Events this Month
Molly Aksman
Rose F. Banks*
Freida Bennett
Debra Bertoty
David Cons*
Samuel B. Danto*
Norman Feinberg*
Buz Fyvolent
Frank Getz
Seda Glass
William Graff*
Morris Green*
Max Haber
Yahrzeits Shabbat Spotlight the
Daniel Hirsch
Morris N. Jenkins
Nat Jurin*
Katy Kiley
Gwen Lewin*
Kenneth Lewin*
Fred Lowry* We
Ella Mahler*
Virginia Negretti
Jette Neumark*
Joseph Neumark*
Kenneth Charles Nobel
Sara Pearlman*
Julia Rosenbluth*
Lee Samler*
Harry Schwartz
Betty Sembler
Milton Shapiro*
Brian J. Shavlan*
Milton Simmons
Shirley Siskin
Jules Stern
Jonathan Susskind*
Gilbert Turner
David Waterman
Charlotte Weintraub
*Denotes plaque in Memorial Alcove
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
Sylvia Woolf* Parashat Mishpatim
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
Exodus 21:1-24:18
Rabbi Amy L. Morrison & Joyce Liu
Rabbi Amy L. Morrison
Parashat Mishpatim arrives each year with its dense tapestry of laws— damages, responsibilities, ethical obligations—hardly the stuff of Valentine’s cards. And yet, at its heart beats a profound vision of love. Not love as fleeting romance but love as covenantal responsibility.
“You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 22:20). “If you take your neighbor’s cloak in pawn, you must return it before the sun sets” (Ex. 22:25–26). Mishpatim insists that love is enacted through justice, through attentiveness to vulnerability. The Torah does not separate ritual devotion from ethical tenderness; it weaves them together.
Just chapters earlier, we stood at Sinai. Here, the revelation becomes relational. הבהא—love—is not named explicitly, but it is embedded in ןידה (compassion) in the daily choices that honor the image of God in one another. As a liberal Jewish community, we affirm that holiness is found not only in grand gestures but in equitable business practices, in dignified speech, in ensuring no one’s metaphorical cloak is withheld overnight.
On a weekend when our culture celebrates romantic love, Mishpatim calls us to covenantal love—steady, accountable, liberating.
My charge to you this Shabbat: perform one act of טפשמ (laws/justice) infused with דסח (compassion). Repair a relationship. Advocate for someone vulnerable. Return someone’s “cloak.” Let love be not only a feeling, but a sacred obligation.
Torah Portion Announcements
Saturday, Feb. 14
10am - 11:30am - Market Minyan
Tuesday, Feb. 17
2pm - Bereavement Group
Thursday, Feb. 19
7pm - Choir Practice
Friday, Feb. 20
6pm - Friday Night LIVE! Erev Shabbat Service
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!
Parashat Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1-24:18
Saturday, February 14, 2026 / 27 Sh’vat 5786
Interpersonal laws ranging from the treatment of slaves to the exhibition of kindness to strangers are listed. (21:1-23:9)
Cultic laws follow, including the commandment to observe the Sabbatical Year, a repetition of the Sabbath injunction, the first mention of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, rules of sacrificial offerings, and the prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother's milk. (23:10-19)
The people assent to the covenant. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascend the mountain and see God. Moses goes on alone and spends forty days on the mountain. (24:1-18)
Suggestions for parents of our youngest congregants
Relax! God put the wiggle in children. Don’t feel you have to suppress it in our sanctuary or chapel.
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 Beth-El.
