Parashat Tetzaveh

Join us for our friendly, warm and welcoming Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat Services at 7 PM Friday February 23!

Shabbat morning services are this weekend, Saturday February 24th starting at 9:00 am, with the Torah service at 9:45 am, children’s story time with Morah Shereen, and a delicious sit down lunch immediately following services*.

SAVE THE DATE:
PURIM – WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 28 AT 6:45 PM.

BETH EL SECOND NIGHT SEDER – SATURDAY MARCH 31 AT 6:30 PM.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s weekly message:
This week’s parshah, Tetzaveh, concerns itself largely with the clothing of the Kohanim, the priests, and especially the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. This perhaps especially apt for the Shabbat before Purim, an holiday when we dress in costumes. Two elements of the vestments of the Kohen Gadol were two stones to be worn on his shoulders, each bearing the names of aisle of the twelve Tribes of Israel, and a breastplate with twelve stones, each representing one of the Tribes. The Kohen Gadol was to be reminded constantly on whose behalf he served-that of the People of Israel. He had to always know that he was to represent their interests as a leader, and not his own. The Torah thus gives us a concrete example of how a true leader should act. May we, who live in a democratic society, always choose leaders who work in the public interest, and be Mordechai and not Hamans. Shabbat Shalom and Hag Purim Sameah.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

“We achieve our greatness by passing on our values to the next generation and empowering them to go and build the future” (Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks). Our enriching and creative Sunday School truly inspires us to do just that. The BERS will be meeting this Sunday at 10 am along with the Chai Mitzvah Teens.

Candle lighting in Austin is at 6:08 p.m.

In honor of this week’s Parasha, a photo of Barry in full Kohen Ha Gadol regalia, taken on his trip to Israel this month with Bob and Kathy. They returned safely after the trip of a life time to Eretz Israel.

Save the date for the Purim Party you won’t want to miss! Wednesday February 28 at 6:45 in the evening. Megillah reading, face painting, food, fun and quite a few L’Chaims!

Enjoy a couple of photos of the Men’s Club event last Sunday. Chillin and Grillin was a huge hit. Thank you to all who came and to all who helped. Looking forward to the next event – Bowling!

SAVE THE DATE: Congregation Beth El’s 2nd Night Seder.
PASSOVER ACROSS AMERICA!
Saturday March 31 at 6:30 PM.

In partnership with the National Jewish Outreach Program, Congregation Beth El is proud to host a second night seder, open to the Austin Jewish Community. Please RSVP to save your spot for our fun and interactive second night seder, with delicious kosher food, wine and friends. Led by Cantor Ben-Moshe. info@bethelaustin.org

Congregation Beth El Sisterhood Book Club
Join us as we read By Light of Hidden Candles by Daniella Levy.
We will be meeting at the home of Gail Ellenbogen on Wednesday, March 21 to discuss the book and socialize.

The Congregation Beth El Sisterhood invites all Jewish women to join us for any of our events. Please bring a friend. It is our hope to provide programming to bring us all together. For more information about our events and becoming more active, please contact Shereen Ben-Moshe at shereen@homewyrks.com.

* Huge kudos to our Shabbat Shefs, Claudia, Anita, Yesenia , Genesis and Shereen. We meet on the Thursday evening before shabbat morning services to help cook and always welcome any help.

Family Fun Day at the J is this Sunday!
https://shalomaustin.org/FFD

Save the dates in April for this very special month of remembrance and celebration at the
Dell Jewish Community Campus.

April 8 at 7 p.m. Yom HaShoah
Holocaust Remembrance

April 17 at 7 p.m. Yom HaZikaron
Israel’s Memorial Day
Chazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe, IDF Veteran, will be part of this moving ceremony.

April 22 at 11 a.m. Yom HaAtzmaut
Israel’s 70th Birthday Celebration.

Film Screening: Arabic Movie & Q&A w/ Director Eyal Sagui Bizawe
Thursday, February 15
8 – 9:30 PM
College of Liberal Arts Building
Room 1.302B
305 E. 23rd St
The Institute of Israeli Studies hopes you will join them for a film screening of the documentary “Arabic Movie,” followed by a Q&A with director Eyal Sagui Bizawe

Straining to Get Rich – Blog post by Sandy Kress
Posted February 2018
https://sandykress.wordpress.com/

I’m now teaching a six-part seminar at UT SAGE on wisdom sayings from the Jewish tradition. The focus this week is on work – ways in which it can be highly virtuous as well as ways in which it can be harmfully distorted. Love of work is essential, the wisdom teaches, but we must be careful that that love doesn’t seductively morph into something else that is damaging.

Here’s a proverb to consider.
“Do not strain to get rich. Leave off your staring! If you but let your eye fly on it, it is no more, for it will surely make itself wings like eagle’s and fly off to the sky.” Proverbs 23:4-5

Does this proverb forbid or discourage wealth or attainment of riches? I don’t see that it does. Work can be appropriately fruitful in many ways, including the earning of material reward.

The concern seems instead to be with “straining” and “staring.” First, what is meant by straining to get rich?
It could be what we do when we exhibit an unhealthy devotion of excessive time or effort to the attainment of riches. Our enterprise then becomes less about the intrinsic value, joy, and yield of work, and more about an obsession with the desire for riches.

So, what’s “staring?” Staring at riches suggests being fixated on them. Such fixation is wrong because just as easily as wealth comes along, it can be lost. Even if excessive wealth remains, its value tends to be more ephemeral than enduring. This is what is meant, I think, by likening the outcome of obsession with riches to something that will “make itself wings like eagle’s and fly off to the sky.”

Instead of staring and straining to get rich, we should understand that that which deeply satisfies is the feeling of a job well done; a contribution of work, often done with others, that enables and ennobles; and accomplishments through service that add to our ongoing wellbeing and that of our community. For it is there that we find true treasure.

Please consider a donation to Austin’s friendly neighborhood shul! Your tax deductible donation (T’rumah) helps us immensely. You can sponsor a kidish lunch for $100, co-sponsor Purim or Passover, or just help those in our shul who need an extra hand.
Every dollar does good! Every volunteer is treasured.

Shabbat Times

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