Beth El weekend services – parashat Masei

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Dear Congregants and Friends,
We would love you to join us tonight at 7pm for our weekly Kabbalat shabbat services at 7pm. The folks are friendly and the service is meaningful.
Tomorrow morning, July 26th, starting at 9 am, we invite you all to come on over for our Shabbat morning service.  The children will have snacks and a story time at approximately 10am, and as always are welcome in the sanctuary.
A special thank you to John and Bev Golden who are sponsoring this week’s delicious kidush lunch in honor of their children’s recent Birthright trip to Israel. Rachael and Jacob had a fabulous trip of a lifetime!
Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm is the weekly Intro to Judaism class led by Cantor Ben-Moshe. Come for one or all of his classes, you will definitely learn something.
The next sisterhood event is Sunday August 3rd in which we will continue learning the basics of Mah Jong as well as have a fun event for those who just want to come hang out.
A Shabbat Prayer for Israel
As we prepare to light Shabbat candles tonight let us take a moment and pray for Israel.
Pray for the men and woman of the IDF, trying to restore peace and stability.
Pray for our extended family living in and out of shelters, who remain in harm’s way.
Pray for our brave volunteers who are delivering supplies, equipment, and food to those in need.
Pray for the leaders of Israel to be blessed by the Almighty with wisdom and strength.
Pray for peace, the Eternal’s most special gift, to be granted for all.
(Courtesy of Rabbi Tarlow of Texas A&M Center for Jewish-Hispanic relations).
Parashat Hashavua Weekly Torah portion :You will find this week’s section in the Book of Numbers: 33:1 – 36:13.  It is the final parashah in the Book of Numbers and on non leap years. according to the Hebrew calendar, we read this week’s section together with last week’s.  Because this year is a leap year it is read separately.  Last week’s parashah ended with the Children of Israel making camp on the east banks of the Jordan river, their journey home almost completed. In this week’s portion Moses recounts all forty-two sites of Israel’s forty year journey across the Sinai .
This week’s Torah section is called Masei meaning “trips/journeys of..or a long tiring hike, a schlep!” The word tends to have a negative rather than positive connotation.  As in the English word for “travel” (derived from the French word “travail” meaning “work’ and based on the Latin word for pitchfork) travel in Biblical times was arduous and dangerous. The Torah’s listing of the various journeys of the Children of Israel from Egyptian slavery to Israel’s freedom is a perfect summary not only of the entire Book of Numbers but also of Jewish history.  From Abraham’s initial journeys until our re-entrance into the land of Israel our history has been one of personal and national movement.  On the macro level, Jewish history has been a history of journeys, of travails, of seeking to find permanence in a world without stability.
What is true of the macro level is also true on the personal or micro level.  All of us are on a journey through time and space. Each of us lives in a permanent state of change and although most people state that they seek stability, change and movement is a ubiquitous theme in most people’s personal journeys.  To travel through life is not easy.  Our circumstances, our bodies, and our social relationships are ever changing.  What was is not what will necessarily be.
As Israel traveled through the miseries of the Sinai desert, there was a goal.  That objective was to enter the promised land and to establish a society that would become: “Or la’Goyim/A light to the other nations”.  Reality however was different and we soon learned in a post-Torah world, starting with the Book of Joshua, that once we reached our goal, once we crossed the Jordan River then there had to be more.  We had to set new goals, and go onto new journeys.  Thus, an irony of life is that we seek stability but true stability does not lead to contentment but rather to stagnation.
As we travel along our life’s paths we need to ask ourselves if our challenges are very different from those that faced our ancestors as they entered the land of Israel.  Do we have a moral compass?  Do we have personal and national goals?  Do we have a plan as to what to do once we reach those goals?   How afraid are we of change?  Do we seek stability or are we satisfied with stagnation?  Has our trip through life become one of mere travail or do the challenges of today become the opportunities of tomorrow? These are not easy questions.  How would you respond to them?
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s weekly message

This week’s parshah, Mas’ei, gives us something unusual-the date of a yartzheit.  While the Torah does not give us the date of death of Moshe or Miriam-our Tradition arrives at the dates through midrash,textual interpretation-Parashat Mas’ei tells us that Aharon, the first High Priest, died on the first day of the fifth month.  We call that to date Rosh Hodesh Av, and this year it occurs on Monday, August 28 on the secular calendar.  Our Sages teach that the yartzheit of a tzaddiq, a righteous person, is an occasion to remember his or her virtues, as an example to emulate.  Hillel teaches that Aharon was “ohev shalom v’rodeph shalom”-“a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace”.  The word “rodeph” is actually a very strong word-it connotes chasing, running down.  Aharon was someone who not only sought out peace, he tried to bring peace even in the most adverse of circumstances.  In these trying times, when extremists take the position that peace is impossible, we are called upon by our Tradition-by God-to do our utmost do bring about peace.  While we need to defend ourselves-and we do, capably-we must also work towards the day when we do not need defense.  In the second chapter of Pirkei Avot, which we study this Shabbat, Rabbi Tarphon says:”It is not up to you to finish the work-but neither are you free to desist from it”.  While peace seems elusive at times, we must always work towards that goal.  Shabbat Shalom-may it be a Shabbat of peace for us, for the State of Israel, for the people of Gaza, and all the world.

Friday services, classes and more

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Shalom Chaverim:
We look forward to a beautiful Friday evening of song and prayer at Congregation Beth El tonight, July 18, starting at 7pm. 
Our next Saturday morning services are a week away, Saturday July 26. Please let us know if you would like to sponsor this kidush or upcoming ones.
We have of course resumed our Sunday afternoon Intro to Judaism classes at 3:30 pm withCantor Ben-Moshe.
HOLD THE DATE:  Saturday evening, at 6:30 pm on August 9th, we continue our journey into the world of Crypto Judaism with Rabbi Peter Tarlow of Texas A&M’s Center for Jewish/Hispanic relations. These classes have kept our audiences riveted and we look forward to welcoming Rabbi Tarlow back.
Care and Concern: We would like to wish our beloved Fred Miller a speedy recovery and encourage our congregants to visit him at Emeritus on Spicewood Springs Road, very close to Beth El,  while he is there getting rehab.  Fred had a recent fall and is doing very well, and G-d willing will be home soon.  While there, please also visit our our dear Esther Kadoch  who is in the Assisted Living Section of Emeritus.  The address and number: 4401 Spicewood Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78759 (512) 774-3986
 
Please join our Facebook Group if you haven’t already! It’s Congregation Beth El Austin. Also, don’t forget to check out our website www.bethelaustin.org.
 Of course, we continue to have Israel deep in our hearts and prayers!  Shabbat shalom to you all.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message:
This week, Parshat Matoth, is also the first Shabbat of the the Three Weeks leading up to to Tish’ah B’Av, the fast of the Ninth of Av.  At this time, we remember the destruction of the First and Second Temples.  Our Tradition tells us that the First Temple was destroyed for the sin of idolatry, while the Second Temple was destroyed because of causeless hatred.  As we enter this season of mourning, let us make sure that we are not engaging in those same sins-that we are not committing the idolatry of placing things above God, and above our relationships with our fellow human beings, created in God’s image.  Let us also be wary of the sin of causeless hatred, especially at this time of conflict in Israel.  Our hearts are with our brothers and sisters, but let us not fall into the error of directing our anger at those who are not actually our enemies.  As for our real enemies, the murderous fanatics of Hamas, who are a plague to their own people as well as ours, may our soldiers speedily defeat them and return home safely and speedily, and may we see peace and not bloodshed in and near our homeland.  Ken y’hi ratson-may this be God’s will.  Shabbat Shalom. Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
Rabbi Peter Tarlow, Rabbi Emeritus Texas A&M
This week’s parashah is called Matot. You can find it in the Book of Numbers 30:2-33:42.  From a modern perspective, this week’s parashah is more than a bit challenging and at times seems to have gone backwards on several issues. We see this regression on the issue of women’s rights and in the Bible’s narrative concerning the war against the Midianites. It is here that we learn that a group’s collective suffering does not necessarily translate into its future compassion.  Hebrew Scripture does not try to conceal the negative, but rather reports both the good and the bad and forces us to dig deep into the text to find its ethical insights.

The Hebrew reader will pick up a variety of clues throughout this week’s section.  For example, the text does not begin with the normative: “God spoke to Moses saying…” but rather Moses simply begins to speak. The words and concepts are his and his alone. Additionally, Moses does not address the masses but rather the “rashei hamatot: the tribal heads.  Is Matot then a lesson on leadership?  Does Moses speak to the leaders because he knows that their words set a national  tone? Is he teaching us that the way our leaders speak impacts the level of civility within a society? Is the text teaching us that when leaders are divisive, arrogant or refuse to listen, a tone is set that impacts the national dialogue?

The text seems to understand that history is not unidirectional. As a species, we humans both progress and regress, and our political leadership is irregular at best. We humans are capable of caring about our fellow human beings or destroying him, of demonstrating both compassion and selfishness,  It is for this reason that the text teaches us that is not enough simply to believe. The text argues that what counts in life is not what we say but what we do. Is the text teaching us that we are to judge our leaders not by the quality of their oratory but rather by the result of their actions?  This text teaches us the need to unify our words with our actions and asks us to demand that  leaders’ words not become disconnected from their actions.

This week’s section recognizes that all too often human beings  prepared ethically to regress so as to lay claim to power and possessions, rather than develop honest interpersonal relationships. Perhaps that is why the text begins with the admonishment: “Tachel dvaro b’chol ha’yotzey mi piv/he shall not break his word but should do according to all that comes out of his mouth” (30:3)  Not easy words to live by, especially in a society that defines itself by the material rather than by the spiritual. Have we learned the lessons of Matot? What do you think?

Parashat Pinhas and weekend services

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Congregants and friends,

We hope you had a great week and will join us to end it on a high note of community and prayer this weekend at Beth El.  We have Friday night services, tonight 7/11 at 7pm!  Tomorrow  morning, 7/12 we will have our Shabbat morning services, which start at 9am, with the Torah service at 9:45am. 
This week we would like to wholeheartedly thank Phil and Keren Harvey for sponsoring the kidush lunch in honor of their recent conversion to Judaism.
We would also like to wish a huge Mazal Tov to our Sunday school teacher Michelle and Adam Kaman and sister Leorah on the birth of baby Shira Yael.
Please note that Sunday July 13 has two special events.  At 1pm, the sisterhood will be meeting for a fun afternoon of Mahjong and healthy noshes. Please e-mail us for more information.  We would love to see you!
Sunday at 3:30 at Beth El, Intro to Judaism resumes with Cantor Ben-Moshe.  Again, this class is free and open to the community and we welcome one and all.
Shabbat shalom and please keep Israel in your thoughts and prayers as she goes through this extremely difficult time.
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s weekly message:
Much of this week’s parshah, Pinhas, is familiar to those who attend services on Shabbat and holidays.  The latter part of the parshah is concerned with the special sacrifices which were offered in the mishkan and later in the Temple for Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh (the New Month), and the various festivals.  Each day had its own specific offering.  While we no longer offer sacrifices of animals, bread and wine as we did in ancient times, we continue to recite the Musaph service on those special days.  We no longer sacrifice material things to God, but now we sacrifice what is perhaps more precious to us in our world of packed schedules-we sacrifice our time.  We take time from our busy lives to praise God and to thank him for the many blessings in our lives.  In these difficult times we also pray for peace for our fellow Jews in Israel, and indeed for all the people of our Land.  May God quickly grant peace in our Land and eternal joy to all its inhabitants, and may love conquer causeless hatred.  Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
Rabbi Tarlow of the Center for Crypto Judaism weekly parasha:

This week’s Parashah is called “Pinchas” (Phinehas in English translation).  You will find it in the Book of Numbers 25:10-29:35.  The section carries the name of one of the high priests who in the previous section discovers an Israelite man having sex with a Midianite woman. Pinchus is so incensed that he takes a spear through them.  The reward for this act of zealousness is the lifting of a plague that had been decimating the children of Israel.  The text forces us to ask when is it proper to be zealous and when can over zealousness lead to tragedy.

The parashah, however, deals with a myriad of topics.  For example, in this section we read about the history of early feminists.  It is here that the daughters of Zelophekhad win for the first time in history the legal right for a woman to inherit property.  It is in this section then that women go from simply being full human beings to entering onto the path toward legal equality.

The parashah also deals with the needs for all of us to know when to say “good-bye”.  It teaches us that perhaps the hardest task in life is knowing when to exit the stage of history, and when to turn the reins of power over to the next generation.  Moses now understands that he will not enter the land of Israel.  Instead of protesting, we read Moses’ moving words asking for G’d’s blessing over those who will follow him: “…v’asher yotziem v’asher yiviam v’lo tihyeh edat Adoshem ca’tzon asher ayn lahem roeh: who takes them out and will bring them in so that the Lord’s community may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

Had Moses learned the important lesson that part of successful living is the knowledge that life is a series of exits, and we can determined much of life’s sucesses by how well we navigate these exits?  Is he teaching us, as at a later date Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) would teach us, that there is a time to enter the stage of history and a time to exit from it?   Moses could have protested. G’d’s punishment of death for having struck a rock may have seemed to be too severe, but perhaps Moses had come to understand that the punishment was not against him but rather it was a blessing for Israel.  After the incident of the rock we have to ask ourselves if Moses had lost his touch?

Was his exit a way to teach Israel that no leader lasts forever, that new leadership is part of the natural phenomenon of growth and change.  Understanding this necessary principal of life,  Moses began the transferring of leadership to Joshua by investing him with his authority.  The parashah, however teaches us that the mantel of authority is only part of leadership.   Joshua would have to demonstrate that he had earned the nation’s respect and the right to be its leader. Joshua was tasked with demonstration that he had a willingness to lead, a commitment to the nation and its people, and a sense of humility combined with wisdom and caring.
Moses understood that his job was to develop a smooth transition of power. He realized that he could be no more than a link in the chain of history. How much better the world might be if all of us could live our lives to the fullest, prepare the next generation for the future and know that we have not left our loved ones “like sheep that have no shepherd.”  Do you agree?