Barbara Mazer
Vocals/Guitar
Douglas Lichterman
Percussion/Guitar
Jon Rosenbluth
Vocals/Guitar
Lance Lubin
Vocals/Mandolin/Guitar
Rebecca Zapen
Vocals/Violin/Guitar
Stephen Miller Bass
We Remember... May their memory be a blessing and a lesson for how we can live our lives.
Beatrice Ascher
Abraham Brown
Samuel Bugatch
Frances Carton
Esther Cons
Renette Israel Corenswet
William Dimenstein
Diane Dimenstein Harris
Lena Englander
Margot Frankel
Arthur Fromkes
Jack Geldbart
Marjorie Gillert
Flora Gordon
Lester Herzog
Oscar Maurice Israel
Emma Lebensburger
Harold L. Leveen
Rebecca Mintz
Gail Adrene Mullen
Philip Pollack
William Morris Raymund
Sidney Richman
Anna Roffenbender
Samuel Sakol
Meyer Samuels
Herman Schwartz
Isidore Silverberg
Sarah Silverstein
Elizabeth Siscovick
Louis Siscovick
Merlin Sugerman
Sandy Tobman
Joseph Turner
Ida Weinberg
David S. Wolfson
We’d love to hear from you!
Reach out to us with any questions.
Amy L. Morrison - Rabbi
727-347-6136 - RabbiMorrison@TempleBeth-El com
Tracy Nash - Bookkeeper 727-347-6136 - Bookkeeper@TempleBeth-El.com
Tara O’Donnell - Early Childhood Center Director
727-350-5885 - Tara@TempleBeth-El.com
Josh Gamson - Director of Teen & Youth Engagement 727-347-6136 - Josh@TempleBeth-El.com
Tovah Feld - Communications & Engagement Coordinator 727-347-6136 - Tovah@TempleBeth-El.com
Allison Fowler - Executive Assistant to Rabbi 727-347-6136 - Allison@TempleBeth-El.com
Bobby Gerry - Maintenance Coordinator 727-347-6136 - Maintenance@TempleBeth-El.com
Mike Shapiro - Temple President 727-347-6136 - President@TempleBeth-El.com
Rabbi Amy L. Morrison, Barbara Mazer & the jammin’ jews Parashat Va-et’chanan Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
August 16, 2024
This shabbat is called “Shabbat Nachamu” (lit. “Sabbath of Consolation”) and it is the first Shabbat following Tisha B’Av, the holiday of mourning the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem. We read in this week’s haftarah: Nachamu, nachamu ami --“Comfort, comfort my people.” After three weeks of darkness and destruction for the ancient Israelites, God, through the prophet Isiah, reminds our ancestors that their deep sadness will pass (in time) and that they are never truly alone.
Sometimes we too need to be reminded of this. The Hebrew phrase, “Gam Zeh Yavo” "This Too Shall Pass,” hangs in my bedroom as a daily reminder that each moment in life is fleeting. If we dwell in the sadness for too long, we risk missing the good moments lining our paths. Conversely, although it feels wonderful to sit in our joy and happiness as if it will never end, we know that life is in constant movement a full spectrum of all emotions and that those feelings are fleeting as well.
This shabbat, let us take a moment to find comfort, nachamu, that God provides each one of us with seconds, days, and years filled with as many emotions as there are experiences and that within each one, we are never alone to feel “all the feels” by ourselves.
Relax! God put the wiggle in children. Don t feel you have to suppress it in our sanctuary or chapel. Sit towards the front where it is easier for your little ones to see and hear what is happening on the Bima They tire of seeing the backs of other s heads.
Quietly explain our rituals and sing or clap when appropriate. Children learn liturgical behavior by copying you
If you need to leave services with your child, do so, but please come back
Remember that the way we welcome children in synagogue directly affects the way they respond to coming to synagogue, to God, to one another. Let them know that they are welcome in this house of worship, here, at Temple Beth-El
Sunday, Aug. 18
11am - Religious School Town Hall MeetingSterensis Family All Purpose Room
Friday, Aug. 23
5:30pm - Early Oneg 6pm - Erev Shabbat Service
If you are new to Temple Beth-El, welcome!
Located in St Petersburg on Florida's beautiful west coast, Temple Beth-El is a Reform Jewish congregation that has served this area since 1928 and is focused on strengthening relationships and making connections We are a welcoming Reform community for Jewish and interfaith households to experience an uplifting and joyful sense of belonging as we seek to connect our members with each other and the greater community and world around us. Enjoy and have a Shabbat Shalom!
Va-et’chanan: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 Saturday, August 17, 2024 / 13 Av 5784
Moses pleads with God to let him enter the Land of Israel with the people, but God once more refuses his request. (3:23–28) Moses orders the Children of Israel to pay attention and follow the laws given by God in order to be worthy of the land they are about to receive. (4:1–40)
Specific areas of the land are set aside to serve as cities of refuge. (4:41–43)
The covenant at Sinai and the Ten Commandments are recalled. Once again, the people are exhorted to heed God’s commandments. (5:1–30)
Moses speaks the words of the Sh’ma, the credo of Judaism, and commands Israel to show their love for Adonai and keep God’s laws and ordinances. (6:1–25)
Moses warns the people not to commit idolatry by worshiping the gods of the nations they will conquer in Israel. (7:1–11)
