The Tent of Abraham Simcha Torah
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Temple Beth El Visit the Temple website at www.tbeaptos.org Temple Beth El Jewish Community Center, Aptos, California Vol. 51, No 2 October 2017 Tishri‒Heshvan 5778 Rock Shabbat The Tent of Abraham Spiritual, The Tent of Abraham is communities in our Musical, sponsoring a presentation community and the and small group discussions country. Mystical on the topic of The Historic Nathaniel Deutsch is October 20, 7:30 PM Roots and Current Implications a Professor of History at of Anti-Semitism led by Dr. the University of California, Santa The magic of Rock Shabbat is made Nathaniel Deutsch at Temple Beth Cruz, where he holds the possible by the rich, creative sounds of our El on Sunday, October 29, from Baumgarten Endowed Chair and is Rock Shabbat Band: Michael Levy (piano), 2:00 to 5:00 PM. the Director of the Center for Rabbi Paula Marcus (guitar, vocals), Rabbi This is the first of a three part Jewish Studies and the Institute for Shifra Weiss-Penzias (vocals), Peter Weiss series addressing challenges facing Humanities Research. He is also a (guitar, vocals), Dror Sinai (percussion, Jewish, Christian and Islamic member of our board of directors. vocals), Shahir El-Shaieb (bass), Shmuel Thaler (harmonica), and guest artists. Andy Yanowitz handles the sound and light systems. Sponsored by Judi Wyant, Marilyn Rigler Simcha Torah and Marcia Meyer. All School Celebration and Kindergarten Consecration Followed by Israeli Folk Dancing Friday, October 13th, at 6:30 PM In the Sukkah Saturday, October 7th, 6:00 PM The third annual Pajama Havdallah and sukkah You won’t want to miss this year’s Simchat Torah at TBE! sleepover at the temple is all set for Saturday, October Every Temple School class will present a part of this fun and 7th. Last year's event was so much fun! We hope you dynamic service. We will begin in the sanctuary at 6:30 PM, join us in this new temple Young Families Project honoring our kindergarteners as they begin what we hope will tradition. For those of you who want to stay the night, be 11 wonderful years of Jewish exploration with Temple you can choose to sleep with your family in the temple's School. This is very moving for us because we can envision beautiful sukkah or bring a tent. The Coleman family them growing up to be the confident and brilliant 10th grade will bring one tent available for "big kids" without students presenting at confirmation, the other bookend of parents which sleeps 4‒6 children. We are adding a Temple School. After the service we move into the Social Hall, potluck this year, so bring something to share. We will where we all help to unroll the whole Torah in a huge circle so be led in a havdallah service and song circle and there that we can have the unique opportunity to glance at the will be sukkot children's books for story time. Feel free Torah's entire glorious cycle. Then, with our own variation of to bring wine and snacks for after the children's the joyous Simchat Torah traditional hakafot, the whole bedtime. Pancake breakfast will be a community affair congregation will dance around with the Torah with fabulous in the morning before temple school. This is a great Israeli dance teacher Ilana Goldstein (also a Temple School way to celebrate the holiday and fulfill the mitzvah of Hebrew Teacher). Sleepy children (and adults) will be able to sitting in the sukkah. Come celebrate with leave early, but those who stay will nosh (snack) and schmooz friends and make new ones! (chat) together as we wrap up the celebration with a delicious oneg. Temple Beth El Jewish Community Center • 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos, CA 95003 • 831-479-3444 Spirituality THOUGHTS FROM RABBI PAULA With the intensity vulnerable to the weather—if it rains on of the High my sukkah, it’s raining on yours too. Holidays behind One of the things I loved about Sukkot Celebrations us, only a few being in Israel for Sukkot, is that days later we’re everyone built a sukkah, even secular Wednesday, October 4, at 6:30 PM asked to go Israelis. It’s part of the general cultural outside and build First night Sukkot potluck with Chadeish ambience. We could walk around town Yameinu at Vets Hall a sukkah. Some and see sukkahs on the roofs of people actually Thursday, October 5, at 9:30 AM Rabbi Paula apartment buildings all over Jerusalem hammer the first and Tel Aviv. First day Sukkot service and potluck at nail right after breaking the Yom TBE Sages call Sukkot “z’man Kippur fast. But aren’t we tired? Why simchateinu,” the time of our Thursday, October 5, at 6:00 PM can’t we wait a bit before we get to rejoicing, and heHag, the holiday par Sisterhood/Rosh Hodesh potluck in the work? One reason is that harvests won’t excellence, and yet we celebrate this sukkah at TBE wait until we’re ready. Since Sukkot, joyful holiday by leaving our Friday, October 6, at 7:30 PM like other Jewish holidays is tied to the comfortable homes and dwelling in a Erev Shabbat/Sukkot service at TBE agricultural calendar, when it’s time to rickety hut, exposed to the wind and with oneg in the sukkah harvest, the harvest booths had to be rain. Saturday, October 7, at 6:00 PM ready. Torah teaches that the festival of Potluck Pajama Havdalah in the sukkah Maybe there’s a blessing in this Sukkot is about the journey from at TBE timing. After all the days of sitting in national homelessness to home, our Sunday, October 8, at 11:45 AM the sanctuary, Sukkot invites us out ancestors’ journey from Egypt through into the natural world. It reminds us After Temple School BYO picnic in the the wilderness to the land of Israel. sukkah at TBE that the beauty of creation is just as Here at Temple Beth El, we have a important as the prayers and wide range of organized opportunities Sunday, October 8, from 6:00‒8:00 PM meditations inside ourselves. We are to celebrate Sukkot. Please check the Young Yids Henna in the sukkah—bring invited to look up at the sky through a veggie dish to share calendar for Sukkot celebrations. If you the branches of the sukkah’s roof and just want to drop by for lunch or dinner Tuesday, October 10, 5:00‒8:00 PM to gather together to eat, talk, sing in the Sukkah please call the office to Sukkah is open and available to TBE learn in the sukkah, and to wave the be sure that nothing else is being members for BYO dinners lulav and Etrog in the six directions. planned for that time. Wednesday, October 11, 7:00‒8:30 PM Sukkot also reminds us that we can May we find bounty, security and Hebrew High Ice Cream Social in the live without all of our material joy during this Sukkot festival. sukkah possessions and comforts. On sukkot, it doesn’t matter if we live in a large or ‒Rabbi Paula Marcus Thursday, October 12, 10:00 AM Shemini Atzteret with Chadeish small home, each one of us are Yameinu at the Vets Hall Friday, October 13, 6:30 PM Women's Sukkot Celebration Simchat Torah, all school Torah celebration, & kindergarten Thursday October 5, 6:00 PM consecration The women's Rosh Hodesh group and Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, TBE Sisterhood invite all women to join Esther.” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate us in the TBE community sukkah. Megillah). Rosh Hodesh Together, we'll invite our ushpizot (our Please contact Shelly Nadelman- Marhešvan ancient fore-mothers) and seven Douglass with any questions or to RSVP Please join TBE Women's Rosh prophetesses* to join us. Rabbi Paula at [email protected] or Hodesh Group in the library on will lead us as we share food and (831) 428-6208 or (831) 687-0567. Thursday, October 19, 7:00 PM, as we blessings and songs. Please bring a welcome the month of Marḥešvan. veggie potluck dish to share. Dress Marḥešvan literally means the eighth warmly and bring your friends & family! month of the ecclesiastical year (which * The rabbis taught: “Forty-eight starts on 1 Nisan). The holiday of Sig'd, prophets and seven prophetesses one of the unique holidays of the Beta preached to Israel…Who were the Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) community, is seven prophetesses? Sarah, Miriam, celebrated on the 29th of Marḥešvan. Sig'd is now an official holiday in Israel. 2 The Shofar • October 2017 • www.tbeaptos.org • [email protected] Synagogue News Become More August Board Meeting Library Lending Involved in Temple Notes The launch of the new lending Life—Join a Project! The temple board met on August service continues. We've printed borrower cards for most temple There are currently opportunities 22nd with a full slate of agenda items. members and are in the process of for individuals with expertise in any of Vice President of Operations, Wally the following areas: human resources, Brondstatter, reported on the beautiful getting them to you. If you haven't organizational structures, marketing, building expansion and the wonderful received yours, contact Lee Jaffe at [email protected]. The new self- communications and social media to new Simcha playground, as well as service kiosk will allow library card assist the board with various tasks. The many upgrades which have been made amount of time you invest is flexible to our security system. Staff will now holders to check out books on their and completely up to you.