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Yahrzeits
We
Scott Barancik
Anne Ackerman
Janet Alysworth
Roslyn Ina Siegel Argintar
Beatrice Axelrod
Max Axelrod
Ruth Ann Bramson
Abraham Brean
Pauline Dlugopiat
Debi Freeman Englander
Abraham Fortunoff
Marilyn Lee Freeman
Selma Gerson
Diantha Perry Gross
Mel Gross
Elaine Grossman
Esther Hufnagel
Rose Kerekes
Adolph Klein
Dorothy Knobler
Mae Konigsburg
Jacob Kramarz
Dorothy Logan
Anna Moed
Arthur Pecharsky
Bessie Rosenthal
Harold D. Rossuck
Lewis Rubin
Ronald Russon
Ruth Simon
Louis Stark
Philip Stichler
Wallace Vuernick
Jack Wolf
Alvin Zeimer
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Amy L. Morrison - Rabbi 727-347-6136 - RabbiMorrison@TempleBeth-El com
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Shabbat Spotlight the
Rebecca & Scott Barancik & Bea Parashat Matot-Mas’ei Numbers 30:2-36:13
Cantor Josh Breitzer
The final two portions of the Book of Numbers, Matot and Mas ei are most often combined. n the r midst s the rarest canti lat on in the ent re Torah. It occurs in Numbers 35:5, which prescribes the size of pastures encircling the Lev tes ass gned town. n Reform communit es, the two cantil ation marks are called yerach ben yomo (literal y "day-old moon") and karnei parah ("horns of a cow."), ikely due to their respect ve appearances. The chant which accompanies them in Numbers 35:5 is a combinat on of both tropes' symbols when they appear separately Why does th s part cular moment in the Torah merit such a s ngular melod c exc amation? On the surface t would appear we are mere y learn ng about distances the Levites' cattle can roam (2,000 cub ts or about half a m le in each d rection) Rabbis of the Ta mud po nted to this verse when determining the tradition for how far Jews may trave on Shabbat But with a w der mindset, there may be more in th s verse for us to d scern The final syl able of ba amah taken by itself, mah, sounds l ke the Hebrew word meaning what We might then hear it as the Torah question ng us: what does this matter to us? As we have seen, the word ba'amah occurs four times in this verse, once in each direct on Four instances of the word mah might then ead us to recall the Four Questions famous y uttered around the Passover table When it comes to nterpreting our sacred texts, how far afield are we a lowed to stray from our starting place? Two thousand years ago, Rabbi Yishmael isted 13 pr nciples by wh ch the Torah ought to be interpreted These principles are intended to prov de connections between the Torah sheb cht v (the Written Torah, or the text of the scroll itself) and the Torah sheba a peh (the Ora Torah, or the Talmud of classic rabbinic interpretat ons) But perhaps our study of Echoes from the Wilderness these last several weeks m ght prompt us to add a third: the Torahsheba'al ozen- the "Aura " Torahlearn ng from the sounds and melodies of the words themse ves n Numbers 35:5, the rapid r se and fal on the syl able mah sounds ike a cow mooing - espec a ly if one pronounces the sound maw or muh n an Ashkenaz c accent Even if we don't know Hebrew we can hear a cow mooing if our ears are so attuned g v ng us a vague idea of the verse s or g nal context These ast several weeks, have attempted to draw our attent on to aura phenomena like these throughout the Book of Numbers I pray that as our study of Torah continues our understanding may deepen n each and every direct on
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Announcements
Friday, Aug 9
5:30pm - Early Oneg
6pm - Erev Shabbat service led by Rabbi Amy L. Morrison & Joyce Liu
Saturday, Aug 10
10am - 11:30am - Torah Study & Brunch
Sunday, Aug 11
9:30am - ECC Beach Bash
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OPEN COMMUNITY CREATES ENGAGING & DIVERSE JEWISH PATHWAYS
Located in St. Petersburg on Floridas 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!
Torah Portion
Parshat Matot-Mas’ei: Numbers 30:2-36:13
Saturday, August 3, 2024 / 28 Tamuz 5784
Moses explains to the Israelites the laws concerning vows made by men and women. (30:2 17)
Israel wages war against the Midianites. (31:1 18)
The laws regarding the spoils of war are outlined (31:19 54)
The tribes of Reuben and Gad are granted permission to stay on the east bank of the Jordan River. (32:1 42)
The itinerary of the Israelites through the wilderness from Egypt to Jordan is delineated. (33:1-49)
Moses tells Israel to remove the current inhabitants of the land that God will give them and to destroy their gods. (33:50-56)
The boundaries of the Land of Israel are defined, along with those of the Levitical cities and the cities of refuge. (34:1-35:15)
God makes a precise distinction between murder and manslaughter. (35:16-34)
The laws of inheritance as they apply to Israelite women are delineated. (36:1-13)
Cantor at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn Taken from ReformJudaism org