August 7 2020 l 17 Av 5780
CONGREGATION BEIT T'SHUVAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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JOIN US WEEKLY FOR SHABBAT SERVICES-VIRTUALLY!
FRIDAY NIGHT- 6:30PM
SATURDAY MORNING- 10:30AM
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*NEW ZOOM PROTOCOLS: Effective July 24th, all zoom community programming for Beit T'Shuvah will have the waiting room function enabled, as well as other new security measures to ensure the safety of our community. If you need assistance with getting on to our virtual programming, please contact Max Hahn. To view all of our upcoming virtual events, please click here.
*Please make sure your full name is associated with your zoom account to ensure entry into virtual programming*
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Dear Congregants,
In this week’s Torah portion, Moses reminds the Children of Israel that G-d has fed them and the previous generation with manna, the “daily bread” that sustained the Children of Israel throughout their time in the desert. However, the teaching doesn’t stop there. The Torah goes on to say that we do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai.
In this time of worry and wondering—Will we get through this quarantine? Will we have enough money and food? Is my job secure? Am I going to stay healthy?—we are reminded that we are truly alive when we hold fast to the Torah “for she is a Tree of Life to those who hold fast to it.” We have learned that there is a better way. “For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon G-d. We trust infinite G-d rather than our finite selves.” (BB, p. 68)
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Micha'el
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THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION
By: Rabbi Kerry Chaplin
Let’s play ball! Or not ...
Back to school! Or not …
Restaurant dining! Or not …
We’re craving normal. We’re craving restaurants and beach life, going back to work, gathering for services, and social cues beneath the cheekbones. But for our own health and the health of people we care about (and people we don’t), we can’t have what we once thought of as normal. We can have some sports, but not many and not in person. We can have school virtually, or maybe in a classroom, but only in adapted and unfamiliar ways. We can eat out - outside - and only if we still have a job to pay for it.
Yearning for what we once thought of as a normal way of life is, well, normal. So many addicts in recovery yearn to “be normal” - to be like the people (aka, “normies”) who can have one glass of wine; to be like the people who don’t need thousands of dollars of dental work; to be happy. We want for ourselves what we think is normal. We want what we think others are doing. We want what we think is normal.
There is perceived safety in normal. It’s predictable. I generally know the ebbs and flows of one day and the next: get in the car, go to work, return home. Repeat. Normal also gives me a sense of fitting in. I’m just like...click here to read more.
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Vinnie L. for one year of sobriety.
Ben M. for one year of sobriety.
Seth B. for 2 years of sobriety.
Rick G. for 2 years of sobriety.
Greg K. in absentia for 3 years of sobriety.
We are still celebrating birthdays each week on Zoom!
To sign up to take a Sober Birthday cake at Beit T'Shuvah, click here.
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If you would like to sponsor shabbat at
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Check out the BTS Thrift Store’s new ecommerce website. Shop, donate and share with your friends.
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Tribute donations are a wonderful way of marking life cycle events for your loved ones and friends and supporting Beit T'Shuvah.
Janet & Bobby Rosenblum in honor of Annette and Leonard Shapiro's new great granddaughter
Neal Maslan in honor of Asher Maslan
Neal Maslan in honor of Dr. Susan Krevoy
Marjorie Marantz in honor of Kasia Gondek's marriage to Alex Austgen
Sarah Strnad in honor of Rabbi Kerry Chaplin, Rhonda Rosen, and the Co-Vital Meditation community
Tena Frank in honor of Rabbi Micha'el Akiba
Marcia Harrow in memory of Arnold Familian
David Heller in memory of Billielove Heller
Jamie Brewer in memory of Gerald Leshgold and Ben Anderson
Andrea Verier in memory of Justin Verier-Dunn
Erlbaum Family Foundation in memory of Sam Spitz
Barbara & Eugene Spector in memory of Sam Spitz
Judy & Jerry Feldman in memory of Sam Spitz
Linda & Ted Schwartz in memory of Sam Spitz
Sue & Uri Langer in memory of Sam Spitz
Gene Levick in memory of Sam Spitz
Theatre Ariel Board of Directors in memory of Sam Spitz
Dena & Allen Baum in memory of Sandy Porterfield
Leslie Ingram Drake in memory of Sean Robert Tait
Noah A. Rosen in memory of Zachary Filippo
If you are interested in sending a beautiful tribute, please contact Development . You can also send a tribute online by Clicking Here. Beit T'Shuvah will promptly send a card to the family or friend you are recognizing.
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OUR SINCEREST CONDOLENCES...
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Tribute donations are a wonderful way of marking life cycle events for your loved ones and friends and supporting Beit T'Shuvah.
...to the family and friends of Arsenio Garcia
If you are interested in sending a beautiful tribute, please contact Development . You can also send a tribute online by Clicking Here. Beit T'Shuvah will promptly send a card to the family or friend you are recognizing.
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THIS WEEK'S SPOTLIGHT
Vinnie Luciano
By Darrah Schiemann
“I like meth, I like heroin, and I like alcohol,” Vinnie tells me when I asked him how he ended up at Beit T’Shuvah. “I guess I decided I liked that more than day-to-day responsibilities.”
Rehab didn’t become a serious consideration until Vinnie realized he was staring at potential homelessness. He’d long since run out of money for food and had drained his state-funded EBT. With the clock ticking down on his insurance, which would run out at the end of the year, Vinnie realized that his options were down to either rehab or a life on the streets. “Rehab seemed like the path of least resistance.”
Vinnie had already visited his fair share of what he calls “wash and dry treatment centers” - 30 to 90-day detoxes and in-patient facilities. His uncle, who had been through the house in 2008, referred Vinnie to Beit T’Shuvah, where he was admitted in 2012. Despite being only 18 at the time, he was hired as a Program Facilitator (or ‘PF’) and maintained a significant period of sobriety before accepting a job offer from a sober living called Transcend. They’d offered him a pay raise that at the time was too tempting to ignore, but ultimately Vinnie came to regret his decision.
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Join us this year for livestreamed, interactive services you won't forget. Leave behind your old notions of High Holidays as mandatory and monotonous. At Congregation Beit T’Shuvah, the number one concern is uplifting your soul (even from your couch).
Tickets for High Holiday services are included in membership dues. If you would like to simply purchase tickets for this year’s virtual service, tickets are a suggested donation of $36 per person, per service.
Click here to renew your membership and/or purchase tickets.
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Adult Ed: Building a Spiritual Program |
Join Rabbis Miriam Green Potok and Matt Shapiro for an interactive exploration of how to create, build, and sustain a program of spiritual connection in preparation for the High Holiday season. We’re going to need all the tools we can find as we head into this next year - join us in exploring the resources of our tradition as we do this work together in rich, meaningful, and deep ways!
6 Tuesdays, 8/4-9/8, 7:30pm
Please e-mail Jillian Coventry for zoom link - it will not be posted! *to ensure access to virtual programming, please make sure your full name is associated with your zoom account.
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Beit T’Shuvah Custom Masks are Here! |
Stay safe while supporting Beit T’Shuvah with masks custom made by Creative Matters. Perfect gifts for alumni, staff, residents, people in recovery or community members!
$10 per mask
Designs:
One Day At A Time
In This Together
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BTS Zoom Family Support Group! Whether your loved one is still in treatment or they have already moved on to the next chapter of their journey, we would like to provide a platform in which families get to talk about their shared experiences and wisdom.
This group is for families of our current and former residents, no need to RSVP, just drop in!
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Friday night services held via zoom at 6:30pm PT.
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Saturday Morning Services |
Saturday morning Prayer and Meditation at 10:30am PT.
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Come learn on Saturday mornings at 9:30am PT with Rabbi Micha'el Akiba.
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Baked T'Shuvah's founder Jackie Elkins is licensed by the state and you can now order the Baked T'Shuvah challah you know and love!
Pick up at BTS. Must prepay.
Available flavors: Plain, Chocolate Chip, Salted Caramel or Raisin. Contact Amy Abrams to place your order - orders need to be placed no later than Wednesday!
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We are still celebrating birthdays each week on our Shabbat Zoom.
To sign up to take a cake, please contact Jillian.
If you missed celebrating your birthday this year and would still like to take a cake via Zoom, contact Jillian.
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Life in Uncertain Times: Coping Strategies Before, During, and After Corona. With Rabbi Joseph. Mondays from 12-1pm PT/3-4pm ET.
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#NotMyCorona. Recovery-Minded Spiritual Learning with Beit T’Shuvah and the T’Shuvah Center. Wednesdays. 1pm PT/4pm ET.
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BTS community AA meeting: Thursdays at 7pm.
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Beit T’Shuvah and the Elaine Breslow Institute invite you participate in this spiritual challenge!
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Thursdays. 9-9:30am PT/12-12:30pm ET.
A powerful kaddish experience led by the Lab/Shul community. They have invited our Beit T’Shuvah community to join them.
https://labshul.org/event/virtual-mourners-kaddish-call/2019-08-29/
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Past newsletters are now available online. Please click here to view.
For anyone that shops at Ralphs, please consider registering your phone with their community care program and select Beit T'Shuvah as your charity.
For anyone that purchases items on Amazon, all you have to do is go to Amazon Smile and choose Beit T'Shuvah as your charity and a percentage of each purchase will be given back to us.
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