Join us in prayer this Shabbat at Beth Jacob Congregation. The gruesome scenes from the terrorist murder in a Jerusalem shul named Kehillat Ya'akov are still fresh in our mind's eye. How are we to move beyond images of seeing people wrapped in tallesim, wearing their tefillin- the sacred uniform, as it were, of the Jewish people- murdered as they offered up a prayer for peace to the One God. I would suggest the following: This Shabbat, join us in shul with the most powerful protest possible- by wearing your own tallit and by praying in community. In doing so, we will demonstrate that prayer transcends hate, that visions for peace can overcome images of death and destruction. By wearing our tallesim, and by davenning together in community, we effectively demonstrate our revulsion towards this violation of human dignity and of s

acred religious space. Wear your tallit this Shabbat morning in shul and daven with kavanna and for peace. When we recite the Prayer for the State of Israel followed by the prayer for Peace, we will remind ourselves of the truth with which we as Jews live- we affirm the right of the Jewish people to a secure and safe State of our own even as we simultaneously seek peace with our neighbors.

On Shabbat our Prayer for Peace will be the "Mothers' Prayer", composed this year after the the brutal terrorist kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers by Palestinian terrorists, and then the revenge act of the kidnapping of one Palestinian youth by Jewish terrorists. At a moment when it would be all too easy to give into despair, we must hold fast to hope.

We are about to embark on a new Beth Jacob Congregation Photo Roster Book; we expect the Roster Book to be finished and in your hands sometime in January of 2015!  We again will offer you the option of including (or not) e-mail addresses and determining what phone numbers appear in the roster section. This is strictly an "opt in" affair; you will not be listed if you do not respond. 

Now here is the fun part!  We are asking you to send in family "selfies" for your picture!  That's right everyone, gather the kids, the dogs and cats, hamsters and parakeets - and you! - and snap that picture. Send us pictures in your backyard, at Disney World, biking the Mendota Bridge, or maybe on the couch in your home.  Or perhaps you took a family picture this past summer, something to post on Facebook or Twitter.  We want good, clear, color pictures from your phones or your cameras.

  Submit your pictures and info to us at 

Due to popular demand, the picture deadline is now after Thanksgiving.