What's the Spiel? - Parshat Tzav

Parshat Tzav teaches us about the mitzvah of Terumat HaDeshen, the removal of the ashes from the altar, as it says, “And the Kohen shall don his fitted linen tunic…and he shall remove the ashes” (Vayikra 6:3). What is the deeper significance of the mitzvah to remove the ashes from the altar? At first glance, it is not so obvious.

According to Rabbi Menachem HaBavli in his Iturei Torah, the deeper meaning of this mitzvah lies in the way we understand the concept of teshuva, repentance. Says Rav HaBavli, based on Chazal, when a person sins, he or she must offer a sacrifice, but must also do teshuva. One cannot be done without the other. This demonstrates that that individual not only regrets his or her misdeeds, but also seeks to do better in the future. On this idea, the Shulchan Aruch (CM. 228:4), tells us that if a person does teshuva, we must never remind him or her of her previous misdeeds. In other words, when one really does teshuva, their past is gone, and it is not permitted to drudge it up again in any way. This, says Rav HaBavli, is what the deeper meaning of what the mitzvah of Terumat HaDeshen is all about. By bringing a sacrifice for a misdeed, the penitent demonstrates that they seek to right their past wrongs. Coupled with teshuva, this erases their past. Yet, once they have offered their sacrifice on the altar, only the ashes remain. The ashes represent the past, that which is left over but can be discarded. Thus, by removing the ashes from the altar, the Torah is teaching us that a person can start over with a clean slate, and that all traces of their previous sins can actually be removed!

Teshuva is one of the hardest but most fundamental, if not the most fundamental aspects of Judaism. We can always try harder, we can always rebound, we can always repair and renew. Once we have done teshuva, our past is our past, and then it is up to us to move on and do better. The lesson of the mitzvah of Terumat HaDeshen is that we can do just that – our past is but the ashes on the altar of our sacrifice, and we have no more use for them. While it is true that our past can help us better understand our present and our future, it does not have to be a determiner. It is our sacrifice and our teshuva which matters most, everything else is secondary.

This Shabbat, may we all feel inspired by the message of the mitzvah of the Terumat HaDeshen – that second chances are possible and that we can move beyond our past. If teshuva is possible, then believing that the past will not define our present or future is as well. May we all commit ourselves to teshuva and to moral, spiritual and halakhic growth. May we all commit ourselves to a brighter future, in which the ashes of our past are removed, so that we can make way for the offerings of our hearts and our hopes for living lives according to our highest ideals.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan

Shabbat Morning Drasha: "Command: The Essence of a Sacrifice"

Shiur After Mincha: "Reb Chaim Volozhin and the Lesson of the Eternal Flame"

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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.

Thank you to the Wander Family for sponsoring Kiddush in honor of the birthday of Sarah Wander

CTI Announcements

CTI wishes to sincerely thank all those who helped make this year’s Purim the best ever! From the Education Committee and Events Committee: Sarah and Gabe Wander, Meredith Clifford, Michelle Weiss, Rabbi Dan and Yael Millner, Ben Heyen, Alana Pompa, and Josh Rosenberg. We also want to thank all of the CTI Scholars who helped to decorate the shul. Their efforts made this an extra special Purim. In addition, we would also like to thank all those who helped make the Mishloach Manot fundraiser happen with beauty and grace, including: Jennifer Lukic, Alana Pompa, Carol Rubin, Emily Yaffe, Debbie Groyer, Sarah Church Carroll, and Beth Shapiro! Also, a big thank you to Emily Yaffe for putting an amazing youth program, and Daniel Iken and Offer Shavit for their expert and inspiring Megillah readings!

Congratulations to Daniel and Natalie Ledeen, winners of the Chevra-Together fine art drawing!! The drawing was held during CTI’s Wednesday night Purim festivities.

We still have many Mishloach Manot bags that have not been claimed. If you still have not gotten your bag, you have one more chance to pick it up. Please come this Sunday morning, between 11:00-12:00 to B’nai Abraham to pick up your bag. Goodies await!!!

CTI will have a booth at the Shalom Austin Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebration on May 5, from 4:00-7:00pm. We will facilitate an activity allowing participants to send letters to IDF soldiers. If you would like to volunteer to run the booth, please send an email to CTIYouth@tiferetaustin.org

CTI, please join us as we honor Dan Kraus and Phil Loewy - our 2022 IGNITE honorees!

Learn about how our support of the Annual Campaign inspires Jewish journeys and elevates Jewish life in meaningful and transformative ways.

Come celebrate our incredible Jewish community!

shalomaustin.org/igniteregister

Please Note:

1. Shalom Austin is committed to holding this event safely and its COVID protocols will be appropriate for the time. More information will be provided as we get closer to April 3.

2. Unlike IGNITE! Home Edition (which we promoted as a family-friendly virtual event); this year’s IGNITE! is adults only. Shalom Austin is offering a discounted rate for parents who have kids in preschool to help offset babysitter costs.

Shalom Austin Mask Policy Update

Given the significant decline in the occurrence of COVID cases in the Travis County area (which is currently listed as being in Stage 4, and continuously dropping), the Medical Committee has unanimously agreed that:

Masks should no longer be mandatory at any CTI-related functions
Kiddush can move back inside, without any restrictions
Individuals who feel safer wearing masks at Shul-related events should feel free to continuing doing so
Anyone who has symptoms should NOT attend synagogue.

As always, we will continue to review and address the situation related to COVID on an as—needed basis, and make updated recommendations, as necessary.

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.

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: Gary Gerstenhaber

Fundraising Committee: Beth Shapiro

Membership Committee: Sarah Wander

Chesed Committee: Lynn Kane

Kiddush Committee: Henna Tatham

Ritual Committee: Eric Shapiro

The next CTI Board meeting is Wednesday, April 13 at 7:00pm. If you are a CTI Member you can login to our website and see all scheduled Board meetings by clicking here.

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

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

Birthdays

Sarah Kane on March 19

Sarah Wander on March 19

Eveline Woloszko on March 20

Abe Selig on March 22

Stephen Sutter on March 25

If you have any birthdays or anniversaries you would

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

Yahrzeit Remembrances

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 Anonymous donors.

Thank you to Michelle Berry for her donation in

Honor of Rabbi Millner’s teaching.

Thank you to Joshua Rosenberg and Kendra Fox for

their donation to the Youth Educator Fund.

Thank you to Jay Rubin for his Aliyah donation.

Thank you to Marta and Myles Shaftel for their

donation in Honor of Myles’s Aliyah.

Thank you to Ronald and Aline Sheinzeit for their

donation in Memory of Debbie and Joel Tendler (z”l).

Thank you to Philip Tendler for his donation to in appreciation of the support extended by CTI to his family.

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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.

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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

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

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

Online Shopping that Benefits CTI

Don't forget to bookmark our special links to AmazonSmile and Artscroll.com -- you will have the same shopping experience and CTI gets a generous percentage of your shopping dollar. Please bookmark and start shopping!

AmazonSmile Info

To Get Started with AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile will make a donation to CTI based on the amount of your eligible purchases made on the AmazonSmile website. The AmazonSmile website looks identical to the regular Amazon.com website, except that when you log in the banner at the top of the window shows that you are on the AmazonSmile website and displays the charity that you are supporting. There is also an additional item in the dropdown menu labelled “Your AmazonSmile”. The AmazonSmile page offers a convenient shortcut icon or bookmark for your browser to take you to AmazonSmile for your shopping.

ArtScroll

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.