Har Shalom

 
The weekly scoop
All events are located at the synagogue,
3035 South Russell Street, unless otherwise indicated.

Fri 3/5 Shabbat Parah Kabbalat Shabbat 6 pm followed by Kiddush
Sat 3/6 Torah Study 10 am-noon Parashat Ki Tisa, Exodus 30:11−34:35; Haftarah I Kings 18:1−18:39,  Maftir  Ezekiel 36:16–36:38
Tues 3/9  Board Meeting 6-8 pm
Wed 3/10 Chevruta Talmud Study 7:30-9 pm

Rabbinic Intern Callie Souther will return to Missoula on March 12, 13 and 14.

One good “P” deserves another: Pesach is coming!!!!!!

If you attended last weekend’s Har Shalom Purim party, you know what a wonderful time we had; we marked Purim together with spirited, home-made humor and doughy fingers! Come to see the mask and grogger gallery on the walls of Har Shalom, the happy residue of a delightful celebration.  And now, get ready: coming soon to the friendly synagogue near you is the next great “P”, Pesach (Passover), and you are invited!!!

Our joyous, participatory Seder of celebration will be held on Tuesday March 30 at 5 pm, an early start time designed to accommodate the youngest members of our community and their hard-working parents! The registration form, including meal options and other details, is attached to this email. Please make your reservations promptly because it’s difficult to accommodate walk-ins, unless you happen to be Eliyahu HaNavi (for whom a sip of wine in a dedicated goblet does the trick!). See the attached reservation form!!!!

Shabbat Parah? Wha da?

In Parashat Ki Tisa, approximately one-half year after Yom Kippur, we read about the golden calf.  This a timely reminder: what false gods have we re-erected since the High Holy Days? Can we realign our priorities and continue on the path we chose at the beginning of the year?

But what is Shabbat Parah and what does it have to do with the parsha? Shabbat Parah is one of four special Shabbatot preceding Pesach (the others are Shabbat Shekalim, Shabbat Zachor, Shabbat HaChodesh) that are marked by additional Torah readings.  The special reading (Num 19:1-22) for Shabbat Parah describes a priestly purification ritual: the ashes of  an unblemished red cow are used to make “waters of lustration”, whose role is to cleanse someone who has come in contact with a corpse. Midway between Yom Kippur 5770 and 5771, we might find it useful to cleanse ourselves of the “deadness” of our false gods and renew our connection to the divine. Instead of “waters of lustration”, we can sprinkle ourselves with metaphoric awareness. With renewed clarity of purpose, we can follow the exhortation of our Sages to experience Pesach as an exodus from personal patterns of bondage.

Klezmatics Expedition?

As reported in the Har Shalom weekly email a few weeks ago, the Klezmatics will perform at The Myrna Loy Center, Helena, on Sunday March 21 at 7:30 pm.   Tickets and more details are available at www.myrnaloycenter.com or (406) 443-0287.