FORGIVENESS? IT'S LATER THAN YOU THINK!

Parashat Pinchas

21 Tammuz 5773 / 28-29 June 2013

Torah: Numbers 25:10 - 30:1
Haftarah: Jeremiah 1:1 -2:3 (Because it is after 17 Tammuz, we read the haftarah for Parashat Mattot)

 

Check out our web site at: http://www.bethmeier.org/

 

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
-----------------------------------------------------
Forgiveness?  It's Later Than You Think!

If I ever got around to it, I would be the first to admit that I am a procrastinator. For example, my weekly divrei torah often go out on the internet only a short time before Shabbat begins. This week is no exception. So it is with some trepidation that I read in this week's parashah the following:

"In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall do no laborious work; it shall be a day of shofar sounding for you." Numbers 29:1

The Torah is talking about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yamei Teshuvah) leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. But wait, you say, this is only Tammuz, the fourth month. We still have over two months to go until the High Holy Days. Why is the rabbi dreying my kop (spinning my head) with this already?

It's because we are all procrastinators when it comes to doing the spiritual work necessary for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It's less than three weeks until Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, and the anniversary of the destruction of the holy temple in Jerusalem and of many other Jewish disasters throughout our history. The Rabbis taught that God destroyed His own house because of baseless hatred between people. That is something that each of us needs to consider even, perhaps especially, in the present day.

Three weeks later, we begin the month of Elul, during which, our tradition teaches, we should each perform cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of the soul. We should examine our deeds (good and bad) of the past year, and begin to make amends for the wrongs we have committed against God and, more importantly, against each other. The shofar is sounded once every weekday morning during Elul, to warn us of the approaching holy days.

 

 

 

By the start of the new year and the Ten Days of Teshuvah, we should be actively seeking forgiveness from our fellows whom we wronged during the previous year, in order that we may then (and only then!) ask God for forgiveness. So, you ask, with all of this time and all of these opportunities, why should I be thinking about teshuvah now?

Because this discussion reminds me of Rabbi Eliezer's teaching: Repent one day before your death. (Mishnah Avot 2:15) Since none of us is perfectly righteous, each of us, every day, should be doing teshuvah. Don't wait - it's later than you think.

Peace and blessings.  Shabbat Shalom!

 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
http://www.bethmeier.org

Visit me on Facebook

"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still." Isaiah 62:1

--------------------------------------------
Candlelighting: 7:50 pm

 

This Shabbat is Rabbi Aaron Benson’s final Shabbat as rabbi of Congregation Beth Meier. Please join us for services Shabbat evening or Shabbat morning to thank him for his service to our community and to wish him and his family b’rakhah and hatzlachah at his new position in Long Island.

 

I will assume the position of rabbi of Congregation Beth Meier on Monday, July 1. I am grateful to the members of Beth Meier for their trust and encouragement, and look forward to a long and successful partnership in building and strengthening our community.

 

Lunch and Learn is an ongoing program of Congregation Beth Meier that meets Tuesdays to discuss Jewish texts and other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all regardless of affiliation. Next meeting is Tuesday, July 2, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD UNLESS IT IS IN ITS ORIGINAL SEALED CONTAINER AND BEARING A HEKHSHER AS DAIRY OR PAREVE. Lunch will be provided by Congregation Beth Meier. Donations gratefully accepted.

 

The synagogue office will be closed on Thursday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. Happy Birthday, USA!

 

A membership meeting of Congregation Beth Meier will take place on Sunday, July 28 at 4:00 pm at the synagogue. This is our first opportunity to meet each other and to share our goals, hopes and dreams for our community. I hope to see you there!

 

This d'var torah is offered in honor of Rabbi Aaron Benson in gratitude for his service to Congregation Beth Meier and his support of the shidduch between me and the congregation.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Beth Goldstein, Pamela Huddleston, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Judith Sakurai, and Kitty Schmerling.
 My weekly divrei torah are also available via free e-mail subscription to Cyber Torah.
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net

AN EASY LIFE, AN EASY DEATH

Parashat Balak
14 Tammuz 5773 / 21-22 June 2013
Torah: Numbers 22:2 - 25:9
Haftarah: Micah 5:6 - 6:8

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Easy Death, An Easy Life

"Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." Numbers 23:10

Try as he might, Bil'am the sorcerer is unable to curse Israel - he is only able to give blessings. Perhaps the ultimate blessing that he offers is the request that he die the death of a righteous Jew.

The Chafetz Chaim makes an interesting observation on Bil'am's statement. He says Bil'am wanted merely to die like the righteous, but not to live like the righteous. Living a committed Jewish life is not easy, he says; there are so many commandments and customs that restrict the believing Jew, 24/7. "This is permitted; that is forbidden." But death for the believing Jew, he teaches, is only a crossing over from temporary life to eternal life. For one who believes in the eternity of the soul and reward and punishment, death is not frightening. Hence, Bil'am wanted to die as a believing Jew. That's no great accomplishment, says the Chafetz Chaim. The real challenge is to live a proper, committed Jewish life.

Far too many of us, I'm sorry to say, take the Chafetz Chaim at his word - "shver tzu sein a Yid" - "it's tough to be a Jew". What is left unsaid is that it is also wonderful, if not downright awesome, to be a Jew! If one reflects on the significance of fulfilling any particular mitzvah, and considers that the entire system enables one to constantly join with the Divine, then one can see that the benefits far outweigh the costs. Yes, it requires learning and commitment, but that's a small price to pay for a cosmic connection!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
Visit me on Facebook

"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still." Isaiah 62:1

--------------------------------------------
Candlelighting: 7:49 pm

I am conducting Shabbat morning services at 9:30 am at Congregation Mishkon Tephilo, 206 Main Street, Venice 90291. Torah study follows Kiddush lunch. This will be my final Shabbat there as next Shabbat Rabbi Dan Shevitz will be returning from his well-deserved sabbatical. Barukh haba!

Lunch and Learn is an ongoing program of Congregation Beth Meier that meets Tuesdays to discuss Jewish texts and other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all regardless of affiliation. Next meeting is Tuesday, July 2, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD UNLESS IT IS IN ITS ORIGINAL SEALED CONTAINER AND BEARING A HEKHSHER AS DAIRY OR PAREVE. Lunch will be provided by Congregation Beth Meier. Donations gratefully accepted.

Next Shabbat is Rabbi Aaron Benson’s final Shabbat as rabbi of Congregation Beth Meier. Please join us for services Shabbat evening or Shabbat morning to thank him for his service to our community and to wish him and his family b’rakhah and hatzlachah at his new position in Long Island.

I am pleased to announce that I will assume the position of rabbi of Congregation Beth Meier on July 1. I am grateful to the members of Beth Meier for their trust and encouragement, and look forward to a long and successful partnership in building and strengthening our community.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my mother-in-law, Helena Stern Kronzek, whose yahrzeit falls this coming Monday.  Y'hi zichronah liv'rakhah - May her memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered in honor of Congregation Mishkon Tephilo and its members, who welcomed me as rabbi and friend these past nine months. Rov l’todot!

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Beth Goldstein, Selby Horowitz, Pamela Huddleston, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Emily Levin, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Judith Sakurai, and Kitty Schmerling.
My weekly divrei torah are also available via free e-mail subscription to Cyber Torah.
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net

PERFECT SACRIFICE

7 Tammuz 5773 / 14-15 June 2013

Parashat Chukkat

Torah: Numbers 19:1 - 22:1
Haftarah: Judges 11:1-33

 

Please feel free to pass this on, and please cite the source.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perfect Sacrifice

"‘And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "This is the 'chok' of the Torah which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, which has no blemish, and upon which there has never been a yoke.’"’ Numbers 19:1-2

The Rabbis teach that a "chok" is a law in the Torah for which there is no rational explanation. And yet, Jews have struggled for millennia to make sense of this chok especially, for we might read this verse as, "this is THE VERY ULTIMATE chok of the Torah".

How could the offering of a perfect red heifer, and the scattering of its ashes on someone who is ritually impure, make that person ritually pure? How does the ritual of the red heifer actually function? And, what does it mean for us today?

I have read many attempts at rationalizing this ritual, and I am not about to try to formulate my own explanation. Rabbi Harold Kushner, in Chumash Etz Hayyim, suggests the following, from a modern commentator whom he does not name. He says that the ritual serves a vital psychological purpose. For one who is burdened by a sense of wrongdoing, who feels spiritually impure, we offer up to God a perfect animal, as if to say that perfection has no place in this world - it cannot exist in this world.

What a relief! We know intuitively that we are not perfect, and that we cannot become so. (And we have all sorts of not nice ways to describe someone who thinks they are perfect!) But we also know that we very often try, nevertheless, to achieve perfection. When we fall short of that goal, and we feel impure and guilty, we can offer up, we can sacrifice the very idea that we can be perfect. We can take the ashes of that notion and scatter them, re-establish our sense of wellbeing, and then re-connect with God.

It is true that we must try to emulate God, by feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, and by trying to perfect (perhaps I should say "improve") the world. Though we cannot be perfect, we have the ability to seek and receive God’s forgiveness and to carry on - so long as we strive to be the best that we can be.

Shabbat Shalom!

 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00

Visit me on Facebook

"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still." Isaiah 62:1

--------------------------------------------

Candlelighting: 7:47 pm

Lunch and Learn is an ongoing program of Congregation Beth Meier that meets Tuesdays to discuss Jewish texts and other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all regardless of affiliation. Next meeting is Tuesday, July 2, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD UNLESS IT IS IN ITS ORIGINAL SEALED CONTAINER AND BEARING A HEKHSHER AS DAIRY OR PAREVE. Lunch will be provided by Congregation Beth Meier. Donations gratefully accepted.

 

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Beth Goldstein, Selby Horowitz, Pamela Huddleston, Jayne Kaplan, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Emily Levin, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Gil Robbins, Rachel Robbins, Leslie Rubenfeld, Judith Sakurai, and Kitty Schmerling.

My weekly divrei torah are also available by e-mail from the Cyber Torah list.

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net

HOLIER THAN THOU?

Parashat Korach
30 Sivan 5773 / 7-8 June 2013
Torah: Numbers 16:1 - 18:32
Haftarah: Isaiah 66:1-24 (repeat 66:23)

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
----------------------------------------------
Holier Than Thou?

'(Korach and his followers) assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "There is too much for you; for the entire congregation, every one of them, is holy, and the Lord is among them; then why do you lord it over the assembly of the Lord?"' Numbers 16:3

Rashi, citing Midrash Tanchuma: Much more than necessary have you taken high offices for yourselves.  All of them heard the commandments at Sinai from the mouth of the Mighty One.  If you yourself have taken the kingship, you should not have selected for your brother the priesthood; not you alone heard at Sinai, "I am the Lord your God"; the entire congregation heard!

Korach's argument, especially as elucidated by the Midrash, appears compelling.  What makes Moses and Aaron so special?  The problem, of course, is that Korach is not arguing that all of the people should have the rights and duties of the priests - he is not advocating equality.  Rather, Korach was trying to usurp power solely for himself, and using this rhetorical technique to incite the Israelites to join in his rebellion.  Rashi, again citing Tanchuma, says: Korach spent all night haranguing the Israelites, enticing them: "Do you think that I care for myself alone?  I care only for all of you!  These people come and take all the high offices, for himself the kingship, and for his brother the priesthood!" - until all of them had been enticed.

We hear this kind of stuff from politicians, snake oil salesmen and others all the time, and it works.  We must be saps!  Do we think that we are all going to have power?  In this particular case, didn't God say to all of the Israelites, "You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy people"?  Exodus 19:6 So Korach is partly correct - we are all holy.  But we already have the power that we really need.  Unlike the priests, who have only ritual power, we the people, each and every one of us, have actual power, through spreading God's word to the world.  We do this by caring for the needy, preserving the environment, seeking peace, and observing God's commandments in a meaningful way.  It is the holiness of our lives that positively affects the lives of others, and that gives us the real power in the world.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
Blogging at: rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on Facebook

"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still." Isaiah 62:1
--------------------------------------------
Candlelighting: 7:44 pm

Lunch and Learn is an ongoing program of Beit Midrash Shalom that meets Tuesdays to discuss Jewish texts and other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all regardless of affiliation. Next meeting is Tuesday, June 11, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD UNLESS IT IS IN ITS ORIGINAL SEALED CONTAINER AND BEARING A HEKHSHER AS DAIRY OR PAREVE. Lunch will be provided by Congregation Beth Meier. Donations gratefully accepted.

This d'var torah is offered in honor of my son, Robert Flom, and my nephew, Joshua Goodman, who are graduating from high school this weekend. Mazal tov!

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Selby Horowitz, Pamela Huddleston, Jayne Kaplan, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Emily Levin, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Gil Robbins, Rachel Robbins, Judith Sakurai, and Kitty Schmerling.

My weekly divrei torah are also available by e-mail though the Cyber Torah list. 
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net