Friday Night Shabbat Services, Tonight 12/25, at 7 PM. We hope you can join us.

Saturday morning services are tomorrow morning, December 26, at 9 AM. Kidush sponsored by the Koeller family in honor of our special congregation and Jewish home, Beth El.

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
The Book of Genesis can be read as a long tale of recurring sibling rivalry. From Cain and Abel through the story of Joseph, Sefer B’reshit tells of older brothers resentful of their younger brothers’ successes (and in the case of Leah and Rahel, sisters as well). In our parshah, Vayehi, the latest of B’reshit, we finally see something different. Yisrael/Ya’akov wishes to bless his grandsons, the sons of his favorite Joseph. He deliberately switches his hands to give the firstborn blessing to Ephraim, the younger, instead of the actual firstborn M’nasheh. Tradition says that he did so because of a prophetic vision that the Tribe of Ephraim would actually be greater than the Tribe of M’nasheh. In any event, the Torah does not report any conflict between the two brothers despite their grandfather’s favoritism. It is perhaps for this reason that Jewish parents, when blessing their sons before Shabbat and Festival meals, use he words from our parshah “May God make you like Ephraim and M’nasheh”. May we all live up to this blessing, and live in love and harmony with all of our brothers and sisters-all of humanity. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

We will resume Sunday Fundays, a.k.a. Sunday School on January 10 at 10 AM.

Rabbi Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha from the Center for Crypto Jewish studies:
This week we conclude our yearly study of the Book of Genesis with the parashah called VaYichee. You will find this section beginning in Genesis 47:28 and continuing until the end of the book. This week’s section deals with the eternal struggle between father and son, between human beings and between G’d and humanity. The parashah’s initial verses set the stage. By the book’s end we see that Joseph has had to make his own life in a foreign land. Now reunited with his father (we have to wonder why Joseph took so many years to tell his father that he was alive and then made his enfeebled dad come to him) Jacob insisted that Joseph take full responsibility for his, Jacob’s, funeral instating that Joseph bury him not in Egypt but rather in the land of Israel.Joseph’s reply was a terse: “A’aseh cdivarchah/I will do as you ask/according to what you say to me”. Jacob then reacted by stating once again in he tersest of manner: “Hishavah li/Then swear on it for me.” How come? Why does Jacob need a second statement? What do the words ‘hishavah li’ tell us about the relationship between Jacob and Joseph, or the relationship between any two people? Have the years of separation caused Jacob both to love his son and not to trust him? There is, however another possibility. Do these words represent the conclusion of a series of oaths started first by Abraham and now coming to an end with the death of the last patriarch? Once again, we see that the characters in Genesis are extremely human. Each lived his or her life in a precariousness state. Are all relationships fragile?From God’s relationship with Adam until Jacob’s relationship with Joseph the book emphasizes a sense of struggle and the realization that life is not lived on a single plane but rather it is a web of entanglements. Genesis, then, ends with humanity now on its own, responsible for its own actions. Is this final oath symbolic of our being free to soar toward G’d or fail? Does it represent that both the G’d-human, and human-human relationship will be ones of struggle and of hope? As we will see in the next book, that of Exodus, Genesis was a mere introduction to the struggles and dreams that will lie ahead.

Community News: Grand re-opening of the Austin Community Mikveh: Save the Date. 17 January.

Friday Night Shabbat Services, Tonight 12/11, at 7 PM. We hope to see you!

Saturday morning services are TOMORROW morning, December 12, at 9 AM with a special Shabbat Channukah service. We will have the Torah service at about 9:45 and will be using all three Torah Scrolls on this Shabbat Hannukah.

Saturday evening, December 12, at 6 PM we will be having our annual Hannukah party. We’ll have Havdallah followed by kosher food, sufganiot, latkes, kid goody bags donated by Jo and Hannah De la Concepcion, klezmer music with Guy Ben-Moshe (not a relative of Cantor Ben-Moshe) and Morah Shiry’s daughters! Fun for all! Thank you to our anonymous sponsor! Such kind Tzedakah.

*Kidish crew this week includes Art, Elaine, Iris, Yesenia, Kevin, Mary, Genevieve, Guy, Claudia and Bev! The kidish is partly sponsored by Yesenia Soto in honor of her birthday. Mazel tov Yesenia!

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week, in Parshat Mikketz, we read the resolution to last week’s cliffhanger. Joseph is taken from the dungeon to the palace of Pharaoh to interpret the king’s dreams. He moves from the darkness of slavery and imprisonment to the light of being Pharaoh’s prime minister. This week we are also moving towards light, as we increase the number of our Hanukkah candles each evening, bringing more and more illumination into this darkest period of the year. May we bring light into darkness always-into the darkness of those suffering pain, may we bring the light of comfort. Into the darkness of fear, may we bring the light of courage. Into the darkness of those suffering from bigotry, may we bring the light of welcome. In the words of the Psalmist, “b’orchah nir’eh or-in Your light we see light.” May we always bring the light of God’s Presence to those in darkness. Shabbat Shalom and Hag Urim Sameah, a Joyous Festival of Lights.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday, December 13. We will have a bit more Hannukah fun before our next class January 10. Happy winter break BERS and thank you to our wonderful teachers Bev Golden, Shiry Turjeman and Anat Inbar! You guys rock! Pictured below are some of the children giving our special guest Dana Baruch a huge hug after teaching them all about Hannukah and helping them to make lovely beeswax candles.

Grandpa Abe’s Words of Wisdom
TIME TO GET OFF MY ROCKING CHAIR
Well, It’s time for me to get off my rocking chair and comment on the wonderful dinner in honor of our Chazzan Ben-Moshe. Let me start from the beginning. It was done first class with fancy little sandwiches and do-dads that you ate with your fingers. They were very tasty and, if you ask me, they were teasing you for the great meal that was coming later. The synagogue was packed to capacity. I need to tell you, if you didn’t make it there, you really missed something great. The main meal was catered, kosher, and over-the-top. The Master of Ceremonies was none other than Mr. Gregg Philipson. On a scale of 1 to 10, he went over the chart at 12 1/2. He had some interesting stories and comments. He made some presentations to the Cantor and other congregants. I need to tell you also that the special women of the congregation were given lovely flowers from Elaine Jacobs. Work on this lovely banquet I’m sure took a long time and hard work. The children also helped in making this possible and they also were presented with some flowers. It’s so good to know that something as important as this lovely dinner was put together by so many people and of all ages. This congregation really knows how to come together and make things happen. I felt so proud when I saw all these people and all the hard work they had done to honor such a fine person. As our congregation grows, and it certainly is growing, we will have more of these to mark milestones in our growth. If anyone happens to read some of my mumbo-jumbo, I would certainly hope they would take the time out to visit this fine congregation. It’s like no other I have ever been to. It’s friendly, easy to live with, and a great place to get your spiritual needs met. Dor ‘L Dor,Grandpa Abe

Rabbi Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha:
Last week we studied Vayeshev (Genesis: 37:1-40:23) and also explored some of the meanings of Chanukah. This week as we end Chanukah we study the sectiona called MiKetz (Genesis 41:1-44:17). On some level both sections deal with the story of dreams. In the first of the two parashiyot, VaYeshev, we learn how Joseph’s brothers, due to a fit of jealousy, throw him into the pit and sell him as a slave.In Egypt Joseph is framed, ends up in jail. Now in this week’s parashah, Joseph is able to leave prison through his ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams and goes from being a mere prisoner to become the Egyptian Prime Minister and the second most powerful man in Egypt. Throughout these two sections we find the theme: that those who live only in the present, whose lives are based on immediate gratification, end up losing their future. Joseph’s stories teach us the lesson that what may at first appear to be bad, may turn out to be a blessing. His tales also remind us that nothing in this world is forever, teaching us that during good times, prepare for times of personal and national challenges. Might this week’s parashah not be teaching us the importance of knowing how to seize an opportunity when confronted by it. After his false imprisonment, Joseph could have felt dejected and defeated. Instead, he was wise enough (chapter 41:33-36) to seize an opportunity, offer practical advice and become one of the great leaders of Egypt.Although the parashah weaves a tale of dreams and dysfunctional family reunification, there is also within these sections a hidden lesson. Might Joseph’s wisdom be more in his methods then in his decisions? Reading the text in the original Hebrew we see that Joseph’s methodology consisted of the following parts: 1) He refused to become depressed or feel defeated by his situation, 2) he looked for an opportunity to change his life, 3) he concentrated not on his own welfare but on the welfare of others, 4) he considered the weight of his words and how Pharaoh would react to his presentation, and 5) he offered practical and doable solutions. Might Joseph’s paradigm be our modern leaders ought to follow? It is interesting that this same theme, of deferred gratification, of planning for the future also is one of Chanukah’s motifs. The lights of Chanukah remind us that we have the ability to direct much of our life’s path; that each of us can effect both positive and negative change. As we approach Chanukah’s conclusion it reminds us that when our life is darkest that we can shine “light” onto it by fighting cruelty, by being a bit less selfish, and by understanding that nothing is eternal. The Chanukah candles also remind us that even when though their light goes out we must enjoy the moment at the same time that we are preparing for the future. Both Joseph’s personal story and the lesson of Chanukah merge. Both teach us to count our blessings, to enjoy the good, but never to forget that change is ubiquitous. Both also teach us to take responsibility for our lives and rather than waiting for miracles to happen. What are the miracles in your life that you are making happen?