October 16 2020 l 28 Tishrei 5781
CONGREGATION BEIT T'SHUVAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Dear Congregants,
They say: “The beginning is the end and the end is the beginning.” We are at the end of many things right now and the beginning of many new things as well.
This week marks the full beginning of our Torah reading cycle, Parashat Bereishit. I call the Book of Genesis the “Book of Beginnings”.
Let’a begin with a new commitment to prayer and learning. How can we do that? Yes, we have Shabbat services every Friday evening at 6:30 PM. We also have Saturday offerings as well: at 9:30 am, we currently gather on ZOOM for an hour to learn spirituality and Jewish ethics. Then, at 10:30 am, we continue with a 30-minute more-or-less service of prayer, music, and teaching.
Also, this Saturday night, October 17th, we are having a virtual Havdalah service at 6:30 PM on ZOOM. Ask about the ZOOM Meeting ID and Password. This is a great way to mark the beginning of the Torah reading cycle and to be together in a time of uncertainty and change.
Even more, on Tuesday, October 27th, at 7:00 PM, we begin our BTS Fall Adult Education series entitled: “My Decadent and Indulgent Learning.” I’ll be starting the series on the 27th with a class entitled: “Let’s Start with the Letter Bet”. More to come next week.
May this year be better than last. May we help each other to become our better selves.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Micha'el
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THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION
By: Chaplain Adam Siegel
Over the past week, our Beit T’Shuvah community celebrated and grieved…together. We enacted a virtual Simchat Torah celebration with dancing, Torah study, and re-upping our commitments to recovery. We also gathered to acknowledge the familiar, but never explainable, experience of losing one of our own. Our tradition affirms that life is messy and that a wide range of emotional responses - grief, sadness, and joy – are natural when encountering uncertainty and the fragility of life.
So many events in 2020 have collectively lead us to encounter (and re-encounter) the enduring truth about the uncertainties of life. Each of us has our own moments of feeling less than safe, more than alone, and less than connected to the things that had previously anchored our spirit. We’ve been forced to adopt new routines, cultural norms, and ways of connecting to each other. Often our response for navigating these changes is through unhealthy behaviors: we eat our feelings, we endlessly refresh social media, we consume news stories, etc. These are some of my escapes. What are yours?
In spite of this, I also know how blessed I am - with safe housing, plenty to eat, secure and meaningful employment, and access to networks of support. Even with gratitude for what I have and faith in my ability to adapt to whatever the future holds, I feel a tremendous amount of uncertainty about what our society is facing over the next month (or longer).
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Ian H. for one year of sobriety.
Luke H. for one year of sobriety.
Michael P. for 2 years of years of sobriety.
Zach C. for 10 years of sobriety.
We are still celebrating birthdays each week on Zoom!
To sign up to take a Sober Birthday cake at Beit T'Shuvah, click here.
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If you would like to sponsor shabbat at
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Shop, donate and share with your friends.
*Shipping is available upon request*
*30% off this week with coupon code*
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OUR SINCEREST CONDOLENCES... |
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...to the family and friends of Geoff Tamayo
If you are interested in sending a beautiful tribute, please contact Development . You can also send a tribute online by Clicking Here. Beit T'Shuvah will promptly send a card to the family or friend you are recognizing.
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Tribute donations are a wonderful way of marking life cycle events for your loved ones and friends and supporting Beit T'Shuvah.
Jennifer Hechtman Rosen in memory of Geoffrey Tamayo
Kevin James in memory of Steven Dorf
Jason Krakow in memory of Katie Eisen
Amy O'Leary Holsinger in memory of Katie Eisen
Edie Rogat in memory of Katie Eisen
Andrew Rubenstein in memory of Susan Rubenstein
If you are interested in sending a beautiful tribute, please contact Development . You can also send a tribute online by Clicking Here. Beit T'Shuvah will promptly send a card to the family or friend you are recognizing.
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Beit T’Shuvah has raised nearly 3,000 through the Amazon Smile program to help save the lives of those suffering from addiction. Be a part of the movement and choose Beit T’Shuvah as your set featured charity on Amazon Smile by clicking the link below for all of your amazon purchases! Click here to shop through amazon smile.
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Join the BTS clergy Tuesdays at 7pm beginning October 27 as we indulge the senses and the mind.
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Calling all alumni: Join us for our annual picnic, which will be held virtually via Zoom, on Sunday November 8th at 1pm. While there will be no barbeque and no softball game this year, we will still hold our annual gratitude meeting, enjoy some BTS style games, and have a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new friends!
For more info, e-mail Jillian. ZOOM link coming soon!
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Beit T’Shuvah Custom Masks are Here! |
Stay safe while supporting Beit T’Shuvah with masks custom made by Creative Matters. Perfect gifts for alumni, staff, residents, people in recovery or community members!
$10 per mask
Designs:
One Day At A Time
In This Together
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BTS Zoom Family Support Group! Whether your loved one is still in treatment or they have already moved on to the next chapter of their journey, we would like to provide a platform in which families get to talk about their shared experiences and wisdom.
This group is for families of our current and former residents, no need to RSVP, just drop in!
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Friday night services held via zoom at 6:30pm PT.
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Saturday Morning Services |
Saturday morning Prayer and Meditation at 10:30am PT.
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Come learn on Saturday mornings at 9:30am PT with Rabbi Micha'el Akiba.
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NO CHALLAH FOR NEXT FEW WEEKS |
Please check back here for updates on when Challah will be back for purchase! |
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We are still celebrating birthdays each week on our Shabbat Zoom.
To sign up to take a cake, please contact Jillian.
If you missed celebrating your birthday this year and would still like to take a cake via Zoom, contact Jillian.
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Life in Uncertain Times: Coping Strategies Before, During, and After Corona. With Rabbi Joseph. Mondays from 12-1pm PT/3-4pm ET.
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#NotMyCorona. Recovery-Minded Spiritual Learning with Beit T’Shuvah and the T’Shuvah Center. Wednesdays. 1pm PT/4pm ET.
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BTS community AA meeting: Thursdays at 7pm.
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Beit T’Shuvah and the Elaine Breslow Institute invite you participate in this spiritual challenge!
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Thursdays. 9-9:30am PT/12-12:30pm ET.
A powerful kaddish experience led by the Lab/Shul community. They have invited our Beit T’Shuvah community to join them.
https://labshul.org/event/virtual-mourners-kaddish-call/2019-08-29/
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Past newsletters are now available online. Please click here to view.
For anyone that shops at Ralphs, please consider registering your phone with their community care program and select Beit T'Shuvah as your charity.
For anyone that purchases items on Amazon, all you have to do is go to Amazon Smile and choose Beit T'Shuvah as your charity and a percentage of each purchase will be given back to us.
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