Congregation Tiferet Israel 

Austin, TX

 25 Cheshvan 5783 -- November 19, 2022

What's the Spiel?

Shabbat Mevarchim - Parshat Chayei Sara

Austin Community Eruv
For more information, a map and current status click here.
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You can also make a donation by check. Make checks payable to Tiferet Israel with a note on what the donation is for. Send checks to:

Tiferet Israel
PO Box 27254
Austin, TX 78755
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Membership Information


Would you like to become a member of a congregation that feels more like a family?


If so, contact Alana Pompa for more information at membership@tiferetaustin.org


Become a Member



Renew Your Membership Here!

Rabbi's Reflections

-Rivkeh's Half-Shekel: Finding Your Other Half-

Parshat Chayei Sarah teaches us about the first shidduch (match-making) in Jewish history – the marriage of Rivkeh and Yitzchak. Avraham’s most trusted servant, Eliezer, journeys to his master’s ancestral homeland to find a wife. When he sees Rivkeh, he knows, with God’s help, that this is only the person fit to become the next matriarch of the Jewish people. Among the gifts he presents her with is, “a golden nose ring, weighing half a shekel…” (Bereshit 24:22). What is the significance of the half-shekel? According to Rav Soloveitchik, the half-shekel gift she received symbolizes the half-shekel the Jewish people would eventually annually provide first for the Tabernacle, and then later for the sacrifices of the Beit HaMikdash. And the import of the half shekel is that it “reflects our basic outlook on man” (The Rav Speaks). According to the Netivot Shalom, the half-shekel comes to instruct us that “every individual is only a half. The other half is found in his or her community… One person alone, even if they give their all, can’t accomplish anything. Rather, it is only with the strength of the other half, the community, that they can reach their goals” (Parshat Ki Tisa, 230). The half-shekel, then, represents our human need to connect with others. 


Rivkeh was a woman whose humility, chesed and tzedek was obvious to all. However, what made her such an Eshet Chayil was the simple fact that she sought others to help her achieve her spiritual goals. As the Rav writes, “One must never forget that despite greatness in Torah and in wisdom, [one] cannot decide and answer every question. There is no Jew, even the greatest in his [or her] generation, who has nothing to learn from even an ordinary Jew. ‘Who is a wise person? One who learns from everyone!’ (Pirkei Avot 4:1). Rivkeh’s initial greatness resided in her ability to seek out others, reach out to others and become a part of others. True, she was unique among her generation, society and family, but that didn’t keep her from trying to develop and improve herself by understanding the perspectives of others.


While we cannot perform the mitzvah of the “half-shekel” today, we all, like Rivkeh, can reach out and seek the fellowship, feedback and views of others to help us inform our positions, decisions and actions. The half-shekel of Rivkeh teaches us the importance of togetherness. So, this Shabbat, let us take hold of this lesson and follow the lead of Rivkeh – to reach out, find out, and hold onto others, so that we can achieve the goals and higher callings we have for ourselves. 


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 Night


Candle Lighting

No later than 5:15PM


Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat

5:15PM


Shabbat Morning


Shacharit

9:00 AM


Youth Service

 10:30 AM



Shabbat Evening


Mincha

5:10 PM


Maariv/Havdalah

6:11 PM


Sunday


Shacharit

8:20AM


Weekday Services


Monday-Wednesday


Shacharit

7:05AM


Thursday and Friday (Thanksgiving Weekend)

8:30AM


CTI Announcements

Please Join us for a Special Kiddush 

This Shabbat - Saturday, November 19, 2022

 

CTI will sponsor a very special Kiddush lunch (with CHALLAH and CHOLENT and other special goodies) after Shabbat Services

in honor of Henna Tatham and in memory of Bob Tatham, z’l.

With heartfelt gratitude we honor them for their years of hard work and dedication to our community.

RSVP Here!
RSVP Here!
RSVP Here!
RSVP Coming Soon!

Sponsor Kiddush!

We have kiddush sponsorships available for the fall - please help keep the cholent coming and sign up to sponsor an upcoming kiddush.

Sponsor a Kiddush

Visit tiferetaustin.org/tyt-class-sign-up for more information on how to join these exciting classes:


Torah Classes at CTI!

Take Your Tanakh Series


TYT Tuesday Night - The Book of Judges

Tuesday 7:00pm




TYT Wednesday Mornings - The Book of Jonah

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


Lev Glassman on November 21


Rosemary Klein-Robbins on November 25


Sampson Glassman on November 25


Ari Hoffman on November 25



If you have any birthdays or anniversaries you would

like to add, please update your profile on our website.


Yahrzeit Remembrances




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 Jake Wolfson, Isaac Reitberger, and

Jeremy Pava for their aliyah donations.

Thank you to Beth Steinberg and Sam Glassman
for the donation to the general 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, by pressing "Make a Donation" in the sidebar, using the "Donate to CTI" button on the top left of this email, 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: 
  • 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
  • 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
  • Yehudit bat Sara
  • Chandal bat Basia
  • Shmuel Dovid bat Malka
  • Anthony Ben Devorah
  • Shayna Leah bat Yehudit
  • Reuven ben Shira
  • Batyah bat Sara
 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  

Using the CTI Website
Logging in is easy via the login button at the top of the web page. Your login ID is your email address. 

Once logged in, many of the fields are pre-filled for you, to make it easier and quicker to register for an event or make a donation, and so on.

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.
Contact Us!

On the web: www.tiferetaustin.org


Rabbi:

Dan Millner: rabbidan@tiferetaustin.org 

Phone: 512-410-0336 ext 101


President:

Alana Pompa: president@tiferetaustin.org  

Phone: 512-410-0336 ext 102


Vice President:

Sarah Wander vp@tiferetaustin.org 


Secretary:

Chuck Kaufman, secretary@tiferetaustin.org


Administrator:

Sarah Church Carroll admin@tiferetaustin.org 

Phone: 512-410-0336 ext 103


Treasurer:

Larry Smith treasurer@tiferetaustin.org  

Phone: 512-923-3964


Membership:

Alana Pompa membership@tiferetaustin.org 

Phone: 512-410-0336 ext 106


Kiddush Committee:

Beth Shapiro kiddush@tiferetaustin.org


Youth Educator:

Emily Yaffe CTIyouth@tiferetaustin.org


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