November 9th and 10th – Parashat Hayyei Sarah
We will be having our regular Friday night and Saturday morning services this weekend, November 9th and 10th. Friday night services start at 7:00 pm and Saturday morning services start at 9:00 am.
Parashat Hayyei Sarah is Veteran’s Shabbat which is dedicated to our Veterans. In addition, this past Wednesday November 7, 22 Cheshvan, was the one year yartzeit of Freddie Grant z”l. This Saturday we will have a special Kiddush in his memory. Also, save the date of February 2, 2013 at 7:00 pm for a special lecture by Rabbi Monty also dedicated in Freddie’s z”l memory.
Veteran’s Shabbat: Each year in November our nation honors the brave veterans and active duty troops who have defended, and sometimes given their lives, our country and its many freedoms. The Jewish War Veterans Austin Post 757 is an organization in Austin dedicated to support of all our Central Texas veterans and active duty Jewish service members. This year Veteran’s Day this year is Sunday November 11th. In order to honor of our veterans(U.S., IDF, and Allied forces) as well as current active duty service members we are dedicating the Shabbat service of November 10 to our veterans. We suggest all veterans attend this service and wear their military uniform caps, JWV caps and/or their service related decorations. Widows and widowers of former service member’s are encouraged to attend as well. Please also sign our “Wall of Honor” poster in the Beth El lobby. You will be honored with an alliah for your service. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message: In this week’s parshah, Hayyei Sarah, we read of the quest of Avraham’s servant (presumed to be Eli’ezer of Damascus) to find a suitable wife for Yitzhak, his master’s son. The servant prays for Divine guidance in finding a young woman who will offer to draw water for him and for his camels. The Torah notes that the woman whom he finds, Rivkah, is beautiful, and she is from Avraham’s family, which makes her a good match. However, her suitability for Yitzhak is not based on her beauty or her family connections, but on her character. From this story our Sages determined that character is the most important consideration in choosing a mate (or for that matter, a friend). Rivkah’s sterling character is what made her worthy to be an ancestress of our People. Please join this weekend as we honor God and the Shabbat, as well as veterans, and the memory of our dear friend Freddie Grant, z”l.