Friday of February, we welcome Rabbi/Cantor Marie Betcher who will talk about the great work she does as a Police Chaplain.
And the third Friday, Jay Rubin, former CEO of Shalom Austin and avid historian will come to speak!
Photo of the tour graciously led by Gregg and Michelle Philipson of the Bob Bullock Museum last Sunday afternoon. It was an extremely powerful and meaningful afternoon hearing about the power and horror of Nazi propaganda.
Sisterhood Book Club Event!
**On January 24th at 7:00 p.m. we will be having another book club event, The event will be at the home of Yael Shacham, who has graciously volunteered hosting our evening get together. The name of the book and its author, that we will be discussing, is “A Pigeon and A Boy” by Meir Shalev.
Shabbat shefs and anyone who would like to help us prepare for the channukah party please come next Thursday at 11AM.