April 8, 2017 12 Nisan 5777

Shabbat Hagadol Reading - Page 568 Haftorah - Page 1220

April 11, 2017 15 Nisan 5755 First Day of Passover - Page 354 Maftir - Page 892 Haftorah - Page 1221

April 12, 2017 16 Nisan 5755 Second Day of Passover Torah Reading - Page 680 Maftir - Page 892 Haftorah - Page 1222 In the Week Ahead Saturday, April 8 Shacharit ...... 9:00 a.m. Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading ...... 6:35 p.m. “The Secrets of the Seder and Haggadah” Mincha/ ...... 7:20 p.m. ...... 8:39 p.m. Sunday, April 9 Shacharit ...... 9:00 a.m. Beit Medrash - Minus Bagels ...... 9:45 a.m. Search for the Chometz ...... 8:45 p.m. Monday, April 10 – Erev Pesach Shacharit ...... 7:00 a.m. Shacharit Bar Mitzvah of Brad Berman & Bagel Brunch ..... 8:30 a.m. Chometz may be eaten until ...... 10:45 a.m. Beth Israel Musical Chometz burning ...... 11:15 a.m. Candle Lighting ...... 7:41 p.m. Mincha/ Ma’ariv ...... 7:50 p.m. Earliest Seder Time ...... 8:42 p.m. Tuesday, April 11 – 1st Day of Pesach Shacharit ...... 9:00 a.m. Mincha/Maariv ...... 7:45 p.m. Candle Lighting ...... 8:42 p.m. Seder Begins No Earlier Than ...... 8:42 p.m. Wednesday, April 12 – 2nd Day of Pesach – 1st Day Omer Shacharit ...... 9:00 a.m. Teen Class by ...... 11:30 a.m. Mincha ...... 7:45 p.m. Havdalah ...... 8:44 p.m. Thursday, April 13 – Chol Hamoed Pesach – 2nd Day Omer Shacharit ...... 6:45 a.m. Ethics Class with Rabbi Ari ...... 7:45 a.m. Women’s Class with Rabbi Ari ...... 9:30 a.m. Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Shlomo @ UNMC ...... 12:00 p.m. Friday, April 14 – Chol Hamoed Pesach - 3rd Day Omer Shacharit ...... 6:45 a.m. Mincha/Maariv & Kabbalat ...... 7:00 p.m. Candle Lighting ...... 7:45 p.m.

Mechirat Chametz - Selling Chametz If utilizing Beth Israel to sell your chametz, please assure your signed form arrives in the synagogue office NO LATER THAN Monday, April 10 at 11 a.m. Forms are available on the synagogue office.

2 ...to Jonathan & Stacey Rockman for sponsoring the April 8-14 Week of Learning in memory of Jonathan’s father, Jack Cople Rockman. ...to Jordana Kurtzman, Linda Potash, Dani Shrago & other volunteers for handling shopping, Kiddush and Seudah Shlishit duties this week. ...to Joe Roth for kashering the Beth Israel kitchen this week and to Rabbi Shlomo for assisting him.

...to Brad Berman who will be celebrating his Bar Mitzvah during an 8:30am Shacharit service on Monday. Mazel Tov to parents Beth Cohen and Harry Berman, sister Zoe, and grandmothers Marilyn Berman and Sheila Cohen.

Mazel Tov to Those Celebrating This Week Birthdays Joshua Kurtzman April 9 Roni Mor April 9 Adam Susman April 9 David Kohll April 9 Joan Kaiman April 11 Jack Kohll April 11 Sophia Mavropoulos April 12 Jonathan Rockman April 14 Zoe Berman April 14

There are no anniversaries this week

Celebrating a special simcha next month?

Baruch Dayan Ha-Emet Amy Barnum Daughter of Jack & Bette Kozlen Sidney Max Schwartz Asher Tuck Katz The thoughts and prayers of the Beth Israel family is with these families. May they know no other sorrow. 3 Monday, May 1 JCC 5:30-7pm Kid’s Carnival 6-7pm - B’nai B’rith Trivia Contest 7p - Israeli Movie & Street Food Reception

4 Beth Israel Sisterhood Gift Shop Make this your best Pesach ever!

Great new Passover items include adorable baby bibs, games, board books, hostess gift sets, matzah holders, charoset and salt water dishes, beautiful seder plates and more

The gift shop also has a wonderful selection of games, toys, and other items for weddings, babies, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, or just for yourself. Gift Shop open this week Monday 9am - 2pm, Thursday 9am-4pm, and Friday 9am-2pm.

YOUTH EDUCATION CLASS SCHEDULE Shabbat - 10:15-11am - times may vary slightly Boys, ages 11 and older Mr. Shrago Social Hall Scholar’s Answer Prep Rabbi Ari Shul Boys & Girls, ages 6-11 Reb Donald Beit Midrash (Chapel) Boys & Girls, ages 6 & under Dr. Gendelman Social Hall Shabbat - 12-12:30pm Teen Class Rabbi Ari Rabbi’s Office

11-11:30am - Kid’s Game Time in the Social Hall Thanks to our great parent volunteers for helping with this new activity!

Baby-sitting is provided for ages 6 months through 6 years, 10am through the end of services. For their safety, children are not allowed to leave the room without a parent or sibling over the age of 12

ADULT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES Check the schedule on Page 2 for the various learning opportunities for adults each week. Also, don’t miss Torah in Your Home, with Rabbi Shlomo. Meet one-on-one, or with a few friends for this new learning opportunity.

5 We are currently without a kitchen person and kiddush and Seudah Shlishit duties are being handled by volunteers. Everyone - young and old - is asked to please clean up after themselves before leaving. Additional volunteers are also needed to help with prep, planning and clean-up work in the weeks ahead. Please see Mary Sue for more information.

Passover Maot Chitim Fund

One of the basic preparations for Passover is to ensure that every Jew has the financial ability “to make Pesach.” As you prepare for your Seders, it is also time to open your heart and support those in need. Rabbi Dembitzer discretely distributes money to the needy to provide support during the holiday and throughout the year. Please make your check payable to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund.

Beth Israel Synagogue Annual Meeting and Election Sunday, May 21, 2017 - 10 a.m. The Nominating Committee is now working on the slate which will be provided to the congregation. A list of nominees will be mailed to the membership units of the congregation no later than fifteen days prior to the Annual Meeting.

Parsha Questions 1. What is the meaning of the name of the Parasha Tzav? 2. Who was designated to eat of the sin offering and where? 3. When is it allowed to extinguish the fire on the altar? 4. How many days did Aaron and his sons remain in the Tent of Meeting? 5. Who handled all the sacrifices in the until Aaron was qualified to do so?

6 Parsha Summary (From torah.org - Rabbi Aron Tendler)

1st, 2nd and 3rd Aliya: The laws of purity and impurity as they pertain to childbirth are discussed. The basic laws of Tzaras, its diagnosis by a Kohain, the possibility of a quarantine, and the laws of Tzaras as it relates to healthy and infected skin are discussed. 4th, 5th, & 6th Aliyot: The laws of Tzaras as it relates to a burn, a bald patch, dull white spots, and the presence of a Tzaras blemish on clothing is detailed. 7th Aliya: The Korban of is described. Maftir Summary: This week, in addition to the regular Parsha, we read the section known as HaChodesh. The additional sections of Shekalim, Zachor, Parah, and Chodesh are read prior to Pesach for both commemorative and practical reasons. This additional section from Shemos, Parshas , Chapter 12, is read on the Shabbos before the month of Nissan, or on the Shabbos of Rosh Chodesh Nissan. This section is an account of the very first Mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a nation. It includes the concept of Rosh Chodesh - the New Moon, as well as the basic laws of Pesach and the Pascal Lamb. Being that Pesach starts on the 15th of Nissan, this section is read about two weeks before Pesach begins. As with Parshas Parah, Chazal wanted the reading of this Parsha to be a reminder that Pesach is almost upon us! It is interesting that Hashem selected the Mitzvah of the New Moon as the first national Mitzvah. Basically, the Mitzvah required two eye witnesses to testify before Beis Din that they had seen the tiny sliver of the new moon's crescent that is the very first exposure of the moon's new monthly cycle. The Beis Din would then declare the start of the new month. The most obvious consequence of this procedure was the 29 or 30 day month, otherwise identified by a one or two day Rosh Chodesh. A two day Rosh Chodesh is comprised of the 30th day of the previous month and the 1st day of the new month. A one day Rosh Chodesh means that the preceding month was only 29 days long making Rosh Chodesh the 1st day of the new month. This would have an immediate effect on the scheduling of Yomim Tovim and other calendar ordained activities. It underscores from the very inception of the nation that the Beis Din, representing the Rabbinic leadership of the nation, were the single most important factor in guaranteeing the practice of Torah throughout time. It was as if G-d would wait for Beis Din to notify Him when His Yomim Tovim were to be.

7 WELCOME TO BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE We are delighted to welcome you to Beth Israel Synagogue. A passage from Deuteronomy 30:11-14 inspired the art work in the sanctuary. “For this commandment that I command you today - it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. It is not in heaven, [for you] to say, ‘Who can go to the heaven and take it for us so that we can listen to it and perform it? Nor is it across the seas, [for you] to say, ‘Who can cross to the other side of the sea for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it?’ Rather, the matter is very near to you - in your mouth and your heart - to perform it.” Mitzvot are obtainable.  The focal point of the sanctuary is the Menorah Window, which frames the Ark and is shaped in the form of the six branched candelabrum. To the right, brilliantly colored window has forms that reflect the heavens, while the left side depicts the seas.  The message is completed in a frieze, the horizontal painting on wood mounted on the wall. The background of the frieze symbolically and abstractly represents the relationship between G-d and the people of Israel through the Covenant. The perochet, or curtain over the Ark, completes the symbolic composition, with an expression that intertwines the Torah and the letter Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, of the Ten Commandments, and of G- d’s name in Hebrew.  As is traditional, the sanctuary has 12 windows, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. These windows contain the name of each tribe in flowing, organic letters. The windows are located above the continued frieze, which includes two central texts of the revelation at Sinai - “If you will keep my Covenant, you shall be precious to me,” and “You shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” This composition expresses the unity of Israel as the people stood together at Sinai and accepted the Torah.

Beth Israel Synagogue strives to perpetuate the legacy of Torah Judaism in the modern world. Beth Israel welcomes all persons of the Jewish faith to join and accepts the diversity of practice and thought among its members. Rabbi Ari Dembitzer, Senior Rabbi Toba Cohen-Dunning, President Mary Sue Grossman, Executive Director Rabbi Shlomo Abramovich, Visiting Scholar Leo Fettman, Cantor Emeritus 12604 Pacific Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68154 (402) 556-6288 / www.orthodoxomaha.org