17 Iyar
5774 / 16-17 May 2014
Parashat
B’chukotai
Torah:
Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34 (Chazak!)
Haftarah:
Jeremiah 16:9 - 17:14
Calendar
of Upcoming Events follows. For a full calendar and lots of other information
about our community, visit: http://www.bethmeier.org/
Please
feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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IN THE
PRESENCE OF THE PRESENCE
“And I
will set My tabernacle amidst you; and My soul shall not abhor you.” Leviticus
26:11
The
Hebrew word for tabernacle, mishkan, has the same root as the word shekhinah,
meaning “Divine Presence” or “Sheltering Presence”. The idea is that the shekhinah
dwells in the mishkan. So, where was the shekhinah before the
tabernacle was built? And where has it been since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
The
answer is in the verse itself. Read it as “I will set My Presence amidst you.”
Wherever and whenever we are, the Shekhinah, God’s Sheltering Presence,
is always in our very midst.
In
traditional siddurim is the bedtime Sh’ma, and within that set of
prayers before sleep, one finds this reference to four named angels and the Shekhinah:
“In the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, may Michael (the one like God) be
at my right hand; Gabriel (God is my strength) at my left; before me, Uriel
(God is my light); behind me, Raphael (God heals); and above my head the Divine
Presence of God.” The late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach set this to music, and it
sounds like a sweet lullaby. You can hear it here, performed by Reb Shlomo’s
daughter, Nechama Carlebach: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0nWR28vNQA
(Preview)
Play
Wherever
you are, wherever you lay your head, know this - the Shekhinah is with
you. Rest easy.
Shabbat
shalom.
This
d’var torah is dedicated especially to Steven Kleiger, Marshall Neiman, and
Selma Schimmel, to each of whom I sang "The Angel Song" this
week as they lay in their hospital beds.
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City
http://www.bethmeier.org
Visit me on Facebook
"For
the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the
sake of Jerusalem
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Candle
lighting: Friday, 7:30 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat
follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch
follows.
Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew class
– 10:00 am.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn - Noon.
This d’var
torah is offered in memory of my cousin, Rabbi Chaim Moshe Flom, whose yahrzeit
fell this week. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.
This d'var
torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Blimah Reizel bat Rachel
(Selma Schimmel), Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Howard Ehrlich, Jerry Forman,
Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jayne Kaplan, Steven Kleiger, Frank Marcovitz,
Marshall Neiman, and Phil Raider.
Please let
me know if there is anyone you would like to add to the refuah shleimah
list or if there is anyone who may be removed from the list.
My weekly divrei torah are also
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