Shabbat Service, 7:30 pm Our Shabbat service in the comfort of your own home! Grab your computer and candles, and we'll join together in virtual community. Services will be hosted on Facebook Live and Zoom
The Talmud is an ancient compendium of Jewish law and lore, and provides the basis upon which biblical interpretation and contemporary Jewish practice rests. Hardly a monolithic document, the Talmud contains investigation and argumentation on all the facets of life. No background required!
NEW ZOOM LINK: Purim Party! Thursday, February 25, 6:00 pm
It was a year ago that Purim was our last in-person event! With the virus closing in, we were able to hold our regular Purim celebration before everything shut down. This year, our Purim will be virtual, but no less fun! Two events this year to celebrate this topsy-turvy holiday:
6:00 p.m. Megillah Reading! Put on a costume, grab a noisemaker, and fire up the computer. We will tell the story of Purim as well as tell jokes, sing songs, do mad-libs and play trivia! For the whole family!
7:00 Doikayt Now! A Purimshpiel for the Current Moment. (adult-oriented...see more below)
Doikayt Now! is a Purimshpiel for the Current Moment, with Purim characters based on current political figures. Written and directed by Nomy Lamm with support and input from the actors, and Mads DeShazo. Presented by Temple Beth Hatfiloh. Don't miss your own Rabbi Seth as Shushan's "Uncle Morty," fighting the 1% for the good of the people.
This month's presenter will be Andrew Geibel, Policy Cousel at HIAS. Andrew Geibel joined HIAS last year as Policy Counsel specializing on asylum issues. He is the author of HIAS's "Roadmap to Recovery: A Path Forward after the Remain in Mexico Program" report, which details the steps needed to end the program that has forced tens of thousands of asylum seekers to stay in some of the most dangerous areas of Mexico.
Dinner pre-orders are due Tuesday, March 9th at 5 pm.
SAVE THE DATE: Community Seder@Home Sunday, March 28, 6:00 pm Passover is Coming! We know we said “Next Year in Person” at the end of last year’s Seder, but once again we will be hosting TBH’s Community Passover Seder virtually on Sunday, March 28 at 6:00 p.m. This year we will have a full Seder meal provided by Nineveh, including a Seder foods add on! The meal and the Seder will have separate registrations, so you can choose one or both. Registration will open next week, stay tuned for more details.
FROM THE OFFICE
Appointments required! TBH Building Continued Closure
With our continued closure, please be mindful that appointments are required to either access the building or to consult in-person with TBH staff. This allows our staff to adequately prepare and ensure the safety of all. Members and friends of TBH are more than welcome to drop off envelopes and small items in the silver mailbox near the main entrance.
For assistance, appointments, and inquiries, please call 360-754-8519 or email tbh@bethhatfiloh.org.
CHRONICLING OUR SHARED EXPERIENCE
Call for Submissions
This section of the weekly is dedicated to sharing member creativity and experiences during this time of separation! If you have a recipe, piece of art, poem, short story, photo, etc. that you would like to share, send it to tbh@bethhatfiloh.org. If we receive enough submissions, we hope to compile them after this crisis has passed.
Kaddish by David Hanig
I listen to the diaspora chanting Kaddish. This kaddish, sung over Zoom, Dissolves into a babbling cacophony.
Yitgadal – Magnified! Yitkadash – Made holy! And then all fades into a jumble of crooked syllables, Merged together in the glorification Of the ever-present divine. Here and there a word punctuates The chaotic rush: A staccato of “Amens!” And piercing “Brich hu’s!”
After wading Through a thicket of Aramaic, My mind relaxes into The final Hebrew phrases, Landing securely in the blessing of “Oseh shalom” – Bestower of peace.
The Kaddish’s peace is an expansive gift, First conferred on “Aleynu” - each of us on the call, And then reaching out to “Kal Yisrael” - the entire congregation of Israel, Before finally soaring to touch “Yoshvei Tevel” – All. All of us who dwell in these narrow confines - May we all know peace.
AROUND THE CONGREGATION
Yahrzeits
Donald Schwartz Sam Alfasso Raymond Franklin Harry Pollock Tillie Bard John Turner Harry Sahanow John Billingsly Clough Gretchen Neff Frances Reichlin James Wolfhagen Norman Dolgin Yenta Rome Helen Wolfhagen Harold Greene Louis Goldberg Saul Reichlin Rose Kamenetzky Betty Stockwell Cyrus David Goldberg James Bamberger Mildred Frank Joan Greene Norman Kamen
Members are able to view, edit, and add Yahrtzeits on the member portal of the TBH website here. If you need assistance, please feel free to send any updates to tbh@bethhatfiloh.org.
COMMUNITY EVENTS/RESOURCES: Note: These are not officially sponsored or endorsed by TBH, but they are listed as they have Jewish content and/or may be of interest to our community.
HFLA Resources
After a year of what seems like living on a different planet and in a different time, we are finally turning the corner with the vaccine on the horizon. HFLA has several loan programs that can help avoid losing shelter, help pay bills, pay for college and provide a safety-net so they can sleep at night, with fewer worries.
Covid-19 Relief / Simple loan $750 This loan requires no guarantors and gets money in people's pockets fast.
General Loan up to $5,000 Up to $2,500 available with one guarantor Up to $5,000 available with two guarantors Note: HFLA relies on individuals in the community to step-up to help borrowers
Student Access Fund (SAF) $7,500 This loan is our highest maximum and can only be used for post-secondary education, i.e. college, community college, vocational and technical training.
We serve the entire state of Washington for the Jewish community. See more here.
Righteous Ruckus for Justice Sunday, February 28, 11:00 am
Never Again Seattle, Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice-NW, and Bend the Arc-Seattle are standing in solidarity with those detained in the NWDC, and the organizers who are pushing to pass Washington State HB 1090 which would ban private for-profit prisons.
The Purim story highlights the strength of speaking truth to power, and calls us to take on this work ourselves, showing up alongside those leading this fight. Purim tells of Jewish people’s struggle for safety, dignity and liberation centuries ago -- and we take its lessons seriously to this day. Today’s story of migrants fighting for the same rights is still being written as they resist detention and deportation. Join migrant justice organizers to speak the truth of justice to our legislators, demanding an end to the violence of ICE and the detention and deportation system!
