Parashat Tatzeveh and running with the Rabbi!

Services Friday Night, 2/27, at 7:00 pm
Saturday Morning Services, 2/28 at 9:00 am with the Torah reading around 9:50 am.
Purim Wednesday March 4 at 7:00 PM

Running with the Rabbi…
As a fundraiser, Rabbi Michael Gisser has set a goal to run the length of Israel, from the north to the south, a distance of 263 miles. Starting with the Army Half Marathon this Sunday, March 1, and Rabbi Gisser hopes to reach this distance by the High Holidays. All funds collected will be split between Congregation Beth El and a charity in Israel selected at a later date. To donate to this fundraiser bring or mail a check to Beth El or go online at http://bethelaustin.wpengine.com/donate
Running the Army Half Marathon this Sunday with Rabbi Gisser will be congregants Kevin, Yosef, and Art. Good luck runners!

Shabbat Across America Friday Night March 13, 2015
Services at the Special Time of 6:30 PM Followed by a Community Shabbat Dinner

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week we read, in addition to our regular parshah, Tetzaveh, the additional reading for Shabbat Zachor, which is to remember what Amalek did to our ancestors on the way out of Egypt. This is always read on the Shabbat before Purim, when we read of Haman the Agagite-that is, a descendent of Agag, last king of Amalek. The Torah warns us to be always on guard against those who hate us and seek our destruction, to which the Hassidic masters added that we must also guard against hateful and destructive tendencies *in ourselves*. May it be God’s will that all causeless hatred disappear from the Earth, and be replaced with causeless love. Shabbat Shalom and Happy Purim.

 

Weekend services and Grandpa Abe’s Column

Show your love for the shul – come to services this weekend! **Services Friday Night, 2/13, at 7:00 pm and Saturday Morning, 2/14, at 9:00 am

**Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly message:
Our parshah this week begins with the words “V’eleh hamishpatim”, “And these are the laws”, beginning a series of commandments about various aspects of life. The word (in Hebrew, prefix) “and” is significant. Last week we read of Revelation on Mt. Sinai and the giving of the “Ten Commandments”. Of… course, our Tradition teaches that there are 603 more mitzvot in the Torah, and that Revelation continued. That is the meaning of “And these are the laws”-the laws of our parshah were given on Sinai as well, and are just as important as the “Ten Commandments”. May we all fulfill as many of God’s mitzvot as possible. Shabbat Shalom.

**Grandpa Abe’s Column
The Loss of A Special Person
As you all know by now, Irene Kanter has left us. I have known Irene for over 35 years, maybe longer. My mother and dad used to live around the corner from them on Shoal Creek Blvd. Irene was an educator in the Austin Independent School District. Ordinarily, this would not mean a whole lot to me, but I remember one day that my son had to take the first half of a class to get credit as he had not taken it. Irene, or should I say, Mrs. Kanter was more than helpful getting him enrolled in summer school and back on track. I found her to be a very compassionate and all-around sweet person. Over the years, I would help the family out with some of their problems on their home. She and Marvin were most appreciative of whatever I would do for them. If any of you have ever been to Irene and Marvin’s house, it’s got to be the cleanest house in Austin. I realize that there were only two people living in that house, but what an excellent housekeeper. I know that Ann Richards once said, “when I go, I don’t want to be remembered for my clean house, but for what I did.” In this case, Irene did a lot. She, for years, took care of the grounds at the synagogue and headed up the Sunday School. We would not have a sprinkler system today if it wasn’t for Irene. She took so much pride in keeping the lawn looking good. I might add with her husband Marvin. We are a creature of habit. Irene and Marvin always sat on the right side, in the middle, near the door. Marvin with his baseball yarmulke and Irene looking like she just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Such an attractive woman. I think this story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Irene’s daughter. Irene and Marvin had one child, Shelly. I met Shelly several times. She has taken on a lot of her mother’s traits such as being extra sweet and compassionate.

Dor V’Dor Grandpa Abe

**Movies in the Shul A Night With the King February 21, at 6:30 pm. Movie followed by a discussion led by Rabbi Michael Gisser.

**Save the Date PURIM Wednesday March 4 7:00 PM

**Save the Date Shabbat Across America Friday Night, March 13, 2015

Weekend Services

Services Friday Night, 2/6, at 7:00 pm and Passing of Irene Kanter z”l

Congregation Beth El mourns the passing of Irene Kanter z”l earlier this week.   A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, February 8th, at the Weed Corley-Fish Funeral Home located at 3125 North Lamar, Austin, Texas.  Irene and her husband Marvin were founding members of Beth El and our congregation extends our heartfelt condolences to the Kanter family.  I n lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to either Hospice-Austin or Honor Flight Austin.

Shiva minyans for Irene Kanter z”l will be held Sunday, 2/8, at 6:00 pm and Monday, 2/9, at 7:00 pm at Congregation Beth El at 8902 Mesa Drive.

News from the Dallas Holocaust Museum

Many of the works displayed in the Museum’s current special exhibition, Drawn to Action: The Life and Work of Arthur Szyk, have been loaned by two of our generous friends, but Gregg and Michelle Philipson have gone even further to donate two rare books to the Museum’s collection.  Ink and Blood: A Book of Drawings by Arthur Szyk and The New Order are compilations of Szyk’s intricate and colorful political cartoons. Both are on display now in the Museum’s special exhibits area.  The New Order was published in 1941, before the U.S. joined the war, and contains Szyk’s artistic call to action for the nation to stand up against Nazi tyranny. Polish-born Arthur Szyk considered his anti-Nazi cartoons to be “weapons of war.”  Ink and Blood was published in 1946, after WWII had ended. The illustration that inspired the title is the book’s first image. It is a drawing of Szyk drawing Adolf Hilter, who flows comically and belligerently from his pen. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda chief, stands beside him holding a microphone. Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo, Hermann Goering and Henrich Himmler are on the floor. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco is underneath Szyk’s desk. Other Axis leaders, including Benito Mussolini, are in the trash.

Save the Date – Shabbat Across America
Friday Night, March 13, 2015
Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message

In this week’s parshah, Yithro, Moshe learns an important lesson in leadership from his father-in-law, who tells him that he cannot bear the burden of leadership alone.  Moses needed to be told that there are limits to his ability to do his job, even though he was the greatest of all spiritual leaders.  If Moshe Rabbenu himself had to recognize his limits, how much more so do we need to avoid overfunctioning.  We must learn from the example of our greatest teacher-to accept help, to resist trying to do it all, to recognize that none of us is indispensable.  In our parshah, Moshe and B’nei Yisrael encounter God-and Moshe realizes that unlike God, he has limitations, as do we all.  May we always keep that in our awareness.  Shabbat Shalom.