Plan on spending a special Shabbat morning at Beth Israel, The West Temple.  We will honor our High Holy Days Choir and accompanist Mel Arnoff.

9:30 – 9:24 am Nosh and Schmooze

9:45 – 10:45 am Rabbi will teach new sections from Pirkei Avot  (The “Ethics of the Fathers”)

10:45 – 12 pm T’filah in the Sanctuary

Noon:  Pot Luck Dairy Lunch (A – Lettofsky bring a hot meal, Lit – Z bring a cold meal to share)

Plan on spending a very special Shabbat morning at Beth Israel.

The morning begins at 9:30am with students working on a fun Mitzvah project with Mrs. Keller.

9:30 – 9:45 a.m. – Adults will be Noshing and Schmoozing.
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. – Rabbi Lettofsky will be teaching sections from Pirkei Avot (the “Ethics of the Fathers”).
10:45 – 12:00 – T’filah.
Noon – Pot Luck prepared by the MEN. (!!!!!)

How do we actually ‘celebrate’ a holiday that only occurs every 28 years? A holiday that seems to require only the shortest of attention spans. A holiday that needs a clear, blue sky to be simply, ‘perfect’. Well, for most Jews, it is a holiday ignored. But, is is a holiday certain to bring Joy. And, it is a holiday which surely makes us appreciate Mother Nature. The holiday is called Birchat HaChammah. It requires the sun to be in the exact place in the sky where it rested on the Fourth day of Creation as described in Bereshit. That’s right. We know where the Sun rested above our earth on Wednesday, March 26 of Hebrew Year 1, aka. 3760 BCE. Thus, it is a day to celebrate the Creation of the Sun. It is also a day to remember all that we need to continue to do to make sure the air and water and earth remain safe for all living beings. The prayer is short and simple: Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who performs the act of creation. The timing of the holiday is extremely rare – falling on the day before Pesach is a rare event, having occurred only three times since creation. It is a mitzvah to be able to bless the sun on this fortuitous day. Because we were redeemed from Egypt on Pesach, to say the blessing as we are preparing for departure from slavery, suggests that God is preparing us for something related to redemption, renewal, and creation. So, Wednesday morning, before we embark on the day, lets join together to say the simple prayer – thus a day filled with prayer and family.

– Peter Sackett