Temple Beth El
5975 South 12th Street
Tacoma, WA 98465
February 20, 2025 / 22 Sh'vat 5785
Volume 23, No. 20
TORAH READING
Mishpatim
Exodus 22:4-26
Haftarah
Jeremiah 34:8-22; 34:25-26
Candle Lighting
5:25 p.m.
SERVICE SCHEDULE
EREV SHABBAT SERVICE (multi-access) Friday, February 21, 6:30 p.m.
Everyone is invited to join us online or in person for a special Scout Shabbat service, also featuring a sermon delivered by our Artist-in-Residence, Nancy Katz! Join us before services, at 5:45 p.m., for an oneg.
TORAH STUDY & SHABBAT SERVICE (multi-access) Saturday, February 22, 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
Our Saturday worship experience begins with Torah study, which goes from 9:00–9:45 a.m. This will be followed by services beginning at 10:00 a.m. (online and in person), now held in the chapel. At the conclusion of the service, the community is invited to join us in the social hall for a potluck pescatarian kiddush luncheon!
COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR WALK-A-THON Saturday, February 22, 4:00–7:00 p.m.
Support or join Temple Beth El’s team, led by Rabbi Gorban and Stacey Soltoff, for Associated Ministries’ first annual Coldest Night of the Year walk-a-thon fundraiser! The main event will take place at Wright Park on the corner of 6th Ave & I Street. You can choose to join the team and walk, join the team and fundraise, volunteer, or support the team in reaching its goal of $1,800. Contributions of any amount are appreciated; money goes to support housing services in Pierce County through Associated Ministries. For more information or to support the team, click here.
HOME OF PEACE CEMETERY ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Sunday, February 23, 12:30 p.m.
The annual membership meeting of the Home of Peace Cemetery Association will be held in temple's chapel. Cemetery members will hear financial reports and updates on several landscaping and maintenance projects completed during 2024. Not a member, but want to be? Visit the Home of Peace website or reach out to Deb Freedman at (253) 377-4157.
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE: NANCY KATZ Sunday, February 23, 4:00–6:30 p.m.
In this program, targeted towards adults, artist-in-residence Nancy Katz will share more about her work in textiles, glass, and other media through a visual presentation. After a little nosh, she will lead the group in an art project. Each person's work (along with the work of our religious school students) will be incorporated into the creation of new belts for our Torah scrolls and other needed accoutrements for our sanctuary. Join us and take part in the important work of building the tabernacle! RSVP here.
BETWEEN OCTOBER 7TH AND 8TH Tuesday, February 25, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
What role can and must American Jews play in shaping Israel's "Day After" – the Jewish state that will emerge in the wake of October 7th? Dr. Yizhar Hess, Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, brings a wealth of experience and insight to this critical topic. This event offers a unique opportunity to hear from an experienced leader dedicated to sculpting Israel's future and fostering Judaism globally, so don’t miss it! Registration is required. Read more about Dr. Hess and RSVP here.
SISTERHOOD GENERAL MEETING Tuesday, March 4, 5:45–8:30 p.m.
Sisterhood members and guests, please join Sisterhood for our general meeting where we’ll review the exciting work Sisterhood has been up to! Food and drinks will be provided (vegetarian, pescatarian, and dairy). After the meeting, Lynne Beresford will lead us in l’dor vador (generation to generation) for sharing of special things. Think of generations past and bring a memory to describe (a photo, jewelry, art work, etc.). Your items can be Judaica but don’t have to be. We’ll do a brief “show and tell” explaining the origin of our items and why they are so meaningful to us. This is a great way to learn more about each other. We look forward to seeing you!
SAVE THE DATE
SCHMOOZE BEFORE THE SPIEL Thursday, March 13, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
This event comes in two pieces, one for adults and one for kids! Adults can join us for a lively evening of mingling, featuring beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, and nibbles. Open to adults 18+ (IDs will be checked at the door). Guests 21+ will receive wristbands to access alcoholic beverages. Childcare is available for children 0-5 and requires pre-registration by March 6. Kids in Kindergarten through 6th grade can come for an evening of food and fun hosted by our talented teens! Click here for more details and registration.
PURIM CARNIVAL Sunday, March 16, 9:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Join us for an unforgettable Purim celebration featuring a Wizard of Oz themed spiel, and packed with delicious treats, exciting games, and plenty of fun! Enjoy a festive lunch, and don’t forget to come dressed in your favorite costume!Tickets are $18/family for non-members and free for members (donations appreciated). For questions, contact Andy at andy@tbetacoma.org. Register now!
VASHTI’S BANQUET & SHUK MARKET Saturday, March 22, 5:00 p.m.
Join us for an evening of fun featuring dinner, Israeli dancing, belly dancing, a shuk market, and more! Due to space constraints this event is for Sisterhood members only and each member may bring 1 female identifying guest. When registering via the link below, if you're bringing a guest, please list their name and pay their registration fee along with yours. Tickets are $36 for Sisterhood members and $53 for guests. Register here while you can, space is limited!
LANDSCAPING SPRING SPIFF-IT-UP DAY Sunday, March 30, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Bring your gloves and your favorite garden tools for this spiff-it-up day at temple, focused on the patio outside the social hall and the biblical garden! Refreshments will be provided. If you're interested, let Jaque Kleiner know at (253) 732-7242 or jaquelyn.kleiner@gmail.com.
OPPORTUNITIES
WE WANT YOU TO JOIN THE PURIM SPIEL
Rehearsals have begun and whether you love to act, sing, or just have a great time, we invite you to come be part of the fun, the music, and the magic by performing in the spiel. No experience needed—just enthusiasm! Join us at temple from 7:15–8:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings if you're interested. If you have questions, email Debbie Jaap at choirdirector@tbetacoma.org.
SISTERHOOD’S ANNUAL MISHLOACH MANOT FUNDRAISER Mishloach manot—meaning "sending of portions"—are gifts of food traditionally exchanged on Purim as a way to foster friendship and joy within the community. Each year, Sisterhood lovingly prepares complimentary Purim boxes filled with treats for every TBE household, fulfilling the beautiful mitzvah of mishloach manot. We encourage you to join us in fulfilling this mitzvah together! When you make a donation, your name will be added to the special card included with thePurim boxes given to all TBE members. Let our TBE family know that you care by making your donation today!
MATANOT L'EVYONIM: SISTERHOOD'S EFN FUNDRAISER From March 1 to 31, Sisterhood is asking for donations to the Emergency Food Network here in Tacoma. This coincides with Purim and the two parts of the mitzvah for this celebration. The first being mishloach manot (see above), the second matanot l’evyonim (gifts for the poor). This year, join our Sisterhood as we fulfill our mitzvah and participate not just in the Purim boxes and mishloach manot, but rejoice in our bounty by giving to the Emergency Food Network. Let’s end hunger in our community! Click here to donate.
BILL LEHMAN MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE Bill Lehman was a long-time member of Temple Beth El who had donated blood regularly since 1980. As a way to honor his memory and spread some good in our corner of the world, we are holding a virtual blood drive in Bill's memory for the next 14 days. To participate, schedule a donation appointment with Bloodworks at bloodworksnw.org/giveblood between February 10 and 24 (same day appointments often available). You can also call (800) 398-7888 for scheduling. On the day of your donation, share the donor code ‘BILL’ when you check in for your appointment to help us track our impact. Please feel free to share information about this drive with friends, family, and those around you!
INFORMATION
JUDAICA SHOP HOURS
We accept card transactions only. Our regular hours have been reduced to respect the time availability of our volunteers; our new hours are as follows:
– Sundays: 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
– Wednesdays: 4:30–6:30 p.m.
– Fridays: 5:30–6:30 p.m.
We are still in need of volunteers to ensure the shop can always be open during regular hours. You can get in touch with Connie Person or Aubrey Sagalovich to volunteer or to schedule a shopping appointment outside of our regular hours by sending an email to judaica@tbetacoma.org.
CONTACT THE CLERGY
If you have a question or concern you would like to share with the clergy, please email Rabbi Gorban at rabbigorban@tbetacoma.org.
TACHLIS
WANT TO SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT?
If you have an item you would like included in this weekly newsletter, please email it to frontdesk@tbetacoma.org by noon on Wednesday. Submissions must adhere to the guidelines, which may be found here.
For the URJ's transliteration guidelines, click here. Please note that submissions that do not follow these guidelines may not be accepted.
