Second Night Seder - April 7th - Get Your Reservations In Today

Come and join in on the traditional lively evening, at CSH’s Annual Passover Second Night Seder, where there is something for everyone!

On Saturday evening, April 7^th; 6:00 p.m.; at Congregation Shaar Hashalom, 16020 El Camino Real (Clear Lake Area) Houston, Texas, 77062

You can find copies of the reservation forms on the website; on our Facebook page; and at www.simonsites.net. Please fill in the form and return it to CSH office with your payment to reserve your spot. We should receive your forms and payment by no later than March 26^th to make sure we have an appropriate count for arranging for food.

If you have a special seating request, where several families or groups would like to be seated together, please note so on your form and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Tables will seat up to 12 people.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Shalom,

Lori Pizzuti, Seder Chairperson

Email: lori.l.pizzuti@gmail.com

Co-Presidents' Message - March 2012

We are both very excited to be the co-presidents of Congregation Shaar Hashalom.  We are planning many activities for all our members .  

Currently, the new board members are meeting with their predecessors to become oriented in their positions . Others are getting ready in positions they have done before. Our board meetings will be held on the third Thursday of every month and are open to all members.

Perhaps, you think that synagogues run themselves. However, that is not the case, and many people volunteer many hours to help see that it runs smoothly. Did you know that there are many studies that show a link between volunteering and increased feelings of self-worth? Some of our committees include fundraising, education, social action, membership, ritual and facilities. Come and join one of these committees or the many other activities at our synagogue and share your expertise with your congregation.

Let us tell you a little about us. Sandy has been a member of the synagogue for over twenty five years, is married, and has two children, ages 24 and 21. Debbie also is a longtime member of the synagogue, having joined in 1991. She also has two children, ages 29 and 24. You might meet her son David at the synagogue. 

We are looking forward to meeting and talking to each one of you in the coming months and are eager to learn your ideas about what our synagogue can do for you and your family. Feel free to email or call us to share your ideas and please tell us which committee of our synagogue you would like to participate.

Sandy and Debbie


Sandy Ostrosky sandyostrosky@gmail.com or 832-569-2652
Debbie Angel debbie.m.angel@sbcglobal.net or 281-996-5971

Rabbi's Message - March 2012

Rabbi Stuart Federow

I heard someone say that the reason why we are to drink on Purim, celebrated with the reading of the Megillah on March 7th, is to celebrate the death of Haman (boo, hiss!) and those who would destroy us. Not true.


The reason why we drink on Purim is not to celebrate a death, even the death of someone who was evil. In light of all that is said at the drowning of the Egyptians in the Sea of Reeds, how Gd silenced the angels for celebrating their deaths, we dont celebrate anyone's death, even though we must fight against those who would destroy us.


Why do we drink on Purim? To commemorate the feasts put on by Esther for both Achashveros and Haman (boo, hiss!) because wine was used to a good end.


It states in the Book of Esther:

          Esther 5:6  "And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed."

and

          Esther 7:2-4  "2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. 3  Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 4  For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage."

In other words, the miracle of the saving of the lives of the Jewish people involved the fact that they were drinking wine. And so we commemorate that by also drinking.


So, why do we also drink until we do not know ("until we do not know" = Ad lo yada) the difference between 'Curse Haman (boo, hiss!)' and 'Bless Mordechai?' That is part of the melodrama of the story. "Wine gladdens the heart of man," as we are told in Psalm 104:15, and for the Holiday of Purim, there should be no holding back in celebrating, and sometimes some people need to be loosened up to allow themselves to feel joy. The Bible and the rabbis also condemned the abuse of alcohol, but twice a year, on the heels of the very cold winters in earliest Spring with Purim, and after a month of the most solemn days of the year, with Simchat Torah, they ordained drinking to let off steam. Sometimes our Joys must be unbridled, and the wine is an aid to that end.


However, for the sake of Pikuach Nefesh, saving of life, one does not even touch the alcohol if there is the threat to one's health, be it physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional. The rabbis debated whether or not the rabbi who said that we should get that drunk was misunderstood, and some concluded that he was, indeed, misunderstood. We are not to drink to excess, or to abuse the alcohol, but rather we are to use it only so that our joy should be unbridled.


Have a Happy Purim!


Rabbi Stuart Federow