Dear Friends,
I hope you will join us this Friday night as we celebrate Shabbat and the bat mitzvah of Gabby Gipson! Mazal Tov to Gabby and to her entire family!
This Shabbat is the 3rd special Shabbat preceding Passover! It is called “Shabbat Parah” [The Red Heifer Shabbat] because, in a special Maftir Torah reading (from the book of Numbers 19:1-22), we read of the ancient pre-Passover purification ritual using the ashes of a red heifer to prepare our people for the special celebration commemorating the Exodus from Egypt.
No less important is the reading of the weekly Torah portion of Ki Tissa (from the book of Exodus) which begins with the giving of the special golden half shekel in the first official census of our people.
Why was the half shekel used to count our people made of gold? And why was it made of “fiery” gold, according to the Midrash?
The fiery gold coin reminds us that all of our giving should be fiery and filled with enthusiasm!
As we begin our preparations for Passover, may we consider our preparations as a gift to the Jewish people – a gift that we give with great enthusiasm!
And, may we join together to celebrate Gabby’s bat mitzvah with an equal measure of enthusiasm. This too is a gift that we give to the Jewish people, to our congregation, to our community, and to the world around us!
Join Us. Celebrate. And anticipate and prepare with great enthusiasm for our upcoming individual and communal celebrations as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Gilah Dror
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