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August 2021

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Monday Night Torah
08/02/2021 - 6:00 pm
 
 
 
 
 
Kabbalat Shabbat
08/06/2021 - 7:00 pm
 
 
Saturday Morning Torah Study
08/07/2021 - 8:30 am
 
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Monday Night Torah
08/09/2021 - 6:00 pm
 
 
 
 
 
Kabbalat Shabbat
08/13/2021 - 6:00 pm
 
 
Saturday Morning Torah Study
08/14/2021 - 8:30 am
 
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Monday Night Torah
08/16/2021 - 6:00 pm
 
 
 
 
 
Kabbalat Shabbat
08/20/2021 - 7:00 pm
 
 
Saturday Morning Torah Study
08/21/2021 - 8:30 am
 
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Monday Night Torah
08/23/2021 - 12:00 am
 
 
 
 
 
Kabbalat Shabbat

Kabbalat Shabbat

Event Date: 

Friday, August 27, 2021 - 12:00am
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Event Location: 

Online via Zoom

Event Description: 

 
Kabbalat Shabbat with Calyah Chanah (Caroline) Isaacs
Fri, Aug 27th at 7pm
 
Board Presence is Joe Hale.
 
Link available upon request at bethel@reninet.com.
 
Calyah Chanah (Caroline) Isaacs: Caroline Isaacs invites you, via Zoom, to Kabbalat Shabbat/Ma'ariv service, led from her home. Her style is mixed, more on the traditional side, family-friendly. Music/singing is important to her in connecting with the Divine, as is the sound of Hebrew, but there will also be some English, some spoken word and silence. If everyone prints the siddur pages, or brings their own siddur, we will not have to have them taking up much of the screen, and will give us more the feeling of kahal, a gathering. (If you have previously printed them, check the current link and print those pages that have since been added.) If you have candles and/or wine/juice and/or bread, you are welcome to bring them.

Attachments: 

PDF icon Kabbalat Shabbat Siddur
08/27/2021 - 12:00 am
 
 
Saturday Morning Torah Study

Saturday Morning Torah Study

Event Date: 

Saturday, August 28, 2021 - 8:30am
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Event Location: 

Online via Zoom

Event Description: 

Good shabbos to all!
 
Parashat Ki Tavo: Blessings, curses and choices
 
Can you believe that in a little more than one week we’ll find ourselves standing once again (via Zoom, of course) before HaShem, asking for another year to try to fully appreciate our lives, the lives of our loved ones and community, and the challenges facing our beloved blue globe?  And that many of us will spend this Saturday night reciting the penitential prayers known as s’lichot?
 
Our parasha knows this, and makes it very clear that we have much work to do to keep on being deserving of this life and home we’ve been given. And it acknowledges that we have chosen to be HaShem’s people so that HaShem can continue choosing us! (see 26: 17-18).
 
Our parasha makes it very clear that these choices we make — to be HaShem’s people — are choices we can and must make every day. As one commentator observes, “…the force of the covenant must not be allowed to abate with routine.” 
Beginner’s mind, anyone?
 
Thankfully, our readings end with some of the most beautifully sublime blessings we have (28: 3-6) — and we get to stop just before those absolutely horrendous curses that seem to never end (28: 15-68). Can we read these as a warning about climate change, Covid, refugees…and taking good care of ourselves and each other?
 
Our readings, all from Dvarim/Deuteronomy:
1) 26: 12-15
2) 26: 16-19
3) 27: 1-3
4) 27: 4-8
5) 27: 6-10
6) 27: 11 - 28:3  (yes — it really is 18 verses long — you’ll see why!)
7) 28: 4-6
 
As always, we will go Live From Everywhere! at 8:30 for shmooze ’n snack. At 9 we’ll say our Torah bracha and turn to the question of the week before delving into the parasha itself.
 
Here’s our Zoom link:
 
 
And here’s the link to our song and blessings:
 
 
And in case anyone wants to get your Very Own Luah (with all the weekly readings), here’s the link:
 
See you there!
Rabbi Bob

Attachments: 

File Torah Study Blessings
08/28/2021 - 8:30 am
 
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Monday Night Torah

Monday Night Torah

Event Date: 

Monday, August 30, 2021 - 12:00am
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Event Type: 

Event Location: 

Online via Zoom

Event Description: 

בס״ד

Monday Night Torah

With Phil Lazzar

“Ivdu et Hashem b’Simcha”


August 30, 2021

6:00pm - 7:00pm

Zoom link available upon request at bethel@reninet.com.




Ki Tavo - When You Come Into The Land

כי תבוא תשפ״א


“והיה כי תבוא אל הארץ…ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה…״


“And it will be when you come into the land…and take from all the first fruits of the land…”




Rav Brandwein ztz”l begins an article on this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, (given over in 5772) pointing out that it begins telling us about bringing the first fruits while the previous Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, ends with us being told to smash Amalek and the Rav asks why the part about smashing Amalek is in close proximity to the bringing of the first fruits.  In other words, what does one thing have to do with the other?


He goes on to say that the theme that runs through this week’s Torah portion is the matter of being full of joy, of being b’simcha.  And he quotes the Or HaChaim’s comment on the first word of the Torah portion, v’haya, that this wording indicates joy.


Rav Brandwein teaches that when doing the mitzvot, it is not enough to just do them but that they must be done full of joy.  But, what does joy have to do with doing the mitzvot?  Isn’t it enough that I just do them?  Where is it written that I need to do them with joy?


However, once a person comes to know Hashem and comes to understand that the mitzvot make G’d happy, so to speak, and the person wants to give nachas ruach, joy, to HaKadosh Baruchu, to G’d because the person feels love and appreciation for G’d, then the person will naturally do the mitzvot in a state of true joy in fully knowing that this brings great joy to G’d.


The joy that we feel when doing the mitzvot indicates that our heart is really in it.  And all that G’d wants is our heart, our whole heart.  In other words, to do the mitzvot without being full of joy indicates that our heart is not in it and this actually misses the entire point of doing the mitzvot because G’d only wants the heart.  The mitzvot are only a vehicle for giving G’d our heart.


So, now, what does Amalek have to do with any of this?  The gematria of Amalek is the same as doubt/safek.  When a person doubts in the existence or total involvement of HKB”H, or doubts in the importance of the mitzvot, or doubts in their own importance to G’d, h-s, this can cause a person to lose the joy of doing the mitzvot.  So, therefore, Amalek/doubt, must be smashed completely.


However, that is not to say that we should ignore our doubts.  When we have questions, we must seek answers.
08/30/2021 - 12:00 am
 
 
 
 
 
 

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