Melissa Schapiro
About Melissa Schapiro
Posts by Melissa Schapiro:
Massa Registration
Annual Meeting
Jewish Roots Registration
Concert Tickets: Sacks Mintz & Mirel
Passover 2025
Registration for the 2025 Congregation Beth Israel 2nd Night Seder is closed.
A Passover Message from Rabbi Samuels
April 10, 2025
Greetings Beth Israel Family,
Toward the end of tractate Pesachim in the Babylonian Talmud, the Rabbis finally get down to discussing the nuts and bolts of celebrating Pesach. While much of what we currently do at our seder tables was initiated by the Rabbis, reading their instructions from 1500 years ago can make one dizzy with confusion. At the heart of their teachings, however, was the concept of telling the story and engaging all of the children in attendance. In one section from the Talmud, we read: Rav Shimi bar Ashi said: [Place] matzah before every person [at the seder] and charoset before every one. But remove the table from before only the one who recounts the Telling. Rav Huna says: All of them are placed before the one who tells the story as well. The law accords with Rav Huna. Why do we remove the table? The students of R. Yannai’s academy say: In order that children will notice and ask.
You might be asking yourself, “What on earth is going on here?” That’s usually what I said to myself when studying Talmud in Rabbinical school. In essence, this passage discusses the arrangement of items on the seder table, with different opinions on whether only the one reciting the Haggadah (the seder leader) should have the matzah and charoset placed before them, or whether all participants should. The law follows Rav Huna’s view, meaning that everyone should have these items in front of them, even if they’re not the one telling the story.
But the most interesting part to me is the issue of removing the table or place setting. Why would anyone do this? The removal of the table in front of the storyteller is intended to engage children by making them curious and prompting them to ask questions about the seder, which is an important educational goal of Passover. It almost doesn’t even matter what the law decides in this case because the Rabbis make it clear how engaging children during the seder, a meal whose length far surpasses any other family dinner, is of utmost importance. A seder may be long, but it should in no way be boring!
I hope that wherever you celebrate your Passover seder this year, you find deep meaning in the symbols of the foods and rituals, comfort in being with loved ones, and, most importantly, that you have fun retelling the greatest story ever told.
A zissen pesach,
Rabbi Joshua Samuels
End of Life Workshops
The three-part End of Life planning workshops, presented by the Care Committee, are available to view online.
The first presentation on February 20, 2022, by Dr. Bill Lombard:
The second presentation DWD (Death With Dignity), MAiD (Medical Aid in Dying) and VSED (Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking), by Nancy Simmers, RN, and Rabbi Samuels, can be viewed by clicking here.
Nancy Simmers is a volunteer for End of Life Washington and co-founder and coordinator of VSED Resources Northwest, a non-profit that provides information, counsel, and resources about Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking. See www.endoflifewa.orgВ andВ www.vsedresources.com for more information
Advance Care Planning/Living Will, with Hillary Walker, with slides (same workshop as one offered by Adrienne Doucette), can be viewed here.
Kulshan Chorus Concert registration
Shanah Tovah 5782
August 23, 2021
Shalom Friends,
Whether you are a life-long member or new to Congregation Beth Israel, we want to welcome you to our wonderful community and wish you a Shanah Tovah.
We are very excited to be offering hybrid services during the upcoming High Holy Days. What does this mean? You will have the choice of attending services either in person or remotely via Zoom. After much consultation with our COVID Task Force, we feel confident that we can provide a safe space for congregants to worship together. And for those who are hesitant, we encourage you to join us virtually. Either way, we are looking forward to seeing you.
The Board of Directors has recently adopted specific guidelines for in-person worshippers to follow while on the CBI campus. Please read these carefully. We will have ushers helping to enforce these rules.
COVID Reopening Task Force PLAN FOR HIGH HOLY DAYS
1. All attendees 12 years and older will be fully vaccinated.
2. All attendees will wear a mask covering both mouth and nose.
3. All attendees will sign in with contact information (name, phone number or e-mail address).
4. Social distancing will be maintained; households/relatives will be seated together as a вЂpod’ by ushers.
5. Prayerbooks will be placed on chairs prior to services.
6. Ushers will assist with having Family Service attendees exit onto the patio at the conclusion of the Family Service.
7. Tents/canopies will be set up on the patio/plaza for overflow and for children.
8. The shofar will be sounded at the patio/plaza doors facing the outside.
9. Aliyahs will be restricted to members of one household each; all those performing honors during a service must be in the sanctuary.
10. Ushers will assist with seating and with exiting, and with security, (especially at the open patio/plaza doors).
11. The front door and the 4 patio/plaza doors will remain open and the building fan will be on, for maximum ventilation.
12. Children under 12 years old will be allowed to attend all services but will be encouraged to limit attendance to the Family Service and the concluding service when the shofars are sounded, if at all possible/feasible.
We know there a lot of rules to follow. But as Jews, we love rules! After all, we are observing the High Holy Days because we are commanded to. In all seriousness, the safety of our community is of the utmost importance to us and we feel confident that however you worship with us, you will have a safe and meaningful experience.
For those planning on attending virtually, if you would like to have a machzor to follow along with, these are the following days when you can pick one up at the synagogue for your family to share.
……..Wednesday, August 25 12:00 – 4:00 pm
……..Friday, August 27 1:00 – 3:00 pm
……..Monday, August 30 12:00 – 4:00 pm
……..Wednesday, September 1 12:00 – 4:00 pm
For those planning on attending in person, we ask that you let us know which services you will be going to and how many there will be in your party. Contact the office for a link to an online form.
Lastly, this link will take you to our High Holy Day schedule. Contact the office for Zoom links.
We are grateful for your support (and patience) during this time and we hope that you and your loved ones have a very sweet year ahead, filled with blessings, good health, and peace.
Josh Greenberg, President
Rabbi Joshua Samuels
Prof. Marc Dollinger interview
The Program and Social Action Committees were honored to host Professor Marc Dollinger as a speaker July 1, 2021. A video of his lecture, “Jews and the Civil Rights Movement,” is now available: