Union B’nai Mitzvah

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Chaverim/ Dear Congregants,

We hope you can join us for this weekend’s very special and exciting services.  The Union brothers, Frankie and Jakob are having their B’nai mitzvah this Shabbat.  Jakob Union will lead us in songs and prayers tonight, Friday April 25 at the special time of 6:30pm.  Services will be followed by a Friday night dinner at Beth El.
Saturday morning, April 26, starting at 9 am, Frankie Union will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah.  We will have children’s services concurrent with the Torah service at approximately 9:45.
We would like to express our sincere and heartfelt Mazal Tov to the whole Union family and thank the family for sponsoring the kidushes and sharing this double simcha with us all.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message:
This week we read Parshat K’doshim, which contains what Biblical scholars call the “Holiness Code”, a set of rules governing the holy life.  Interestingly to the modern mind, much of this concerns interpersonal relationships rather than ritual matters.  The Torah teaches us not to “place an obstacle before the blind”, not to curse the deaf, and to keep honest weights and measures.  Indeed, this last has been considered to be of paramount importance in Jewish Tradition.  The Rabbis taught that when a person dies and goes before the Heavenly Tribunal, the first question will not be “Did you keep kosher?”, nor “Did you observe Shabbat?”, but rather “Were you honest and fair in your business dealings?”  Our Tradition teaches that more important than our attendance to ritual is our living an ethical life.  Shabbat Shalom.   Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Community News:

Please join us Monday night as our very own Gregg Philipson,  commissioner representing the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission will be talk at the community Yom Hashoa commemoration.

Friday night services – get ready for Passover

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Chaverim/Dear Friends,

Tonight, as with every Friday night, we welcome Shabbat with Kaballat Shabbat services at 7pm. We hope to see you all.

Please note, that our next Shabbat morning services are next week, Saturday April 12th, as per our schedule of the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. 
 
THIS SUNDAY IS MITZVAH DAY: APRIL 6
 Please see  http://bethelaustin.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ccc65e663492a1ba1dc2318a5&id=84f3932b67&e=51e8fe6fca for community projects and collection drives.

Wednesday April 9, from 9am onwards, we would appreciate any hands on deck help with Passover preparations at Beth El, including cooking.  Please reply to this e-mail if you can spare an hour or two and help!
Second Night Seder at Beth El,
Tuesday April 15th:
Join us for this Beth El annual tradition.  Please be sure to RSVP for the second night seder at – it is very quickly filling up.  We start at 6:45 pm, have the whole family involved in the Hagaddah reading and finish with a delicious festive meal, cooked at Beth El. The event is free, but we ask for donations to help cover costs as well as help with bringing kosher for Passover goods.

Saturday evening April 19th Rabbi Tarlow will be giving a talk connecting the Exodus from Egypt and the Exodus from Europe of Hidden Jews.  A fascinating subject that will tie in well with Passover and our series on Crypto Judaism.  All are welcome.

Community News:
The Austin Chapter of Hadassah Presents:

Spies and Commandos in the Holy Land

Our speaker will be Professor Ami Pedahzur, of The University of Texas at Austin, and Head of The Israel Studies Collaborative at the Schusterman Center of Jewish Studies. Professor Pedahzur is the author of seven books and is currently working on his eighth.  Following his presentation and discussion, his books will be available for purchase and signing.
When: Wednesday, April 23rd at 7pm 
Where: Dell Jewish Community Center, Community Hall, 7600 Hart Lane, Austin, TX 
Cost: $10 per person 
Light Refreshments will be served
RSVP to Eileen Seidowitz eseidowitzaustin.rr.com
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message: This week’s parshah is M’tzora’, which deals with laws relating to the disease of “t’zara’ath”, usually translated as “leprosy”.  The haftarah continues the theme with the story of four “lepers” who were banished from the city of Shomron (Samaria) while it was besieged by the army of Aram.  The four decide to beg for food from the Arameans, and find the enemy camp deserted, as they had panicked from a noise in the night and fled.  When the four report back to the King of Israel, fear of the Aramean army that wasn’t there almost prevents them from sending out a reconnaissance patrol to verify the report of the “lepers”.  Both sides in this battle were afraid of an enemy that wasn’t there.
In less than two weeks, we will read at the end of the Festival of Passover about the crossing of the Sea of Reeds by the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt.  The Torah tells us that the Israelites “saw Egypt pursuing them”-not Egyptians, but “Egypt”, as though the entire country were in pursuit.  In their fear, they saw more than what was there.  There are things in this world of which we should be afraid, to be sure-but we cannot let fear rule us.  As Rebbe Nahman of Bratzlav famously said, “The whole world is a very narrow bridge-and the important thing is not to fear at all”.  Shabbat Shalom.