T Ki Teitzei, Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 - Parashat ha Shavuah for Saturday, August 21, 2021
One of my teacher’s in Rabbinical school told me the story of an Israeli woman, well educated in Jewish sacred texts, who had rejected Jewish religious practice and was studying in an ashram in India. One day on a stroll with her guru, they came upon a wallet. Picking it up her guru put it in his robe saying, “finders, keepers.” The woman left the ashram the next day.
This week’s Torah portion explains the sacred duty of returning lost things to their rightful owner. “If you see your fellow’s ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take it back to your fellow. If your fellow does not live near you or you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home and it shall remain with you until your fellow claims it; then you shall give it back to him. You shall do the same with his ass; you shall do the same with his garment; and so too shall you do with anything that your fellow loses and you find: you must not remain indifferent.” (Deuteronomy 1-3).
To find something of value and take possession of it without making a good faith effort to return it is considered theft under Jewish law. A moral society is built on trust. Trust is built by people putting the interest of others above their own. When a server leaves an item we have ordered off the final bill and we don’t let them know, we are stealing. When someone avoids paying their taxes, especially a public figure, they are not being smart. They are stealing from all of us while corrupting themselves and society as a whole.
Theft and corruption erode the social fabric. That is why the Jewish woman had to leave the ashram. She could no longer trust her guru. As we continue to explore our behavior during the month of Elul, we should ask ourselves, have we taken advantage of others? Have we done our part to build social trust?
~Rabbi Dean Kertesz
Read last week's commentary
From the President
Reading Rabbi Dean’s words about honesty and trust caused me to think about what honesty and trust look like in synagogue leadership. Although we are far from perfect, the officers and board of TBH strive for honesty and transparency in order to earn your trust. Other than the personnel and personal matters that we are required to keep confidential, we have no secrets. All of our board meetings are open to the entire congregation and are listed in the Weekly Update along with the Zoom link. The minutes of our meetings are available for your perusal, and I encourage you to contact me (president@tbhrichmond.org) with any concerns. We serve the Temple Beth Hillel community, our community does not serve us.
This month we are making a lot of difficult choices for our High Holy Days observances. It is essential that they be meaningful, and even more essential that they be safe. Compared to last year, much more is known about Covid-19 and we have powerful vaccines available to us, but we have to balance that with concerns about the Delta variant surge.
Please do your part by providing Louise with proof of vaccination for yourself, your family, and any guests that will attend our services. Please read, understand, and follow the protocols contained in this Weekly Update. If you are not vaccinated or are not comfortable attending our in person outdoor services, please join us online. Finally, please make reservations so that we know how many chairs to put out.
Meanwhile, for Shabbat let’s take some time to breathe, to unwind, and to appreciate what we have. We live in a fantastic place. We have redwoods and beaches nearby. We have visual and performing art and a wonderfully diverse community rich in cultures and, yes, food. We have possibly the best weather in the world. And most importantly, we have each other. Shabbat Shalom.
We are Temple Beth Hillel.
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
~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel
Read last week's letter
TBH Reopening for In Person Events and Services
There is a Yiddish saying, “People plan and God laughs.” Our goal, since the roll out of COVID vaccines and the seeming waning of the COVID pandemic, has been to come together again in-person for services, learning, and our many other programs. We had planned to reopen, with in-person services, indoors on August 1st. However, conditions have changed for the worse, again, with the emergence of the Delta variant, which is far more transmissible, and has forced us to modify our plans. We plan and God (or reality) laughs.
The overriding principles of our synagogue's reopening have always been: the importance of being together, in-person, in community and the health and safety of our congregants, family members, friends and staff. These principles have not changed. We now feel the best way to come together and remain safe is to hold our services outdoors.
This requires more preparation than we had originally anticipated. Our goal is to begin in-person services with the High Holy Days, which begin on Monday evening, September 6th. Until then Friday evening services will continue to be on-line.
PLEASE NOTE: We require anyone who wishes to participate in any TBH activity to provide evidence of vaccination. You only have to do this once. Send an image of your vaccination record to Louise Snitz via email to llsnitz@gmail.com, or text her at 510-224–0345, or mail a photo to 1202 Evelyn Ave., Berkeley, CA 94706 and you will be added to the TBH vaccination registry. She will record your status, delete your image, and not retain a copy of your vaccination data.
All non-vaccinated children are required to wear masks and socially distance. Please contact us five days in advance so that we can plan seating arrangements.
If you are not feeling comfortable meeting in person yet, or are unwilling to provide information about your vaccination status, you can participate in TBH events and services via Zoom.
Our plans for outdoor services could change again if infection rates continue to rise or wildfire smoke makes holding outdoor services unsafe. We will keep you updated. We are proud of how our community has held together during this challenging time by continuing services, programs and events going in new and adaptive ways. We will continue to be flexible and adapt to changing conditions in these uncertain times.
Join Shabbat evening services online this Friday, August 20 at 7:00 PM
Although we hope to be meeting in person soon, we continue to bring services to you. We celebrate our full Shabbat evening service and hope you can join us. All you need is a computer or a smartphone and internet access.
If you can’t join us for the entire service, join us at 7:00 PM to light Shabbat Candles
Lighting Shabbat candles always begins our evening services. Please join us at 7:00 to light Shabbat candles together. In this way we can all be “virtually” together in this time of isolation. You can stay online for the evening service if you wish.
Recurring Shabbat and candle lighting zoom
https://zoom.us/j/517749891
You can also join by calling
1 (669)900-9128 Meeting ID: 517 749 891
One tap mobile: +16699009128,,517749891#
TBH Sandwich-Making for the GRIP Souper Center -- Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Wednesday, August 25, is our Temple's next day to make sandwiches for GRIP. We each make about forty sandwiches (your choice) and bring them to the Temple parking lot by 9:45 am. Please put the sandwiches in individual baggies, place them in a bag or box, and label the type of sandwiches made. If you can make sandwiches that day and/or if you have any questions, please contact
Jane Kaasa (510)222-3221 or (510)421-7331.
Notes from the Board
The Board welcomed new member Sara Cleveland, and discussed:
- High Holy Day procedures (Register with the office for either in-person or online attendance) and safety protocols (Vaccines and masks required; please send vaccine information to Louise);
- Food for Thought (has a 510(c) number to be an independent nonprofit corporation)
- Tenants (Montessori School expects to open in September);
- Building and Grounds (Internet is expected to be completed this week. We are getting estimates on replacing the furnaces.)
Donate to Food for Thought
For over a decade, Food for Thought has been distributing food over winter break to families of local elementary school children who do not get free school lunches then. We have regularly expanded the number of families we serve, but we still do not reach all who are in need. In this year of exceptional need, we are aiming to provide food for 600 families, a 50% increase over last year. This will require a great increase in dedication and resources. You can help by volunteering and by donating.
You can donate:
- By credit card
- By check - Write your check to Temple Beth Hillel with Food for Thought in the memo line, and mail your check to Temple Beth Hillel, 801 Park Central Blvd., Richmond, CA 94803
Donate to Food for Thought
Applications to join The Hamsa Fund are now open!
The Hamsa Fund is Midrasha’s teen philanthropy board where teens learn to fund-raise, collaborate with fellow board members, and make a difference in their community. They’ll learn how a non-profit organization works as well as how to make important decisions with your peers regarding various issues facing our world.
You can find more information about meeting dates on Midrasha's
website ! Our open house is September 26th, 2021, and we welcome teens of all backgrounds including race, sexual and gender identity, ethnicity, and Jewish identity.
Know someone who would be interested? Please share the program’s application and information with a teen who you think will enjoy this opportunity!
Feel free to reach out to hamsafund@ccmidrasha.com with any questions you might have.
High Holy Day Reservations
All members should have received their reservation forms via email. If you did not receive yours, or you are not a member, please contact Michelle Husby to get your reservation form. mhusby@tbhrichmond.org Reservation forms are required for every BODY that attends in-person and for every ZOOM connection needed. Deadline to return the forms is August 31.
