PLEASE SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE FOR RABBIS' BIOGRAPHIES AND MORE INFORMATION 

Friday services begin at 8:00 p.m. except for the Family Service which will start one hour earlier, at 7:00 p.m.  Family Services, where children and youths are encouraged to attend and participate. The next Special Family Service occurs October 2nd, 2009, December 11th, 2009 and March 19th, 2010. New dates may be added as notified by committees. Ritual & Board decisions request your attention to the linked Dress Code.

Saturday services begin at 10 a.m.  For confirmation of these times, please see our Calendar for specific dates that may have a time change for special events.

    Service Leadership

TBS will now have the best of both worlds:  the stimulation of a diverse rabbinic team and the assurance of smooth transitions and open communication in all matters related to the spiritual life of the congregation.

Assignments for the selection of Service Leaders and/or Cantorial Assistants are listed above. Please check our schedule of rabbinic visits in order to know whether service leadership or cantorial assitantship is required. Please check with rabbis to find out if/when they desire cantorial assistants.

WEEKLY TORAH COMMENTARY

KI TETZE (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)

Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, Ph.D.

Henry James once wrote, "Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind.  The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."  I thought of this advice as I was reading this coming week's Torah portion, since the Torah provides us with yet another example of the moral challenges inherent in human nature.

It is normal for human beings to have likes and dislikes not only among things, but among people as well.  There are some people we are naturally drawn to and whom we count as friends and there are others whom even if we don't call them "enemies," are just for whatever reason, not "our kind of person." 

Sometimes I think that much of the wisdom of the Torah lies in its willingness to confront our human weaknesses and insecurities and prejudices head on, and then provide us with practical moral guidelines that help us overcome our own human nature.

In this week's portion we discover mitzvot for how we are to act when we come upon someone else's property that has been lost.  We are told, "If you see your fellow's ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take it back to your fellow…you shall do the same with his ass; you shall do the same with his garment; and so too shall you do with anything that your fellow loses and you find; you must not remain indifferent." (Deut. 22:1-3)

What appears on the surface to be a rather simple encouragement to act with honesty and integrity, when probed a bit deeper reveals one of the most far-reaching mitzvot of the entire Torah.  After all, what does it really mean to accept as a divine commandment, the mitzvah to "not remain indifferent?"  How often in our lives have we picked up the newspaper or watched the evening news only to look on in horror at one story or another of the sufferings that human beings have experienced, because someone else didn't want to get involved.  Certainly we the Jewish people have at least six million stories of the horrific price to be paid when others simply "remain indifferent."

Nearly every heroic Holocaust story I have ever heard has been a testimony to the remarkable power of the human spirit to transcend apparent personal safety and concern, and place oneself at risk for the sake of another.  And how many stories of pain, suffering and heartbreak could have been avoided had just one person had the courage to stand up to help another?

The Torah accepts the reality of human emotion.  Immediately after the warning not to remain indifferent to your fellow human being, the Torah continues, "If you see your fellow's ass or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; you must help him raise it."

This is actually a repetition of an earlier mitzvah in Exodus 23:4, where instead of the word "fellow," it says "enemy."   First the Torah tells us that God wants us to act the opposite of what our natural human instincts would suggest, since the more natural reaction would be to simply stand on the sidelines and chuckle as we watch our enemy struggle with his own problems.

Judaism leaves absolutely no room for doubt - even our enemy's problems are ours as well.  To create the kind of society that reflects holiness, and in religious language is what God wants us to do, demands that we put aside our feelings of animosity, and do the right thing anyway.

Notice that the Torah does not command us to love our enemies.  It does not command us to change or negate whatever feelings we have toward our neighbors. What is does legislate is how we act toward others.  It is as if we are given permission to keep whatever feelings we choose, as long as we act in such a way that human dignity is upheld.

The Midrash then raises this issue to an even higher moral level.  The rabbis ask why it says "enemy" in one place in the Torah and "brother" (which is the literal translation of this week's portion) in another?  Their response is that if we habituate ourselves to act toward even our enemies the way we would if they were our brothers (and sisters), then by our very actions we will transform enemies into brothers.  Put another way, when our enemy sees that we have gone out of our way to return his or her lost property, that act of one human being reaching out to another can soften the hardened heart of another and allow him or her to reach out to us in return. 

The lesson for all of us lies in the power of one person's courage to act in spite of anger, in spite of hatred, in spite of hurt feelings.  I have seen time and again even within individual families, how years of anger and resentment melt away the minute one person puts aside their own pride and opens their arms and heart to another.

During this month of Elul, as we come closer each day to the "Days of Awe," take the time to call or write an estranged friend or family member.  You might just be surprised, at how one word from you can make all the difference.

 Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben is Senior Rabbi of Congregation Kehillat Israel in the Pacific Palisades, CA since 1986.

We are currently in the period of the Jewish calendar between Pesach and Shavuot. Pesach is the great festival of freedom, celebrated with seders and the reading of the Haggadah. Shavuot is the great festival of the giving of the law, specifically the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai, and we celebrate it by reading the Ten Commandments during Shavuot. In Reform Judaism, it is also the time for young adults to affirm their commitment to Judaism with the ceremony of Confirmation. It is a ceremony that was introduced to Reform Judaism in the early 19^th century by Israel Jacobson. He realized that the entrance of a young man into his Jewish majority through his becoming a Bar Mitzvah (Bat Mitzvah for young women didn’t begin until the 20^th century when Mordecai Kaplan invented the ceremony for his daughter Judith) ended Jewish education too soon. Furthermore, women were excluded. Today, many conservative and even a few orthodox congregations have confirmation ceremonies in order to create a goal for young adults that is past Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

For me, the Confirmation ceremony is a quintessential Jewish rite of passage. We ask young people who have studied for a few years past Bar/Bat Mitzvah to stand and accept the responsibility of being Jewish as our ancestors did at the foot of Sinai. We say “Na-aseh v’nishmah”, “We will do and we will listen”. Our faith and our loyalty to our tradition and our people are unconditional. We accept the responsibility before we even know what it is. The reality is that history frequently didn’t give us a choice. All too often, our ancestors had to answer for their being Jewish by the world in which they lived. We live in a world where choice is possible. How much more elevating it is for us to accept that responsibility willingly rather than because the world gives us no option.

Robin and I wish you all a good Shavuot, even though we will be back in Maine. However, we are looking forward to spending next December and January with you.

Shalom,

Rabbi Laurence H. Rubinstein

click on this link shortcut to open Adobe PDF document 

 RITUAL  CODES
(revised and approved by Board of Directors, January 2008)



A. Synagogue Decorum and Etiquette

1. Temple Beth Shalom does not mandate or reject the use of kipot or
taletot during any of its services. Each member may, according to his
or her preference, pray using any, all or none of these ritual
garments, according to one's conscience.

2. To preserve the dignity of the synagogue and sanctuary, which
represents God's house, persons entering therein will be dressed
appropriately with due regard to modesty. There will be no food,
beverage or smoking permitted in the sanctuary and no smoking permitted
in the building.

3. Photography will not be permitted in the sanctuary during a service
except by permission of the rabbi. If, during a special ceremony,
photographs are desired, the procedure will be that flashbulbs or
artificial lighting is not permitted unless the artificial lighting is
turned on before the service begins and remains constant throughout. No
persons or photographers will be permitted to move through the
sanctuary taking photographs or cinematography during a service. No
flashbulbs or floodlights that are turned on or off during the service
will be permitted; but may be used before or after the service.

4. General decorum shall be maintained during religious services. Any
officer, member of the Ritual Committee or the Rabbi shall be empowered
to request anyone breaking the accepted rules of social behavior to
leave the building.


B. Religious Ritual:

1. It has been the policy of Temple Beth Shalom since its inception
that no interfaith marriage may be celebrated on the premises. The
synagogue's Rabbi, if she or he deems it appropriate, is free to
perform such ceremony outside of the synagogue.


2. Non-Jews may not be included in reading statements of faith
(b'rachot) on the Bimah. They may participate in ceremony and custom.

3. No member of the congregation may celebrate an event in the Synagogue
such as a wedding, Bar or Bat Mitzvah, or baby-naming without first
consulting with the Rabbi, who will then satisfy his-or herself that
all the criteria for the proper observance of same as established by
the Synagogue are met.

4. No member may invite a rabbi or other person to perform a service at
Temple Beth Shalom without the permission of the Temple\ Board, in
consultation with . the Ritual Committee and the Rabbi. The final
determination belongs to the Rabbi.

5. Any qualified person wishing to perform a service or part of a
service shall consult with the Rabbi to insure that it is performed
according to Synagogue guidelines.

6. Any time the permission of a Rabbi of the Synagogue is required and
the Rabbi is not available to extend that permission, the Ritual
Committee must give it.

C.  Dietary regulations.

1. No meat products of any kind, and no shellfish or other non-kosher
seafood, may be brought  to Temple Beth Shalom for purposes of
consumption therein. Only dairy and  pareve products are permitted.
Only fish that have both fins and scales are permitted.

2. All cakes and baked goods served at the Temple should be made with
butter or vegetable shortening and not with any other animal fats .

3.  In the week prior to Passover, children and adults will clear the
Temple kitchen of all foods that are not appropriate for Passover.
During Passover, no food classified as chametz may be brought into the
Temple.



D. Shabbat and Holy Days.

1. Complete decorum and respect for the Shabbat and what it represents
shall be maintained at all times.

2. Each member shall respect decorum during services being held on all
Holy days.

3. The TBS Judaica Shop may not be open for business transactions on
Shabbat or Yom Tov, until after Kiddush and Motzi.

4. The TBS Office is closed on Shabbat and Yom Tov. No work  will  be
performed in the office on these days.

5. Volunteer projects sponsored by TBS are permitted on Shabbat and Yom
Tov, as long as they do not conflict with services. These are acts of
G'milut Hasadim and as such are permitted.

E. Miscellaneous.

1. No animals or pets of any sort may be brought on to the synagogue
premises.

2. The Synagogue's Board of Directors must approve the use of the
sanctuary by any private groups for other than religious purposes.

3. Whenever the Synagogue is without a Rabbi, consent for the
performance of activities set forth in these guidelines shall be with
the consent of the Ritual Committee and/or the Board of Directors.

________________________________________________________________________

Requirements for Bar/Bat Mitzvah at Temple Beth Shalom

1. Minimum of three years of religious school education al TBS or the
equivalent in Jewish education.  What is equivalent is to be determined
by the Rabbi. The Bar/Bat Mitzvah will continue attending religious
school at least until tile end of the school year his/her Bar/Bat
Mitzvah. Test of basic knowledge is required before beginning the
preparation.

2.  Attendance at services on a regular basis during the year preceding
the Bar/Bat Mitzvah. (At least one evening and one morning service per
month as well as on the holidays).

3. Knowledge of Prayer Book and ability  to lead evening and morning
Shabbat services, preferably including the cantorial.
4.  Ability to chant or read in Hebrew at least verses of Torah and the
Haftarah, including the appropriate blessings, as assigned by the
Rabbi.

5. Comprehension of the Torah and Haftarah portions, as well as the
relationship between them. Preparation of a sermon (written principally
by the  Bar/Bat Mitzvah) with the emphasis on the significance of the
portions to the celebrant.

6. Involvement in a social-action project during the year preceding the
Bar/Bat Mitzvah (in consultation With the Rabbi).

7. Parental participation in the preparation (in consultation with the
Rabbi, with respect to services, learning, social-action project,
celebration).

8. The Rabbi and Religious School Principal have final say in
preparation of  Bar/Bat Mitzvah (readiness of the child to begin
preparation, determining the date, and the preparation process). When
more than one rabbi is involved  in the preparation of a Bar/Bat
Mitzvah, the rabbi who will officiate at the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony
is the person who defines the ritual and directs the Bar/Bat Mitzvah's
preparation, and all other rabbis should coordinate with him/her.

________________________________________________________________________

Conversion

1. Conversion is an individualized process between the rabbi of record
and the potential convert, within the framework established by the
CCAR.

       2. TBS will maintain current archives which include copies of all
life-cycle events transpiring in the congregation (weddings, b'rit
milah and baby-namings, consecration, b'nei mitzvah, confirmation,
conversion, deaths, etc.).

       3.      Visiting rabbis should ensure that they accurately record the
progress of current candidates for conversion and that this information
is passed on to the rabbi who follows them at TBS. The chair of the
Ritual Committee will ensure that this information is transmitted to
the first rabbi of each Jewish calendar year.  

4. In the event that someone comes to TBS and claims to have converted
previously with a Rabbi elsewhere, it is required  that a document be
produced, photocopied, and kept in the archives of the congregation.
The document must be validated by a Rabbi. If there is no Rabbi in
residence, then, a copy of the document should be validated by the
Regional Director of the URJ. The written validation by the examining
Rabbi will be attached to the photocopy of the document in the Temple's
archives so that there will never be a question of validity in the
future.

  http://data.urj.org/conglist/

On Monday, June 13, approximately 30 members of the congregation gathered in the sanctuary to pray and commemorate the first day of Shavuot.

According to Marc Schnitzer, chair of TBS’ Ritual Committee and the holiday morning service lay leader, the word shavuoth is Hebrew for "weeks." The singular form, shavuah, means "week" and is derived from the phrase Shavuah tov, "a good week," which we wish each other following Havdalah services on Saturday evenings. The final oth represents the plural suffix for feminine nouns as pronounced by the ancient Israelites. In modern times, the spelling Shavuos, representing the Ashkenazic pronunciation, is also found as well as Shavuot, which reflects the Sefardic and modern Israeli pronunciation of the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost.

“It was a lovely service and Marc did a terrific job, as always,” said Debra Reuben, ritual committee member. “It was also heartening and inspiring to see all those people on a weekday.”

Arnold Gendelman, TBS president, added, “It was wonderful sharing together for such a rewarding and important “remembering” – supporting who we are and what we have chosen to become.”

The Torah portion for the morning service was from the sedrah of Yithro, which contains the Ten Commandments. Participants rose and together recited the blessings before the reading of the Torah. When the recitation of the Ten Commandments approached, congregants rose again, in commemoration of the B'nei Yisrael standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai, and recited all ten responsively, the reader reciting them in Hebrew, followed by the congregation responding in English.

As is often the case, the Haftarah portion referred to the Torah when it mentioned the Jewish people's function in spreading the words of Torah throughout the nations.

Giving a historical perspective on the holiday, Schnitzer explained that Shavuoth is one of the three pilgrimage holidays on which the people came to the Temple in Jerusalem to bring sacrifices (the other two being Sukkoth and Passover). It is celebrated on the 6th of Sivan, which is the 50th day of the counting of the Omer. On the second day of Passover, a sheaf or omer of barley was offered as a sacrifice. Wheat is not harvested until later. After seven weeks (7 x 7) two loaves of wheat bread were sacrificed, giving rise to another name for this holiday: Chag HaBikurim, Feast of the First Fruits. We "count the Omer" for 50 days and on the 50th day we celebrate Shavuoth.He continued: As is the case of the other two pilgrimage festivals, a further religious significance has been attached to Shavuoth, namely the commemoration of the time when the Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. This gives rise to a third name for the holiday: Z'man Matan Torateinu or the Time of the Giving of our Torah.

As it is typical on Shavuot to eat a dairy meal, some of the congregants joined for lunch at a local vegetarian restaurant following the service.