What's the Spiel? - Parshat Shoftim

What's the Spiel?

6 Elul 5785 - August 30, 2025

Parshat Shoftim

Rabbi's Reflections

-Preserving Blessings: The Character and Baal Tashchit-

In this week’s parsha, Parshat Shoftim, Moshe instructs the people about how they must conduct themselves in times of war: "When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them, for from it you will eat, and you shall not cut it down. Is the tree of the field a man, that it should enter the siege before you?" (Devarim 20:19).

From this verse, our tradition learns the halakha of baal tashchit — “do not destroy.” On its surface, the law prohibits wanton destruction, especially in war. But the rabbis understood it more broadly: it is also a command not to waste, not to treat the blessings of this world carelessly. The Sforno explains: “Do not destroy its trees merely in order to practice wielding an axe.” In other words, destruction that serves no higher purpose is simply waste. And waste reveals something deep about the human soul — a failure to recognize the inherent value of the world around us.

The Sefer HaChinuch expands on this idea beautifully. He writes that the root of this mitzvah is to train our souls “to love the good and to cling to it.” A person who cultivates love for the good naturally recoils from destruction. The righteous, he writes, are those who “do not destroy even a grain of mustard in the world. They are distressed by all loss and destruction they see, and if they can prevent it, they prevent it with all their strength.” To care for creation, to value what we have — this is not just about property management or environmental ethics. It is about the very shaping of character.

And the opposite is true as well. One who delights in waste and destruction clings to ruin — and, in the end, destroys themselves. For as the Chinuch reminds us: “In the way that a person measures, so is that person measured.” If we live in a way that devalues life and creation, we will come to live in a world stripped of its meaning. But if we choose to love the good and nurture it, then we align ourselves with the Source of all good, and we elevate not only ourselves but those around us as well. This, then, is the deeper meaning of baal tashchit. It is not only a command about trees in war. It is a vision for the soul: to see the worth in every gift of creation, to train ourselves to cherish rather than consume, to build rather than destroy.

So as we enter this Shabbat, let us reflect on the ways we relate to our world — to the environment we live in, to the possessions we hold, and to the people we love. Do we treat them as expendable, or as precious gifts entrusted to us by God? Do we squander, or do we cherish?

This Shabbat, may we commit ourselves to seeing the deep value in all of God’s creatures and creations. May we cultivate souls that cling to the good and rejoice in it. And in doing so, may we help those around us — our families, our community, and even the wider world — to love, to honor, and to appreciate the blessings of life as well.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan

Schedule of Services at B'nai Abraham

CTI Schedule 5785/2025

Friday, August 29

7:30PM - Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat

7:38PM - Candle Lighting

Saturday, August 30

9:00AM - Shacharit

10:30AM - Youth Services

7:30PM - Mincha

8:32PM - Havdalah

Sunday, August 31

8:30AM - Shacharit

Monday (Labor Day)

8:30AM - Shacharit

Tuesday- Friday

7:05AM - Shacharit

CTI Announcements

Welcome New Members

Ma'ayan Lifshitz (and family)

Hadassah is having a happy hour on September 11. See information here!

Hadassah is having a series of mini ted talks on September 10. See information here!

Ten Years Ago This Week B'nai Abraham Brenham Historic Synagogue

Dedicated on the Dell Jewish Community Campus

Ten years ago on August 30, 2015, Shalom Austin, the DJCC Development Corporation and Congregation Tiferet Israel (CTI), Austin’s Modern Orthodox Congregation, officially dedicated the B’nai Abraham Brenham Historic Synagogue on the Dell Jewish Community Campus.

Completed in 1894 to serve the needs of a small community of Polish and Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, B’nai Abraham is the oldest synagogue building in Texas and among the earliest Orthodox Jewish congregations founded in the Lone Star State. The building served Brenham’s Jews for more than a half century before higher education and economic opportunity drew most of their descendants to larger cities. Sadly, the individual most responsible for the preservation of B’nai Abraham passed away in Houston two weeks ago on August 15 at the age of 97.

Businessman, philanthropist and civic leader Leon Toubin, grandson of one of the synagogue founders, together with his wife Mimi, maintained the building over the next half century as a historic landmark hoping that one day Brenham might again attract Jewish families. In 2012 Leon reached out to Shalom Austin to explore relocating the synagogue building to the Dell Jewish Community Campus to serve the needs of a 35-member Orthodox congregation holding services in an Education Building classroom.

Following an architectural study, fundraising campaign, selection of a general contractor and multiple state, civic and communal sign offs, coordinated by Toubin and then Shalom Austin CEO Jay Rubin and dedicated volunteers Rick Goldberg and Jack Solka, the building was deconstructed and transported in three sections over 90 miles across four counties. Reassembled, renovated and rededicated in 2015, B’nai Abraham has served as home to CTI for the past decade under the leadership of Rabbi Daniel Millner, and has grown to over 100 families.

Today, B’nai Abraham stands as a living symbol of the deep roots of Jewish Texans, and, along with the CTI, the DJCC and Shalom Austin, the continuing growth of Jewish life in the Lone Star State.

To learn more, visit:

Synagogue Saga: A Moving Story in Three Parts by Ken Herman

https://vimeo.com › 139031235

https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/in-austin-19th-century-synagogue-meets-21st-century-jewish-community/

https://www.texastribune.org/2014/12/14/brenham-synagogue-moving-austin-and-new-life/

www.tiferetaustin.org

www.shalomaustin.org

Shmira, watching over the deceased, is a sacred mitzvah. If you would like to find out more information about how CTI engages shmira, or think you might be interested in participating in this mitzvah, please contact Larry Smith, CTI's Shmira Coordinator at lsmith@egsanalytics.com, or (512) 923-3964.

Support Israel

SHALOM AUSTIN EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN

AIPAC

FRIEND OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES

ISRAEL AMERICAN COUNCIL

HADASSAH

ACH GADOL FOR LONE SOLDIERS

WORLD ZIONIST ORGANIZATION

ISRAEL BONDS

JNF

Thank you Liliana Worth for sponsoring Kiddush

in honor of Yair and Reuben's birthdays.

Kiddush sponsorship is a great way to honor a loved one's memory or celebrate a special occasion while also giving a little back to the community.

If you have a special day you would like to commemorate with a kiddush, now is a great time to reserve your sponsorship for the Shabbos of your choice. If your date is not visible yet on the kiddush calendar, you can still email Beth and ask about reserving that date. Thank you so much for your support of CTI’s kiddush program.

Sponsor A Kiddush

Mazel Tov!

Larry Smith & Ester Smith, Anniversary August 30
Isaac Reitberger, Birthday August 31
Stella Couch, Birthday September 3
Daniel Shapiro, Birthday September 5
Arthur & Barb Altman, Anniversary September 5

*Please update your shulcloud account with birthdays, anniversaries, and Yahrzeits to make sure they're highlighted in the Spiel. If you have any questions on how to do so, please email admin@tiferetaustin.org*