Happy Thursday Religious School Families, Thank you to everyone who came out last Shabbat to celebrate consecration. The kids and families did a great job! If you were a family of a consecrant and were unable to make it or did not get a chance to pick up your certificate at the end of the night, please come find me on Sunday. Looking ahead to Sunday, we will be celebrating Simchat Torah. Families are invited to attend at 11am. We will unroll the Torah and sing our way through the 5 books. We will need lot of adult volunteers to help with holding the Torah, so please consider joining. As a reminder, our assembly seating will be as follows:
Following our program, we will have a parade out to the 3rd Annual Simchat Torah Block Party. If you are planning on attending, please sign up here: https://www.bethelhebrew.org/event/simchat-torah-celebration1.html In addition, the Kona Ice Truck will be here (this is in addition to the registration which included pizza and salad.) I look forward to celebrating with everyone.
There is no Netzer or Confirmation this week because of the Block Party. Students and their families in Netzer and Confirmation are encouraged to attend our 11am program. If you are not a madrichim and attending, please let me know, there are lots of jobs to do! Finally, by now you have seen our updated rules regarding food and drink in the classroom. If you missed it, it can be read here . Of note;
We encourage students to bring water in a re-closable container should they want to drink during class.
No sodas, juices, and flavored waters as they can be sticky if spilled
Please have your child eat prior to beginning of class. We offer Bagel & Doughnut Bar and Canteen prior to Sunday and Wednesday religious school. It is a great time for community building and I encourage you to attend on occasion.
As we continue to celebrate Sukkot this week, I wish you a Moadim, L’simcha. See everyone on Sunday! Dan
October 8th: Religious School (K-7th Grade) - No Regular Netzer/Confirmation (Please join us for our Simchat Torah Celebration and Block Party starting at 11am)
October 13th: 7th Grade Led Shabbat Services (6:40pm for 7th graders/7pm service)
October 15th: Religious School (K-7th)
October 15th: Netzer & Confirmation (12:30 - 1:45)
October 18th: Religious School (4th-7th)
October 21st: Blessing of the Pets
October 22nd: Religious School (K-7th Grade)
October 22nd: No Netzer Program/Confirmation at High Ropes Course
October 25th: Religious School (4th-7th)
October 29th: Religious School (K-7th)
October 29th: B’nei Mitzvah Meeting for 6th Grade Families (10:15am)
October 29th: Netzer and Confirmation: BEFTY Mini Golf Outing (12:30 to ???)
Shalom Chaverim: Taste of Religious School Families of children 3-5 years old are invited to join us for our once a month pre-kindergarten program, Shalom Chaverim. Join us from 10:15 to 11:15 at Beth El on the dates below:
November 12
December 3
January 14
February 4
March 24
April 21
May 5
Come early to enjoy a treat at our Bagel and Donut Bar followed by a taste of religious school. To register, please go to the Beth El Hebrew Congregation Website or click here. (Registration is free but requested for planning purposes) For additional information, please contact Dan, dswartz@bethelhebrew.org .
Wednesday Night Canteen Needs YOU! At Beth El Hebrew Congregation, we provide a unique opportunity for our 4th to 7th grade students to create connections each week by having dinner together. In order for us to continue this tradition, we need your support. Each Wednesday, we are looking for 2 adult volunteers to support canteen by helping serve/collect money. If you are able to support, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848ABAA2CA4F8C70-44483719-wednesday
Bagel and Donut Bar: The Bagel Bar is starting back up, and we need your help! The Bagel Bar is a fun way to fundraise for the Religious School's scholarship fund, connect with other parents, and above all, provide a delicious breakfast to students. Bagels are $3.00, which includes cream cheese or butter, and donuts are $2.00. We will provide instructions for volunteers on exactly what to do. We’d like to encourage parents to sign up with other parents of kids in the same grade, if possible: Kindergarten- October; First Grade- November, Second Grade- December; Third Grade- January, Fourth Grade- February, Fifth Grade- March, Sixth Grade- April and Seventh Grade- May. But we will happily take volunteers any time you can make it.
The Bagel Bar is a Beth El tradition and we are looking forward to doing it again this year! We can’t do it without you though so please sign up today at this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094EA8A622A4F94-bagel2 If you have questions, don’t hesitate to email Rachael Turner at rbturnerva@gmail.com.
Parent Coffee & Community Join Rabbi Spinrand on a Sunday morning for an opportunity to connect with parents in your grade over coffee. Fall/Winter dates are as follows: November 12: 4th and 5th Grade November 19: Kindergarten and 1st Grade December 3: 2nd and 3rd Grade December 10: 6th and 7th Grade
The New Israel Fund and Temple Rodef Shalom Present: Israel’s Mass Protest: An evening with Israeli Protest Leader and Activist Shir Nosatzki Moderated by Rabbi Alexandra Stein Wednesday, October 18th 7:00 pm Temple Rodef Shalom 2100 Westmoreland St, Falls Church, VA Israel is at a critical juncture in its history. Many of us are watching in awe as week after week, for over eight months straight, hundreds of thousands of Israelis are taking to the streets to demonstrate against the government’s judicial overhaul and in support of democracy. This is by far the largest and most sustained mass protest movement to ever take place in Israel. To add to the magnitude of this historic moment, we’ve also witnessed Jewish communities across the US protesting in support of their brothers and sisters in Israel. What is motivating Israelis to take part in this struggle? What are the threats to Israel’s democracy? What is the vision of protest leaders for Israel’s future? And what role can our community here in the United States play? To answer these questions and more, please join us for a special evening with one of the young leaders at the forefront of the historic mass protest in Israel. Shir Nosatzki is a leading Israeli activist, organizer, and civil society changemaker who emerged as a core organizer of the mass protest. As the Co-Founder and Director of “Have you Seen the Horizon Lately?”, Shir brings the important issue of Jewish-Arab partnership into the forefront of the mainstream protest movement. You can view Shir speaking on the main stage at the Kaplan demonstrationhere
