The Stanton Street Weekly Newsletter: Parshat Tetzaveh
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Parshat Tetzaveh Week of February 27, 2026 10 Adar 5786 Wishing you and your family Shabbat Shalom!
The month of Adar represented in the Mazalot in our Sanctuary.
Friday, February 27, 2026 • 10 Adar 5786
5:27pm - Candle lighting
5:30pm - Kabalat Shabbat services
6:30pm - Shabbat dinner (for those who have pre-registered)
Shabbat, February 28, 2026 • 11 Adar 5786
9:30am - Shacharit services in the Beit Midrash
10:30-12:30pm - StantonKIDS program with free play, parsha, songs, movement, and delicious kiddush
12:00pm - Kiddush - all are welcome! Kiddush is sponsored by the house. (If you would like to sponsor kiddush, please email info@stantonstshul.com.)
Havdalah at 6:27pm
We have security for all services from 9:30am to 1:00pm.
We are so excited to come together for a community Shabbat dinner! (Registration is now closed.)
We are incredibly grateful to our dinner sponsors:
Aliza & David Deutsch
Chani & Jeffrey Tornow
Dana Friedman
Dory & Billy Bergman
Heather Chait
Holly Wolf & Joshua Levinson
Judy Josephs
Margie Segal
Martin Wilner
Penny Sidi
Phyllis & Paul Ruffer
Rebecca & David Friedman
Tricia Davies & Jeremy Blumenfeld
Purim Schedule!
Monday, March 2, 2026 • 13 Adar - Taanit Esther 5:08am - fast begins 6:29pm - fast ends 6:30pm - Maariv & Megillat Esther
Communal services in the main sanctuary
Women's Megillat Esther reading in the Beit Midrash
Tuesday, March 3 • 14 Adar - Purim 8:30am - Shacharit & Megillat Esther Mishloach Manot will be available for purchase both Monday night and Tuesday morning. All proceeds will support the shul
Shalom friends, With Purim upon us, I want to take this opportunity to share a basic review of the mitzvos and practices of the day. As always, if any of it is unclear, or if you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at stantonrabbi@gmail.com.
Zecher LeMachatzis HaShekel - There is a minhag to give charity on the afternoon before Purim, in memory of the half-shekel that was collected each year in the times of the Beis HaMikdash. The Ashkenazi custom in America is to donate three half dollars. We will provide three half dollars in shul that can be used in exchange for a conventional buck and a half.
There are four core rabbinic mitzvos on Purim itself:
1. Megillah - It is a mitzvah to read or to hear Megillas Esther at night and during the day. We will be offering a communal and a women’s reading on Purim night as well as a communal reading on Purim morning.
2. Seudah - It is a mitzvah to have a festive meal, celebrating the heroic acts of Esther and Mordechai as well as the deliverance and victory of the Jews of Persia. Famously, the gemara says there is a requirement to drink wine at this meal until one is unable to distinguish between “blessed is Mordechai” and “cursed is Haman”. One can fulfill this requirement simply by drinking a little bit more than they normally would and then taking a nap. Someone who is in recovery has no requirement at all to drink on Purim and the community should be supportive of their decision not to drink.
3. Mishloach Manos - It is a mitzvah to give two kinds of food to one other Jew on the day of Purim. The foods should be ready to eat (i.e. not raw/in an inedible state) with the idea that they can be used for that person’s seudah. Drinks count as well. It is certainly permitted to give out food to more than just one person, as is the common practice, but the fundamental requirement is fulfilled with just one.
4. Matanos La’Evyonim - Perhaps the most important of the day’s mitzvos is that of matanos la’evyonim, or gifts to the poor. If there is a choice between adding more to your seudah or giving more to the poor, one should prioritize the giving. One should give monetary gifts to at least two different people on Purim day and should ideally give each person enough money to buy a meal. If you are contributing to a Purim fund, you can give before Purim (to be handed out on Purim) and should ideally give an amount that would allow two people to buy a meal.
As in years past we are partnering with Rabbi Bellino at Sixth Street Synagogue. He is collecting for a number of charities here and in the US. and you can contribute in one of three ways:
You can also venmo @sixthstreetsynagogue (be sure to specify Purim Charity!)
You can also bring in a check (made out to Sixth Street Community Synagogue Rabbi's Discretionary) or cash before or on Purim
The mitzvos of the day really are an exercise in building community. They embody the concluding verse of the Megillah in which we are told that Mordechai sought the good of his people and advocated for their welfare. They stand as a testament to the fact that in order to answer those who seek to divide and destroy, we must connect and to build. On Purim we celebrate Esther and Mordechai who were unafraid to stand up to power and who, with the help of the hidden hand of God, turned Haman’s evil decree right on its head. Through our celebration and observance of the day, may we merit to see the evil decrees of our own age turned on their heads and may we wake up to a world turned back onto its feet.
Shabbat shalom and a freilechn Purim, Rabbi Birkeland
From our neighbors at the Bialystoker Synagogue:
StantonKIDS Shabbat Programming 5786
Join us 10:30am-12:00pm for free play, davening, parsha, songs, movement, a hands on activity, and delicious kiddush! Here is our schedule for the rest of the 5786 school year:
February 28 March 14, March 28 April 18, April 25 May 9, May 16 June 6, June 13
Women's Tefillah Group Programming Schedule
Come Daven With Us in 5786!
Megillat Esther Reading - March 2 Parshat Emor - May 2 Parshat Nasso - May 30 Parshat Korach - June 20
If you would like to layn, lead services, or give a d'var Torah with us, or if you have questions, please be in touch!
We remember: Anna Goldstein, mother of Alvin Goldstein (12 Adar) Sora Gitel Katz Barsky, grandmother of Jeffrey Katz (14 Adar)
Misheberachs (we wish a full recovery to):
Arella Hana bat Haya Liba Ashlynn Elizabeth Helen Coffman Barry Feldman Cecile Cohen זיאסל מלכה בת אסתר Chaim Tzvi ben Leah Chaim Yonah ben Dubrah Chana Mera bat Fruma Henna Chaya Malka bat Esther Leia David Menashe HaLevi ben Rochel Efraim Ben Sore Eliyahu Natan ben Shayndel Ella bat Leah Gitche bat Honcha Hiam Zelig Ben Sarah Rifka Israel Yakov ben Esther Jim Lee Leah Zahava Bat Elka Liba Miriam bat Channah Devorah ליבה מרים בת חנה דבורה Manny Kaplan מאיר ראובן בן לאה Moshe Asher Ben Esther Sarah Nolan Rhodes נתן צבי בן פרידה Rachel Devorah bat Elke Reuven ben Rochel Risha bat Sarah Rivka bat Miriam Sara Rochel Ben Chaya Gitza Shayna bat Chana Kayla Shimon Sumer HaLevi Ben Malka Shoshana bat Esther שושנה בת אסתר Yaacov Ben Chaya Gitza Yisroel ben Edlah Yitzhak Calev ben Leetza Tzvia
We pray that all who are sick may have a full recovery. We are especially sending prayers to those who are wounded and in need of healing.
To add a name to our communal misheberach prayer list,email us. If you have a Yahrtzeit, birthday, anniversary or other milestone coming up, please reach out! We'd like to update our Yahrtzeit database. Pleasesend us your yahrzeit details. If you don't know the exact Hebrew date, just let us know the date of passing, and we will figure it out and add it to the Shul Cloud calendar.
For those of you who have not yet renewed your membership with us, kindly pay your dues online or mail a check to: The Stanton Street Shul P.O. Box 1008 NY, NY 10002
YOUR FEEDBACK WANTED!!
We encourage your particiation and love to hear from you! Do you have ideas or feedback to share? You can reach us at:
If you missed services this past Shabbos, or arrived too late to hear the drasha, you can go to our archives and read a copy! Click here for an archive of shiurim Clickherefor an archive of drashot Clickhere to go to our YouTube Channel for an archive of all of our ZOOM classes
