Shabbat Shalom GRJC

Weekly Emails to the Congregation

Parshat Pikudney 2008

Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family,

We light our Shabbat candles this week at 5:36 pm.  As we light the candles we say the beracha (blessing):

Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-heinu Melech ha' Olam, asher keedshanu be' mitzvotav ve' tzee' vanoo, le' had' leek ner shel Shabbat.

Candle-lighting time is a wonderful moment to offer blessings to children and to each other.  Some families have a tradition of lighting one candle for each member of the family.

Friday night services will begin at 8 pm.  Cantor Piatigorsky will be with us this Shabbat.  We invite everyone who has a March birthday and all couples with a March anniversary to join us for a special blessing and song.

Saturday morning services will begin at 9 am.  Our Saturday services will be filled with simchas.  This Shabbat morning is a Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the new month of Adar II, and so we will include Hallel, the special songs of praise, and also it is Shabbat Shekalim.  In ancient Israel, everyone gave a half-shekel to the Temple to help maintain our holy place.  We remember this act of giving by reading a special Maftir portion that recalls this practice.  Since it is also a Rosh Chodesh day, we will read a portion that recalls how the new month was recognized in ancient Israel.  For this reason, we will take out three Torahs this Shabbat.

Another simcha is the fact that we'll be completing our reading of Sefer Shemot, the Book of Exodus, and we'll say "Chazak, Chazak, ve' nitchazek!", (Strength, Strength, and may we be strengthened!) wishing strength for ourselves as we gear up to read the next book of the Torah, Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus.

And yet another simcha is the baby naming of Emily Drew Hochman that will take place during Saturday services.

The final portion of Exodus is parashat Pikudey.  We have now reached the final descriptions of the building and assembling of the Mishkan, Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that the Israelites carried with them through their 40 years of wilderness wandering.  After all the descriptions, all the repetitions of the materials used to build the structure and the directions for the assembly, the structure is ready for the final piece that is missing.  While God directed the building project, God?s presence was not dwelling in the sanctuary at that point.  Once Moses finished assembling the Mishkan, God?s presence filled it.

Without God's presence, this magnificent structure, with its valuable fabrics and metalwork, would amount to nothing.  Perhaps there is here an intentional dramatic scene.  We can envision the moment in which the Torah tells how Moses completed assembling the structure, "Moses completed the work".  There is a break here, a visual break in the Torah column that may indicate a collective silence, a moment of waiting and observation.  In this moment we can see Moses standing by the structure, with the Israelites standing in silence all around the finished Mishkan.  They are watching and waiting.  Will God's presence dwell here?  Will all the effort we took to build it be successful?

Can you think of a time in your life when you neared the completion of a difficult task or the culmination of a project?  Was there a moment of anxiety or doubt at this time?  How did you feel looking back over the course of time it took to get to that point?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1.  MARCH BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES - All those with March birthdays and anniversaries are invited to receive a special blessing and song on Friday night during services.  Services start at 8 pm.
2.  JUNIOR CONGREGATION IS ON! - Join us Saturday morning at 10 for a fun-filled program.  Parents are invited to join us!
3.   ADULT ED - JEWISH BUSINESS ETHICS - Sunday, 9:30 am, The class on Business Ethics from the Jewish perspective continues this Sunday.  There will be two more sessions on this topic after Sunday.
4.  WOMEN'S ROSH CHODESH GROUP - Sunday evening, March 9th, at 6 pm - Welcoming in the new month of Adar II.
5.  BOGRIM! - Monday night at 6:30 pm.  We invite our high school students for a great night of discussion, food, and friends.
6.  HEBREW CONVERSATION CLASS - Wednesday at 8 pm.
7.  CHOIR REHEARSAL - Tonight at 7:30 and next Thursday at 7:30
8.  BET CLASS SHABBATON - Friday evening , March 14
9.  Project 613 is coming...

SAVE THE DATE:
MARCH 15TH - HUNAN HAVDALAH - Join us for a short Havdalah (end of Shabbat service) followed by a Chinese dinner.

MARCH 16TH - ENSURING THE FUTURE OF THE GRJC - MEETING ABOUT INSURANCE AND CHARITABLE TRUST GIVING.

MARCH 18TH 7:30 PM AT GRJC - INTERFAITH BIBLE STUDY

MARCH 20TH - PURIM NIGHT!  MEGILLAH READING, COSTUMES, NOSHES, AND MORE (Children's service at 6:30, Adult service with full Megillah reading at 7:30)

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Tow

  Back to Home