Parashat Bo – come on over you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Night Shabbat Services, Tonight 1/15, at 7 PM. Bo (come on over) for soulful prayer, camaraderie and lots of singing! Stay after and catch up with your Beth El friends.

NEXT Saturday morning services are January 23, at 9 AM

A big thank you to Bob and Bettye Halperin for sponsoring the kidush on January 23 in honor of Bob’s birthday. There will be a lovely kosher meat meal following services as well as special children’s story time!

*HOLD THE DATES: First Fridays*
We have a couple of lovely Friday night dinners coming up on the FIRST FRIDAYS of the month. Friday February 5 at the special time of 6:30 PM we will have a shabbat dinner in honor of Phil and Keren Harvey who are making aliya to Israel in February. Keren and Phil have generously sponsored the Friday dinner and we thank them sincerely.

Friday March 4, also at 6:30 PM we will be having another service and dinner as we celebrate with congregations across the US and Canada in SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA!

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week’s parshah, Bo, ends with the Exodus-with the People of Israel leaving Egypt. Of course, we know that the Exodus was successful, and we celebrate our liberation from Egypt every year at Passover. However, our Tradition speaks of an earlier, unsuccessful exodus of part of the Tribe of Ephraim, based on a midrashic reading of the genealogies at the beginning of the Book of Chronicles. According to this tradition, some of the Ephraimites left Egypt 30 years earlier but were all killed in battle with the Philistines. They did not succeed, because they did not go with the rest of their People. We know that the Community of Israel, K’lal Yisrael, is greater than the sum of its parts. This is why certain prayers, the most holy ones, can only be said with a minyan. This is why we are encouraged to share feasts like the Passover Seder with others. We are at our best when we are together. While we may as individuals have our differences, we come together to form a harmonious whole, as four voices can come together to form a choir. May we always, as a congregation, a community and a People, be united in our efforts to serve God, both in our words of prayer and Torah, and in our deeds. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday, January 17 for some more Sunday Fundays. We will focus on Tu Be Shevat and explore all things to do with the birthday of the trees, which is Monday January 25. Pictured above are Morah Shiry’s students learning Havdallah with Cantor Ben-Moshe last Sunday.

Grandpa Abe’s Words of Wisdom:
A tribute to Marion Miller z’l
When I started this column, I told you that I would be writing about people, places, and things. This time I wish to write about a special person. I don’t like writing a story like this, but it’s got to be written. As you have already heard, Marion Miller passed away on January 6th. A lot of people come and go in this world. Not many of them leave their footprints in the sand. Marion was a special person. She was not only attractive outside, but inside where it really counts. I always found her very compassionate and understanding. She had a lot of wisdom that, if you spoke to her, she’d be willing to share with you. Her love for her family was endless. Just seeing her family all together just radiated with love. At the funeral, you could see the boys taking care of their dad, either wiping his nose or seeing that he was kept warm. This kind of love is taught through the mom and dad. There were many, many things at the synagogue she helped with. Not to mention all the work she has put in with the Jewish War Veterans. She was always willing to stop what she was doing to talk to you and to give you some encouragement. It’s hard to describe a person that is this special. It’s hard for me to believe that she is no longer among us, but her legacy will live on. If we had more people like her to be a role model, this world would be so much better. It was always fun to hear Bob describe family gatherings on Jewish Holidays. How much joy there was in their celebrations! Seeing pictures of these celebrations only confirmed what we all knew. They were a happy family. Marion will always be missed. Their family traditions will continue, but there will a vacant space.
Dor L Dor,
Grandpa Abe