November 6, 2025 Newsletter

Shalom Bayit – Our Home

Join Us In Community!

Worship and Study

In-Person or by Zoom!

We Are Here For You!

Calendar of Events

November 7 Erev Shabbat Services at 6 pm

Potluck Meal and Birthday Celebration to follow!

November 18 JCCO/CSB Board of Directors Meeting at 6 pm

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85924155056?pwd=bjVBWWVLOHNMd3FvUDNjeXUzRlFzZz09

Meeting ID: 859 2415 5056
Passcode: Shalom

November 20 INCO Gratitude Gathering at 6:30 pm

December 2 Music, Movement, Focus Group Gathering from 5:30-6:30 pm

Come help us envision and build more ways to gather and connect — music and food and future focusing!

December 3 Book Club: 6:30 pm

The Mystics of Mile End by Sigal Samel

December 6 Traditional Shabbat Morning Service at 10 am

Join with the community in the Synagogue for a lay-led Shabbat morning service with tifilah, singing, and torah reading! Contact Sherri to volunteer to help lead the service or bring treats for the Oneg. 360 870 1303 sherrishulman@gmail.com

December 14 Hanukkah Celebration at Aspen Hall

This is a collaborative gathering with Temple Beth Tikvah and we are looking for volunteers to represent Shalom Bayit in the planning efforts.

Contact Alice for more information at 541-815-4912

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Kabbalat Shabbat Service

Nov 7, 6 pm at Shalom Bayit

(Sherri’s birthday!)

This week’s parasha is Lech-Lecha – God says to Abram, “Go forth from your homeland to the land that I shall show you. I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth shall be blessed through you.”

God makes a covenant with Abram promising to make his descendants a great nation. God changes Abram’s name to Abraham. Abraham has a child with Hagar and names him Ishmael. God then promises Abraham’s barren wife, Sarah, that she will have a child.

This is the start of the journey, and it’s nice that God reassures Abraham of the good that is to come.

Most of the time, we don’t have that reassurance – when we make large changes or small. Every choice can bring a slew of “what-ifs”. The world right now seems particularly perilous, and we don’t really have any insight into the future. Or I don’t at least.

Consider what the world is today — from political divisiveness and violence, disfunction in our government, the undermining of our social safety net, the lack of trust we have in one another. Well – I could go on. Are we indeed living in the burning building?

“The Lord said to Abram: Leave your land, your birthplace and your father’s house . . .” To what may this be compared? To a man who was travelling from place to place when he saw a palace in flames. He wondered, “Is it possible that the palace lacks an owner?” The owner of the palace looked out and said, “I am the owner of the palace.” So Avraham our father said, “Is it possible that the world lacks a ruler?” The Holy One, blessed be He, looked out and said to him, “I am the Ruler, the Sovereign of the universe.” (Breishit Rabah, The Burning Palace)

This midrash could have many interpretations. One of the most common interpretations is that it is we, the people, who are responsible for taking care of this burning building, our world. Even though God made a promise in Lech Lecha, it doesn’t seem to have come to be. The world doesn’t seem to be perfect. We don’t seem to be blessed. Maybe those flames are injustice, poverty, global warming, inequality, racism, you name it. We have more than enough flames to consider. We fight those flames by acts of justice and compassion that deny evil its victory and bring into being a world that is a little closer to the world that ought to be.

This coming Friday we have a Kabbalat Shabbat Service in the synagogue. It happens to also be my birthday. I will bring challah, a main dish to share, and a birthday cake. I hope you will come and bring a dish to share as well.

The Jewish Community of Central Oregon are long-time members of The Interfaith Network of Central Oregon. Please check out their webpage for info and events and feel free to subscribe to their newsletter mailings. We don’t include all events in our JCCO Newsletter, but we are welcome at all events!