Passover 5778

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ShabbatShira_img1See you at Kabbalat shabbat (4/6), at 7 pm Always joyful, always friendly! Beth El – Not Your Ordinary Shul!

THIS Saturday morning (4/7) at 9 a.m., we have our shabbat morning services, with the beautiful Torah service at around 9:45 am and children’s story time at 10:30 am. This week’s lunch is kindly sponsored by Yosef and Claudia Aguilar in honor of their wedding Anniversary. Mazal tov and many happy years together. You are all invited.

There will be a Yizkor service too as well as a joyful reading of the Song of Songs. A very special shabbat all around.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s weekly message:

Just as Pesah begins with reading the story of the Exodus, it ends with the denouement of the Exodus-the crossing of the Sea of Reeds. On the first night we tell the story of the final plague, of how B’nei Yisrael left Egypt with matzot instead of leavened bread, and we read the passage from the Torah which describes these events on the first day. On the seventh day of Pesah, we read about the splitting of the sea-when the threat of Egyptian retaliation is removed and our ancestors were truly free from bondage. We learn from this that liberation is a process-that there is not one event which frees us, but that we must continue to strive for freedom. This week marks fifty years since the murder of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. While we might like to think that racism and oppression ended in the United States soon after with the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the end of the evil of legal segregation, we know that racism is still a potent force for evil in this country and around the world, directed at many different peoples, including our own. As our ancestors looked back at the destruction of he Egyptian Army and knew that they were truly free, may all people everywhere soon be able to look back at the destruction of racism and other forms of bigotry, and may we know a time when all people are truly free. Hag Sameah and Shabbat Shalom.

Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Sunday School this weekend, Sunday April 8.

Candle lighting in Austin is at 7: 35 p.m. using a flame that has already been lit before the Yom Tov.

This Sunday April 8 and the following Sunday April 15, we will be recording special stories that our congregants would like to share with us. Please plan to join us as we make a short video of stories about HOW BETH EL HAS IMPACTED YOUR LIFE.

We are looking for volunteers to come between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m and share stories about what Beth El means to them. English and Hebrew speakers needed.

Congregation Beth El’s 2nd Night Seder was a huge success. Thank you to all who came and helped. We had a record crowd, yet everyone had the best possible time. The food was incredibly delicious and we are extremely grateful to our Passover Chefs. You know who you are! The brisket was heavenly! The matzah balls fluffy, the songs joyful, the company delightful and delighted. We couldn’t have asked for a better community Passover.

Special events in April:

Please join us for Yoga and Judaism on Sunday April 15 from 2 to 4 at Austin Yoga Tree, 10401 Anderson Mill Road. The class will be taught by Jonathan Troen and Cantor Ben-Moshe and is OPEN to EVERYONE.