Shabbat Blast 9/1/17: Well-Being

Coming Soon!!! The Congregation Beth Ohr High Holiday Mechina service! A New Idea for an Old Concept! The service is for families and learners where adults and kids will explore the High Holiday service in an accessible and meaningful way. We are looking for input from all members. Please contact the Rabbi at rabbi.bernstein@cbohr.org, the Cantor at cantor.myerson@cbohr.org, Mrs. O. at principal@cbohr.org, and Sheree Jarmol at 1froggy@optonline.net with any comments or concerns about this meaningful event.

Congregation Beth Ohr is creating a Caring Committee. This group of individuals will be available to help with transportation to Doctors, Hospitals, or other Medical Visits. If you are in need of a ride, or if you are available to help, please contact the office at 516-781-3072

MITCHELL KAPITANSKY'S BAR MITZVAH PROJECT

My name is Mitchell Kapitansky and I am becoming a bar mitzvah this year. For my mitzvah project, I am raising money and participating in the Alzheimer's Walk in memory of my grandpa. The walk is at Belmont Park on September 16th, on my grandpa's birthday.
Any donations to this cause near and dear to me and my entire family would be greatly appreciated. We have been raising money for years when my grandpa was first diagnosed at the time of Hurricane Sandy.
Please see my personal walk donation page that I created to help raise money and awareness for this terrible disease.
Thank you for your support.
Mitchell Kapitansky

I urge you to join me and visit the Alzheimer's Association today!

If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:

http://act.alz.org/site/TR?fr_id=10646&pg=personal&px=13657971&s_oo=EWsbwgVliiAf7QTv5L8TLg

Dear [first_name],

CLICK HERE to listen to Well-being Nigun

Composed and performed by Cantor Sarah Myerson (voice and banjolele)

Nigun text from Deuteronomy 22:7

Three drivers approach an intersection at roughly the same time. We all stop. Because of the angle of the sun and a tinted windscreen, I cannot make eye contact with the other drivers. I know what should happen: we should all give way to the right, meaning that the driver who has an empty space to thon's right should go first, followed by the driver in the middle of the three of us, followed by me, since I have the empty space to my left. But what will happen in real life? Do all three of us know the NY State driving laws?

In order to live in community, we have to agree on a set of laws to follow. If some people in the community drive on the left side of the road, and others drive on the right side, incidents are bound to occur that could be prevented by everyone agreeing to drive on one side or the other.

This week's Torah portion, Ki Tetse, contains a variety of laws that might seem to be obscure, arbitrary, or irrelevant to our lives. One is the famous law prohibiting sha'atnez, wearing a garment that combines wool and linen. Is this a test of our faith, to see if we will blindly follow a law that makes no sense, and for which no explanation is offered? Does it offer a hint that perhaps, the priests wore just such a mixture, and this law is a warning against regular Israelites dressing like priests? Is it possible that other local peoples typically mixed wool and linen, and this law is designed to mark us as a people separate from our neighbors? Is it supposed to turn making (or buying) clothing into a mindful process, where we are reminded of our Judaism? We may never know. What we can do, however, living freely in assimilated America, is to choose whether or not to take on this commandment.

There is one commandment in this week's Torah portion that includes not only a what to do, but also a why to do it.

If, along the road, you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go, and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life. (Deuteronomy 22:6-7)

This commandment has a staring role in AJ Jacobs' book, The Year of Living Biblically, where he tried for a year to follow a variety of commandments as set out in Torah. Spoiler alert, Jacobs shooed a mother bird away from her nest in order to take the eggs (with mixed results).

What does it mean, in order that you may fare well and have a long life [length of days]? Is this a case of Moses promising, in God's name, a reward for Israelites who follow a this particular commandment? Does that mean that a sure way to a enjoying a good, long life is to be careful to leave a mother bird in her nest, and to take only the baby birds and eggs? Rashi comments that if a good, long life is the reward for obeying such a simple commandment, then it is certainly also awarded to those who obey more difficult commandments. Ibn Ezra suggests that the reason to save the mother is because she can create more eggs, leading to more birds. So, to, does Jewish law require that during pregnancy, if there is a complication that could endanger the life of the mother, that we try to safe the life of the mother, even if it means losing the child.

לְמַ֙עַן֙ יִ֣יטַב לָ֔ךְ וְהַאֲרַכְתָּ֖ יָמִֽים׃

As we wind down into Shabbat this Labor Day weekend, may we all be blessed with well-being, with good life, with long life. Remember us for life, Sovereign who delights in life...

Shabbat Shalom,

Cantor Sarah Myerson

Join Congregation Beth Ohr for an evening of fun and laughter.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

8PM

Tickets $25

Please Note: We will not bill your account for this event.

Payment must be submitted in advance of the performance.

DON’T DRINK THE WATER

An early comedy classic by Woody Allen in which a caterer from New Jersey and his wife

end up trapped behind the Iron Curtain.

Contact the Temple Office to Reserve Your Seats!!

RSVP's Required by September 15!

STUDIO THEATRE

141 Wellwood Avenue

Lindenhurst NY, 11757

Weight Watcher Rabbi - A New You for a New Year! Judaism for the Body and Soul

This is a FREE one time session and will be held on Sunday, September 10, 2017 at 10:00 AM.

Please click here to register on line or contact the temple office.

Monthly Meditation

Second Monday of every month, schedule permitting, in a quiet room at 7PM.

There, we will enjoy hot tea and a personal meditative space.

Doors will be closed at 7:20 without further admittance to maintain the quiet atmosphere.

Rabbi Bernstein will then lead us in a guided meditation.

You do not need to attend all sessions.

2017: September 11, October 9, November 13, December 11

2018: January 8, February 12, March 12, April 9, May 1 4

Please bring a yoga mat, blanket, or cushion of your choice.

RSVPs are appreciated but not required. Call office or online at: http://www.cbohr.org/event/monthly-meditation.html
Chairs will be available for those who do not wish to sit on the floor.

SHABBAT LOUNGE!

Come and relax with us “lounge-style” before Kabbalat Shabbat

Enjoy a drink and some light nosh

2017: October 13, November 10, December 8,

2018: January 12, February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13,

In order to provide adequately, RSVPs to the Temple Office are greatly appreciated

Blessing of the Animals

Sunday, October 22, 2017 at 12 Noon
Bring your lovable pet to the grass outside the Temple as we celebrate the animals that bring us joy.

If inclement weather is forecast, we will reschedule.

The Museum of Interesting Things

3D VHS Movie Festival

OCTOBER 21, 2017

8PM

Come see excerpts from the Coolest & Un-coolest, cheesiest and, well, more cheesiest movies of all time;

they're not just on VHS, but… 3D VHS! Yes…I said 3D VHS tapes!!

Witness antiques from the history of 3D, too!

The Museum of Interesting Things takes you back to the future that the past never saw coming!

3D on VHS, right here before your very 2 eyes!!

Please join Rabbi Dahlia Bernstein and Guest Speakers from the community, including

Rabbi Daniel Bar-Nachum, Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz and Rabbi David Siegel,

to learn about the Jewish View on modern topics.

This is a FREE Event held at Panera

Open to the Community. Friends are welcomed.

Please click here to register on line or you may contact the temple office at (516) 781-3072.

HAZAK ACTIVITIES

Pepper, Silk and Ivory, The Jews of China, Japan and India
Presented by Rabbi Marvin Tokayer
Wednesday, September 6th at 1:30 PM

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
Wednesday, September 13th- 8:30 AM Departure

Although quite far off, put Wed. Nov. 8 on your calendars. Rabbi Bernstein will be accompanying us on a visit to the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) for an interesting day – a tour of the facilities, some interaction with students, a visit to the rare books collection, some learning with one of Rabbi Bernstein’s teachers, and lunch at the Seminary. Details about time and cost will be sent in a later mailing.

Game Days (all Mondays at 1:30 PM): Sep. 11, 25; Oct. 16, 30; Nov. 13, 27; Dec. 11

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For further details please refer to flyers in recent mailings and in lobby of synagogue. Or call Bill Berkowitz (516) 221-2056 or Lucy Safir at (516) 221-4107.

Pre-registration recommended for in-house-programs, and pre-payment for trips.

Congregation Beth Ohr, in conjunction with The Friedberg JCC, will be hosting a Bereavement Support Group for those who have lost a spouse in the last year. Congregation Beth Oh will be hosting these meetings on Tuesdays, July 11 through August 29 at 11 AM. If these times are not convenient or you would like more information, please see our Partners In Caring Page.

Family Kabbalat Shabbat! Beginning in September, Join us on the first Friday of every month for a special Family Service. Services will begin at 6:30. Dinner or a special themed snack will follow!

The Alix Rubinger Food Pantry is open and volunteers are always needed. Please call the office if you can offer your time. We are looking for people to staff when the doors are open, as well as come in on off hours to maintain the space and stock the shelves with donations.

Thank you to Lauren Lefkowitz for building the lovely bin. Please use this for all of your donations!

Heading to Israel in 2018. Informational sessions have occurred. We have hit our Max! If you would like to get on the waitlist, contact the office. Click here for a detailed itinerary!

Rabbi's Bar/Bat Mitzvah Class! Mondays at 6PM, join the Rabbi for an informative class to learn all about the Torah/Haftorah Service, the prayers and tunes associated with it, and the history of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah service. This is geared toward those who do not have any background in the Torah Service. Flyer is available here.

Junior Congregation is done for the year. Watch for the dates for Next Year! Miss Rachel is looking forward to coming back and spending Shabbat with all of the students!!!