Purim!

Purim, the most joyous Jewish holiday, is this Saturday night and Sunday. We will celebrate Purim early, at our regular Friday night service, 7 PM at the temple, 956 J Street in Crescent City. Two congregants have promised to bring hamantaschen, the pastry treats associated with Purim. Some may even be gluten-free! We'll also sing Purim songs. Costumes are encouraged!

We will pray "Gomel," the prayer for miraculous deliverance, in addition to a prayer for those affected by the tsunami here and in Japan.

Saturday afternoon we continue our Torah study from 4:30 to 6:30 P.M. We will study the parsha, Tsav, Leviticus 6:1-8:36. We will also discuss Megillat Esther, the special scroll for Purim. Esther is in a complete Bible, not in a Chumash, which contains the first five books of the Bible.

Beth Shalom's Passover  seder is now set for Saturday night, April 23rd at the Coast Guard Auxiliary Hall in Crescent City Harbor. We will have a potluck dinner and seder led by Rabbi Les Scharnberg. Passover begins Monday night April 18 at sundown, and runs for seven or eight days, depending on your observance. Orthodox and Conservative Jews outside Israel observe eight days; Reform Jews observe seven. We will call everyone in the next few weeks and help each family decide what to bring.

I hope to see you this weekend.

Barry Wendell
President
Beth Shalom