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Important Community Announcement: All Beth Shalom Services Suspended

BETH SHALOM SUNDAY SCHOOL 2020, Cancelled until further notice

Video streaming available by invitation. If you are registered with the Hebrew School, check your emails for access instructions.

CANCELLED: SECOND NIGHT PASSOVER SEDER

Thursday 9 April, 6pm in the hall.

POSTPONED: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, SUNDAY 22ND MARCH, 7PM

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Downloadable Lectionary from the Centre for Living Judaism

Dear Friends Re: UPJ LECTIONARY For the past decade, Rabbi Fred Morgan of Temple Beth Israel (Melbourne) has produced a Torah Reading Calendar (lectionary) for the Union for Progressive Judaism. This lectionary is unique from both the...

Fighting for the Soul of Israel

What is a blog, and how do I???

Why not write or post an article for others to view and comment? This is referred to as a "blog", and allows members of the community to comment. This might develop into a discussion group. Here's how: Log in to the Dashboard (or click 'site admin' under YOUR CONTROLS...

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Calendar

Tue, 31 March 2020

Cancellation of beginners Israeli dance class until further notice..

Tue, 31 March 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

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Wed, 1 April 2020

Cancelled Israeli dance classes until further notice.

Wed, 1 April 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

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Fri, 3 April 2020

Cancelled Erev Shabbat service until further notice. Live feed available. Check your emails for access.

Fri, 3 April 2020 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

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Sat, 4 April 2020

Cancelled Shabbat service until further notice. Live feed available. Check your emails for access.

Sat, 4 April 2020 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

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Temple Sinai online - main service starts at 10:30

Sat, 4 April 2020 @ 8:45 am - 12:50 pm
https://zoom.us/j/338996846

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Think Tank Consulting is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/338996846

Meeting ID: 338 996 846

Dial by your location
+64 4 886 0026 New Zealand
+64 9 884 6780 New Zealand
Meeting ID: 338 996 846
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/asFh99nt2

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Sun, 5 April 2020

Live stream Hebrew School Term 1 contact Debbie Miller

Sun, 5 April 2020 @ 9:30 am - 12:45 pm

See more details

Tue, 7 April 2020

Cancellation of beginners Israeli dance class until further notice..

Tue, 7 April 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

See more details

Wed, 8 April 2020

Cancelled Israeli dance classes until further notice.

Wed, 8 April 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

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Beth Shalom Progressive Congregation

3 days ago

Shabbat Shalom
Tanya Thomson's Drash

Drash for Parasha Vayikra 28 March 2020

I was originally planning to do the drash for this Shabbat live, then hoping to stream it - and now I am preparing it without being quite sure whether anyone will hear or see it. But I’m going ahead because, like everyone else, I’m determined that the enclosures of our own houses create physical distance only, and we continue to connect spiritually, intellectually and emotionally.

On its face of it, this isn’t the greatest parasha to use for emotional and spiritual connection.

It is solely about offerings - in great detail. Offerings of animal sacrifices, how and where and when. Sacrifices connected with the Temple that no longer exists.
But as we know, there is always a way to make meaning from a parasha.

Rashi helps out here. He refers to the name of this parasha (and of the book of the Torah) - Vayikra - “And he called”. These words are at the beginning of the parasha: “vayikra el-moshe vayedeber hashem elav” - “and he called to Moses and the Lord spoke to him” . Why do we need the word “Vayikra”?

We know the rule of Torah interpretation that words are not used unnecessarily. So it must mean something more than simply that God was talking to Moses, which we know from the words “and the Lord spoke to him”.

Rashi postulates that being called means something more than simply being ready to be spoken to – it means “to be called to a task in love”.
The task at hand in the parasha is preparing offerings, which must be done with great particularity and care, with the offerings made appealing. To take care is a display of love.

To think of offerings as a display of love illuminated the parasha for me. While animal sacrifices are no longer required, and we no longer leave offerings in the same manner - we can certainly ask this Shabbat: How are we being called to make offerings as a display of love?

Once again the Torah amazes me, in that the parasha that initially seems so remote from our lives is actually speaking to us right at the moment we need it.

We are all scared and worried about ourselves, our immediate family and what will become of the lives we know in the light of Coronavirus.

But we are also being called. When we see an opportunity to make something right, to hold out our hands (metaphorically only of course) - this is our experience of God calling us.
We have the most literal opportunity ever to practise tikkun olam - to repair the world.

What can we do? If we are to make sacrifices now, who should they be for and what should our offerings be?

The parasha explains this for us. The food offerings are left for the priests - and they were not the scraps but food of the highest quality - why? Because those who were responsible for our wellbeing were deserving of being looked after.

So in this situation we can make offerings for the benefit of those that are caring for us - the nurses and doctors, the service workers and front line staff who do not get to work from home but expose themselves to risk, in order to keep our much-reduced world functioning.

You may have seen them post that “They go to work to keep us safe, so we stay home for them”. So listen to them, and stay home.

If you are staying home, and you will be, there are plenty of offerings to make for those within our bubble. Some of us may need to care for sick family. Even those of us who are lucky enough to have everyone well will need to offer extra kindness in the weeks ahead – to deal with the uncertainty outside and the intensity inside.

And we can make offerings to those outside our physical bubble, but in the emotional bubble of our wider community.

Staying home for most of us in our congregation means staying somewhere warm, dry and mostly pleasant. But we need to think of those who cannot stay in a home like that for this period - Women’s Refuge, the Mission and other charities need our support, if we are in a position to give it.

Staying home for many of us also means a great deal of connectedness with those around us - noise, chaos and sometimes what feels like an overabundance of company. But consider those who are home alone during this time - please call them; and if you can safely help them out please do.

We are being called in a way we could never have imagined. Many of our usual channels of offering are shut down - we cannot host people, share meals, hug or even visit. Our hands cannot be open to touch others - but our hearts can be, and our voices can be, and our wallets can be.

There are still so many ways to answer the call - what will yours be?

Whatever it is, do it with love. Be safe, be patient and be kind.

Shabbat Shalom ... See MoreSee Less

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Brilliant Drash.. thank you for sharing.. reading in Florida. Shabbat Shalom and Mazel Tov!

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Beth Shalom Progressive Congregation

3 days ago

Beth Shalom office will be closed for the duration of the COVID-19 lockdown period but phone messages and emails will continue to be actioned. Both Christine and Debbie will be working from home.
Keep checking your emails for official messages from community groups - Gmail users check your Updates folder as well. ... See MoreSee Less

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Beth Shalom Progressive Congregation

3 days ago

NEW ZEALAND JEWISH COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE

Dear Community,

NEW ZEALAND JEWISH COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE
WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

Various Jewish organisations in Auckland have teamed up to establish a group named NEW ZEALAND JEWISH COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE (NZJCA).

Currently our resources enable us to assist anyone in the greater Auckland area.

Regardless of your age or your community affiliation, the NZJCA together with the Senior Outreach Service, can help you through the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond.

• If you NEED help, there is assistance available right now.
• For those who CAN help, this is a call for volunteers to be part of the support network.

How the NZJCA can be of assistance to you:

If you are under the age of 65:
We are ready to support you now. We know that for some of you, access to family or friends may be difficult at this time due to travel restrictions or health. If you are unwell or confined to your home due to quarantine, you can reach us by phone or email and we will endeavour to arrange support through our volunteers. Trends are showing us that this group could grow quickly and asking for help may be uncomfortable. Please don’t hesitate to come forward sooner rather than later. We are here to help for as long as we can.

Contact (under 65’s)
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (09) 869-3335
All communication will be treated in a confidential manner.

If you are aged 65+:
We urge all senior members of our community (aged 65+) who need assistance with shopping, obtaining medicines, meals, or someone to talk to, to please contact
Senior Outreach Service, either by phone or email. This service is able to provide practical support, information on health care services or direct you to organisations in our community that are best placed to offer immediate assistance.
Contact
Maxine de Jong - Senior Outreach Co-ordinator
ph: 09 527 0377 | m: 021 614446
email: [email protected] / or [email protected]
• To assist Maxine, if you are presently looking after a Senior, please email Maxine with details.
• If you are concerned about a Senior, please email Maxine with details, including how to contact the Senior.

Call for volunteers and a fighting fund
We are all now in level 4 lockdown. We are calling for members of our community to come forward now to volunteer in providing basic assistance to our community. This will include:
 answering emails
 co-ordinating other volunteers
 being part of phone trees
 delivering groceries or prescribed medicines to the community
 phone or online support to those who are unwell or in quarantine
 or simply making regular phone calls to those living alone or who are in retirement village lockdown or other situations that leave people isolated.

We need skills from all vocations, including people prepared to deliver though to professional skills as people grapple with the changes to their daily lives, being made redundant and dealing with illness.

If you are able to volunteer in some capacity, we ask you to please sign up on the link below
https://forms.gle/2jXkEMiWVyXscPu28

If you have any queries about volunteering email us on the address below
[email protected]

We will endeavour to match volunteers to community needs and would particularly like to appeal to younger adults to assist with our call for volunteers.

In all instances, decisions will be made on current Government advice for staying safe and restrictions on personal movement that may apply to minimise risk to volunteers and those we are assisting.

Should you be in a position to provide immediate financial assistance to help build our fighting fund, please contact [email protected] Any amount you can donate will be a huge help to others in need.

Once again, if you need help please do not hesitate to get in touch. And if you can volunteer or contribute to the fighting fund, now is the time to act. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

Warm regards,

New Zealand Jewish Community Assistance – Auckland
Auckland Cherva Kadisha and Benevolent Society, Auckland CSG,
Auckland Hebrew Congregation, Auckland Jewish Council, Beth Shalom,
B’nei Akiva, B’nei B’rith, Habonim Dror Aotearoa New Zealand,
Hadassah New Zealand, Raye Freedman Trust, Senior Outreach Service

For up to date information on COVID-19
https://covid19.govt.nz/

If you are experiencing symptoms such as
• Fever
• A cough
• Shortness of breath
Call your GP before you visit
Call Healthline 0800 358 5453
Ambulance Service 111
If you feel you that you are not coping call or txt 1737 to speak to a trained counsellor ... See MoreSee Less

NZJCA Volunteer Form

forms.gle

We’re on the lookout for individuals that are willing & able to provide assistance to our community members during these uncertain & difficult times. Please fill in the below form, detailing as much...

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Beth Shalom Progressive Congregation

4 days ago

DETAILS FOR THIS WEEK'S SHABBAT SERVICES

We very much wanted to continue to send out services from Beth Shalom as we did last week, but the Level 4 lockdown has made this difficult to achieve. We are hoping to have an online Beth Shalom Friday night service by next week.

In order to ensure that you have access to services, we’ve accessed a number of options for services you can join or watch.

Temple Sinai have kindly invited us to join them in their Saturday morning services, which are being run from people’s homes. The service will be preceded by a shiur from 9 to 10am, with the service starting at 10.30am. The link to the shiur and service is: https://zoom.us/j/338996846. We’ve included information below for linking to and accessing Zoom.

The UPJ has a number of congregations who are offering virtual services (https://upj.org.au/index.php/news-and-events/…). Please note that you’ll need to register for some of them.

You can use this link to access the Mishkan T’filah online: https://ccarnet.org/publications/…

And a reminder that the parsha this week is Leviticus 1:1-5:26

We are working to update our website to contain all this information, but will be sending out weekly updates about services.

We know that as a community, we want and need to connect. If you have any ideas for connecting or improving what we’re doing, please let us know!

Instructions for connecting to Zoom:

If you’re using a phone or tablet (eg iPad), you should download the Zoom app first:

For iPhone or iPad at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id546505307

For Android at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/…

If you’ve never used Zoom before, you might like to watch this tutorial first: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/…-

Using a headset (headphones + microphone) or at least headphones is highly recommended as it prevents feedback. If your computer is causing feedback, or generating extraneous noise (eg dogs barking etc) during the service, I may mute you - apologies in advance if this is the case.

If you have any questions, you can contact Lenny Bloksberg on 027 290 7891 ... See MoreSee Less

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