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Temple E-Tidings for March 5, 2009 03-05-2009
Temple E-Tidings
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| A Taste of Torah: Tetzaveh |
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A Taste of Torah:
Tetzaveh
Exodus 27:20 - 30:10
What Doesn't Kill Us.....
Parashat Tetzaveh and the marking of Shabbat Zachor, the sabbath before Purim, reflect some uncanny connections beyond the usual rabbinic ability to find uncanny connections. Shabbat Zachor focuses upon our memory of the story of Esther, a celebration not only of our redemption from evil, but of the historic, constant presence of evil in our lives. We must be vigilant against what seems an eternal element of the human condition, but also confident in our ability to triumph over malice and nihilism.
Tetzaveh describes the intricacies of the Temple rite, from ritual objects to priestly adornment. The olive oil used to light the ner tamid in the ancient Temple inspired an analogy from Ya'akov Shmuel Khaquiz: "The People of Israel is likened to an olive, which yields up its oil only when it is crushed, for the people of Israel reveals its true virtues only when it is made to suffer."
On one level, a troubling concession to Jewish suffering, but understandable from the viewpoint of our people's premodern experience. On another level, an encouragement of resilience, elevated to a kind of redemption, for a people long-accustomed to enduring much, but faithful in its ability to overcome. This portion offers important perspective on our current woes (diminished in comparison) and inspiration to those of us who currently seek shelter from the storm.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel A. Weiner
This week’s Haftarah: I Samuel 15:2 - 15:34
Next week’s Torah portion:, Ki Tetse' Exodus 30:11 - 34:35
Haftarah: I Kings 18:1 - 18:39
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| From the Rabbi! |
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We didn't have any ask the rabbi questions this week, so we posted s snipped from Rabbi Weiner's Blog: www.goodgodforus.com.
Finances are in the toilet, but our hearts belong to fantasy. The Sunday Times’ front page offered a telling but hardly surprising look into the state of our collective being. While banks freefall, retail hibernates and car companies search for a messianic motorway to radial redemption, the movie studios are reporting record earnings ($15 to see the Jonas Brothers?!?), but more significantly, record attendance.
Typical and expected escapism during tough times? Certainly a $60 evening for a family of four to see Slumdog Millionaire if far more frugal than a night flight to Mumbai. Plus, you get a feel-good story of up-by-the-sandal-straps salvation, without the Pepto-evoking perils of food, water and jetlag in a strange land. So this is simply about forgetting reality in a dark room for a few hours, only to emerge bleary-eyed to our car radios blaring Obama’s assuaging of our apocalyptic fears?
While the distractions of mass entertainment continue to remove us from the trials and tribulations of the worst of times, there is something different about the neediness of our current crisis. We face unprecedented uncertainty, fearful for a financial well being that, more than ever in contemporary culture, is the core of our identity and sense of purpose. Coupled with a compulsive consumerism truncated by the times, the emptiness of our disproportionate reliance upon having things as a basis for self-worth starkly troubles the heart, mind and soul.
We hearken back to the existential comforts of the past, seeking resources hard-wired into our DNA, civilization’s patrimony to our consciousness. The power of stories, myths and narratives to sooth, inspire and impassion compels us today as it has always. The chanting of epic poems around the Mesopotamian campfire and going gaga for Kate Winslet in a meta-reading on the act of reading itsel is all of a piece... read more....
Got Questions? Ask the Rabbi
If you have any questions about the Torah, Talmud or any queston regarding Jewish tradition, thought or history email them to us at the E-Tidings: asktherabbi@tdhs-nw.org and we'll publish them here and on our website! Think of some questions and send them in.Click to read an archive of Ask the Rabbi Questions
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| Upcoming Temple Events |
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Temple De Hirsch Sinai & Classic Day Publishing
cordially invite you to celebrate the publication of Rabbi Daniel A. Weiner’s first book:
Good God: Faith for the Rest of Us Book Launch Party!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
7:00-9:00PM • TDHS Seattle
1441 16th Ave. E.
You are all welcome to join us for a delicious nosh, refreshments and an exclusive
preview of Rabbi Weiner’s new book! For more information about the book log to www.goodgodforus.com
May the Farce be with you!
Join us in Seattle on Saturday March 7th for the largest Megilliah Reading a& Purim Celebration in town. This year the theme is Star Wars with a spin only the way our Rabbi's can tell it.
Megillah Reading
Saturday, March 7, 5:00pm
Purim Carnival
Saturday, March 7, 6-8pm
All the games and prizes you’ve grown to love at the
biggest Purim Carnival in town. Bring an empty belly
for all the tasty carnival food!
Click here for more information
Sunday, March 1st.
Saturday, March 7th during the Purim Carnival
By appointment during the week.
We are desperately looking for a couple volunteers to work the shop on Sunday mornings in Seattle, once or twice a month!
Contact Cindy Stratiner if you can volunteer or to make an appointment. 425-641-8399 - cstratiner@aol.com
Passover already?
Have you been thinking about replacing the old and mismatched Haggadahs that your family uses? Just interested in seeing somethign new, or geared toward your younger children or grandchildren? TDHS sisterhood gift shop is having a Pre-order Haggadah Sale. Drop by and take a look at the Haggadahs, order the one that fits your family best, we will get them back to you before your Seder. It souldn’t be easier.
March 9 - Annual Purim Party - "Old School Bar Mitzvah" Style!
Don't miss out on the young adult Purim Party! We will read the Megillah early in the evening and party all night afterwards. Live music, DJs, snacks, full bar, and an old school Bar Mitzvah theme!
TIME:
8:30 - Megillah Reading
9:30 - Purim Party
WHERE: Tia Lou's, 2218 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
COST:
$5 in advance at www.jconnectseattle.org
$7 at the door
SPONSORS: The Tribe at TDHS, JConnect, Jew-ish.com, The Ravenna Kibbutz, Next Gen at HNT
BINGO WITH A BIG HEART
Join us for an evening of bingo and "breakfast for dinner."
Support social action programs, have fun, AND win bingo prizes!
Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 5pm
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1520 East Union, Seattle, WA
$20 - Adults
$15 – Seniors (65 years and up) $10 – children (18 and younger)
Admission includes dinner and one bingo card for standard games.Additional cards as well as blackout games can be purchased for a nominal fee.
TDHS at the movies
Two Saturday evenings
Nosh & Schmooze at: 6:30 PM Movie at: 7:00 PM,
Rendezvous/Jewel Box Theater, Belltown - Seattle, WA
Join our rabbi’s for movies and discussion. Philosophy, faith, reason art and alien contact. .Click here for more information
Save the Date! TDHS Family Shabbat Retreat
URJ Camp Kalsman Friday, April 17 to Saturday, April 18
TDHS Family Shabbat Retreat at beautiful URJ Camp Kalsman in Arlington, Washington. Friday, April 17 to Saturday, April 18.
Click here for more information
Searching for a great
Pastrami Sandwich?
Well, look no further than the....
7th Annual New York Deli Night & Comedy Showcase to Honor Daniel Weiner
With comedians Eddie Brill and Ophira Eisenberg
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
5 pm - 9 pm
Seattle’s Sidney Z. Jaffe Auditorium
RSVP with Charlene at charlene@tdhs-nw.org now for what will surely be a sold out event!
We are accepting reservations now through April 20th.
Enjoy libations & the original world famous cuisine of
New York’s Carnegie Deli & Seattle’s Matzoh Momma’s!
The Alfred and Tillie Shemanski Institute for
Christian and Jewish Understanding
with Temple De Hirsch Sinai invite you to the 29th Annual Clergy Institute with
Rabbi Daniel Weiner
God in the None Zone: Faith and Freedom in the Sound
Join a gathering of spiritual leaders and concerned laity looking for ways to reach unaffilated spiritual seekers.
Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Temple De Hirsch Sinai, Seattle - Please enter at 1441 16th Ave
Contact us at 206.315.7471
Save the Date!
- Deli Night: May 3, 2009
- The Clergy Institute: May 7-9, 2009
- Confirmation: May 29, 2009
- Graduation: June 5, 2009
- Amudim: June 7, 2009
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| Tikkun Olam and Volunteering at Temple |
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TIKKUN OLAM
Repairing the World – One Mitzvah at a Time
Mitzvah of the Month - Pasta for Purim
Please donation box(es) of pasta during the month of March, where we’ll have marked donation boxes at both Temple locations. Children can use the pasta as groggers during the Purim Carnival, and then donate them afterwards. We’ll be using the donations to help feed homeless teenagers in our community.
Want to feel more connected at Temple? Consider joining our growing Tikkun Olam Group. Our next meeting is Sunday, January 25th. We’d love to have you join us - whether you’re interested in helping out with a small, one-time project, or in a more long-term way. Please contact Catherine Gonchar at (206) 323-8486, ext. 7309, or send an email to tikkunolam@tdhs-nw.org for more information. |
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| In the Community |
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St. James Cathedral/SU School of Theology and Ministry Lecture Series presents
The New Atheism’s Challenge to 21st-Century Religion
Thursday, March 5, 2009 - 7:00pm
Cathedral Place Hall
803 Terry Avenue, Seattle
Suggested donation $10
Click here for more information.
Union for Reform Judaism and United Methodist Church
Together with The United Nations Foundation
Invite you to a special
NOTHING BUT NETS
Dinner Celebration and Presentation With interfaith leaders and supporters from the greater Seattle and Tacoma area
including
Rabbi Daniel Weiner
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
Bishop Grant Hagiya
Pacific Northwest Conference, United Methodist Church
and
Elizabeth McKee Gore
Executive Director of Nothing But Nets, UN Foundation
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 6:00 PM
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
1520 E. Union Street, Seattle, WA 98122
Please join us for dinner as we come together as a community to learn how we can join efforts to combat this disease, to pray for children and families who suffer from malaria,
to discuss current issues and threats posed by this disease, and seize the opportunity for all people of faith to get involved in this lifesaving effort. Click here for more information.
Who’s Minding the Store? Celebrating 150 years of Jewish Business and Commerce
Who’s minding the store?? If it’s you – or if it was your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents – the Washington State Jewish Historical Society wants to know.
Click here for more information
Check out some of these Great JFS Programs:
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| TGIS Shabbat Schedule |
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Thank God It's Shabbat!
Worship with us at any of our Shabbat Services. The following is the schedule for Shabbat Services for the next two weeks.
Friday, March 6
6:00 PM/ Bellevue - Shabbat Unplugged
6:00 PM/ Seattle - Kabbalat Shabbat
Saturday, March 7
9:30 AM/ Seattle - Torah & T’fillah Together
10:30 AM/ Seattle- Shacharit
10:30 AM/ Bellevue- Shacharit
5:00 PM/ Seattle - Megillah Reading
6:00PM/ Seattle- Purim Carnival
Friday, March 13
6:00 PM/ Bellevue
Shabbat Kesher
6:00 PM/ Seattle
Rock Shabbat
Saturday, March 14
9:30 AM/ Seattle - Torah & T’fillah Together
10:30 AM/ Seattle - Shacharit
NO BELLEVUE AM SERVICE
5:00 PM/ Bellevue - Havdalah
Click here for our complete Shabbat Schedule
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TDHS Officials
Daniel Weiner,
Senior Rabbi
Alan S. Cook,
Associate Rabbi
Daniel A. Septimus, Assistant Rabbi
Lawrence N. Broder,
Executive Director
Ken Schlegel,
Associate Executive Director
Allan Geller,
Director of Education
Laurel Abrams,
Jennifer Rosen Meade
Preschool Director
OFFICERS
Karen Dixon,
President
Gail Alexander,
President-Elect
Jody Bellar,
Vice President
Keith Degginger,
Vice President
Kim Greenhall
Vice President
Gail Mautner
Vice President
Pam Schwartz
Secretary
Neil Weinstein, CPA
Treasurer
Immediate Past President,
H.L. (Skip) Kotkins, Jr.
TRUSTEES: Alex Alben, Robert Albert, Alan Bender, Linda Bledsoe,
Marianne Bundren,
Rebecca Buxbaum, David Caesar,
Harry Caraco,
Beth Featherstone, Catherine Gonchar, Jerry Gronfein,
Myles Kahn,
Jan Levy,
Laurie Minsk, Vicki Robbins, Debbie Rosemont, Ari Schur,
John Siegler,
Phillip Swan,
Jeff Teper,
Jacquie Wiviott
Senior Rabbis – Retired
Theodore Joseph (z’l) 1899-1906
Samuel Koch (z’l) 1906-1942
Raphael H. Levine (z’l) 1942-1970
Earl S. Starr 1970-2001
Associate Rabbi - Retired
Stanley Meisels 1988-1994 |
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