Mishkan and news from a special congregant

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Friday Night Shabbat Services are Tonight 2/26, at 7 PM.
Candle lighting in Austin is at 6:09 PM

Our Saturday morning service is TOMORROW shabbat February 27, at 9 AM. Special children’s Purim story time at 10:30, kidush following services.

Shabbat Across America!
Friday March 4, at the special time of 6:30 PM we will be having another service and dinner as we celebrate with congregations across the US and Canada in SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA! Bring yourselves and your friends!

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week’s parshah introduces B’tzalel and Oholiav, the chief artisans of the the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. God tells Moshe that He has filled these two artists, as well as the other craftspeople doing the skilled work of design and building, with a “spirit of wisdom”-in other words, talent. What the Torah does not say, being parsimonious with words, is that their God-given talent was only the beginning point. The text does not tell us of the years of practice which B’tzalel and Oholiav and the others must have invested in order to become worthy of crafting God’s home among the People of Israel. We all have our gifts, and some may be more gifted in certain areas than others. However, those gifts can only reach their full potential if effort is applied to them. As humans, created in the Image of God(which is the translation of the name B’tzalel), we are called upon to use our God-given talents for holy and good purposes. Otherwise, they remain mere potential. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Sisterhood Yoga Class – Free and open to all! Please join the Beth El sisterhood THIS Sunday February 28 at 1PM with professional corporate Yoga instructor Lisa Feder of Being Well Yoga. The class is tailor made for us and will be a great way to relax, hang out and chill. No previous Yoga experience needed. Please bring a healthy, kosher nosh and yoga mat.

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday, February 28.

Are you ready for Purim at Beth El – we are gonna rock the house. Special treats in store for Wednesday March 23, 7:30 PM. Entertaining Megilla reading, music, delicious hamentaschen, some L’ Chaims and a few surprises – such as….. KLEZMER MUSIC with LOS KLEZMEROS! Back by popular demand!

Kidish Crew Kudos! Thank you to the wonderful crew of Mary, Genny, Sarah, Sara, Iris, Allene and Michelle!

News from a special congregant:
Wanted to share with you that one of our longtime congregants Herb Kadish sends his best wishes to Beth El and all his dear friends here. Herb, who was a regular at Friday nights for more than 25 years with his beloved Phyllis of blessed memory, moved to Chicago at the young age of 89 four years ago to be closer to his family. Herb, we miss you too and were so happy to hear from you!

Community News: The Mysteries of the 613 Commandments.
Beth El is proud to be a host and sponsor of this fascinating educational program. Wednesdays 12-1:30 PM $18/class or $50 for the entire three part series.
By tradition, there are 613 commandments, or mitzvot, in the Hebrew Bible. For Jews, these mitzvot – taken together – inform the life by which God calls us to live. Jews have all sorts of differing ideas about which of these mitzvot should actually be followed and how. But rarely do we give them a fresh look to study and discuss how they might give guidance to how we live in our own time. This session will attempt to begin that discussion in our community by exploring a way of examining the mitzvot as classified by Maimonides. Taught by Sandy Kress. This is a lunch and learn, please bring only dairy, parve or veggie.
Series 1: “Our Relationship with God”: February 24, March 2, 9 at Temple Beth Shalom, 7300 Hart Lane
Series 2: “Our Relationship with Others”: March 23, 30, April 6 at Congregation Beth El, 8902 Mesa Dr.
Series 3: “The Requirements of Justice” : April 20, 27, May 4 at Congregation Agudas Achim, 7300 Hart Lane To register please go to:www.shalomaustin.org/jll

Parashat Tetzaveh

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Friday Night Shabbat Services are Tonight 2/19, at 7 PM.
Candle lighting in Austin is at 6:04 PM

Our next Saturday morning services are shabbat February 27, at 9 AM.

Shabbat Across America!
Friday March 4, also at 6:30 PM we will be having another service and dinner as we celebrate with congregations across the US and Canada in SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA!

Happy upcoming birthdays to dear congregants Elaine Jacobs and Sara K! Last week was a treat as we celebrated with Barry Mann, Gregg Philipson, Rachael and Arie Stavchansky and Brucha Greenberg!

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week’s parshah, tetzaveh, deals with the Kohanim, the priestly class of ancient Israel-their clothing, the ceremony of ordination, and some of their basic duties. The Kohanim fulfilled an important function for our ancestors, bridging the gap between human and Divine, bringing the People of Israel closer to God through teaching Torah and through the rituals of the Mishkan and later the Temple. Today of course we honor the memory of the Temple priesthood, but we understand that any person can draw close to God, and that no Jew is better than any other by birth. The priesthood was a necessary step in our evolution, but now we are on the way to full egalitarianism before God. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Sisterhood Yoga Class – Free and open to all! Please join the Beth El sisterhood on Sunday February 28 at 1PM with professional corporate Yoga instructor Lisa Feder of Being Well Yoga. The class is tailor made for us and will be a great way to relax, hang out and chill. No previous Yoga experience needed. Please bring a healthy, kosher nosh and yoga mat.

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday, February 21

Are you ready for Purim at Beth El – we are gonna rock the house. Special treats in store for Wednesday March 23, 7:30 PM. Entertaining Megilla reading, music, delicious hamentaschen, some L’ Chaims and a few surprises – what more could you ask for?

Community News: The Mysteries of the 613 Commandments.
Beth El is proud to be a host and sponsor of this fascinating educational program. Wednesdays 12-1:30 PM $18/class or $50 for the entire three part series.

By tradition, there are 613 commandments, or mitzvot, in the Hebrew Bible. For Jews, these mitzvot – taken together – inform the life by which God calls us to live. Jews have all sorts of differing ideas about which of these mitzvot should actually be followed and how. But rarely do we give them a fresh look to study and discuss how they might give guidance to how we live in our own time. This session will attempt to begin that discussion in our community by exploring a way of examining the mitzvot as classified by Maimonides. Taught by Sandy Kress. This is a lunch and learn, please bring only dairy, parve or veggie.

Series 1: “Our Relationship with God”: February 24, March 2, 9 at Temple Beth Shalom, 7300 Hart Lane

Series 2: “Our Relationship with Others”: March 23, 30, April 6 at Congregation Beth El, 8902 Mesa Dr.

Series 3: “The Requirements of Justice” : April 20, 27, May 4 at Congregation Agudas Achim, 7300 Hart Lane

To register please go to: www.shalomaustin.org/jll

Trumah and Grandpa Abe

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Friday Night Shabbat Services, Tonight 2/12, at 7 PM. Get ready for some soulful prayer, camaraderie and lots of singing!

Saturday morning services are this shabbat February 13, at 9 AM. We will have a children’s story time and kidush lunch after. Please consider sponsoring upcoming kidushes or just making a donation to our precious shul.

You can always donate securely online at
http://bethelaustin.wpengine.com/donate/

Shabbat Across America!
Last Friday’s services and dinner were a huge success. Our next one is soon:
Friday March 4, also at 6:30 PM we will be having another service and dinner as we celebrate with congregations across the US and Canada in SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA!

Happy birthday to dear congregants Gregg Philipson and Rachael Stavchansky! Let us know yours and you’ll get a shout out!

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
Our parshah this week, T’rumah, give the first description of the Mishkan, the Sanctuary that was the center of Israelite worship from Mt. Sinai until the building of the First Temple. The description includes the kapporeth, the golden lid to the Holy Ark which had two carven cherubs on top(incidentally, k’ruvim, “cherubs”, are not the plump winged babies of Christian iconography, but something closer to the Sphinx of Greek mythology-the body of a lion, the wings of a bird of prey, and a human head). The Torah goes on to say that God would be present between the two cherubs-in other words, the kapporeth was to be the throne of God in the Sanctuary. We know that pagan temples of antiquity had thrones, on which statues of the gods would be seated. The kapporeth had no statue, though, only the throne itself. The Presence of God, the Shekhinah, was there, palpable but not visible. The Mishkan thus made a bold statement-that God, while present in the world, is not confined by the material world or universe, but is in fact beyond it. When we read this parshah, we are called upon to remember and bear witness to God’s simultaneous immanence and transcendence. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Sisterhood Yoga Class – Free and open to all! Please join the Beth El sisterhood on Sunday February 28 at 1PM with professional corporate Yoga instructor Lisa Feder of Being Well Yoga. The class is tailor made for us and will be a great way to relax, hang out and chill. No previous Yoga experience needed. Please bring a healthy, kosher nosh and yoga mat.

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday, February 14.

Grandpa Abe’s Words of Wisdom:
They will be missed!
As most of you already know, Phil and Keren Harvey are moving to Israel. This is a special event as it’s both sad and happy. We at the synagogue will miss them ever so much. It’s happy that they will be starting a new life together in Israel. Their Jewish life started in our synagogue with conversion by our Hazzan . They have studied hard and I might add often. They have been such friendly people, loving people and very special people. This is their dream. They’re on the road to following it. The road in life is never smooth. Phil had a lot of medical issues which have very much improved. His wife Keren is so sweet and so loving. This is what makes it hard for our congregation to let go. We will let go and never completely get over it. I’m sure if one of us makes the trip to Israel, we could stop in and bring some of our Austin love to them. They have gotten rid of most of their possessions. There are still a few things to settle up like closing on the house in Israel and disposing of their present home and car. I know if I mention to Phil about this story, he would say I’m also shipping some things. Life in our little synagogue without Phil and Keren here will go on, but there will a big hole where they were. Our loss is Israel’s gain. Wishing both of you the very best and safe travels to your new home.
Dor L Dor,
Grandpa Abe

Mishpatim and Shabbat Across America

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Friday Night Shabbat Services, Tonight February 5, at the special time of 6:30 PM. We look forward to seeing you for services and a lovely kosher dinner immediately following. We gratefully thank Phil and Keren Harvey for sponsoring the dinner in honor of their upcoming aliya to Israel. Please join us in this very special evening.

We also want to wish our dear Morah Shiry Turjeman a very happy birthday! *

Candle lighting 5:53 PM. We’ll be lighting them together as a shul, and community!

The next Saturday morning services are February 13.

Shabbat across America!
Friday March 4, also at 6:30 PM we will be having another service and dinner as we celebrate with congregations across the US and Canada in SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA! This evening will be in honor of our Jewish educators at Beth El.

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week’s parshah, Mishpatim, begins with the sentence “And these are the laws that you must place before them(the People of Israel)”. The word “and” is noteworthy-it is clear that this parshah is a continuation of last week’s reading, which was Revelation on Mt. Sinai and the Ten “Commandments”, which in Hebrew are called the Ten Utterances. The laws in our parshah are a continuation of Revelation. The Ten Commandments are not the beginning and certainly not the end of Torah. To reinforce the point, the Rabbis deliberately excluded them from our prayer service, so that one would not think that this was the only important part of the Torah, or even the most important. Also, Torah is not carved in stone, like the Two Tablets-it is always a work in progress, adapting and changing as times change and we better discern God’s Will. May we always look to Torah for guidance, with our eyes to the present even as we remember the past. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Thank you amazing kidish crew! This week we were joined by Keren, Bev, Doris, Elaine, Yesenia, Michelle, Iris, Mary, Genevieve and Sarah.

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday, February 7, at 10AM. PLEASE check out the article in the Jewish Outlook featuring our lovely little school! Page 82!
http://etypeservices.com/…/jewishoutlook1//Magazine113115/F…

Love to Run? Practice the mitzvah of Shmirat Haguf – taking care of your health and run with Beth El: Did you know that Beth El has an informal running group on most Sunday mornings? All levels can run around Ladybird Lake with the Beth El running group, which leaves from Beth El at 10 AM on Sunday mornings and enjoy a gentle or brisk run around town lake. E-mail info@bethelaustin.org to join.

Rabbi Peter Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha:
This week’s Torah portion is called “Mishpatim” (Justice). You will find it in Exodus 21:1-24:18. Mishpatim provides the legal codes that would form the basis of Israel’s judicial system. It is a long parashah dealing with the ordinances, rules, and regulations needed by a band of slaves if it were to become not merely a nation but a true “light to other nations.” Reading slowly through the parashah we discover that it is extraordinarily rich in the depth of its legal insights and that it covers the gamut of relations between people, between humans with other forms of life, and between humans and G’d. Among its many codes we find: definitions and laws concerning indentured servants (“avadim” in Hebrew), the rules governing capital punishment, laws governing abuse of parents, laws governing personal injury, issues of property damage, prohibitions against sorcery/apostasy, and social laws protecting the disadvantaged such as orphans, foreign nationals, widows, and captives in war.The parashah covers a broad range of legal details. This week’s parashah understands that law is more than mere details. It is also a philosophical approach to life. Throughout the parashah we find philosophical questions such as: “Up to what point are we responsible for our actions, and for the unforeseen or unintended consequences of our actions?” and “Are all citizens to be treated equally before the law?”The text forces the reader to ask hard questions such as: What is the purpose of law? Do laws exist to protect the strong and rich or to protect the weak and poor? Are all people to be treated equally before the law? It is interesting to note that an unbiased researcher of legal systems around the world would be forced to conclude that most laws are implemented in a way that protects the powerful and rich against the downtrodden and weak. Yet the Torah is clear that justice must be equal for all. The great medieval commentator RASHI noted that despite this philosophy of law’s logic few nations truly hold the strong equally liable with the weak. In most nations high government officials are never prosecuted, bribes are a way of life, and although the law may be the same, the law’s implementation is not. We see the philosophical idea of equality before the law in G’d punishment of Moses and the fact that modern Israel is one of the few nation’s on the face of the earth where a Prime Minister is sent to prison for the taking of (in political terms) a relatively minor bribe. In how many other nations do those in power break the law and the media remains part of a conspiracy of silence?

Community News: The Mysteries of the 613 Commandments. Beth El is proud to be a host and sponsor of this fascinating educational program.

Wednesdays 12-1:30 PM $18/class or $50 for the entire three part series. By tradition, there are 613 commandments, or mitzvot, in the Hebrew Bible. For Jews, these mitzvot – taken together – inform the life by which God calls us to live. Jews have all sorts of differing ideas about which of these mitzvot should actually be followed and how. But rarely do we give them a fresh look to study and discuss how they might give guidance to how we live in our own time. This session will attempt to begin that discussion in our community by exploring a way of examining the mitzvot as classified by Maimonides. Taught by Sandy Kress. This is a lunch and learn, please bring only dairy, parve or veggie.

Series 1: “Our Relationship with God”: February 24, March 2, 9 at Temple Beth Shalom, 7300 Hart Lane
Series 2: “Our Relationship with Others”: March 23, 30, April 6 at Congregation Beth El, 8902 Mesa Dr.
Series 3: “The Requirements of Justice” : April 20, 27, May 4 at Congregation Agudas Achim, 7300 Hart Lane
To register please go to: www.shalomaustin.org/jll

Sisterhood Candle making class!