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Security Reminder: Please be aware that due to security concerns, we are, for the time being, implementing a new security protocol in which we will require Photo ID
from non-members or unfamiliar faces joining us for services. We hope you understand and join us in prayer as we observe and celebrate Shabbat.
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Health Reminder: With the return of Winter, also comes the return of rising numbers of Covid, flu, and RSV in our community. If you are feeling ill, please consider staying home and participating in services online to protect those around you, especially the more susceptible members of our Congregation. | |
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!
This past Sunday, January 21st, we held our Annual Congregational Meeting where our new Board was voted upon and installed. Let's wish them all - new and old - a big Shir Chadash welcome!
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2024 Shir Chadash Board of Directors
(Left to right) Rabbi Scott Hoffman, Jan Miller, Dr. Ed Bluth, Mark Schleifstein, Steven Lew, Karen Sher, Dr. Diane Africk, Peter Title, Laurie Sterbcow, Andrea Rubin, Bobby Garon, Ivan Brizzio, Julie Finkelstein Steinhaus, Laurie Klein, Barbara Kaplinsky, Esther Hendler, Hal Levkowitz, Lisa Sackett, Dr. Art Lustig, Juliet Lieberman, Rebecca Russell, and Harriet Hillson.
Not pictured are Ed Golden, Larry Lehmann, Danny Mintz, Dr. Jon Mizrahi, Justin Sackett, Josh Sands, Charisse Sands, and Jeremy Soso.
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Shir Chadash Executive Committee Members
(Left to right) Rebecca Russell, Recording Secretary; Julie Finkelstein Steinhaus, Executive Vice President; Barbara Kaplinsky, Membership Co-Vice President; Karen Sher, Membership Co-Vice President; Esther Hendler, President; Hal Levkowitz, Treasurer/Men's Club President; Dr. Art Lustig, Financial Secretary; and Juliet Lieberman, Education Vice President.
Not pictured are Dr. Jon Mizrahi, Ritual Vice President, and Charisse Sands, Sisterhood President.
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This week’s portion, Beshallach, describes the journey of the Jewish people out of Egypt and their escape to safety on the far side of the Sea of Reeds (Yam Suf).
The Torah notes that G-d took the people on an indirect route, avoiding heavily- fortified military garrisons, lest the people experience war and return to a condition of servitude in Egypt. In other words, G-d took Israel out “the long way.”
The truth is that there are many circumstances in which the shortest route is not the most beneficial. In 1979, the group Supertramp released a song called “The Long Way Home,” which they themselves saw as a metaphor for the benefits of a longer, more leisurely journey through life. Or take the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, which declared that the “less traveled” – and presumably less direct – path chosen “made all the difference.”
In an era where response time is instantaneous, or seems to be, sometimes there’s no substitute for one’s mental well-being than slowing things down. It worked for the Jewish people more than three thousand years ago, and in the age of texting and Twitter (X), it still retains value.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Scott Hoffman
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The synagogues of West Esplanade - Shir Chadash, Beth Israel, Gates of Prayer, and Chabad - are joining together with a very special initiative to pray for Israel by collectively reciting the entire book of Psalms as a community each week that the Israel-Hamas war is ongoing.
Congregants are encouraged to sign up for one psalm each, which they will commit to reciting, in Hebrew or English, once weekly.
Together, with the power of our community and our faith, we can do our spiritual part to support Israel!
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Here are some links to additions to our service: | |
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Friday
6:15 PM
Shabbat Evening Services
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Saturday
9:30 AM
Shabbat Morning Services
followed by Kiddush Luncheon
sponsored by Sheryl & Peter Title in honor of Sheryl's birthday and Lisa & Elliot Finkelstein in honor of the Bat Mitzvah Anniversary of Julie Finkelstein Steinhaus
In-person and live-streamed
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Saturday
10 AM
Babysitting
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Sunday
9:15 AM
Men's Club Morning Minyan
followed by breakfast
In-person and on Zoom
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Sunday
10:30 AM
Sunday Mah Jongg
New and experienced players are welcome!
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Sunday
11:30 AM
Family Fun Fest
at the Metairie JCC
RSVP HERE
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Our Sages Speak:
Rabbinic Reflections on the Torah Portion
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In the Saints’ last game of the season, New Orleans led the Atlanta Falcons 41- 17 as time was winding down. Rather than kneel on the ball – as the coaching staff instructed the players to do – Jamaal Williams took a hand-off and scored from a yard out, making the final 48-17. In sports parlance, this is called “running up the score”, because the outcome of the game was already decided. Is this bad sportsmanship?
The answer is – generally yes, but there are exceptions to the rule. Take the Oregon-Colorado game this fall. Tired of Coach Deion Sanders’ showboating, Coach Lanning of Oregon continued to play his starters in the second half despite having a 35-0 lead. Lanning’s goal was to send a message that Colorado wasn’t really among the best college football programs. Sanders is in fact a good coach, but despite his Hall of Fame playing career, he’s not yet in the league of great college coaches.
I mention this because in this week’s portion, Beshallach, Moses not only defeats Pharaoh when his pursuing army is drowned in the sea, but in a sense humiliates him. The midrash asks if Moses might have gone too far in his treatment of Pharaoh. Did he really have to “run up the score”? In the case of Pharaoh, the answer is yes. Only through utter defeat will Pharoah release the Jewish people in an honorable manner. In Avot d’Rabbi Nathan (14:8), a midrashic commentary on Pirke Avot, we read:
- And how do we know that anyone who disgraces another person in order to fulfill a mitzvah, in the end will be sent away from them honorably? For this is what we find with Moses our teacher, who disgraces Pharaoh in order to fulfill a mitzvah, as it says (Exodus 11:8), “All of your servants shall come down and bow before me.” Even if all Pharaoh’s servants who stand up (and bow) before him on his platform were to get up and beg me, I would not listen to them. And how do we know Moses was sent away honorably? For it says (Numbers 33:3), “On the day after the Passover offering, the Israelites (under Moses) went out with a raised hand.”
In the Exodus story, from the enslavement of the Jewish people to the drowning of male Hebrew babies to the pursuit at the Sea of Reeds, Moses was trying to teach Pharaoh that the G-d of Israel alone rules the universe. Pharaoh, who believed himself to be a god, had to be completely humbled by a more powerful entity to comprehend the true nature of the universe. In the end, G-d’s utter defeat of Pharaoh demonstrated this point for all to see.
Because when you’re up against a ruler as arrogant and obstinate as Pharaoh, sometimes you need to run up the score after all.
- Rabbi Scott Hoffman
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Parashat B'shallach
Shabbat Shira
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Torah: Exodus 14:15 - 16:10
Maftir: Exodus 16:8-10
Haftarah: Judges 4:4 - 5:31
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 2, but you might like to read the full portion (“Full Kriyah”).
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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 to all those listed below who performed the mitzvah of supporting our community this past week. | |
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General Fund
In appreciation of Shir Chadash
From: Martha & Moises Yoselevitz
To: The Goldberg Family
In memory of Ned Goldberg
From: June Leopold & Martin Goldstein
To: Anne Levy and Family
In memory of Stan Levy
From: Jerome Kanter
To: The Levy Family
In memory of Stan Levy
From: Judy and Glenn Lieberman
Herbert & Margot Garon Memorial Fund
To: Ellen & Stan Kessler
In honor of your daughter's marriage
From: Rochelle Sackett
Nat Leon Education Fund
To: Janet Brown
In memory of Dr. Victor Brown
From: Carol and Gary Moss
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Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
In appreciation of Ricardo Totah & Shir Chadash. Thank you for the use of the chuppah for my daughter's wedding.
From: Ellen & Stan Kessler
In honor of Rabbi Hoffman. Thank you for a wonderful wedding!
From: Ellen & Stan Kessler
Yahrzeit Fund
In memory of Ada Fishman
From: Linda Appel
In memory of Mary Handelman
From: Linda Appel
In memory of Betty Steinwell Intro
From: Jennie (Intro) & Macy Moret
In memory of Solomon Sterbcow
From: Paul & Laurie Sterbcow
In memory of Anna Merlin Melancon
From: Paul & Laurie Sterbcow
In memory of Pincus Gardsbane
From: Janice Stern
In memory of Justin Uri Heiman
From: Sol Heiman
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Contact Us
OFFICE HOURS: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 3 PM
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