Congregation Agudath Jacob May Iyar/Sivan 5777 www.agudath-waco.org Rabbi: Ben-Zion Lanxner President: Jeff Levin Phone: 254-772-1451 Office Admin: Amanda Henson Fax: 254-772-2471 Rabbi@agudath-waco.org Cajassistant@grandecom.net

This bulletin is published twelve times per year by Congregation Agudath Jacob – a non profit organization. Founded in 1888 – Celebrating 128 years – Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Rabbi Ben-Zion Lanxner

The month of Nissan, or April, was a

very busy one indeed, not only in our

Synagogue but equally in our homes as

well, as probably for most of us, it was

“Spring cleaning time”, preparing for our

Sedarim, to finally reach that exciting,

uplifting and reinvigorating Passover

holiday! I only hope that each and every

one of you had a great time as we had at

our Congregational Seder at Agudath Jacob,

where we enjoyed the participation of

almost sixty people, in such brotherhood,

sense of community and friendship!

Impressive indeed. Kol Hakavod!

As optimistic as I am, I know we will

do even better next year G-d willing.

So, every day, from the second night

of Passover to the festival of Shavuot, we

literally count our days. The period is known

as Sfirat Ha’Omer, the counting of the

Omer, originally rooted in the agricultural

rhythms of ancient Israel, a time of both

anxiety and anticipation, as farmers waited

to see what the season's first harvest would

yield. Most of us are far removed from the

experience of watching for signs of a

successful crop of barley or wheat,

(although now that I live in Texas I realize

how many people here are farmers and

must be sincerely praying hard for a

successful harvest) — but we are never

more than a hairsbreadth away from the

anxiety and anticipation of waiting to see

what the next day or next year will bring

into our lives. (Be’ezrat Hashem, G-d willing,

wishing only good things for all of us.

Amen.)

When we stand to begin counting the

Omer at the end of the second Seder, we

quietly, implicitly assert three things:

First, the story of the Exodus is not

just an ancient memory. We haven’t just

told it, we have lived it, we have eaten it,

we have ingested it — we must metabolize

it and carry it with us. It shapes who we are,

it nourishes us and it demands something of

us, besides the fact that we have to feel as

we ourselves were slaves in Egypt, but that

our children, for whom this main Mitzvah of

telling and retelling our story was

commanded in the first place, will be able

to learn from us, so that they in turn, will

continue to carry on, for generations to

come, our sacred mission to be a “Light To

The Nations” and be proud of this holy

responsibility.

Second, while we are profoundly

committed to the importance of memory,

we also have to tend to our hopes for the

future. The act of counting beckons us

forward. It is the opposite of dayeinu. It’s

not enough that we came out of Egypt. We

have to be going somewhere, we have to

have a sense of purpose.

Third, while counting the Omer, we

are careful not to get ahead of ourselves.

We are looking toward Chag Shavuot — we

are preparing to receive the Torah again at

Mount Sinai — but our feet are planted

squarely in the present moment. We are

careful (obsessively so, one might argue)

never to mention the next day's count. The

progression from one day to the next is not

to be taken for granted. We count only the

time we have been given; we add today to

yesterday’s count but we do not — we dare

not — assume tomorrow, as Kabbalah

explains, as we are progressing each day,

one step at a time, towards a higher level of

purity and holiness, we have to complete

each step securely before we can step up to

the next one. One cannot read before one

learns the alphabet, or as the saying goes

“you can’t run before you can walk”!

Next week, on Monday, May 1, 2017

we will mark Yom Hazikaron and on

Tuesday, May 2, 2017, Yom Ha’atzma’ut

— Israel’s Memorial Day and Israel’s Day of

Independence. In a deep way, these two

days mirror and make manifest the ancient

lessons of the Omer in our time. On these

days, we feel both the burdens and

blessings of belonging; we reflect on the

ways in which our own stories are bound up

with the story of our people. On these days,

we remember Israel’s Fallen Soldiers who

gave their lives in Kiddush Hashem, Ha’Am

veHa’aretz, for the sanctification of G-d’s

Name, His People and His Holy Land, and

we know that memory is not enough. We

are summoned to hope (Hatikvah); we are

called to reconnect to our deepest

aspirations for Israel’s future, and to take

strong action when Israel’s rights are

violated, as I mentioned in my open

remarks a few days ago at our Yom

Hashoah commemoration,” when there are

those who seek to deny our history, our

connection to the Land of Israel, or to deny

or who want to wipe out our identity, to

oppose our right to be a people, our right

to a homeland safe and secure, we have to

take what happened during the Holocaust

to heart and stand up firm, and not be

silent! “, as I also mentioned that “while

Israel exists not because of the Holocaust,

the Holocaust explains why Israel must

exist”. For Jews all over the world, Israel

and its superb “Israel Defenses Forces”

serve as a safety net and a strong defense

shield!

And finally, on these days, we take

time to gratefully plant ourselves in the

present moment — we pause long enough

to appreciate how far we have come, to

celebrate the extraordinary vitality and

creativity of the Israeli people, to open our

eyes and see how beautiful and alive, how

resilient, innovative, courageous and

perseverant our people is. What does one

need more to be proud to be a Jew today! If

one would ask me, I would without

hesitation tell him that this is the prelude of

the Messianic era as according to the

Prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 8:8), the time

of 2000 years of exile will end:” The sons

shall return to their Homeland”, VeShavu

Banim Ligvulam.

As we count each day and bless the

counting, may we be reminded to count our

blessings, as Lag Ba’Omer appears on May

14, 2017. (For more details concerning Lag

Ba’Omer, please refer to last year’s May

2016 Newsletter).

“Yom Yerushalayim”: This year,

“Jerusalem Day” will be celebrated on May

24, and will mark its 50th Anniversary!

Although Jerusalem has been considered

and remained for 3000 years the City of

King David, the City of G-d and the City of

the Jewish People since the time of King

David – who conquered it and built it as the

seat of his monarchy in approximately 1000

B.C.E., having also maintained a

continuous presence of the Jewish People

– there has never been a special day in

honor of the city until the Israeli army took

over the ancient, eastern part of the city on

the third day of the Six-Day War in June

1967.

Shortly after the Six-Day War, “a

municipal unification” of the two sections of

the city took place, ending 19 years of

separation between predominantly Arab

and Jewish suburbs of Jerusalem, following

the War of Independence in 1948.

Due to the young age of this holiday,

there is still not much that makes it unique

in terms of customs and traditions. It is

gradually becoming a “pilgrimage” day,

when thousands of Israelis travel to

Jerusalem to demonstrate solidarity with

the city.

This year, as we are celebrating its

special “50th Anniversary”, you can only

imagine the level of intensity that will be

demonstrated in the State of Israel!

This show of solidarity is of special

importance to the State of Israel in

particular, but to all the Jews in the world

equally, since the international community

has never approved the “reunification” of

the city under Israel sovereignty, and many

countries have still not recognized

Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State

(The United Nations “partition plan” of

November 1947 assigned a status of

“International City” to Jerusalem).

Finally, on May 31 and June 1, 2017,

the climax of the counting of the Omer

marks the celebration of the Festival of

Shavuot, the Giving of the Torah to the

People of Israel.

More details on future programs

during this busy month of May will be

available shortly.

Wishing all of you a Chag Same’ach.

Rabbi Ben-Zion Lanxner

April Service ScheduleFriday, May 5

Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 p.m. Candle Lighting 7:54 p.m.

Saturday, May 6 Shacharit 9:30 a.m. Shabbat Ends 8:51 p.m.

Friday, May 12 Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 p.m. Candle Lighting 7:58 p.m.

Saturday, May 13 Shacharit 9:30 a.m. Shabbat Ends 8:57 p.m.

Friday, May 19 Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 p.m. Candle Lighting 8:03 p.m.

Saturday, May 20 Shacharit 9:30 a.m. Shabbat Ends 9:02 p.m.

Friday, May 26 Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 p.m. Candle Lighting 8:08 p.m.

Saturday, May 27 Shacharit 9:30 a.m. Shabbat Ends 9:07 p.m.

Tuesday, May 30 Erev Shavuot

Service 6:00 p.m. Thursday, June 1

Shavuot – Second Day Service 9:30 a.m. Yizkor (approx.) 11:00 a.m.

The next CAJ Board meeting will be held Wednesday, June 14th at 6:00 p.m.

May 2 Miguel Perez

May 11 Dorothy Harelik

May 12 Chava Kamenetsky

May 14 David Fay May 15

Jake Bauer May 20

Betty Bauer

May 21 Jayden Mayette

May 25 Benjamin Spark

May 30 Lacey Meredith Farley

Jake Schwartz

Luke McNabb’s Birthday

Larry & Joie McNabb

May 4

Mr. & Mrs. George Keller

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Settle

May 7

Dr. & Mrs. Harvey Spark

May 9

Mr. & Mrs. Craig Hoffman

May 25

Mr. & Mrs. David Jortner

May 30

Mr. & Mrs. Joel Weissman

Other Special Donations

Henry & Hope Hacker

Jeff & Lea Levin

Shanna Rogers

Lynne Lipsitz

Waco Vacuum

Lesley & David Rosen

Leonard & Elysse Englander

Rabbi Discretionary Fund Stanley & Florence Hersh Miguel & Lourdes Perez

Joseph Settle Shanna Rogers

Jeff & Colleen Wolf

The office will be closed

Monday, May 29th for Memorial Day. The office will also be

closed for Shavuot on Wednesday, May 31st & Thursday, June 1st.

Linda Cruz

Steven & Lilia Schwarz

Shabbat Donations April 1

Stanley & Florence

Hersh

Henry & Hope Hacker

George & Kathleen

Keller

Brent & Dianne

deMoville

Jerry & Candee Gerson

Mike & Cindy Perry

Joseph Settle

David Fay

April 8 & Passover 1

Stanley & Florence

Hersh

Brent & Dianne

deMoville

Inez Bonneville

Brandon & Teresa

Harris

George & Kathleen

Keller

Abbye & Susan Silver

David Levy

Joseph Settle

Gloria Yoder

Aislinn Brooks

David Fay

April 15 & Passover 8

Stanley & Florence

Hersh

Brent & Dianne

deMoville

Harold & Chava

Kamenetsky

Jeff & Lea Levin

Miguel & Lourdes Perez

Joseph Settle

Mike & Cindy Perry

Jerry & Candee Gerson

Abbye & Susan Silver

David Fay

Simone Bauer

Charles Levy

Elliot & Barbara Wolpo

Caroyn Neuwirth

Bobbye Brickman

Norman & Margie Goldberg

Naman & Esther Lipinsky

Steven & Lilia Schwarz

Harry & Bev Harelik

Becky & Keith Myers

Patsy Keen

Birdie Citrin

Jeff & Lea Levin

Lauren Hoffman

Craig & Lydia Hoffman

Jack Ruttenberg

Phyllis Ruttenberg Akmal

Rina Ruttenberg

Mollie Israel

Joel & Nancy Weissman

Cal Goldberg

Harvey & Jo Spark

Gregg McNabb

Larry & Joie McNabb

Shirley Hoppenstein

Naman & Esther Lipinsky

Elliot & Barbara Wolpo

Charles Levy

Carolyn Neuwirth

Stanley & Florence Hersh

Harry & Bev Harelik

Cheryl Hersh

Melvin & Lynne Lipsitz

Unitron

Lane Gorman Trubit, LLC

Richard & Sherilee Trubitt

HOW TO OBSERVE THE YAHRZEIT It is traditional to kindle a Yahrzeit Candle in the home on the evening Yahrzeit begins. It should remain lighted until sunset the next day. Possible prayer before lighting a Yahrzeit candle: Eternal God, I/we light this candle in memory of (name) _________, my/our beloved (relationship) ___________. The light of the flame rekindles all the warm memories of the moment we shared together, and reassures me /us that a piece of his/her soul dwells in my/our heart(s) forever. May his/her soul be bound up with the bonds of eternal life. Amen. Candles are available at the Gift Shop. Every effort should be made to say Kaddish at congregational services. It is meritorious to perform some Mitzvah or to contribute to the synagogue in commemoration of the deceased.

Kaddish will be read on May 5 Iyar 9 Z. Hoppenstein Muriel Jesenof Iyar 10 Mary Novich Dr. Sam Chernoff Iyar 11 Annie Esserman Sarah Israel Jack Weissman Dave Freed Max Chodorow Lillian Rubenstein Iyar 12 Benjamin Bauer Joe Leo Siegel Louis Woolf Iyar 13 Millie Gardner Abe Adams Iyar 14 Adrian Moes Fannie Genecov Rhua Settle Iyar 15 Sarah Hoffman Morris Cohen Annie Rae Wizig Kaddish will be read on May 12 Iyar 16 Gilford Fred Iyar 17 Julius Berkman

Jacob Greenspan Samuel Kestner Abe Udashen Iyar 18 N. Suravitz Jennie Rosenberg Iyar 19 Louis Kleiman Ralph Leeds Iyar 20 Sonia Stein Iyar 21 Louis Marks

Lee Wolkoff Sarah Stein Iyar 22 Max Hoppenstein Abe Lewis Hyman Novy

Kaddish will be read on May 19 Iyar 23 Mandel H. Citrin Iyar 24 A. Polansky Mary Budin Orpha Starr Iyar 25 Otto Levy

David Harry Rubel Mrs. Phillip Stupak Steve Zelen Iyar 26 Dave Spero Iyar 27 Phillip M. Citrin

Sarah Cohen J. Englander

Hannah Lasinker Lilly Maleh Barbara Vondra

Iyar 28 Abe Levy Toby Mallen Iyar 29 Al Jacobson Kaddish will be read on May 26 Sivan 1 Rosaline Gardner

Jacob Jacobson Rebecca Zoblotsky Hennie Genecov

Sivan 2 John Harry Fay Sivan 4 Morris Brickman

Max Harris Frances Lebowitz

Sivan 5 Ervin Graubard Abe Schwartz

Esther Zackin Hazel Warnstaff Audrey Mendelson Sivan 6 Mrs. Ben (Rosa) Keen Sarah Stein Sivan 7 Mary Meinstein

Golda Faigle Wizig Betty Birnbach Hector Lago

May 20175 Iyar 5777 - 6 Sivan 5777

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

5:21AM/7:23PM§8:08PM

5:20AM/7:25PM§8:10PM

5:19AM/7:26PM 5:17AM/7:27PM 5:16AM/7:28PM¡¡7:10PM

5:15AM/7:29PM§8:14PM

5:14AM/7:30PM 5:13AM/7:31PM 5:12AM/7:32PM 5:11AM/7:33PM§8:18PM

5:10AM/7:34PM 5:08AM/7:35PM¡¡7:17PM

5:07AM/7:36PM§8:21PM

5:06AM/7:37PM§8:22PM

5:06AM/7:38PM 5:05AM/7:39PM 5:04AM/7:40PM 5:03AM/7:41PM 5:02AM/7:42PM¡¡7:24PM

5:01AM/7:42PM§8:27PM

5:00AM/7:43PM 5:00AM/7:44PM 4:59AM/7:45PM 4:58AM/7:46PM§8:31PM

4:58AM/7:47PM 4:57AM/7:48PM¡¡7:30PM

4:56AM/7:49PM§8:34PM

4:56AM/7:49PM 4:55AM/7:50PM 4:55AM/7:51PM¡¡7:33PM

4:54AM/7:52PM§8:37PM/¡¡8:37PM

5 Iyar/20 L'Omer 6 Iyar/21 L'Omer 7 Iyar/22 L'Omer 8 Iyar/23 L'Omer 9 Iyar/24 L'Omer 10 Iyar/25 L'Omer

11 Iyar/26 L'Omer 12 Iyar/27 L'Omer 13 Iyar/28 L'Omer 14 Iyar/29 L'Omer 15 Iyar/30 L'Omer 16 Iyar/31 L'Omer 17 Iyar/32 L'Omer

18 Iyar/33 L'Omer 19 Iyar/34 L'Omer 20 Iyar/35 L'Omer 21 Iyar/36 L'Omer 22 Iyar/37 L'Omer 23 Iyar/38 L'Omer 24 Iyar/39 L'Omer

25 Iyar/40 L'Omer 26 Iyar/41 L'Omer 27 Iyar/42 L'Omer 28 Iyar/43 L'Omer 29 Iyar/44 L'Omer 1 Sivan/45 L'Omer 2 Sivan/46 L'Omer

3 Sivan/47 L'Omer 4 Sivan/48 L'Omer 5 Sivan/49 L'Omer 6 Sivan

Bava Basra 99 Bava Basra 100 Bava Basra 101 Bava Basra 102 Bava Basra 103 Bava Basra 104

Bava Basra 105 Bava Basra 106 Bava Basra 107 Bava Basra 108 Bava Basra 109 Bava Basra 110 Bava Basra 111

Bava Basra 112 Bava Basra 113 Bava Basra 114 Bava Basra 115 Bava Basra 116 Bava Basra 117 Bava Basra 118

Bava Basra 119 Bava Basra 120 Bava Basra 121 Bava Basra 122 Bava Basra 123 Bava Basra 124 Bava Basra 125

Bava Basra 126 Bava Basra 127 Bava Basra 128 Bava Basra 129

Yom Hazikaron Yom Ha'Atzmaut Religious School Kabbalat Shabbat6:00 p.m.

Shacharit9:30 a.m.

Pesach Sheini

Religious School

Kabbalat Shabbat6:00 p.m.

Shacharit9:30 a.m.

Lag B'Omer

Minyan & Class9:30 a.m.

Religious School Kabbalat Shabbat6:00 p.m.

Shacharit9:30 a.m.

Minyan & Class9:30 a.m.

Yom Yerushalayim

Religious SchoolLast day of School

Rosh Hodesh

Religious SchoolConfirmation

Kabbalat Shabbat6:00 p.m.

Shacharit9:30 a.m.

Minyan & Class9:30 a.m.

Offic Closed Erev Shavuot

Erev Shavuot6:00 p.m.

Shavuot

Offic Closed

[¡¡Candle Lighting, §Observance End, Printed April 26, 2017/30 Nisan 5777 for Canton, Ohio]