Morning Service, 10:00 am In Person The service will be both a community Shabbat experience and a learning opportunity for our b'nai mitzvah families.
Communal Lunch, 12:00 pm In Person
Torah Study, 1:30 pm In Person Prayer and study are equally holy activities; and we will do both. All are invited to join in these highly participatory discussions. No experience is necessary!
THIS WEEK AT TBH
Erev Shabbat Seasonal Time Change! Starts Friday November 7, 6:30 pm
To follow the shifting of the seasons, Erev Shabbat Services begin generally at 6:30 pm starting November 1st. Later services resume in May 2025.
Learn How to Give a D'var Torah! Wednesday, November 5, 7:00 pm Online
Each week on Shabbat we have the the opportunity to engage with the weekly Torah portion by sharing words of reflection and interpretation with a D'var Torah. Literally "word of Torah," the d'var is the weekly "sermon" on the Torah text. Rabbi Seth invites members of the congregation who want to share their thoughts and insight with the congregation by signing up to give a D'var Torah, and is offering a workshop about how to do so! Note: Rabbi Seth requests that if you wish to give a d'var that you attend the workshop, even if you have already given one.
Unity Commons Meal Preparation & Sponsorship Sunday, November 9
TBH prepares a monthly meal for 60 at the Unity Commons Shelter on Martin Way. Unity Commons is a supported housing apartment operated by Interfaith Works. For more information: https://www.iwshelter.org
This effort has been possible only with the amazing group of volunteers who have been showing up ready to roll up their sleeves and cook.
Funding for our meals is currently only partially covered under the TBH budget. Our November meal is sponsored by Rebecca Kamen. Click here to sponsor the December meal , or contact the office to be added to the list of volunteers for cooking.
Lunch & Learn: Weekly Torah Portion Study Every Wednesday, 12:00 pm Online
New this year: Join Rabbi Seth every Wednesday from 12-1 on Zoom for a look at the weekly Torah portion. Log in from work or home or on the road for an hour of learning and community. Feel free to eat your lunch (or not). No prior knowledge (or Hebrew) needed!
Monthly Poetry Circle Wednesday, November 12, 1:00 pm In Person
Activities may include sharing our original work, friendly critiques of members' poems, short writing exercises, and/or whatever else the group wants the focus to be. Let's come together in a supportive environment to further our own practice, enjoyment and understanding of poetry, and how it applies to our individual and collective lives, and the world today.
Sigd Movie Night Wednesday, November 12, 6:00 - 8:00 pm In Person -- corrected from last week's email
Sigd Movie Night! TBH presents Fig Tree, Wednesday, Nov 12, 6-8pm. Snacks and tea provided. Hosted by Michael Dennis and Anjali Silva
About the movie: Ethiopian-Israeli writer-director Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian makes a startlingly confident feature debut with this story of lives torn asunder by civil war. Set in Addis Ababa in 1989, Fig Tree follows a teenage girl's harrowing coming of age.
COMING UP AT TBH
Growing Shabbat Friday, November 14, Dinner at 5:30/Service at 6:30 pm In Person
Everyone is welcome to join us for family-friendly dinner, young kids story time, and a song circle. Join us for just dinner or everything! Register below for the dinner. Registration is free, but required to help with planning. Please put any dietary requirements in the notes when registering.
Please join us for Mussar Torah Study on Saturday, November 15, 2025. The Parashat for our study will be Chayei Sarah- Genesis 23:1 – 25:18. The middah or soul trait for this parashat is M’nuchat HaNefesh / Equanimity: Calming the soul amid the storms of life. “Rise above the good and the bad,” is our phrase for this middah. Be a part of a lively discussion. Our study is from 10 AM to 11:30 AM on Zoom. We are looking forward to being with you. - Michele & Richard Jackman
Donate Used Judaica for New Homes! For the Hanukkah Bazaar on Sunday, November 16
Our "Judai-kitsch Swap" is focused on finding new homes for used Judaica. If you have items that you would like to contribute, bring them by TBH before or on the day!
Help Make the November 16th Bazaar Bake Sale a Success!!
Do you enjoy baking desserts? Do you want to help support TBH? You can do both at the same time! This year, we need people to bake treats and to help staff the booth. If you have a favorite recipe you’d like to bake for the sale OR, if you have a couple of hours to help staff the booth, please contact David Hanig at 360-451-1850 or DavidHanig@gmail.com.
At last year’s bazaar, the bake sale was one of the most successful features – we sold out of everything and raised over $1,300. This year, we hope to exceed that amount with more goodies for sale including a category for pet treats!
If you would like to participate or have any questions, please contact David.
Hanukkah Bazaar Sunday, November 16, 11am-4pm In Person
Book Group Tuesday, November 18, 6:30 pm In Person
November 18 – I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children, and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust by Julian Borger. In 1938, Jewish families are scrambling to flee Vienna. Desperate, they take out advertisements offering their children into the safe keeping of readers of a British newspaper. Borger traces the remarkable stories of his father, the other advertised children, and their families, each thrown into the maelstrom of a world at war. (3 TRL + 2ebooks)
Join us for any book(s) that you're interested in talking about. This year we will meet in person every other month on the 3rd Tuesday at 6:30pm, with a bonus meeting in April. The list below includes how many copies are available in the Timberland Regional Library (TRL). Contact Linda Rubin at linda.rubin23@gmail.com with questions. Please don't be shy, come join us!
Sigd Celebration Thursday, November 20, 6:00 - 8:00 pm In Person--corrected from last week's email
Come celebrate the Beta Israel holiday of Sigd with Ethiopian food, story, crafts, and music! All are welcome. If you are interested in making food, please contact Michael Dennis mdennisa3@gmail.com or Anjali Silva anjalinaja@hotmail.com
Sigd is a celebration of the Ethiopian Jews as the idea of accepting the Torah and yearning for Israel and the Temple. It became a national Israeli in 2008. The Beta Israel community asks that Jews around the world commemorate this holiday to highlight the Ethiopian Jewish people.
COMMITTEE UPDATES
Immigrant and Refugee Task Force
Food Drive Unfortunately, ICE agents have been targeting the food bank making it an unsafe location for our immigrant neighbors. TBH is collecting food to be distributed from an alternate undisclosed location. You will see a box for this purpose in the entryway. Thank you so much for helping.
Food requested: Maseca-corn masa flour, dry or canned beans and lentils, rice, oil, shelf stable vegetables-potatoes, onions and chilies, canned vegetables, pozole-hominy, Canned chicken and chili
Monetary donations are also appreciated.
JCIJ NW Newsletter Here's the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice November newsletter for sharing with the Temple Beth Hatfiloh community. Read about community support for immigrant justice, the JCIJ job opening for an accompaniment program manager, our upcoming Chanukah party and the latest local and national immigration news.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
NEW Shabbat Volunteer Sign-Up Sheet
For 5786, we have integrated our various sign up sheets into one google sheet, so that all the volunteer roles are in one place. Here is a short description of TBH volunteer roles, and here is the sign-up for Shabbat volunteers (with other volunteer opportunities on additional tabs). Contact Kayla with any questions!
THANK YOU!
Contributions
Fall Giving Campaign Charlene Healy David Deitz & Donna Landry Claire Petersky Mindy Chambers & Paul Peck Sylvia Fox Allen Roth Bernie Friedman & Emily Chadwick in honor of Charles, Jack, Roberta, and Phyllis
Sustaining Fund Charlene Healy in honor of Pat Ava Asher & Dan Gruber in honor of Masha Lieba's naming ceremony Ronald Maybruck & Valerie Leaf in memory of Michael Maybruck Sarah-Grace Vasquez
Thank you to our Rabbi's Discretionary Fund donors to help us provide food cards to community members.
Volunteers
Greeters Tikva Glantz Michael Blum George Chappell Daniel Farber Sarah Weiss
Harriet Rosen Ronald Jerome Brooks Arthur Delaney Fritz Timian Thomas Greenfield Edward Hansen Al Hodes David Soule Bernard Carr Linda Silverman Weisstein Nancy Brzycki Eugerie Narcisse Paul Baer Minnie Levinson Milton Josephson Esther Pollock Berkeley Garrison Leroy Hittle Leroy Hittle Mary Parker Bernard Shelan Leroy Hittle Esther Schwartz Ronald David Goodman Ronald David Goodman Lois Arnold Gale Walter Benjamin Reichman Raven Lidman Charlotte Grotsky Reichman Tom Georges
Happy Birthday!
5 Evan Ferber 5 Natalia Braun 9 Gail Wish 10 Lindsey Kennelly 10 Susan Tuttle 11 Thomas Carr 1 Jacob Lipson
Yahrtzeit Updates & Additions
Members are able to view, edit, and add Yahrtzeits on the member portal of the TBH website here (requires log in). If you need assistance, please feel free to send any updates to kiverson@bethhatfiloh.org.
Mi Sheberach Updates
During Shabbat services, we always include a prayer for healing and maintain a list on behalf of members who want to include names in the healing prayers (as well as offering them verbally during services). Fill out this form to add a name to the list. May all be blessed with a refua shleyma, a complete healing of body, mind, and spirit.
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.
Thurston Gun Sense: Dr. Gregory Engel Presentation Monday, November 10, 6:30 pm In Person at United Churches of Olympia
Join us for an important conversation about the role of education in firearm injury prevention. Dr. Gregory Engel from NW Ceasefire is a medical doctor who works with UW Medical School students to help educate students about the facts of firearm injury. Since 2017, with the help of a grant from the King County Academy of Family Physicians, they have reached nearly 12,000 students in grades 9-12 at more than two dozen Washington State high schools. Did you know?
By the time the average U.S. student graduates from high school, they have seen 200,000 violent acts on television alone, many portraying the use of firearms.
Mass shootings account for less than 1% of firearm deaths.
Firearm deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in Washington State, and suicides make up the majority of those deaths.
Firearm injury is the leading cause of death for high school students.
Firearm injury is a public health issue impacting all Washingtonians.
What is possible when instruction on firearm injury prevention is included in Washington State’s health education standards?
Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 201 8th Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501
