Weekend Events — Shabbat K’doshim

Congregants and Friends,

 

What an exciting weekend at Beth El.  Tonight we will have our regular Friday night services at 7 pm.

 

Tomorrow morning, starting at 9 am, we will have shabbat morning services and the baby naming of our newest twin congregants. We hope you can all join us for this special happy occasion.  Mazal tov to grandparents, parents, and the extendend family.  Welcome girls!

 

Also, please participate in the collection of toiletries for Caritas of Austin – the box is by the door and would love to be filled with shampoos, conditioners and soap for the less fortunate in our community.

Message from Cantor  Ben – Moshe

This week we read Parshat K’doshim, the Holiness Code of the Torah.  This parshah contains, as we might expect, rules about rituals, purity and impurity, and the like.  Interestingly though, the first elements of holiness in the parshah have to do with helping the poorest and weakest members of society.  Whether it is providing for the poor, protecting the disabled, or making sure that justice is available to the powerless, it is clear that holiness begins with social justice.  Indeed, that is the message of Passover-that God looks out for the most oppressed of society.  May we strive to fulfill the vision of holiness of our Holy Torah.  Shabbat Shalom.

Baby Naming April 30 at 9:00 AM

Dear Congregants and Friends,

Please join us this Shabbat morning, Saturday April 30, 2011, as we welcome our two newest congregants during the 9:00 AM service.  Mazel Tov to the twin baby girls, their parents, and their extended families.

Congregation Beth El

Shabbat Pesach

Congregants and friends,

May you all have a wonderful shabbat and rest of Passover.  Please note we have services tonight at 7pm and tomorrow morning at 9 am.  We look forward to seeing you all.

Shabbat Shalom!

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Message:

On this, the Intermediate Shabbat of Pesah, it is customary to read Shir Hashirim, the Song of Songs.  The obvious link is the description in the Song of the season of spring.  However, there is a deeper connection to Pesah.  The time immediately following the Exodus was the honeymoon period for God and the People of Israel.  The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the Exodus and the period of wandering in the desert as “the love of your newlywed status”.  How appropriate then to read the sublime love poetry of the Song of Songs on this Shabbat.  May it be a sweet and lovely Day of Rest for us all.

Cantor Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Happy Passover! Community Seder 2nd Night

Please join us at Congregation Beth El for a community/congregational seder for the second night.  We will begin reading the haggadah with Cantor Ben Moshe at 6pm, and Morah Betsy and our children will act out the plagues section, including a dash to the Sea of Reeds.

The meal will be Kosher-for-Passover  dairy pot-luck and you can contact Iris for details.

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The Caritas donations drive is ongoing and your gift of new bottles of shampoo and conditioner are welcome.  There is a box at the synagogue entrance.

Shabbat, Tzedakah, Fast of the Firstborn & Passover

Dear Congregants and Friends,

We would like to remind you of our regular Friday night services tonight at 7 pm. Please bring shampoo and conditioners for our Tzadakah drive to help Caritas of Austin – the box is by the door.

Also, please note we have a special morning and Torah service this Monday morning at 8 am. It is the fast of the first born, preceding Passover, and a very special service. We hope that you can make it.

Finally, the second night Seder is Tuesday evening at 6 pm. Please let me know asap if you plan to come so we can confirm numbers. This event is open to the community and free, but please rsvp with what dish you can bring and if you can help with set up and clean up.

You may RSVP by commenting on this post or by emailing BethElAustin@yahoo.com.

Shabbat shalom and a Happy and Kosher Passover to you all.

From the Beth El family
http://www.bethelaustin.org

Passover Class

We are proud to offer an adult education class on Passover laws and customs on Thursday, April 14.  Please join us at 7pm at Beth El, 8902 Mesa Drive, Austin, TX 78759.

 

Shabbat Metzorah

Congregants and Friends,

We look forward to having you join us this weekend for services tonight at 7pm and tomorrow starting at 9 am with the Torah service at 9:45.

Shabbat shalom to you all!

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly message:

This weeks parshah is Metzora, the continuation of the laws of purity from last week.  While the laws of purity and impurity are not operative in our time, the principle behind them should continue to guide us.  Purity of speech and of action, and purity of intention behind our actions should be our goal.  We won’t always achieve purity-we may do the wrong thing, or do the right thing for the wrong reason.  However, our tradtion recognizes our fallibility and offers us opportunities for tshuvah, return to what we should be doing.  As we approach Passover, let us try to purify ourselves and our actions, so that we may be worthy of liberation.  Shabbat Shalom.

Cantor Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat service tonight at 7pm

Congregation Beth El & Guests

We would love to have you join us tonight for Friday night services at 7pm. Look forward to seeing you all.

Shabbat shalom!

CANTOR BEN-MOSHE’S MESSAGE:

The Shabbat on or immediately before the New Moon of Nissan is called Shabbat Hahodesh. In the special maftir for this Shabbat, we read of the commandment to establish the month of Aviv (now called Nissan) as the first month, the beginning of the year. We establish a calendar for ourselves, and in so doing, transition from a large extended family to becoming a people, a nation. No longer would our Egyptian overlords set our schedule-we became a self-reliant people. This was truly the beginning of our liberation from bondage. May we continue our journey of liberation from all that enslaves us, as individuals and as a people. Shabbat Shalom.

Cantor Yitzhak Ben-Moshe
http://www.bethelaustin.org