Parashat Tazria (conceives) Leviticus 12:1 - 13:59
HafTorah Kings II 4:42 - 5:19
Dear friends,
We have begun the month of Nisan and now have only three Shabbatot and just over two weeks to complete our preparations.
By now, you should have made your reservation for our community Shabbat seder, but
if you have procrastinated, please do so immediately. As we continue to finalize our readiness for Yom Tov, we read the portion of Tazria this week and Metzora next week. Each contains detailed descriptions of diseases and role of the Kohanim in facilitating treatment while protecting the community. We are presented with endless ritual and many parents dread having this portion assigned to their soon to be Bar/Bat Mitzvah children. However, we come away with an appreciation for ritual, not necessarily the details we will be reading, but with performing positive rituals during our life cycles. From the words of Rabbi Kim Geringer, "rituals are magical, and because of their power, they deserve respect, not dismissal.
Friday evening becomes Shabbat when we perform rituals that have the power to transform the ordinary into the holy. In the ritual of marriage, two unrelated people are joined and become something different-a family. And in biblical times, the priestly ritual took marginal, excluded members of the community and brought them back in to it.
Please join me this evening at 7:30 pm and tomorrow morning at 9:30 am for our services and Torah reading and study in-person and virtually on Zoom.
And please remember that there are those who are hungry this season. We will be volunteering at Metropolitan Ministries on Thursday, April 25th from 11:30 am until 2 pm at their headquarters in Holiday on Route 19 across the highway from Sun Toyota. We are short of volunteers this month, so if you can possibly spare just 2-1/2 hours for this incredibly worthy mitzvah, just sign up at this link http://jcc.metromin.volunkteerhub.com/ as soon as you can.
If you are unable to volunteer this month, please consider a Passover monetary donation. In addition to the charities I have mentioned in previous messages (Metropolitan Ministries, Feeding Tampa Bay, the Volunteer Way, Mazon: a Jewish Response to Hunger), we have a unique opportunity to support Feeding Pasco's Elderly led by Mike Fasano and other community leaders and providing nourishment and peace of mind for Pasco County's hidden hungry. The most vulnerable seniors are also known as the “hidden hungry” because they are often home-bound and isolated, and no one ever sees them. Over 16% of Pasco's seniors do not know where there next meal will come from. You can donate on their website https://feedingpasco.com/giving/ or by checks made payable to Feeding Pasco's Elderly and mailed to 30435 Commerce Drive, Suite 103, San Antonio, FL 33576. Let's do what we can to assist those who are hungry as a holy community. See you in Shul!
Shabbat Shalom,
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
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FRIDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shabbat Service, Friday 04/12/2024 7:30 pm
Time: Apr 12, 2024 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
________________________________________________________
SATURDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Saturday Service, 04/13/2024 9:30 am
Time: Apr 13, 2024 09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
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