Parashat Noah

Friday Night Shabbat Services, Tonight 10/16, at 7 PM. We hope to see you! We will have special prayers for Israel in this solidarity shabbat being held all over the world.

*Invitations to the November 15 Tribute Dinner to the Cantor are in the mail!* Kosher dinner, silent auction, entertainment and fun! Please send in your RSVP as soon as you can. We are truly grateful to Chazzan Ben-Moshe for his amazing service to our shul these past seven years!

Cantor Ben Moshe’s Message
This week we read Parshat Noah. The parshah begins by describing the protagonist – “Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age….” The Sages seized on the wording “blameless in his age”, and postulated in the Midrash that had he lived in another age, he would not have been considered so righteous. Consider that Avraham tries to convince God not to destroy S’dom and ‘Amorah, and when God on more than one occasion threatens to destroy the People of Israel and start over with Moses (as with Noah), Moses refuses. The Sages say that Noah was only righteous compared to the absolute depravity of his generation. We saw this more recently in the story of Oskar Schindler, a womanizer and war profiteer who saved many Jews from death. He was not a saint at all, but was head and shoulders above the depravity of most Germans of his time. The Torah exhorts us not merely to be better than the most depraved – God charges us to strive for absolute, not merely relative, righteousness. It is not enough that we are not criminals – we must actively pursue justice and peace. Noah gives us the example of the bare minimum which is expected of us – we must always strive for the maximum of goodness and righteousness. Shabbat Shalom.
Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Tribute Dinner: Sunday November 15th, join Beth El in a special evening honoring our very own Chazzan, Cantor Ben-Moshe. Invitations are in the mail. Please let us know if you have not received an invitation yet. Also, please know that we want everyone to attend. If the price of the dinner is not within your means, contact us – we want everyone to attend. We truly strive to make Beth El the most affordable shul. It will be a lovely, kosher catered meal and a fun evening to honor Chazzan Ben-Moshe! Everyone is invited!

BERS, Sunday school class meets this Sunday, October 18. REUVEN, the mashgiach at the kosher store will come and share his experiences at 10AM. Everyone is invited to hear his engaging talk.

Grandpa Abe’s Words of Wisdom
“The Right Thing”:
This column is going to deal with trying to be a little more philosophical than I have been. When I go to synagogue, which needs to be more often, I have a chance to let my mind and heart open up. In some situations, a lot of anger builds up. When I step into the synagogue, a special feeling comes over me that lets my mind clear up and get cleansed. This particular Saturday a situation came to my mind. Something that happened was on my mind for several weeks. It seemed the more I dwelled on it, the more intense it got. I thought to myself, this has got to stop. This is not how a good Jew should act. I’d been listening to the Cantor and his words of wisdom. I’d been directed by Bam and, last but not least, inoculated by my wife. I felt I had thought about this long enough. I know what my wife would want me to do. I know what the Cantor has told me in his talks is the right thing to do. And, of course, I listened to Bam many, many times. I thought to myself, what would be the right thing to do? Is it better to be a jerk and be right? Or should you be a mensch and be a good Jew? It is always said in synagogue about forgiveness and that’s what I need to practice. I spoke to my wife about this later on in the afternoon. She being the great person she is, let me talk more than she usually does. I told her that I feel I should forgive this person. I told her that I feel I also should try to extend myself to this person with the hope of making things right. You know when we step into our synagogue, our sanctuary, a special feeling comes over those who enter. When they say this is G-d’s house, it certainly is. I have come many times with some disturbing thoughts and left with a positive outlook and a way to cope with it. I would suggest people who are trying to get across troubled waters come to the synagogue and let G-d help you through it.
Dor ‘L Dor,
Grandpa Abe

LOVE TO RUN? JOIN Team “BETH EL BANDITS” for the Turkey Trot this year.
On Thanksgiving day, November 26, Beth El will be entering its own team of runners, merry makers and cheerers. Please let us know if you would like to enter the Turkey Trot with us. It promises to be a lot of fun. info@bethelaustin.org to save your spot on the team