Shabbat Newsletter - September 9, 2022

Shabbat Shalom!

And mazel tov to

Sheryl & Peter Title

on the occasion of

their granddaughter,

Bria Blum's, first birthday!

All Zoom links have migrated to our webpage! Click here to get there!

WWW.SHIRCHADASH.ORG

Shabbat Evening Services

Friday, 6:15 PM

In person in the Chapel.

Also available on Zoom.

Shabbat Morning Services followed by Kiddush lunch sponsored by Peter & Sheryl Title

Saturday, 9:30 AM

In-person and live-streamed

Children's Services

Tot Shabbat (Age 1-6)

Jr. Congregation (Age 7-12)

with Special Guest, Stacey Glazer

Saturday, 10:30 AM

USY Ice Cream Meet & Greet with SWUSY Engagement Coordinator, Stacey Glazer

Saturday, 8:15 PM

at The Creole Creamery - Uptown

Shul School

Sunday, 9 AM

Good Lookin' Cookin' with Sisterhood

Sunday, 9 AM

RSVP to Charisse Sands at 504-231-6464

Minyan with

Men's Club

Sunday, 9:15 AM

In person in the Chapel,

followed by breakfast.

Also available on Zoom.

Cheer @ Shir: Saints Season Opener Party

Sunday, 11:30 AM

Click here for more information

COVID-19 UPDATE

Our Health Committee update as of August 12, 2022 is as follows:

In the last 2-3 weeks, we have seen a precipitous drop in the rate of positive tests in the New Orleans area, and we are starting to see a drop in the hospitalization rate as well. In addition, our community threat level has been reduced from "High" to "Medium." All very encouraging news!

Unfortunately, we have also learned that with the recent highly contagious variants, vaccination does not prevent infection nor the ability to transmit the virus to others. However, it does continue to help protect against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. Therefore, vaccination remains important for one's personal protection but is less essential to the community's health at large.

As a result, the Health Committee has recommended that we lift our vaccine requirement for shul entry, and the recommendation was approved by the Board on Monday, August 8th. This decision is also in keeping with current local guidelines for schools and businesses.

We do continue to encourage everyone to be vaccinated, if eligible. The CDC recommends COVID-19 primary series vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, a booster for everyone ages 5 years and older, and a second booster for everyone ages 50 and older. Please note that special rules apply to those who are immunocompromised. Please visit the CDC website to learn more about staying up to date with vaccination.

We also continue to encourage everyone to mask while indoors, most especially for those at risk of serious disease (e.g. those who are moderately/severely immunocompromised).

Please click HERE to read our guidelines in full.

Our Sages Speak:

Rabbinic Reflections on the Torah Portion

The Torah portion Ki Tetze stipulates that a wayward and defiant son, a ben sorer u’moreh, is liable to receive capital punishment via stoning (Deuteronomy 22:18). Now, as the father of three sons myself, these are hard words to read. After all, weren’t all my kids, at one point or another, “wayward and defiant.” And for what it’s worth, my father has indicated that my teenage years included a few ‘wayward and defiant” episodes. Thank heaven in both cases that neither my behavior nor my sons’ behavior rose to that level.

The Sages were also uncomfortable with this concept. It wasn’t in their power, generally speaking, to uproot laws stipulated by the Torah (yes, there are exceptions, but very few). They needed a way to keep a law on the books while reducing it to a theoretical level. How would they accomplish this goal?

The answer is found in the Torah itself. By looking at the defining characteristics of the rebellious son, they came upon an idea. The Torah portion stipulates (Deuteronomy 21:20) that a rebellious son needed to be “a glutton and a drunkard.” What defines “a glutton and a drunkard”?

The Talmudic tractate Sanhedrin answers this question (Mishna 8:2):

From when is a wayward and defiant son liable for the death penalty? From when he eats a tarteimar of meat and drinks a half-log of Italian wine. Rabbi Yosei says: From when he eats a maneh of meat and drinks a log of wine. If he ate these items with a group assembled for the performance of a mitzva, or he ate them at a meal celebrating the New Month, or he ate the items when they had second tithe status, in Jerusalem, he does not become a stubborn and rebellious son because each of these circumstances involves some aspect of a mitzva.

In other words, being a glutton meant eating an enormous amount of meat, and being a drunkard involved imbibing copious amounts of wine. Few, if any, could eat and drink in these quantities. Moreover, if one did so as part of the prescribed ritual, that was fine; it only counted if done for no particular purpose. And one needed to be both a glutton and a drunkard. For this reason alone, our Sages declared that no one ever was a “wayward and defiant son” – and no one ever will be.

- Rabbi Scott Hoffman

A Prayer for Peace

May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease,

when a great peace will embrace the whole world.

Then nation will not threaten nation,

and the human family will not again know war.

For all who live on earth shall realize

we have not come into being to hate or destroy.

We have come into being to praise, to labor, and to love.

Compassionate God, bless the leaders of all nations

With the power of compassion.

Fulfill the promise conveyed in Scripture:

I will bring peace to the land,

and you shall lie down and no one shall terrify you.

I will rid the land of vicious beasts

and it shall not be ravaged by war.

Let justice and righteousness flow like a mighty stream.

Let God’s peace fill the earth as the waters fill the sea.

And let us say: Amen.

A Prayer for Our Country

Our God and God of our ancestors, with mercy accept our prayer on behalf of our country and its government. Pour out Your blessing upon this land, upon its inhabitants, upon its leaders, its judges, officers, and officials, who faithfully devote themselves to the needs of the public. Help them understand the rules of justice You have decreed, so that peace and security, happiness and freedom, will never depart from our land.

Adonai, God whose spirit is in all creatures, we pray that Your spirit be awakened within all the inhabitants of our land. Uproot from our hearts hatred and malice, jealousy and strife. Plant love and companionship, peace and friendship, among the many peoples and faiths who dwell in our nation. Grant us the knowledge to judge justly, the wisdom to act with compassion, and the understanding and courage to root out poverty from our land.

May it be Your will that our land be a blessing to all who dwell on earth, and may You cause all peoples to dwell in friendship and freedom. Speedily fulfill the vision of Your prophets: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” “For all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall know Me.” And let us say: Amen.

Click here to view in PDF form and print prior to Shabbat

Parashat Ki Teitzei

Torah: Deuteronomy 24:14 - 25:19

Maftir: Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10 + 54:11 - 55:5

The Torah reading for this week is in the panel above. If you do not have a Chumash at home, you can find it on the link below. We are reading Triennial Year 3, but you might like to read the full portion (“Full Kriyah”).

Brochure

Our Shabbat brochure with yahrzeits and simchas for this week is attached. You might wish to take special notice of those who are sick, and take a moment to direct your thoughts towards them.

Thank you!

Thank you to all those listed below who performed the mitzvah of supporting our community this past week.

Caring Committee Fund

To: Sandy & Elliott Raisen

In honor of Sandy & Elliott Raisen on their 72nd anniversary

From: Ken & Sue Rae Bishop

General Fund

To: Dashka & Larry Lehmann

In honor of Dashka & Larry Lehmann

From: Linda & Richard Friedman

To: Lis Kahn

In memory of Lis Kahn's brother