And happy Shavuot! The celebration of this holiday marks the end of the period of the counting of the Omer, which began on Pesach. Along with indulging in dairy products and studying Torah, the counting of the Omer also represents the time of waiting between the liberation of the Israelite slaves in Egypt and their covenant with G-d through the presentation of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Incredibly, without even intending to, the secular calendar also has a period of waiting between two holidays this time of year reflecting both sacrifice and joy. This past week, we all celebrated Mother’s Day, which of course acknowledges all the sacrifice and hard work our mothers have done and continue to do for us all (and hopefully all moms in the congregation had a wonderful day last Sunday). Obviously mothers should be celebrated every day but in this case the celebration includes brunch, presents, and outings. And this year, 35 days later, we will all celebrate Father’s Day, completing the recognition of how much our parents matter in our lives. While this secular example is quite different from counting the Omer, it does have the similarity of starting with one celebration, waiting a certain period of time, and then ending with another celebration with a common theme (in this case parents). I would like to think that the people at Hallmark (who have helped perpetuate these holidays, no doubt) took inspiration from the Jewish calendar.
In other news, we have several exciting events occurring in the coming weeks. We invite everyone to come to our Annual Membership Meeting on June 11 at 1:00 p.m. You can meet the Board members, enjoy some nice treats, and see the plans for the upcoming year. A few weeks later, on June 27, we have our annual trip to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the A’s play their Jewish Heritage Month game! If you would like to join us, please contact our office manager Brandy for information about tickets.
The next Shabbat Service will be held on Friday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. The Adult Ed class with Rabbi Dean will continue its regular schedule and we will also have Torah Study on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. And those who wish to join Tefillah services at the Religious School are welcome starting at 9:30 a.m on Sundays. Thanks everyone and have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein and David Zimring, Co-Presidents, Temple Beth Hillel
From the Presidents – May 26, 2023
May 26, 2023 by tbhrich • president
Hello Everyone!
And happy Shavuot! The celebration of this holiday marks the end of the period of the counting of the Omer, which began on Pesach. Along with indulging in dairy products and studying Torah, the counting of the Omer also represents the time of waiting between the liberation of the Israelite slaves in Egypt and their covenant with G-d through the presentation of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Incredibly, without even intending to, the secular calendar also has a period of waiting between two holidays this time of year reflecting both sacrifice and joy. This past week, we all celebrated Mother’s Day, which of course acknowledges all the sacrifice and hard work our mothers have done and continue to do for us all (and hopefully all moms in the congregation had a wonderful day last Sunday). Obviously mothers should be celebrated every day but in this case the celebration includes brunch, presents, and outings. And this year, 35 days later, we will all celebrate Father’s Day, completing the recognition of how much our parents matter in our lives. While this secular example is quite different from counting the Omer, it does have the similarity of starting with one celebration, waiting a certain period of time, and then ending with another celebration with a common theme (in this case parents). I would like to think that the people at Hallmark (who have helped perpetuate these holidays, no doubt) took inspiration from the Jewish calendar.
In other news, we have several exciting events occurring in the coming weeks. We invite everyone to come to our Annual Membership Meeting on June 11 at 1:00 p.m. You can meet the Board members, enjoy some nice treats, and see the plans for the upcoming year. A few weeks later, on June 27, we have our annual trip to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the A’s play their Jewish Heritage Month game! If you would like to join us, please contact our office manager Brandy for information about tickets.
The next Shabbat Service will be held on Friday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. The Adult Ed class with Rabbi Dean will continue its regular schedule and we will also have Torah Study on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. And those who wish to join Tefillah services at the Religious School are welcome starting at 9:30 a.m on Sundays. Thanks everyone and have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein and David Zimring, Co-Presidents, Temple Beth Hillel