Parashat Behar "on Mount Sinai" Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2
HafTorah Jeremiah 32:6 -22
Dear friends,
Chris and I have returned from a quick but productive and enjoyable trip to New Jersey and then an afternoon of volunteering at Metropolitan Ministries' newly constructed headquarters in Holiday. Our synagogue volunteers there monthly (usually the fourth Thursday of each month) and we very much encourage all of our congregants to join us there as we help alleviate hunger and homelessness in the Pasco County region. Please let me know if you would like to volunteer this small amount of time and I will help you to sign up.
On Saturday morning, we are having a Shabbat luncheon immediately following services to honor our beloved Barbara E. Johnson as she begins a new chapter in her life, relocating to Woodbridge, Virginia. Barbara and her late husband Bill have been mainstays in our congregation for many years, serving as officers and leading us in numerous activities. Barbara is also a past president of Hadassah and was honored as our synagogue's "woman of the year" by the Jewish Federation of Florida's Gulf Coast. We will continue to see her at all of our Shabbat services, but it will now be virtually, on Zoom. So, please, let's send her off with a wonderful well-attended Shabbat luncheon. Services begin at 9:30 am as usual on Saturday morning, and at 7:30 pm this evening.
This week, we continue our reading and studying of the Book of Leviticus with the portion of Behar Sinai which details the laws of the sabbatical year (Shemita), when working the land is prohibited and debts are forgiven. It also sets out laws of indentured servitude. Our Haftorah will be from the prophet Jeremiah (Chapter 32, Verses 6-27). It was composed during the siege of Jerusalem and concerns redemption of a family inheritance observed during this great crisis in Israel's history.
Wishing you a great Shabbat weekend which culminates on Saturday night and Sunday
with Lag B'Omer a particularly joyous celebration in the midst of our counting of the Omer between Pesach and Shavuot. Among other things, this festive day celebrates the end of the plague affecting the disciples of the renowned Rabbi Akiva and the yahrzeit of the great sage and mystic Shimon ben Yochai the author of the Zohar, the foundational work of Kabbalistic literature consisting of a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah including the nature of the universe and how it applies to us. So, let's celebrate this occasion by giving Barbara a rousing sendoff together!
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
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FRIDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shabbat Service, Friday 05/24/2024 7:30 pm
Time: May 24, 2024 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
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SATURDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Saturday Service, 05/25/2024 9:30 am
Time: May 25, 2024 09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
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