What's the Spiel? - Shabbat Nachamu

Parshat Va’etchanan contains some of the most well-known mitzvot in the Torah, including the Aseret HaDibrot, the Ten Commandments. But among the more famous features of our parsha are six simple Hebrew words that we recite twice a day, every day: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One!” (Devarim 6:4). What is so special about the Shema that it has become the central proclamation of Jewish faith? What is so essential about these simple words that they should be among the first young children learn, and the last we utter before we leave this earth? Why is declaring God’s unity so crucial? To help answer this question I would like to turn to the words of the Pesikta d’Rav Kahanah, which teaches as follows:

Because the Holy One appeared to Israel at the Sea of Reeds as a mighty warrior waging war, and appeared to them at Sinai as a teacher who teaches the day’s lesson and then again and again goes over with his pupils what they have been taught, and appeared to them in the days of Daniel as an elder teaching Torah, and in the days of Solomon appeared to them as a young man, the Holy One said to Israel: Come to no false conclusions because you see Me in many guises, for I am God who was with you at the Red Sea and I am God who is with you at Sinai: I am Adonai your God.

The fact is, R. Chiyya bar Abba said, that God appeared to them in a guise appropriate to each and every place and time. At the Sea of Reeds God appeared to them as a mighty man waging their wars, at Sinai God appeared to them as a teacher, as one who stands upright in awe when teaching Torah; in the days of Daniel, God appeared to them as an elder teaching Torah, for the Torah is at its best when it comes from the mouths of the elderly; in the days of Solomon God appeared to them as a young man in keeping with the youthful spirit of Solomon’s generation. At Sinai, then, when God said, I am Adonai Your God, appropriately God appeared to them as a teacher teaching Torah.

By declaring God’s unity twice a day, every day, we remind ourselves that although God manifests Himself in the world in many different ways, revealing Himself to us in many different “levushim” or “guises” throughout the generations, God is nevertheless, One, unchanging and eternal. This is what makes the Shema so unique. This is what makes the Shema so important. This is what makes the Shema so revolutionary! You see, the fact that God is One has little meaning for us unless we endeavor to see that Oneness through the ever-changing veil of history. Thus, the Shema is our ultimate spiritual challenge, calling out to us, “Hear, O Israel! When you look at history, when you look at your lives, when you look into the depths of your souls, can you see that the same God Who created the universe is the same God Who created you? Can you see that the same God who split the Sea of Reeds and gave the Torah at Sinai is the same God Who hears your personal prayers?” And our response to that spiritual challenge is “The Lord our God, the Lord is One! Yes, I can see God’s unity.”

May this Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of comfort after experiencing the pain and loss of Tisha b’Av, be a time for us to reflect on the Oneness of God, and may our awareness of that Oneness be a source of comfort for us in a world which is constantly changing.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan

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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 7:57 PM

Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat

7:30 PM

Shabbat Morning

Shacharit

9:00 AM

Youth Service

10:30 AM

Shabbat Afternoon/Evening

Mincha

8:06 PM

Maariv/Havdalah

8:52 PM

Sunday Shacharit

8:30 AM

Weekday Services

Monday - Friday Shacharit

7:05 AM

CTI Announcements

Tehillim Class, 7 PM Mondays (on Zoom)

Many people find solace in times of pain or stress by reciting Psalms, but even greater depths of meaning can be found in studying and analyzing the words of the holy poems themselves. In Rabbi Belsky’s Tehillim class, we unpack the poetry and imagery of the psalms, gaining a greater understanding of this book, which includes within it the full range of human experience, and has sustained our religious lives as Jews for millennia.

Recordings of previous classes can be found at https://tinyURL.com/BelskyTehillimClass

As a service to the wider community, the Orthodox Union has researched various online platforms and has organized, collected and curated many key resources in one centralized location for your convenience. Please visit together.ou.org for a wide range of information covering the following areas: Adults, Leadership, Parenting, Seniors & Elders, Technology, Torah and Youth. Check back at together.ou.org as updates will occur regularly.

Classes currently on hold. Watch tiferetaustin.org for when classes will resume.

CTI is virtually open for all classes! Attend online with video and audio, or join through phone call alone. Visit tiferetaustin.org for more information on how to join these exciting classes:

TYT Tuesday Night

The Book of Judges

Tuesday 7:00pm

The Book of Judges teaches us about unexpected and underestimated spiritual and political leadership. Prior to the establishment of the Jewish monarchy, the nation was constantly enmeshed in fighting foreign enemies, spiritual and moral backsliding, oppression, as well as tribal in-fighting. It was a vicious cycle. The Judges came about in order to resolve these political, spiritual and moral issues and to set the people on the right track. Who were the Judges of Israel? How were they chosen, and why? While names like Shimshon, Devorah, Gidon and Yeftach may be familiar, their stories, complex personalities and murky legacies require a great deal of study. In this brand new TYT series, we will explore the life and times of the Judges of Israel – who they were, what they did, and what their contributions to Jewish history are all about. You won’t want to miss out on learning about these early leaders of the Jewish people, whose stories and personalities are as captivating as their contributions to the Jewish people are timeless.

TYT Wednesday Mornings

The Book of Second Samuel

Wednesday 8:15am

Come and join the TYT community and learn about the life and times of King David! II Samuel explores how a young David establishes both his kingdom and his kingship. Despite great promise, potential and ability, David is nevertheless beset by external and internal enemies, fighting both physical and spiritual wars. Come and see how David struggles to unite a broken and battered kingdom, establish a capital city and win the support of his people, while at the same time, striving to remain true to God’s Torah and lead a righteous life. No longer the ruddy youth, playing the harp and running for his life, II Samuel takes us through the long journey of David’s maturation process, omitting nothing, all the while exploring larger questions of morality, repentance, power and politics. While we extol David as one of the greatest Jewish heroes and leaders of all time, this book will frame his life and story in its proper context, look under the surface, and examine the complex personality of King David! This class meets each Wednesday morning, except of Jewish holidays, at 8:15am.

Mishne Torah k'Seder Friday Mornings

Mishne Torah k'Seder

Friday 8:15am

Come and join Rabbi Dan on Friday mornings at 8:15am for an in-depth exploration of the Rambam's Mishne Torah. This class will go through the Rambam's classic work on halakha (Jewish law), in a way which both engages and transforms the reader on a spiritual and intellectual level. Why did the Rambam write the Mishne Torah? What was he trying to achieve? How does the Rambam's interpretation of Jewish law, theology, history and culture differ from his rabbinic contemporaries who also wrote comprehensive Jewish legal works? What were some of the great disputes this work sparked, and why? You don't want to miss out on this great opportunity to learn what the Mishne Torah is all about.

Questions? Suggestions? Interested in Volunteering? Please contact our Committee Chairpersons.

Finance Committee: Larry Smith

Fundraising Committee: Daniel Ledeen

Bylaws Committee: Jay Rubin

Education Committee: Sarah Wander

Membership Committee: Alana Pompa

Chesed Committee: Lynn Kane

Kiddush Committee: Henna Tatham

Ritual Committee: Eric Shapiro

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

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

Birthdays

Rebekah Ross on August 14

Betty Glosser on August 17

Ariella Shapiro on August 19

If you have any birthdays or anniversaries you would

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

Yahrzeit Remembrances

Sylvia Spertus, Wife of Philip Spertus, on Friday 22 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 Lazaro and Faye Brener for their donation.

Thank you to Rick Goldberg for his aliyah donations.

Thank you to Marty and Katie Price for their donation.

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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
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Yoel Simcha ben Chaya Risha
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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

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

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