02.20.26 - TBE Shabbat Spotlight

Upcoming Events

Yahrzeits We Remember...

May their memory be a blessing and a lesson for how we can live our lives.

Marcus Aronoff* Carrie Ascher* Ethel Coates* Barry Debowsky Alex Elbaz Lisa Enfield Robert Ernest* Herman Feit* Andrew Friedrich Melvin O. Goodman* Miriam Goldberg Herman* Annie Glassman Higham Dezider Hollander* Miriam Israel* Morris Karfeld Morris Kestenbaum* Sylvia Kirschner* E. Philip Levine Louis Levitsky Nathan Lippman*

Marcia Mandell Bessie Meyerson* Harriet Miller* Nathan Mogolevsky* Abraham Neumark* Emilie Neumark* Robert Neumark* Elmer Ottenheimer* Charles Rothman* William Rothstein* Gilbert Lee Rubin Leon T. Sax* Elisabeth Scripp Alice Shafer Evelyn Silverboard Phyllis Silverstein Robert Warsaw Lee Weinberg* Edward Allen Wolotsky

the

Shabbat

Spotlight

*Denotes plaque in Memorial Alcove

We’d love to hear from you!

Reach out to us with any questions.

Amy L. Morrison - Rabbi 727-347-6136 - RabbiMorrison@TempleBeth-El.com Tara O’Donnell - Director of Finance & Operations 727-347-6136 - Tara@TempleBeth-El.com Jennifer Hannon - Director of Early Childhood Center 727-350-5885 - JennHannon@TempleBeth-El.com Alexis Kelly - Raymund Family Religious School Principal 727-347-6136 - RaymundRS@TempleBeth-El.com Tracy Nash - Bookkeeper 727-347-6136 - Bookkeeper@TempleBeth-El.com Tovah Feld - Communications & Engagement Coordinator 727-347-6136 - Tovah@TempleBeth-El.com Allison Fowler - Office Administrative Assistant 727-347-6136 - Allison@TempleBeth-El.com Mike Shapiro - Temple President 727-347-6136 - President@TempleBeth-El.com

Parashat T’rumah Exodus 25:1-27:19

Rebecca Barancik, Barbara Marin, & the Jammin’ Jews #tbestpete

February 20, 2026

A Special Message from

Rabbi Amy L. Morrison

In Parashat T’rumah, God invites the Israelites to build a sanctuary — not of stone and power, but of generosity and heart.

“Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”

Not in it, but among them. At a moment when the wilderness felt uncertain and the future unclear, they were asked to bring gifts: gold and copper, blue and purple yarn, acacia wood, oil for light.

Each offering, given freely, became part of something sacred.

For me, this portion speaks directly to how we seek joy in dark times. When the world feels like a wilderness, we respond not by retreating into despair, but by building — through kindness, creativity, and community.

Joy is not denial of pain; it is an act of sacred resistance. Like our ancestors, we gather what we have — compassion, song, courage — and we weave them together. In doing so, we create a dwelling place for hope, and the Holy Presence rests among us.

Announcements

Torah Portion

Saturday, Feb. 21

10am - 11:30am - ”Mini Minyan”

Sunday, Feb. 22

Parashat T’rumah: Exodus 25:1-27:19 Saturday, February 21, 2026 / 4 Adar 5786

Wednesday, Feb. 25

God asks the Children of Israel to donate gifts (t'rumah) for the building of the Tabernacle so that God may "dwell among them." (25:1-9) Instructions for the construction of the Ark, table, and menorah are provided. (25:10-40) Detailed directions are given on how to build the Tabernacle. (26:1-27:19)

8:45am - Brotherhood Schmooze 9:30am - Sunday School & th 5 Grade Class Family Participation Day 9:30am - Social Justice Committee Meeting 10am - FAST Network Meeting 10:45am - Book Club Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

by Isabel Wilkerson

Suggestions for parents of our youngest congregants Relax! God put the wiggle in children.

Don’t feel you have to suppress it in our

My charge for you—do something, say something, be something… as it’s often in our inactivity that darkness overcomes our hearts and minds.

sanctuary or chapel.

If you are new to Temple Beth-El, welcome!

OPEN COMMUNITY CREATES ENGAGING & DIVERSE JEWISH PATHWAYS Located in St. Petersburg on Florida's beautiful west coast, Temple Beth-El is a Reform Jewish congregation that has served this area since 1928 and is focused on strengthening relationships and making connections. We are a welcoming Reform community for Jewish and interfaith households to experience an uplifting and joyful sense of belonging as we seek to connect our members with each other and the greater community and world around us.

Enjoy and have a Shabbat Shalom!

Sit towards the front where it is easier for your little ones to see and hear what is happening on the Bima. They tire of seeing the backs of other’s heads.

Quietly explain our rituals and sing or clap when appropriate. Children learn liturgical behavior by copying you.

If you need to leave services with your child, do so, but please come back.

Remember that the way we welcome children in synagogue directly affects the way they respond to coming to synagogue, to God, to one another. Let them know that they are welcome in this house of worship, here, at Temple BethEl.