THE WEEK AT A GLANCE 8:00 am Morning Service, Homestead Hebrew Chapel 12:00 pm All-Age Youth & Family Ice Skating, Schenley Park Skating Rink ENRICHING LIVES THROUGH COMMUNITY, Sunday, 1/6 ~ 29 Tevet 2:00 pm Intro to Judaism, Zweig Library LIFELONG JEWISH LEARNING, & SPIRITUAL GROWTH 7:00 pm Evening Service, Helfant Chapel 7:30 am Morning Service, Homestead Hebrew Chapel Monday, 1/7 ~ 1 Shevat 9:15 am Talmud Study, 61C Café, 1839 Murray Avenue Rosh Hodesh Shevat 7:00 pm Evening Service, Helfant Chapel 7:30 am Morning Service, Homestead Hebrew Chapel 12:00 pm Lunch & Learn Downtown, 535 Smithfield Street Shabbat Shalom! Tuesday, 1/8 ~ 2 Shevat 4:15 pm J-JEP, Classrooms 7:00 pm Evening Service, Helfant Chapel 28 Tevet, 5779 7:30 pm Board of Trustees Meeting, Lehman Center This week’s parashah is Va’era. 7:30 am Morning Service, Homestead Hebrew Chapel Wednesday, 1/9 ~ 3 Shevat 7:00 pm Evening Service, Helfant Chapel 7:30 am Morning Service, Homestead Hebrew Chapel Thursday, 1/10 ~ 4 Shevat 4:15 pm J-JEP, Classrooms 7:00 pm Evening Service, Helfant Chapel Friday, 1/11 ~ 5 Shevat 7:30 am Morning Service, Homestead Hebrew Chapel Candle lighting 4:55 pm 6:00 pm Kabbalat Shabbat, Helfant Chapel Friday, January 4, 2019 6:30 am Early Morning Shabbat Service, Homestead Hebrew Chapel Youth Services 9:30 am Shabbat Service, Faye Rubenstein Weiss Sanctuary Candle lighting 4:48 pm 10:00 am Youth Tefillah, Meet in Gym, then to respective services Saturday 10:30 am Shabbat Morning Discussion Service, Weinberg Pavilion Shababababa 5:45 pm Saturday, 1/12 ~ 6 Shevat 12:15 pm Congregational Kiddush, back of Faye Rubenstein Weiss Sanctuary 10:00-10:30 am - Gym is open. Havdalah 5:56 pm 12:45 pm Shabbat Shi’ur - Michael Schwartz on Climate Change , Helfant Chapel Samuel and Minnie Hyman Ballroom 4:25 pm Minhah, Homestead Hebrew Chapel 4:50 pm Discussion / Se’udah Shelishit, Eisner Commons Shabbat Haverim 5:45 pm Infant - Kindergarten 5:35 pm Ma’ariv, Homestead Hebrew Chapel Homestead Hebrew Chapel with Manny Theiner 6:00 pm Havdalah and a Movie, Shear Youth Lounge 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 pm rd Helfant Chapel Hoffman & Zweig Libraries, 3 floor Yahrzeits FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 5—11, 2019 28 TEVET - 5 SHEVAT, 5779 1st - 4th Grade The following Yahrzeits will be observed today and in the coming week. This list comprises those dear departed for whom there are dedicated plaques in our praying spaces, and those for whom contributions have been made to have their names listed here. Youth Tefillah Saturday, January 5, 2019 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Genia Adelsman Adolph Freed Samuel H. Kalson Louis Mermelstein Rose Schwartz nd Julius Allon Anne R. Freed A. Daniel Kaufman Bessie Rider Middleman Bernice Semins Havdalah 5:49 p.m. Eisner Commons, 2 floor Minnie Altshuler Paul Freedman Joseph Klein Wilbert Newman Gertrude S. Silberman th th Susan Armour Sam Gerson Carl Kletz Rose Noon Martin Simon Early Morning Shabbat Service 6:30 am 5 - 6 Grade Harry N. Bailiss B. T. Glick Louis G. Kramer Muriel Orenstein Israel Skirboll Homestead Hebrew Chapel Youth Tefillah Rachel Baker Philip Goldblum Rae Kubitz Violet Semins Paris Katie Smolar 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Celia F. Barach Sara Goldenberg Isaac Landis Harold J. Pasekoff Albert Smolover Shabbat Morning Service 9:30 am Homestead Hebrew Chapel, 2nd floor Aron Bardenstein Phyllis B. Green Anna Broidy Lazarus David Perelman Rachmiel Stein Faye Rubenstein Weiss Sanctuary Marvin Barent Joseph H. Greenberg Yvonne B. Leipzig Madylene Platt Benjamin I Stein Louis Bazarow Isadore Greenberg Chaim Lempert Meyer Popkins Morton Stein Congregational K iddush 12:15 pm Jack Berman Max Greenfield Ida R. Levenson Dorothy Rabin Elder H. Stein Sigmund Block Meyer Hersh Gross Charles Levine Ryna Radbord Albert J. Supowitz Back of the Faye Rubenstein Weiss Sanctuary Paul Carpe Joseph Grossman Pearl Levine Louis Ress Ida Surloff Shabbat Shi’ur - Tammy Hepps on Homestead 12:45 pm Ann Z. Childs Juluis Grumet Samuel Levine Oscar Robbins Cylvia Belle Tanowitz Homestead Hebrew Chapel Please refrain from using Anna Clasky Herman Halpern Mildred L. Levy Mollie Robinson Louis Tenenouser electronic devices in the Irving E. Cohen Harry Harris Sylvia Lieberman Goldie B. Rofey Jennie Walk Minhah 4:20 pm synagogue during Shabbat Joel Cohen Victoria Henderson Katie Lincoff Louis Rosenbloom Mathilda S. Weiss Homestead Hebrew Chapel and holidays. Morris Cohen Joseph Herzbrun Jacob Linder Mendel Rosenfeld Clara Werner Thank you. R. Oscar Cohen Sonia Hoffman Taube Lipshitz Sandra Rosenfeld Israel J. Williams Discussion, Se’udah Shelishit, sponsored by Yale Sara T. Davidson Bernard Huttner Motke Lipshitz Louis Rosensweig Norman Wolovitz & Barbara Rosenstein in memory of Bar- Rose Deemer Benjamin Jacobson Eugene M. Litman Lilly Ross Meyer Wortzman bara’s father Adolph “Oddie” Freed 4:45 pm Abraham J. Epstein Rose Jacobson David Markham Litman Max Roth Abe E. Fineman Sara R. Jacobson Henry Markowitz Julian Salzman Eisner Commons Please look for this symbol inside Catherine Fisher Perry L. Jubelirer Sarah E. Marlin Harry J. Saul 5:30 pm William Fisher Bessie Closky Judd E. Harry Mazerov Belva Schiff Ma’ariv for info on accessible entrances at 5915 BEACON STREET ° PITTSBURGH, PA 15217 ° 412.421.2288 ° BETHSHALOMPGH.ORG Homestead Hebrew Chapel Beth Shalom. SHABBAT SHALOM The Rabbi’s Assistant answers questions that someone might be too shy to ask. Rabbi Adelson joins the Officers and Trustees in welcoming all members and guests to our Shabbat Services. We look forward to seeing you again soon. What Is Tahanun?

or “supplication” is also sometimes called “nefilat appayim,” which means “falling on the face.” It is (תַּחֲנוּן) All are welcome to the congregational Kiddush, in the Samuel and Minnie Hyman Ballroom Tahanun immediately following services. a part of the morning (Shaharit) service and also the afternoon (Minhah) service, falling just after the Amidah. Differing practices have arisen around this prayer which has its roots in the Bible and is set forth in the Talmud (see below). In Se’udah Shelishit (Third Meal) this week is sponsored by Yale & Barbara Rosenstein in memory fact, it has been with us longer even than the Kaddish. Tahanun is a confession of sins and petition for grace, and was of Barbara’s father Adolph “Oddie” Freed. originally recited prostrate on the ground. It is a bit of Yom Kippur on a daily basis. The short Tahanun begins with verses from II Samuel (24:14), “let us fall, I pray, into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are many, but let me not fall into the hand of men.” It continues with Psalm of David (6:2-11) in which David describes his pain. If a Sefer Torah is present, one follows the Shulhan Arukh (Orakh Hayim 131:1-2) and leans one’s OUR CONGREGATIONAL FAMILY head on the back of one’s left hand or arm (or right arm if there are tefillin on the left). The poem Shomer Yisrael (which also may be found at Selihot) is recited seated but at attention. (Some congregations sing it.) Composed with increasing line length and complexity, embedding the Shema, the poem asks God to remember our use to him, while Mazal Tov to also reminding us to comport ourselves accordingly. In some traditions, then, all rise for the ending, which is followed by Kaddish. (At Beth Shalom, we do not rise.) There is a long Tahanun as well, done on Mondays and Thursdays, Reva Pomerantz & Luke Heller on the birth on 12/28/2018 and entering into brit milah of beginning with personal reflection and including more Psalms and possibly Daniel 9:15. Charlie Noah (Hayyim Noah), brother of Eliana and Edith. The origin of Tahanun is Daniel 9:3 and I Kings 8:54, which both indicate that prayer should be followed by supplica- tion. It is outlined in the Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 16b. One drops one’s face on one’s hand in reference to the line “let us fall into the hand of God.” The practice also recalls the daily sacrifice at the Temple which would have been laid Condolences to on its left side to be slaughtered. The need for the presence of a Sefer Torah is based on tradition deriving from Joshua falling on his face before the Ark of the Covenant. It is believed to have been solidified into the modern form in the 16th Marian Huttner (wife), Hanna Edelstein (sister) and all family and friends on the century, as prior prayer books varied in its expression. passing of Arnold Huttner (z”l). We omit Tahanun (and any part of it) on festive days and mournful days: Shabbat, all holidays and festivals including Hol haMoed, Rosh Hodesh, the day before Yom Kippur, from Simhat Torah through the end of Tishrei, from the begin- Toby (Dana) Ascherman on the passing of her father Nathan Kosowski. ning of Sivan through Shavuot, the month of Nisan, Tu BiShevat, Purim Katan, Shushan Purim Katan, Shushan Purim, Lag BaOmer, Tisha BeAv, Tu BeAv (only at Shaharit), the day before Rosh Hashanah, and when observing any festive or solemn rites of passage. Some also omit Tahanun on Adar 23-29 (remembering the days before the inauguration of the Mishkan), Pesah Sheni (we shall do a column about that observance), and Sivan 7-12 (remembering the day after Observances Shavuot plus a week during which an offering would have been brought to the Temple). We need a chart on the wall just to know whether we can say it! If you are observing something special - a birthday, anniversary, yahrzeit, e.g., please let We look forward to your questions. We have these columns online at http://bethshalompgh.org/ive-always-wondered/ . one of the ushers or gabbayim know so that we might offer you an honor if one is available.

Volunteer to Lead Services! Clergy OUR LEADERSHIPOfficers Take an active role in Beth Shalom services! Contact Sheldon Catz at [email protected]. Rabbi Seth Adelson, Ext. 115, [email protected] Deborah Firestone, President, Ext. 106 Rabbi Mark Staitman, Rabbinic Scholar Joe Jolson, Vice President Arlene Shapiro, Vice President Staff Mitch Dernis, Treasurer Volunteer to Help with Kiddush! Really, we need YOU! Ḥazzan Rob Menes, Executive Director, Ext. 226, [email protected] Steve Albert, Secretary Dale Caprara, Controller, Ext. 109 Please volunteer to help make the Kiddush happen - setup, cleanup, everything in between. Anthony Colaizzi, Communications & Design Manager, Ext. 108 Please contact Michelle Vines, at 412-421-2288 x113, or [email protected]. Audrey Glickman, Rabbi’s Assistant, Ext. 112, [email protected] Auxiliary Presidents Kate Kim, Assistant JJEP Director, Ext. 323 Ira Frank, Men’s Club Rabbi Jeremy Markiz, Director of Derekh and Youth Tefillah, Ext. 111 Judy Kornblith Kobell, Sisterhood Se’udah Shelishit / Third Shabbat Meal Hilary Huelsman, Early Learning Center Director, Ext. 390 Amallia Rascoe, USY Marissa Tait, Director of Y outh Programming, Ext. 463 Every Shabbat afternoon from now until Pesah, we dine together at se’udah shelishit (the third Shabbat meal). Michelle Vines, Events Coordinator, Ext. 113 Honorary President Free to attend; all are welcome. We meet in the Eisner Commons, starting one and a half hours before Lonnie Wolf, Cemetery Director, Ext. 293 Ruth Ganz Fargotstein havdalah time (check this Bulletin or the website for the schedule). To sponsor the a third meal, please contact Ira Frank: 412-281-4064 or [email protected] LOCATING THE MOST ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE Palkovitz Lobby, Helfant Chapel, ELC, Front Offices: Enter at Beacon Street or Rear Parking Lot Entrance Eisner Commons, Homestead Hebrew Chapel: Enter at Beacon Street, take elevator to 2nd floor Kiddush Sponsorship Faye Rubenstein Weiss Sanctuary: Enter at Beacon Street, take elevator to 3rd floor Celebrating a simhah or honoring the memory of a loved one? To sponsor a catered Kiddush, Shear Youth Lounge, Rice Auditorium: Enter at Beacon Street, take elevator to 3rd floor contact Michelle Vines, at 412-421-2288 x113, or [email protected] Samuel and Minnie Hyman Ballroom: Enter at Shady Avenue Family Ice Skating at Schenley Ice Rink SHABBAT - 28 TEVET 5779 Y PARASHAT VA’ERA O Sunday, January 6, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m., 10341 Overlook Drive, Schenley Park U Congregation Beth Shalom and Rodef Shalom Congregation Etz T All are welcome to celebrate winter with ice skating! Eat lunch at Rodef Shalom or Aliyah Verses Readers Hertz Hayim Exodus 8:16-23 Dave Held 240 362 ראשון meet at the rink. $10 per person provides lunch, skate time, and skate rental. 1st H $5 per person provides skate time and rental OR lunch and skate time. Mitch Dernis 241 363 8:24-28 שני For information, Marissa Tait, [email protected]. 2nd Mitch Dernis 241 364 9:1-7 שלישי Sisterhood Book Club 3rd 4th 9:8-16 Mitch Dernis 242 365 רביעי The Sisterhood Book Club will discuss Debby Gillman / Danny Kass 242 366 9:17-21 חמישי This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel on 5th S Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 7:30 p.m., Debby Gillman / Danny Kass 243 366 9:22-26 ששי I 6th Marlene Behrmann Cohen 243 367 9:27-35 שביעי at (change of address) Vicky’s house. 7th S For more information, including the address, Marlene Behrmann Cohen 244 367 9:33-35 מפטיר T please contact the main office at 412-421-2288. Maftir Ezekiel 28:25-29:21 Ira Rothstein 244 370 הפטרה E Haftarah R Sisterhood Judaica Shop - Great Gifts! H Open Friday 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (except holidays), or by appointment O Barbara Kaiserman, 412-422-5677 O January - 30% off Mah Jongg items D Sisterhood Shabbat Please mark your calendars for Sisterhood Shabbat, February 9, 2019. The speaker will be Michal Friedman, Ass’t Prof. at CMU, specializing in Jewish Diasporic History, especially Sephardic and Spanish-speaking Jewish communities. This year commemorating Ruth Ganz Fargotstein. Donations welcome. Sisterhood members wishing to participate should contact Helen [email protected]. Nefesh Mountain An Evening of Peace, Love and Joy Presented by Congregation Dor Hadash C January 12, 7:30 p.m., Bellefield Hall Auditorium O (the old YM&WHA) 315 South Bellefield Ave., Oakland A summary of this week’s parashah, from Hazzan Rob Menes, “Bluegrass and Jewish traditions meet and fall madly in love” www.HazzanMenes.info M - Bluegrass Today M “Refreshingly eclectic, like a blanket passed down as a family On first approach, Moses has unsuccessfully confronted Pharaoh. Rather than heed God’s U heirloom, the results are warm and comfortable.” - Rolling Stone instruction to let the slaves go, Pharaoh increases their workload and makes their situation N This “Jewgrass” concert, to enliven the community spirit, is FREE to attend. even more difficult. Moses goes back to God, and is reassured that the Israelites will indeed Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis until the auditorium is full. be redeemed. I Please RSVP to [email protected] with your name, affiliation (Beth Shalom!) and the T number of persons who will be attending. The lineage of Moses and Aaron is given, and then they re-approach Pharaoh. When he Y will not listen, the battle of the plagues begins. However, Pharaoh will not be moved. Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom Event After the sixth plague, when Pharaoh still fails to relent, God “hardens” Pharaoh’s heart, Tuesday, January 8th, 7:00 p.m., at The Ellis School, 6425 Fifth Avenue, Shadyside and then the final plagues upon Egypt commence. Panel discussion on the importance of interfaith dialogue, with Sheryl Olitzky. Register at https://ellis.myschoolapp.com/page/event-detail?siteId=1189&ssl=1®ister=23355 UPCOMING EVENTS For additional information, please see the flyers in the racks, or go to our website. Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Adelson! Check the calendar on our website for daily event information Next sessions are January 8 Downtown / January 15 at Beth Shalom at http://www.bethshalompgh.org This year’s topic is “Jewish Law for Today: Five Key Teshuvot of the Conservative Movement.” This session will cover “Yom Tov Sheni Shel Galuyot / The Second Day of Yom Tov.” Ever wonder why you don’t have to park three blocks away from a Conservative synagogue on Saturday, January 5, at 12:45 p.m., THIS WEEK! Shabbat? Or whether your rabbi can marry a gay couple? The Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law in the Homestead Hebrew Chapel and Standards has been reviewing contemporary halakhic issues for the Conservative movement for over 90 years, Secrets of the Homestead Hebrew Chapel and has a long-standing tradition of issuing thoughtful, sensitive responsa to the challenges of keeping Jewish tradition in today’s world. You should get to know these teshuvot. The Homestead Hebrew Chapel on the second floor contains Downtown sessions graciously hosted by David Horvitz at 535 Smithfield Street, Suite 800. the yahrzeit plaques, war honor roll tablets, Torah scrolls, and Further information at www.tinyurl.com/LunchLearnJan2019 other Judaica from the Homestead Hebrew Congregation (1894-1993). Tammy Hepps, local historian and descendant of one of Homestead Hebrew’s founders, will take the artifacts usually in the background of our praying space and “foreground” them to review the history of Homestead’s Jewish community Formerly the Learners’ Service, the next service is January 12th, 10:30 a.m., and the ways this room, like many such memory spaces throughout Pittsburgh, in Weinberg Pavilion. Rabbi Adelson leads a discussion-oriented service for recalls the legacy of those who came before us. all ranges of davener, from the uninitiated to the veterans. We seek meaning Please RSVP to Chris Hall at [email protected]. The event is free to attend. behind the words, and personal connections within tefillah. This program is free; all are welcome. This week’s topic is “Healing Through Tefillah.” Saturday, January 12, at 12:45 p.m., in the Helfant Chapel Climate change is happening: its effects are already being felt in Pittsburgh and around the world. Global initiatives, such as the Paris Agreement, seek Every Monday morning at 9:15 a.m. at the 61C Café to limit the global temperature rise, but can they be effective in their present form? you can find Rabbi Jeremy Markiz learning Masekhet Rosh Hashanah, Mr. Schwartz has decades of experience from across the U.S. energy industry, including a tractate of the Talmud about the many new years that fill out the Jewish calendar. playing a key role in creating renewable energy, carbon offset, and carbon capture and Find it online at: https://www.sefaria.org/Rosh_Hashanah.4b?lang=bi. storage solutions. He offers his unique perspective on this global problem. Please RSVP to Chris Hall at [email protected]. The event is free to attend. Jews For Justice: Your Jewish Identity ————————- How You See Yourself vs. How You Show Yourself The Beth Shalom Solar Initiative seeks to gather money to install renewable energy at Beth A & Shalom. By going solar, we take advantage of matching funds to repair our preschool’s Shabbat Dinner & Discussion for Adults led by Teens roof, cut energy costs long term, and reduce greenhouse emissions. D Y Friday, January 25, 2019, beginning with Hod veHadar service at 6:00 p.m. U O One teen leader will facilitate dialogue between courses at each table. This program L U is part of an ongoing USY Shabbat discussion series called Jews for Justice and is T T appropriate for grades 6 and above. Open seating for dinner. Special programming Two events on Wednesday, January 16! S H and dinner for youth grades K-5 in Eisner Commons. Babysitting only by Elisha Waldman, This Narrow Space reservation for preschool age children. A memoir both bittersweet and inspiring by an American pediatric oncologist who spent Payment and RSVP must be received by Friday, January 18. seven years in Jerusalem treating children of all backgrounds diagnosed with cancer. Register online at www.tinyurl.com/jewsforjustice5779 At 6:30 p.m. - A special opportunity to meet Dr. Waldman. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. $45 per person admission to this event. Admission is limited, first come first served, and will be closed on January 9th. Want to help us out with daily minyan but can’t commit to a particular morning or evening? Download the app “GroupMe” to your phone, and either go to tinyurl.com/cbspghminyan or read this QR code to join our Register for this event at www.bethshalompgh.org/speakerseries. group. Then, when the minyan is short of ten, you and everybody else on the list will receive a At 7:30 p.m. - Dr. Waldman will speak about his book, This Narrow Space. notice in GroupMe. If you are available to come and help out, write a message saying you’re on The 7:30 event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow. your way. It goes out to the whole group, and then everybody knows minyan is covered. Minyans are not automatic, all congregants should commit to being there as RSVP or questions to [email protected]. often as possible. Talk with Ira Frank or Rabbi Adelson if you have questions.