What's the Spiel? - Shabbat Chazon

Congregation Tiferet Israel

Austin, TX

4 Av 5783 -- July 22, 2023

What's the Spiel?

Shabbat Chazon - Parshat Devarim

Rabbi's Reflections

-Run to Torah: You Don't Have to Fight-

In Parshat Devarim, Moshe recounts his experiences leading the Jewish people through the wilderness. He expresses that on one journey, he was instructed to command the people, “You are now passing into the territory of your brethren, the sons of Esav…Do not let yourselves come into strife with them…” (Devarim 2:4-5). According to Rav Hirsch, this means that the people were not to “stir up emotions to the point that people attack one another…to become upset at someone, to work oneself up into feelings of hostility toward someone” (Commentary on Devarim, 2:5). Why were the people commanded not to make trouble with the descendants of Esav? After all, these are the historical opponents of the Jewish people. It would seem only natural to feel enmity toward them. What is God really requiring of the people?

The Midrash explains as follows: “Rebbe Chiya said, ‘God said to the Jewish people, ‘If you see Esav seeking to cause trouble for you, do not stand against him. Rather, remove yourselves from him until he passes’…Where should [they] remove themselves to? God said to them, ‘If you see that he is interacting with you, run to the Torah” (Devarim Rabbah, 1:19). The lesson is clear: Just because one can fight or wishes to fight, does not mean that one should fight. In other words, one does not have to engage in hostilities with every person one has issues with. Rather, “run to the Torah,” meaning, in times of feeling tested and provoked, appeal to your higher calling, your higher ideals and values, and run toward them. The Jewish people were being instructed to “take the high road,” forgo their feelings of contempt and be peaceful so that their journey might continue, and their mission might be furthered.

Often, we may get sidetracked by feuds and feeling provoked by others. Giving into those feelings, however, keep us from moving forward on our journeys and from furthering our missions. We do not have to engage with every person who wants to “get under our skin.” We can always appeal to our higher principles and act according to them, with dignity, humility and refined restraint. This is a very simple but important message to hear on Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat before Tisha b’Av, the most tragic day in the Jewish year. According to the Talmud, the main reason why the Second Temple was destroyed was because of baseless hatred. That generation always chose feuding and fighting over taking the higher moral ground and making peace. The people of that generation always gave into their feelings and rarely sought emotional refuge in the soothing, reassuring words of the Torah, even though they were scrupulously observant. This Shabbat, let us take this lesson to heart: It is easy to give into our emotions and spark feud, it is much more difficult to put aside our differences and work for the common good and for peace. This is a simple but fundamental teaching, one we were commanded about, one we have forgotten, but one we can reclaim and practice from now and for all time, fulfilling that which is said, “[The Torah’s] ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Mishlei 3:17).

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan

Schedule of Services at B'nai Abraham

We encourage everyone to daven privately when unable to attend services. Use the private time to connect to Hashem. Public prayer definitely adds to our prayer experience. Yet we also have the capacity to create a profoundly meaningful private experience with the Divine. Let us seek such an experience in the coming days.

Friday Evening, July 21

7:30PM

Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

8:13PM

Candle Lighting

Saturday, July 22

9:00AM

Shacharit

8:10PM

Mincha

9:12PM

Havdalah

Sunday, July 23

8:30AM

Shacharit

Weekday Services

Monday - Friday

7:05AM

CTI Tisha b'Av Service Times and Event Schedule

Tisha b’Av Service Times

Wednesday Night, July 26^th

Fast Begins: 8:28PM

Mincha: 8:18PM

Maariv, Eicha and Kinnot: 8:30PM

Thursday Morning, July 27^th

Shacharit and Selected Kinnot: 7:05AM

6:00 PM-6:55PM

There in That Carload: A Look at Holocaust Poetry on Tisha b’Av

Lecture by Dr. J.E. Wolfson, PhD

“They must be made to see” are the oft-quoted words of Auschwitz survivor Charlotte Delbo, whose written testimony weaves together prose and poetry in an effort to make us witness what she saw. Ever since the Shoah, artists have struggled with finding ways to express that which cannot be captured in traditional modes of communication. Poetry, some have argued, is best equipped to face this difficult task. What can (or should) a poem convey about the Holocaust, and how are we to assess how well any poem achieves this feat? How have individual poets varied in their approaches to describing the horrors, and how have audiences―Jewish or non-Jewish―responded? How have poets found ways to compel people to look when they want to avert their eyes? From a Jewish perspective, what is the ethical responsibility of the poet in bearing witness, especially in an era littered with Holocaust denial and distortion? Finally, what might the biographies of Holocaust poets reveal to us, including one who fled to safety, one who escaped a camp, one who killed himself after gaining critical acclaim, and one whose poems were uncovered on his murdered corpse? With careful examination of a handful of pioneering works, this presentation will allow for sharing of thoughts on these questions.

Dr. J.E. Wolfson serves as State Coordinator of Education for the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission (THGAAC). In this role he provides trainings and consultations on best practices and content, speaks at various events, creates teaching resources, and develops or approves materials for the annual, state-legislated Holocaust Remembrance Week in Texas. He earned his PhD under the direction of the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at UT-Dallas, where he was the first recipient of the Belofsky Fellowship in Holocaust Studies. His recent publication for the journal Humanities special issue, “The Literary Response to the Holocaust,” is named Feature Paper for representing “the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field.”

Mincha

7:00PM

7:45 PM-8:45PM

Shiur with Rabbi Dan: “Nachem: What Happens When Tradition and Reality Clash?”

Following Mincha, please join Rabbi Dan at 7:45 PM for his Tisha b’Av Shiur, “Nachem: What Happens When Reality and Tradition Clash?” In this shiur, we will explore the prayer “Nachem,” the special prayer we recite at Mincha on Tisha b’Av, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the devastation of the Jewish people. Is such a prayer still relevant after the establishment of the State of Israel? Does such a prayer reflect our current reality? If not, do we have permission to change the prayer? What does it mean to even suggest changing the text of a prayer? What’s at stake if we don’t? In this shiur, we will explore various rabbinic approaches to dealing with how the establishment of the State of Israel, the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War challenged ancient tradition – liturgically, philosophically and theologically – and forced it to confront a new Jewish reality.

Maariv

8:47PM

Fast Ends

8:57PM

CTI Announcements

*Members, please renew your membership by filling out the form linked below. Renewal is not automatic and it's important that the form is filled out and we get updated information

Renew Your Membership for 2023-2024!

CTI is looking for a man or woman to serve as a backup shmira coordinator for when Larry Smith is out of town of otherwise unavailable. This involves a couple of hours of training to learn how to set up and manage shifts and communicate with the shomrim. Please contact Larry at 512-923-3964 or by email at lsmith@egsanalytics.com if you are interested or would like more information.

If you are new to the community and want more information about Austin Shmira, here is a link to their website:

https://lastresponder.net/austin

Sponsor Kiddush!

Thank you Solomon and Devorah Sultan for sponsoring Kiddush in honor of Elliot Noah's first birthday.

A BIG THANK YOU to the CTI Community for stepping up to sponsor a Kiddush! It is a special way to help our chevrah while honoring a loved one for a special event or to commemorate a Yahrtzeit. Your sponsorships have been filling up our kiddush calendar nicely, and in fact, we only have two free dates between now and the end of September! We even have some reservations several months out.

If you would like to sponsor a kiddush this Summer or Fall, please take a look at our calendar and reserve your spot as the calendar has been filling up quickly! And THANK YOU for supporting CTI and our community with your sponsorship!

Sponsor a Kiddush

Classes!

Click Here! for more information on how to join these exciting classes:

Torah Classes at CTI!

Take Your Tanakh Series

TYT Tuesday Night - The Book of Isaiah

Tuesday 7:00pm

TYT Wednesday Mornings - The Book of Job

Wednesday 8:15am

For those new to the community, check out this introductory video

featuring Rabbi Dan and a few of our wonderful CTI community members!

Birthdays

Anniversaries

If you have any birthdays or anniversaries you would like to add,

please update your profile on our website.

Yahrzeit Remembrances

Evelyn Hoffman, Mother of Sherry Fishman-Carroll, on Saturday 4 Av

A. Albert Shapiro, Father of Eric Shapiro, on Monday 6 Av

Simon Glosser, Father-in-law of Betty Glosser, on Friday 10 Av

May their souls be bound up in the bond of life.

If you have a Yahrzeit that you would like the congregation to acknowledge, or if you have a correction that needs to be made, please update your profile on our website.

DONATIONS

Thank you to our anonymous donors.

Thank you to Offer Shavit, David Chapin, B'tzalel Shandelman, and Jeremy Pava for their aliyah donations.

Thank you to Abe Selig for his

donation to the Tendler Fund.

We encourage you to use electronic payments by credit card or eCheck through CTI's website at www.tiferetaustin.org when fulfilling the mitzvah of giving Tzedakah to mark family events and milestones, including Yahrzeits, and in honor of CTI and our community.

***

Spiel sponsorships are now available for a donation of $18. Advertise your business or dedicate an issue of the spiel in memory of a loved one or to celebrate a Simcha.

Contact admin for more details.

Donations can be made via our website at www.tiferetaustin.org or by sending your check to:

Tiferet Israel P.O. Box 27254, Austin, TX 78755. Please make check payable to Tiferet Israel and please indicate what the donation is for.

Refuah Shelayma to:

Shoshana Yael bat Sarah
Allene Novy-Portnoy; Hannah Bassa bat Sarah Osnat
Avshalom ben Hannah Bassa
Cindy Newman
Janet Goldberg; Shayna Masha bat Chasha Mina
Ken Friedman
Rebecca Millner; Rivkah bat Shoshana
Sheina Ruchel bat Henya Leah
Tzvi David ben Rivka Golda
Yoel Simcha ben Chaya Risha
Sulta bat Nedgma
Zvi Aharon ben Bayla
Yaira bat Sarah
Tamar bat Chaya
Ilana bat Gheita
HaRav Avram Meir ben Eli Yosef v'Shira Chanah.
Rabbi Harold Liebowitz, Ha Rav Chaim Alter ben Necha.
Baruch Akiva Ben Rivka
Miriam bat Helen
Rivka Michal bat Sarah Chana
Lori Garza
Yisroel Natan ben Sarah
Masha Gitil bas Chaya Yita
Allen Levinson; Avraham Yitzchak ben Gittel
Moshe ben Reizel
Sandra Freed
David Chapin
Avigail Malkah bat Devorah
David Moshe ben Sylvia

Shoshana bat Yocheved
Miriam bat Rachel v'Mordechai
Alta Shoshana bat Shulamit
Meir Psachia ben Tziril
Geni Berman Abitbol
Beilya Golda bat Leah
Yosef Yehoshua ben Sarah
Jonathan Malawer (Yosef ben Bracha)
Bowie Alarcon
Fivel ben Sarah HaLevi
Adam ben Chanah
Rafael ben Sheindal Leah
Aharon Asher ben Chaya Naomi
Esther Malka Fraida bat Serel Chaya Raiza
Kalev Boaz Chai ben Aliza
Esther Reva bat Malka
Avraham ben Rut
Peter Janson, Fievel ben Devorah
Sheva Eva bat Bella.
Dorit Iken, Dorit Chana bat Orah
Moshe ben Rut
Shulkah Malka bat Tziporah
Chandal bat Basia
Shmuel Dovid bat Malka
Anthony Ben Devorah
Shayna Leah bat Yehudit
Reuven ben Shira
Batyah bat Sara
Akiva ben Sara
Jake Wolfson
Rachel Tzivia bat Malka
Rachel Golda bat Leah

Wishing all Cholei Yisrael a Refuah Shlayma.

Dear Tiferet Friends,

If you placed a name on the Refuah Shelayma list and G-d willing the person is well,

please let us know. Also, if you have a friend or family member who needs

prayers for healing, again please let us know at admin@tiferetaustin.org

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But that's not all! You will also have access to the online Member Directory, the CTI Bylaws, the minutes of Board meetings and the President,Treasurer and Rabbi Reports and other documents, all under the Resources tab. With more coming all the time!

If you have any questions or comments about the website, please contact our webmaster at admin@tiferetaustin.org.