Mazal Tov to Mindy & Alan Schall

on the Bat Mitzvah
of their daughter Emily.

Mazal tov to 

Kiddush is sponsored by 

Mindy & Alan Schall in honor of 

the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, 

Emily Schall

The entire congregation is welcome and encouraged to join.

Etz Chaim welcomes our newest members: 

Cheryl and Fred Halpern 

&

Audra and Gary Berger and family

This Parsha contains more than seventy Mitzvot.  It is certainly what we might call rich in content.  The commandments range from how we should behave during wartime, to laws of marriage and divorce, to laws of lending and borrowing and so much more.  Over the years, some have tried to find a connective thread from one Mitzvah to the next.  While this is a noble undertaking, it is much harder to do than it sounds.  

If we take a more macro approach, we will understand that Moshe is trying to prepare Bnai Yisrael as much as he possibly can for their impending entry in to the new land.  Soon, the days of everything being given in an openly Divine fashion will be over.  The well-traveled Jewish people will have to become a nation.  They will soon be a nation with law and order, with challenges and with much to work for.  The closer we get to the "End" of the Chumash, the more Moshe has to sort of cram it all in before it's too late.  

We find ourselves now at the "End" (of the year) in a manner of speaking and we also have a tendency to want to get everything in.  Elul is a most important period in which we can evaluate how and if we met our spiritual goals for the past year, and how we will approach the coming year.  

Don't wait until the last minute!

Shabbat Shalom