Thursday, August 29, 2013

ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

25 Elul 5773 / 30-31 August 2013
Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilekh
Torah: Deuteronomy 29:9 - 31:30
Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 - 63:9 (Seventh Haftarah of Consolation)

For a complete Calendar of Events, as well as lots of other information on our community, check out our web site at: http://bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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One Good Turn Deserves Another

These final few days leading up to Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe are a time of introspection and repentance. Jewish tradition teaches that during this time, we should repent and make amends for all of the wrongs we have done, to God, to our relatives, to our friends, to everyone with whom we have a relationship. The Hebrew word for repentance is "teshuvah". The root of this word, "shuv", appears seven times in Deuteronomy 30:1-10. The word connotes repentance, turning, returning, turning around, and recalling. It has active and reflexive forms.

"... and you shall recall (v'hasheivota) them to your mind ..." 30:1
"and you shall return (v'shavta) to the Lord your God ..." 30:2
"and the Lord your God will return (v'shav) your captivity and have compassion upon you, and will return (v'shav) and gather you from all the peoples ..." 30:3
"and you shall return (tashuv) and hearken to the voice of the Lord ..." 30:8
"... for the Lord will return (yashuv) to rejoice over you for good ..." 30:9
"... if you turn (tashuv) to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." 30:10

R. Shlomo of Radomsk once asked, if the Torah states in verse two that "you will return to the Lord your God", implying repentance, why does it say so again in verse eight? He answers that before a person repents, he doesn't even know what offenses he has committed - he doesn't know that he doesn't know. Only after the first steps of teshuvah, through the process of cheshbon hanefesh (accounting of the soul) does he realize the enormity of his wrongs. So he begins to ascend, step by step, in his spiritual development. It's not a one-shot deal.

What R. Shlomo doesn't say, perhaps because it was obvious to him, is the role that God plays in all of this. It's a two-way conversation. We turn toward God; God turns toward us. We move closer to God; God moves closer to us. We repent; God draws us into greater repentance.

How do we start? The answer is found in the concluding sentence of "Etz Chaim", recited at the conclusion of every Torah service. "Bring us back (hashiveinu), Lord, to You, and we will return (v'nashuvah), renew our days as of old." Lamentations 5:21. We seriously ask God to help us repent, and we are on our way!

Shabbt Shalom!  L'shanah Tovah Umetukah Tikateivu V'tichateimu - May you be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet new year!
 
Rabbi Richard Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
http://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
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Candlelighting: 7:03 PM

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 PM. Oneg shabbat follows the service.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning service – 10:00 AM. Torah: Rabbi Gary Charlestein and Avremi Manzur; Haftarah: Avremi Manzur.  Kiddush lunch follows.
Saturday evening: Selichot dinner, program and service. At 8:00 pm we will have a light, pareve Israeli-style dinner, followed by a viewing and discussion of the film “The Quarrel”, and then our traditional Selichot service (about 10:00 pm) conducted by Cantor Kerry Katz and Rabbi Richard Flom. (RESERVATIONS REQUIRED - FOR DINNER ONLY)
Monday: Office closed - Labor Day.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn - Noon. We will conclude our study of Rambam’s Hilkhot Teshuvah.
Wednesday: Erev Rosh Hashanah Service – 6:30 PM – Beverly Garland Hotel.
Thursday:  Rosh Hashanah Morning service - 8:30 AM – Beverly Garland Hotel.
Friday: Rosh Hashanah Morning service - 8:30 AM – Beverly Garland Hotel.
Friday evening: NO Shabbat evening service.
Saturday, 7 September: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am.
Sunday, 8 September: Fast of Gedalia. First day of Religious School – Get your children registered ASAP.

DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR FORMS FOR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL AND HIGH HOLY DAY TICKETS.

See our ads and articles about Beth Meier in the current issues of the Studio City-Sherman Oaks-Encino News and The Tolucan Times.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my grandmother, Cora Slome, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday. Y’hi zikhronah liv’rakhah.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah (complete healing) for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Howard Ehrlich, Joshua Erenmark, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Sara Lanxner, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Rachel Robbins, and Virginia Sullivan.

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

My weekly divrei torah are also available via e-mail from 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

Thursday, August 22, 2013

EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY!

18 Elul 5773 / 23-24 August 2013
Parashat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (Sixth Haftarah of Consolation)

Dedications and Calendar of Events follow. 

Check out our website: http://www.bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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Every Day Is A New Day!

"This very day the Lord your God commands you to perform these decrees and statutes; and you shall observe and do them with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 26:16

Rashi (citing Tanchuma): Every day they should seem new in your eyes, as though on that day you had been commanded concerning them.

"Moses and the priests, the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, 'Take heed and listen, Israel; this very day you have become a people to the Lord your God.'" Deuteronomy 27:9

Rashi (citing B.T. Berakhot): Every day it should seem in your eyes as though today you enter into the covenant with Him. 

In my view, one of the very wonderful aspects of Judaism is that one need not dwell on the past in order to live the good life. It is true that one must do teshuvah, repentance, with both God and human beings in order to ultimately achieve a life of goodness. Having done so, however, one is not required to continue beating oneself forever. Rashi tells us that the commandments and the covenant, and by extension, all of the Torah, are given to us anew, every day. That is the reason often given for the language of the blessings recited before and after reading the Torah - "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who gives the Torah." It seems to have almost a Zen quality to it - we need to live in the "now". The past is ... past. We remember it, we learn from it, we improve ourselves, we move onward.

What does not have a Zen quality is the Torah's view of the future. Year in, year out, the holy days come and go. Week in, week out, Shabbat comes and goes. "Thou shalt ..." "Thou shalt not ..." "And it shall be that on that day, you will ...." The Torah anticipates that at some point in the future, we will be better than we are now. We will be more learned, more observant, more experienced, more spiritual - closer to God and our fellow human beings in every way. And we will always have opportunities to become so - literally, every day.

The philosopher Franz Rosenzweig said that, when asked whether we observe any particular mitzvah, we should answer either "yes" or "not yet". What we do (or fail to do) now has implications for the future, but it does not necessarily determine the future. But when is the best time to start? You already know the answer to that - "this very day"!

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

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
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Beth Meier Calendar:

Candlelighting: 7:12 pm

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Torah: Lynn Kronzek and Rabbi Flom; Haftarah: Melinda Trauman. Kiddush luncheon follows.

Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn this week. We resume on September 3 - Noon. Our discussion of Rambam’s Hilkhot Teshuvah continues. Lunch provided. Donations accepted.
Friday, 30 August: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm.
Saturday, 31 August: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Selichot program and service. See website for details.

 
DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR FORMS FOR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL AND HIGH HOLY DAY TICKETS.
 
See our ads and articles about Beth Meier in the current issues of the Studio City-Sherman Oaks-Encino News and The Tolucan Times.
 
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah (complete healing) for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Howard Ehrlich, Joshua Erenmark, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Sara Lanxner, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Rachel Robbins, and Virginia Sullivan.
 
Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.
 
My weekly divrei torah are also available via e-mail from 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

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

GOOD VERSUS EVIL

Parashat Ki Tetze
11 Elul 5773 / 16-17 August 2013
Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10 (Fifth Haftarah of Consolation)
 
Dedications and Calendar of Events follow. 
 
Check out our website: http://www.bethmeir.org
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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Good Versus Evil
 
“When you go out to battle against your enemy, and the Lord your God delivers him into your hands, and you take him captive.” Deuteronomy 21:10

Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 5a: R. Levi ben Chama teaches in the name of R. Shimon ben Lakish - A person should always stir up the good inclination (yetzer hatov) against the bad inclination (yetzer hara).

R. Isaiah ben Abraham Halevi Horowitz, in his "Shnei Luchot Habrit", says that God helps those who seek to purify themselves. When one challenges his yetzer hara (which is his enemy), God delivers him, by returning his sins to him (which he “captures”).
 
The word for "capture", shavah, is used as a play on the word "teshuvah”, which means repentance, or return (to God). This is the verse, he says, from which our Rabbis teach: “Great is teshuvah, through which sins are transformed into merits.”

We are well into the month of Elul. Now more than ever is the time for us to confront and resist the evil inclinations within us, to seek to purify our souls, to gird ourselves for the great day of the shofar. Capture your enemy now!  Rosh Hashanah is less than three weeks away!

Shabbat Shalom!
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City , CA
http://www.bethmeir.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
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Beth Meier Calendar:

Candlelighting: 7:20 pm

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Haftarah: Barry Glass. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday: Congregation Beth Meier Membership and Religious School Open House –10:00 am – noon. All congregants and prospective members, including current and prospective Religious School families, are invited and encouraged to come. Light snacks provided.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn - Noon. Our discussion of Rambam’s Hilkhot Teshuvah (The Laws of Repentance) continues. Lunch provided. Donations accepted.
Friday, 23 August: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm.
Saturday, 24 August: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am.
 
DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR FORMS FOR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL AND HIGH HOLY DAY TICKETS.
 
See our ads and articles about Beth Meier in the current issues of the Studio City-Sherman Oaks-Encino News and The Tolucan Times.
 
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah (complete healing) for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Howard Ehrlich, Joshua Erenmark, Jerry Forman, Beth Goldstein, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Sara Lanxner, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Rachel Robbins, and Virginia Sullivan.
 
Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.
 
My weekly divrei torah are also available via e-mail from 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

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

EXERCISING JUDGMENT

Parashat Shoftim
Torah: Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9
Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12 (Fourth Haftarah of Consolation)
4 Elul 5773 / 9-10 August 2013



Dedications and Calendar of Events follow. 

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
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Exercising Judgment

“Judges and officers shall you appoint for you in all your gates that the Lord your God is giving you for your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.” Deuteronomy 16:18

The commentary Toldot Yaakov Yosef understands the word “l’kha”, “for you”, to mean “for yourself”. He says, “First, judge yourself.  And to that extent by which you judge yourself, also judge others. But you may not be lenient with yourself, forgiving yourself, and yet be strict and meticulous with others, expecting from them that which you are unable to fulfill. In all your gates - in all the measurements of yourself.” (The concluding sentence is a pun - the Hebrew word for “gate” is “sha’ar”, for “measurement” it is “shi’ur”)

This is a nice lesson, but is there anyone who would not say it is obvious? It’s hypocritical and unfair to judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves. We learned that in kindergarten!  So why does he teach it here?

We have just entered the month of Elul, the final run-up to Rosh Hashanah. Jewish tradition teaches that in Elul, we are to engage in “cheshbon hanefesh”, literally “an accounting of the soul” - self-evaluation. It is also a tradition that during Elul, the shofar is sounded each weekday, to remind us that Rosh Hashanah is coming. Why do we need a reminder? We can read a calendar!




When the obvious is unpleasant and goes against our nature, we tend to avoid it. We need teachers to remind us of our assignments, and we need trumpets to rally us. Thus, Hillel taught, “Do not judge your fellow until you have arrived at his place.”

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
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Beth Meier Calendar:

Candlelighting: 7:28 pm

Friday: Family Shabbat Evening Service - 7:30 pm. Bar Mitzvah of Beck Saunders. Mazal tov! Join us for a soulful service! Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Bar Mitzvah of Beck Saunders. Mazal tov! Kiddush luncheon follows.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn - Noon. Our discussion of Rambam’s Hilkhot Teshuvah continues. Lunch provided. Donations accepted.
Friday, 16 August : Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm.
Saturday, 17 August: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am.
Sunday, 18 August: Congregation Beth Meier Membership and Religious School Open House – 10:00 am – noon.
 
DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR FORMS FOR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL AND HIGH HOLY DAY TICKETS.
 

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my sister-in-law, Janis Devorah Kronzek, whose yahrzeit is this Tuesday, 7 Elul.  Y'hi zecherah liv'rakhah.

This d’var torah is offered in honor of Beck Saunders, becoming a bar mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov!
 
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Howard Ehrlich, Jerry Forman, Beth Goldstein, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Sara Lanxner, Frank Marcovitz, and Phil Raider.
 
Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list, or if anyone's name may be removed from this list.

 
My weekly d'var torah is also available via e-mail through 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

Thursday, August 1, 2013

THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST

27 Av 5773 / 2-3 August 2013
Parashat Re'eh
Torah: Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:11 - 55:5 (Third Haftarah of Consolation)


Dedications and Calendar of Events follow. 

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
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The Eternal Optimist

“See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing: when you hearken to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today. And the curse: if you do not hearken to the commandments of the Lord your God, and you stray from the path which I command you today, to follow after other gods that you do not know.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28

Rabbeinu Bachya: "If" (im) is an expression of doubt which was therefore inappropriate in connection with obedience to the Torah, but quite appropriate in the context of punishment. The text therefore uses "when" (asher) - an expression of certainty with reference to obedience.

What is the certainty that Rabbeinu Bachya is referring to? One might think that it is a certainty that one will be blessed if one obeys the commandments. But that could mean that there might be some doubt that one would be cursed if one disobeyed! This might create some temptation to sin - "Maybe I'll get away with it!"

I like to believe that the certainty has to do with confidence that we will do the right thing. "If you do not hearken" suggests only the possibility that we will disobey - therefore, only the possibility that we might be cursed. However, "when you hearken" shows a firm belief that we will obey the commandments - hence, confidence that we will receive God's blessings. God the Eternal One is truly the Eternal Optimist! If God has that kind of faith in us, shouldn't we return the favor? It's not a question of "if" - only a question of "when"!

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

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
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Candle lighting: 7:34 pm

Friday, 8/2 – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, 8/3 – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Ba’al K’riat Torah – Barry Glass. Kiddush lunch, sponsored by Gail and Marshall Neiman in honor of  Marshall ’s 80th birthday, follows services.
Tuesday, 8/6 – Lunch and Learn – noon - a 90 minute discussion on a Jewish topic of interest. Everyone is welcome to participate. Lunch is provided - donation requested.
Shabbat, 8/9-10 – Bar Mitzvah of Beck Saunders. Mazal tov!
 
This d’var torah is offered in honor of Jason Snow, becoming a bar mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov!

This d’var torah is offered in honor of Marshall Neiman, celebrating his 80th birthday this Shabbat. Ad meah v’esrim!

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Howard Ehrlich, Jerry Forman, Beth Goldstein, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Frank Marcovitz, and Phil Raider.

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list, or if anyone's name may be removed from this list.

My weekly d'var torah is also available via e-mail through 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

HOLY AFIKOMAN!

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