Shabbat Shira, weekend services and Crypto Judaism class…
Congregants and Friends:
Join us for an action packed weekend of services and classes. Friday night, January 10, we welcome Shabbat with Kabbalat Shabbat services at 7pm. Saturday morning, January 11, we have our bi-monthly Shabbat morning services, starting at 9am, with the Torah services at 9:45. We will have children’s story time and the older Hebrew school children will help lead Ashrei. A lovely kidush lunch will follow services.
Crypto Judaism Lecture – January 11 at 6:30 pm
Rabbi Peter Tarlow of A&M Hillel will continue his ongoing series of lectures on Crypto Judaism, Saturday night January 11, at Congregation Beth El. Rabbi Peter Tarlow is currently the Director for the Center of Hispanic-Jewish Relations at Texas A&M Hillel. An interesting and knowledgeable speaker, Rabbi Tarlow will discuss Jews who were forced to convert on the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th and then 16th centuries. The lecture will be given in both English and Spanish.
TORAH TROPE TUESDAYS!
If you missed the first class, it’s not too late to be able to join. Torah trope is a beautiful and lifelong skill to have, so please join us next Tuesday at 7pm with our very own Bob Halperin. An experienced and skilled reader, Bob Halperin learned Torah trope from Cantor Jacob Mendelson and also learned how to daven the Amud from Saul Wachs. One of the most exciting things that you can do in Synagogue is be a leader – lead services, or chant from the Torah or Haftarah portions.This will be an ongoing class every Tuesday night at 7:00 and will continue for a few months. If you’ve not yet learned to chant Torah, here is your opportunity. It is an amazing skill to learn.to learn Torah Trope? Join us Tuesday nights starting January 7th for an ongoing class in Trope.
Hazzan Ben-Moshe’s weekly message:
Our parshah this week, B’shallah, deals mostly with the crossing of the Sea of Reeds and the subsequent Song of Redemption. The Song, as well as the Song of D’vorah in the haftarah have caused this Shabbat to be called Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath of Song. We should not, however, overlook the end of the parshah, with the Divine promise that “all the diseases with which I put on Egypt I will not put on you, for I am the Lord your Healer”. The Sages explain that while healing ultimately comes from God, it is effected on Earth through doctors. Jewish Tradition teaches us that it is forbidden to live in a place without a doctor, and a doctor’s orders can override commandments such as the observance of Shabbat or the fast of Yom Kippur. We humans thus become God’s partners in healing, as in so much of His work in this world. Shabbat Shalom.