Weekly Message 11.29.2025 Parashat Vayetzei
- jccwestpasco
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
Parashat Vayetzei (and he left) Genesis 28:10 - 32:3
HafTorah Hosea 11:7 - 12:14
Dear friends,
I hope you had a very happy and meaningful Thanksgiving Day celebration and look forward to continuing in the holiday spirit this Shabbat as we welcome and appreciate our newest Carl Vengel who has been a regular Shabbat morning worshipper and who will be sponsoring a special Kiddush luncheon tomorrow (Saturday) morning following our service at 9:30 am. Please join us in meeting Carl and enjoying a meal with our congregational family!
In our Torah study this Shabbat will be the first triennial reading of the portion of Vayeitzei (Genesis 28:10-30:13) we travel with our patriarch Jacob to his uncle Laban's and toils for him for fourteen years before his release. We are introduced to Leah and Rachel and to his twelve children, and once again we are confronted with a family dynamic that contains all of the human emotions and unfortunately, disfunction which have plagued families and societies ever since. We have much to learn from our ancestors! So, please join us tonight at 7 pm for our Kabbalat Shabbat service and tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:30 am after which you are invited to take part in our Shabbat luncheon.
Thanks to all who participated in distributing food, hope, and cheer at the Metropolitan Ministries holiday tent on Tuesday. Our next volunteer session at the tent will be on Thursday morning, December 18th. See the schedule below for details and the link to sign up. Please join us if you possibly can! And please continue to donate funds and food and on Giving Tuesday (December 2) to your shul!
Ron and Chris Becker, Debbi Robinson, Ana Calderon, and Perry
Werbel volunteering at Metropolitan Ministries, Nov 25, 2025
And as we are now well into the month of Kislev, Hanukkah is right around the corner. We kick off the pre-Hanukkah activities with the annual boat parade on Saturday, December 6th at 6 pm at our home on Grand Boulevard. We begin the evening with Havdalah and then watch the colorful boats floating down the river while eating potato latkes, sufganyot (jelly donuts) and other goodies and enjoying each other's company. That is followed by a bring-your-own-dish dinner on Friday December12th immediately following a brief Kabbalat Shabbat service at 6:30 pm. a half hour earlier than usual. Latkes to be provided! And then on Sunday, December 14th we light the first candle of the holiday, sing and celebrate with residents at an assisted living facility to help spread some cheer for those who have no place to go and yes, to eat more latkes and sufganyot! You will find the entire schedule of our December activities below. Hope to see you at many, if not all of them.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
Saturday, December 6 Pre-Hanukkah party and viewing of the annual New Port Richey holiday boat parade at the Cotee River (Grand Boulevard between Vermont and Kentucky Avenues), 6 pm
Friday, December 12 Pre-Hanukkah Shabbat bring your own dairy casserole dinner—we supply the potato latkes!, following a brief Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6:30 pm
Sunday, December 14 Volunteering to bring Hanukkah cheer (song, food, and candle lighting ) to homebound residents of Trinity Place Assisted Living, 8684 Old County Road 54, New Port Richey, FL 34653, 2 pm
Thursday, December 18 Volunteering at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent on the grounds of Generations Church at 1540 Little Rd, Trinity, FL, 8:30 am-12 pm. Sign up at:
Jewish Community Center Group Link: https://vhub.at/1L1BLIK
Wednesday, December 31 New Year's Eve Dinner/Dance, 7:30 pm-12:30 am
___________________________________________________________
ZOOM LINKS FRI and SAT: New Time for Friday Service 7:00 pm
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shabbat Services 11/28 @ 7:00 pm, 11/29 @ 9:30 am
Time: This is a recurring meeting Fri & Sat
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
Join instructions