WEEKLY CALENDAR - Agudath Synagogue

WEEKLY CALENDAR
Friday,
August 17 6:30pm Kabbalat Shabbat Services
Saturday,
August 18 9:00am Coffee & Conversation
Saturday,
August 18 9:30am Shabbat Services
Sunday,
August 19
9:30-
12:00 Opening Day of Kol Ami Religious School
Monday,
August 20 7:15am Minyan/w breakfast following
Tuesday,
L'Chaim League at Micki Beth Stiller & Lunch-
August 21 10:00am Derk's filet & Vine in Old Cloverdale
Wed,
August 22 6:00pm Executive Board Meeting
Thursday,
August 23 7:15am Minyan/w breakfast following
Friday,
August 24 6:30pm Kabbalat Shabbat Services
YAHRTZEITS LIST:
The following names of those departed, whose Yahrtzeits we
observe during the week of August 18 - 24
Av 30 - Elul 6
Blanche Katz
Herman Miller
Nace Varon
Helene Brenner
Louis Held
David Brenner
8
Jennie Hirsberg
Eleanor Martin
Samuel Beton
Julius Brenner
Sadie Franco
AGUDATH ISRAEL�ETZ AHAYEM SYNAGOGUE
3525 Cloverdale Road - Montgomery, Alabama 36111
(334) 281-7394
www.agudathmontgomery.com
Affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Welcome to
SHABBAT SERVICE
August 17 - 18, 2012
Parashat Re’eh
Rosh chodesh
30 Av 5772
Scott Kramer, Rabbi
Joel Cohen, President
Service Times
Mondays and Thursdays at 7:15 am
Fridays at 6:30 pm
Saturdays at 9:30 am
Dear Guests and Visitors,
Thank you for joining us for services. For information about
Agudath Israel ��Etz Ahayem, please speak with Rabbi Kramer,
or one of our board members after services.
You may also call 281-7394 during the week and speak with our
Office Manager, Linda Simonds for further information.
1

Kabbalat Services in the Hilliard Aronov Chapel
Friday, 6:30 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat..…………………………….….Rabbi Scott Kramer
Sermon…………………………………….....…….Rabbi Scott Kramer
Maariv……………………………….………………Rabbi Scott Kramer
Announcements………………………………………..……Joel Cohen
Coffee & Conversation in the Library
Saturday, 9:00 am
Shabbat Services in Hilliard Aronov Chapel
Saturday, 9:30 am
Service Leader…………………………………….Rabbi Scott Kramer
Torah Reading.…………….……..…………….....Rabbi Scott Kramer
Haftarah…………………………………….……....Rabbi Scott Kramer
Announcements………..…………………………......Raymond Cohen
Dates to Remember
August 19 ��Opening Day Kol Ami Religious School
August 21 ��L’Chaim League at home of Micki Beth Stiller
August 22 ��Executive Board Meeting
August 28 ��General Board Meeting
2
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
Chris Ginsburg
Lynne Herman
Shelly Diamond
Jackie Aronov
Helen Bern
Irving Bern
Selma Berlin
Corinne Capilouto
Renee Capouano
Edith Ciarletta
Betty Ehrlich
Enid Feldman
Julie Friedlander
Rick Ginsburg
Dr. Shelia Guildry
Julius Kasover
Alice Kleinberg
Jerry Lebowitz
Leslie Rudnick
Ellie Sabel
Ben Sharker
Debra Sharker
Nomie Sharker
Sara Ruble Allen
Aaron Bruchis
Paul Ciarletta
Connie Elizondo
Susu Friedman
Lois Ginsburg
Walter Keith Golson
Rhea Ciarletta
Hibbert
Carol Hill
Andy Kromis
Daphna Tucker
Blessing for Physical and Spiritual Healing
.וּני ֵּתוֹמ ִאְל הָכ ָרְב ַה רוֹק ְמ וּני ֵּתוֹבאַ ךְ ַרֵּב ֶׁש י ִמ
Mi she berach avotenu
M’kor hab’racha l’imoteinu
May the source of strength who blessed the ones before us, help
us find the courage to make our lives a blessing, and let us say
Amen.
.וּני ֵּתוֹב ֲאְל הָכ ָרְב ַה רוֹק ְמ וּני ֵּתוֹמ ִא ךְ ַרֵּב ֶׁש י ִמ
Mi she berach imoteinu,
M’kor hab’racha l’avoteinu
Bless those in need of healing with r’fu-a sh’lei-ma, the renewal of
body, the renewal of spirit, and let us say Amen.
7
Pat Antonucci
Mrs. Blackmon
Don Elliott
Thomas Dale
Ray Doss
Darryl Fancher
Angela Hampton
Danny Holmberg
Norman Lamb
Mike Lawhorn
Alma Lazar
Barbara Martinet
Jerry Mayo
Lillani Mickels
David Milstead
HAPPY
ANNIVERSARY
Barry & Diane Blondheim
Morris & Kelly Capouya
Julius & Phyllis Kasover
A Special Misheberah for Physical and Spiritual Health;
Patricia Morton
Marsha Notowich
Megan Parr
Alexander Penny
William Shujman
Cindi Silver
Bobby Skelton
Doris Simonds
Betty Sullwold
Hallie Sweat
Mildred Whitaker
Vivian White
Zvi Ben Yaakof
Sergio Zeballos
Cecilia Zeballos

Parashat Re’eh - Rosh Chodesh
Torah – Deut: 11:26—16:17 (Etz Hayim p. 1061)
Triennial (2nd Cycle) – Deut. 12:29 — 14:29
(Etz Hayim p. 1068)
1) Deut. 12:29 — 13:1 (Etz Hayim p. 1068)
2) Deut. 13:2— 6 (Etz Hayim p. 1068)
3) Deut. 13:7 — 12 (Etz Hayim p. 1070)
4) Deut. 13:13 — 19 (Etz Hayim p. 1070)
5) Deut. 14:1 — 8 (Etz Hayim p. 1072)
6) Deut. 14:9 — 21 (Etz Hayim p. 1073)
7) Deut. 14:22 — 29 (Etz Hayim p. 1074)
Maftir) Num. 28:9 — 15 (Etz Hayim p. 930)
Haftarah – Isaiah 66:1 — 24 (Etz Hayim p. 1219) - Rosh
Chodesh and 3rd Haftarah of Consolation following
Tisha B’av
Shabbat Begins (Candles) – 7:09 pm Friday Night
Shabbat Ends (Havdalah) – 8:09 pm Saturday Night
6
T
Message from the Rabbi
his weekend we begin the Jewish month of Elul, the month preceding
Rosh Hashahah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. We end each morning
service (except Shabbat) with the blowing of the Shofar to begin to
awaken us to the realization that summer is over and we must get ready,
spiritually, for a new year.
I found the following quote in Sacred Intentions by Rabbis Kerry Olitzky
and Lori Forman which in light of the time of year was very appropriate
for our own spiritual awakening.
“Do not seek to be a judge. (Apocrypha)
Ben Sira, a Jerusalem sage and scribe who lived about
170 BCE, was surely talking about the position of judge in a
community when he wrote the warning above. Perhaps he was
afraid that such a role placed individuals in difficult and dangerous
circumstances, since they were close to the sort of power
that has the potential to corrupt. Maybe he was afraid of developing
relationships with the kind of people who might seek
out judges in order to influence their decisions, to manipulate
their authority in the community to suit their own personal gain.
Surely people would seek them out to tempt them with bribes.
Or maybe Ben Sira thought that those who sought such a position
were the sort who relished judging others and were unwilling
to scrutinize themselves.
The responsibility of judging others makes it difficult
to judge the self. After all, if you spend each day doing one
thing, it is hard to change directions for a short period of time.
But that is exactly why this entire month has been dedicated
solely to this pursuit in the religious calendar. Maybe those
who judge should start the process by judging themselves. So
judge yourself this month. And let others do the same to themselves.”
The process of self reflection, finding defects in character, resolving to
fix those defects and actualizing that plan is difficult and arduous. We
are not told to do this in one day. It takes along time. The hardest part
is to start the process. This week, let’s resolve to begin the process of
repentance.
Shabbat Shalom
Rav Malki
3

Torah Portion Summary
From Torah Sparks by Rabbi Joseph Prouser, a product of the
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Parashat Re’eh presents Israel with stark choices: be blessed for
obeying God’s commandments or be cursed by God for disobedience.
Upon entering the Land, Israel is to dramatize the fundamental
choice confronting it by ceremoniously articulating God’s blessing
on Mount Gerizim and His curse on Mount Ebal. Accordingly,
Israel is commanded to destroy the idols and pagan sanctuaries it
finds in Canaan. Israelite sacrifices are to be offered at a single sacral
location, which God will designate; this cultic center will be the
only place where sacrificial food may be eaten. The Israelites are
permitted non-sacred slaughter and to eat that meat wherever
they live, provided they do not consume the blood. They are admonished
not to forget to provide for the Levite, who has no territorial
allotment.
Israel is commanded not to adopt the cultic practices of Canaan,
nor even to inquire about its forms of worship, which include, notably,
child sacrifice to Molech. The Israelites are specifically warned
not to be lured into foreign worship by prophets or diviners, notwithstanding
convincing signs and portents, and even should the
“enticer” be a trusted loved one or dear friend. Any such enticer –
familial or prophetic – is to be stoned. Should it be discovered after
thorough investigation that an entire Israelite town has been seduced
into idolatry, its inhabitants are to be put to the sword and
the town itself, together with all it contains, must be destroyed,
“never to be rebuilt.”
Self-mutilation by gashing as an expression of mourning is prohibited.
Prohibited and permitted species of animals (land animals,
birds, sea-life) are listed as a further expression of Israelite holiness.
This section concludes with a third iteration of the prohibition not
to “boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” Significantly, here this verse is
4
(Continued on page 5)
(Continued from page 4)
placed in the context of dietary laws for the first time; until now it
had been discussed as the pagan (and therefore forbidden) practice
to which Israel’s festival offering of first fruits was the authorized
alternative.
Laws of tithing are followed by a further undertaking in the interests
of financial and social justice: the prescribed remission of
debts in the seventh year – the sabbatical year. In the same spirit,
the religious imperative to provide for the poor is laid out. Israelites
who are concerned about the possibility that borrowers might
default are warned not to withhold funds from the needy as the
remission of debts in the seventh year approaches; such behavior
is deemed “base” in character. Israelites who enter into indentured
servitude, perhaps out of financial desperation, may be kept as
servants for six years. In the seventh year they must be released.
At the end of their indentures such servants must be furnished
with appropriate material goods. The nation that remembers
enslavement in Egypt is compelled to treat its own
servants compassionately. Slaves grateful for such kindly
treatment may opt out of the scheduled manumission,
choosing permanent indenture instead. All firstborn livestock,
it is commanded, are sanctified by God and must be
consumed only at His chosen shrine. The parashah concludes
with a review of the pilgrimage festivals (on which
these passages are read liturgically): Passover, the counting
of seven weeks to Shavuot, Shavuot itself, and Succot.
5