null
TES Weekly
November 19 - 26, 2013    

Rabbi's Message

11/19/13  - 16 Kislev 5774  

 

This week we begin reading the story of Joseph, which is spread over four parshiyot, and is the longest single narrative in the Torah. Joseph is introduced to us in this week's portion as a young man who clearly has unique gifts, including a strong sense of mission and an ability to be in relationship to G-d through dreams. He also comes across as someone who doesn't yet know how to use these gifts, often appearing arrogant, narcissistic, and not too skilled (to put it mildly) at relationships with others. It's hard enough for his brothers that Joseph is the one perceived as their father's favorite, with the coat of many colors, etc., but to further hammer that home, Joseph tattles on his brothers when they are tending sheep, shares his dreams of dominance over them, and generally acts entitled and privileged.

 

Fed up, his brothers cast Joseph into a pit, thinking initially to kill him, but then later deciding to sell him into slavery. An Ishmaelite caravan pays 20 pieces of silver for the boy, and they sell him to Potiphar, Pharoah's chief steward. And so begins Joseph's (and our people's) descent into Egypt.

 

This is a great parallel to Hanukah in the Joseph story. We have the image of Joseph in the darkness of the pit (literally described in the Hebrew as a place of emptiness). He is going into the dark: the pit, slavery, later the dungeon after he is falsely accused. Each image we get this week of Joseph involves him going ever further down, literally and figuratively.

 

Hanukah is the season of light, but by necessity, it is also the season of great darkness (else where could the light arise from?). It is this time of year that our sages tell us to re-discover the or ha'ganuz, the hidden light, available to us only in times of darkness when we most are in need of it. Joseph's journey reflects the Hanukah journey - learning how to kindle light in the midst of darkness. Not in spite of the darkness, but because of it. And it is through this process that Joseph - and us - will discover how to more appropriately make use of our gifts.

 

Keep Saturday evening, November 30th, circled on your calendar - TES' annual Hanukah party. In the meantime, join us as we kindle light together in anticipation of the Hanukah season with our potluck Shabbat dinner, Eat, Pray, Sing, this Friday at 6pm at TES, and Torah study and morning services the next morning at 9am/10am.

 

L'shalom,






Rabbi Joshua Boettiger
Upcoming Services
Eat, Pray, Sing
Friday, November 22, 6:00 pm
Torah Study
Saturday, November 23, 9:00 am
Shabbat Service
Saturday, November 23, 10:00 am
This Week at TES
Torah Study
Torah study every Tuesday at 6:30 pm
Meditation
Every Wednesday at 8:00 am in the TES library
Embodied Yoga
Yoga at 9:00 am every Wednesday. 
Announcements
Community Hanukah Celebration!
A night of magic, latkes & music...
Saturday, November 30, 4:30 - 7:00 pm
4:30 Kids crafts
5:00 Havdalah Ceremony & Hanukiah
        Candle Lighting (please bring your hanukiah
        (menorah) with candles)
5:30 Potluck Dinner (please bring dairy or vegetarian
        dish to share. Latkes will be provided.)
6:00 Magic show
6:30 Storytelling & songs

Suggested donation: $5 - $10

Everyone invited! Please tell your family and friends!

More info on the flyer at the following link:

Shabbat Across the Valley
Do you have fond memories of Shabbat dinners - good food, blessing the candles and the wine, singing Shabbat Shalom, laughing and talking about the significant events of the week? The Religious Practices Committee is inviting new, current and former members of the Temple Emek Shalom community to share Erev Shabbat dinner, separately and together at our next Shabbat Across the Valley  on December 20, 2013 at 6:00pm. We are also inviting folks who are not members, but may be interested in connecting with the congregation.

Different TES Households in Medford, Talent, Phoenix and Ashland are opening their homes to co-create a bountiful, warm, Shabbasdik meal and evening. A neighborhood cluster of people, who may or may not know each other well, who want to share and enhance the community spirit of our shul, will go to the host homes for a potluck dinner.

If you are interested in being a host family, or you want to participate in Shabbat Across the Valley, please contact Sasha Borenstein at (541) 326-7861 or [email protected]. She will match participants to host homes in their respective neighborhoods. The members of the Religious Practices Committee hope that each and every family in our congregation will simultaneous participate in this great opportunity to get to know one another!
 
TES Member Featured on Oregon Jewish Life Magazine Cover
Check out this month's Oregon Jewish Life magazine! The cover story is about aspiring Olympic athlete, Seth "The Dreidle" Hill, son of TES member Janice Slater. Seth grew up in the Rogue Valley and had his Bar Mitzvah here at TES.

TES Monthly Newsletter Goes Electronic!
Soon you will be seeing the TES monthly newsletter in your inbox, as we convert to an electronic format. If you prefer to receive a paper newsletter, or know of any TES members who do not have e-mail, please contact the TES office at (541) 488-2909 or [email protected].

PJ Library Presents!
A Special Thanksgiving and Hanukah Musical Storytelling Event

Monday, Nov. 25th 11:00 am -12:00 pm at the Ashland Public Library, in the Gresham Room downstairs.
11-11:30 Story time with the amazing Judy Shupack
11:30-12:00 Thanksgivukkah crafts!

Judy Shupack has been delighting children and families with her musical, puppetry storytelling for years. She performed for over 8 years in San Diego with her library holiday programs, and we are so blessed to get to have her for this special event. Don't miss this exciting opportunity, and bring your friends!

PJ Library is a free Jewish book program for kids 0-8. Please contact Andrea Shupack at [email protected] or 541-218-6766 for more information about this event or to receive free books.

Hanukah Gift Items for Sale

Hanukah items are still available in the TES lobby during office hours, Tuesday - Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00pm and during evening events and services. Cash and checks preferred. Hanukah is early this year but there's still time throughout the month to stock up on wrapping paper, candles, tableware, dreidels, books, gifts, gelt (special sale price on gelt: $12/box of 24 bags) and much more!

Bobbie Schultz is TES Artist of the Month
Bobbie Shultz, who is a multi-media painter, has colorful pieces now on display in the lobby showcase.

Honor Family and Friends with a Gift to TES
You can easily and quickly make donations to all funds, to remember and honor family, friends and loved ones. Visit the donation page and see the possibilities. Click here

Adult Education
Beginner's Hebrew
Adult Ed. is pleased to announce a Beginner's Hebrew class available to all interested students. Sasha Borenstein will offer a weekly class on Mondays, 7:00 - 8:00 pm, starting on January 13. The class will run 4-6 weeks, and will use a new active method of language learning. Whether you have a rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew or none at all, this is the class for you. Fees will be $5 per class for TES members, $10 per class for non-members, plus a $20 materials fee. Contact Sasha for more information: [email protected].  To register for the class, contact the TES office at (541) 488-2909 or [email protected]. Pre-registration is highly recommended as class size will be limited.
Social Action Opportunities
*Volunteers Still Urgently Needed for Winter Shelter

 

Dear Friends,

Your participation is urgently requested as hosts for the WInter Homeless Shelter this year. The shelter is all that stands between many homeless people and disaster in the cold Winter months. The shelter is essential, and is one of a network of three Ashland shelters which now run during the cold season. It is co-sponsored by the City of Ashland and two Church organizations: the Unitarian Fellowship and Temple Emek Shalom. Our part of the bargain is to provide  'overnight hosts'  on Thursday nights, beginning in mid-November. Hosts stay overnight and perform normal duties associated with operating a shelter which is open from early evening to early morning hours. Hosts perform in teams. Facility is located on Winburn Way in Pioneer Hall, behind Lithia Park and the Shakespeare Festival. Please consider volunteering for this very important work for our community. Thank you for your time.

Rabbi Joshua Boettiger, Pat O'Scannell, Evi Strauss and members of the Social Justice Action Committee

*Community Service Project in Uganda

Hello, TES members!
This is Carmen Liberatore here. You may have seen me around. I'm the Teen Representative on the Board, and I used to help out at Sunday School. I was asked to keep this short, so I'll cut to the chase: I have the chance to go on a community service trip to northern Uganda in June 2014, to help at a boarding school for underprivileged children. We'll be building water tanks to catch rainfall, break ground on the secondary school, and play with the kids, many of whom are orphans.
I'm really excited about this trip. I feel that I need to get out of America and get away from electronics and pop culture. I want to take off my blinders. I want to submerge myself in a culture that is worlds away from my own. I want to get out in this incredible world that we live in. I want to eat interesting food, talk to interesting people, get my hands dirty, work hard to make something useful, and help people make a better life for themselves. I want to come back and see my home, my country, and my city differently.

This is where you come in. The travel is expensive, and I need your help. I would so gratefully accept donations of any size to help me on my way. The total cost of the trip is $3,800. My goal is to raise roughly half of it ($1,800) by the end of December. 
You can contact me at [email protected] or by snail-mail: PO Box 214 Eagle Point, OR 97524
!תודה רבה
Todah raba!

Sponsor
Allen G. Drescher, PC
Attorney at Law
21 S 2nd Street
Ashland, OR 97520
(541) 482-4935
Quick Links

Services This Week
Eat, Pray, Sing

Friday, Nov. 22, 6:00 pm    

Torah Study

Saturday, Nov. 23, 9:00 am

Shabbat Service

Saturday, Nov. 23, 10:00 am   

Temple Emek Shalom | 541-488-2909 | http://emekshalom.org


Copyright � 2013. All Rights Reserved.