Good Morning, Religious School Families! Tonight, we begin the celebration of Hanukkah. It is our family’s tradition to set aside one night as a night of giving. In the past, we have brought cookies to the local fire department or collected food for our local pantry.
This year, we have decided to change it up a bit. After October 7th, everything changed. We are more in tune to our friends in Israel, checking on them more regularly. We (my wife and I) find ourselves answering more questions from our kids; about Israel, about how tough it is to be Jewish in America. For our giving this year, we will be participating in the Beth El Ambulance Campaign by saving money each night.
In addition, we will be having a friendly competition between the kids and adults to see who can be caught-being-kind, throughout the 8 days of Hanukkah. Each time one is caught we will add a quarter to their respective jar. Bragging rights for the year are on the line!
In the end, we will have a donation to the ambulance campaign from our family. What’s best is that this money will be matched by a generous donation, making our impact DOUBLE!
I encourage all religious school families to find ways this Hanukkah to donate as well. Whatever your family can do, it all adds up. Especially now, where every dollar is doubled! Stop by the Magen David Adom Table on Friday night or Sunday morning to pick up an envelope to help with your family’s tzedakah project.
I hope you have a Hanukkah filled with family and light.
May we hear b’sorot tovot*, good news.
Dan
Additional Updates: Upcoming Events:
December 8th:
Hanukkah Dinner (5:30pm)
Community Hanukkah Candle Lighting (6:30pm)
4th Grade Student Led Services with a Sufganiyot Oneg!
Shabbat Shira (Immediately following services)
December 10th:
7th Graders Baking for Beit Nosh benefiting the BEHC Ambulance Project @ 9:30am
Religious School (K-7th)
Rabbi Spinrad’s Reflections on His Recent Time in Israel (Please note: the scheduled 6th/7th grade coffee with the rabbi has been postponed)
Netzer and Confirmation Hanukkah Party (12:30p)
December 13th:
Religious School (4th to 7th)
Special Hanukkah Program
December 17th:
7th Graders Baking for Beit Nosh benefiting the BEHC Ambulance Project @ 9:30am
Beth El Hebrew Congregation & Magen David Adom Ambulance Campaign Beth El is raising money to purchase an ambulance to send to Israel. The total cost of a new Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) is $165,000. Every little bit helps. You can support this initiatives by:
Sending your child with Tzedakah on Sundays and Wednesdays (All money collected for the year will support this project)
Grab a sweet at our Beit Nosh on Sundays from now until the end of 2023.
Ask your employer to match donations (If your employer needs to give directly to Magen David Adom, please reach out for information.)
Canteen Coupons are HERE! We are selling Canteen Coupons to families of 4th grade and up to use for meals on Wednesdays and Sundays at Canteen. These coupons will be sold in packs of 6 for $40 (You get 6 meals for the price of 5!). To participate go to: https://www.bethelhebrew.org/form/canteencoupon 1. Purchase your 6-pack of coupons 2. Expect delivery to your child at religious school 3. Cut out the Coupon 4. Redeem for Pizza, Snack, & a Drink
Canteen Coupons will be available for purchase in the office on Sunday Mornings. Please see Ronit Goldstein to purchase.
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:
January 7: Post-B’nei Mitzvah Parents (8th Grade and Up)
January 21: 2nd and 3rd Grade (Rescheduled from December 3rd) - 10:30am
Rabbi Spinrad’s Reflections on His Recent Time in Israel
Join Rabbi David Spinrad this Sunday at 10:00 AM as he shares reflections on his recent time in Israel on a Rabbinic Mission with The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Among his experiences, learn about conversations with Jacob Lew, the US Ambassador to Israel, author and teacher Yossi Klein HaLevi, encounters with survivors from the massacre at Kibbutz Nachal Oz, trauma specialists, doctors, IDF soldiers in Gaza, an ambulance driver who was among the first on the scene at the Nova Music Festival, as well as a first-hand description of the devastation at Kibbutz K’far Aza. This is a conversation for adults only.
