DON’T JUST SIT THERE!

21 Tammuz 5774 / 18-19 July 2014
Torah: Numbers 30:2 - 32:42
Haftarah: Jeremiah 1:1 - 2:3 (First Haftarah of Admonition)

Calendar of Events and Dedications follow. Full calendar and lots more info about our community available at: http://www.bethmeier.org 

 

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DON’T JUST SIT THERE!

"And Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, 'Shall your brothers go to war, and you shall sit here?'" Numbers 32:6

 

As the Israelites prepare for the conquest of Canaan, the tribes of Gad and Reuven tell Moses they like the land where they are presently residing, and wish to remain there. Moses excoriates them at length. They finally agree to join in the fight, and Moses says they may return to the land, which was not part of the original patrimony promised by God, after they do their share of the fighting.

The commentary Tiferet Yehonatan (Rabbi Yehonatan Eybeschutz, d. 1764) expands on this verse. He says that the literal meaning is: "Do you think that when 'your brothers go to war' - when Israel is under attack from enemies - 'you shall sit here' - you will remain in peace in whatever country you are living in?" He says this is mistaken thinking, because a war in defense of Israel is a war for the survival of all the Jewish people, wherever they live.

By "Israel", he means not only the state of Israel and the land of Israel, but also "Am Yisrael" - all Jews. And the attack may be something other than the physical assault of armies or terrorists. It could be the rise of anti-semitism, overt or subtle, in one country or another. We see this playing out now in France, among other European countries.

 

Our rabbis taught - "kol yisrael areivim zeh lazeh" - all Israel are responsible one for another. We Jews have an obligation to do right by and to defend each other – and, dare I add, an obligation to speak out against the wrongful actions of our fellow Jews as well. The enemies of the Jewish people agree – when they claim, rightly or wrongly, that the State of Israel has done something wrong, they hold all Jews responsible – using it as a convenient excuse to play out the hatred they already had. This is not to suggest that the enemies of Am Israel would ever acknowledge proper action by Jews – they don’t. But that does not excuse us from our obligations.

 

When our brethren are under attack anywhere, we are all under attack everywhere. We are leading up to the observance of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Our rabbis taught that the destruction was the result of baseless hatred, between and among Jews, and between Jews and non-Jews. (BT Gittin 56a) We would do well to remember that silence in the face of hatred will not bring about the salvation of the silent.

B'virkat Shalom.

 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

http://www.bethmeier.org/

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Calendar and Dedications

 

Candlelighting: 7:45 pm

 

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

 

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all of the wounded innocents in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

 

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Elsbet Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Dr. Samuel Fersht, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Annie Rivera, and Helen Schugar.

 

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 available via the Cyber Torah e-mail list.

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