YOU’VE GOT A SECRET!

25 Elul 5774 / 20 September 2014

Parashat Nitzavim - Vayelekh

Torah: Deuteronomy 29:9 – 31:30

Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 - 63:9 (Seventh Haftarah of Consolation)

 

Dedications and calendar follow below. See our web site at www.bethmeier.org for complete listings.

 

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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YOU’VE GOT A SECRET!

 

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God; and those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may observe all the words of this Torah.” Deuteronomy 29:28

 

A number of Midrashim say this verse concerns sins committed in private – we cannot hide them - God still knows about them (and so does our conscience!). Some Chasidic teachers say that a person of great modesty and humility is a “tzaddik nistar”, a hidden tzaddik, who conceals his/her righteousness and good deeds from others, by doing them in secret - but God still knows about them. Both of these understandings tie in quite nicely with the traditional theological theme of Yamim Noraim - the Days of Awe that we are about to enter. That is, God takes an accounting of us, toting up the good, the bad and the ugly, and deciding what to do with us in the coming year.

 

The great Chasidic teacher Menachem Mendel of Kotzk takes a slightly different tack, and applies the verse to “cheshbon hanefesh”, the self-examination, literally the accounting of the soul, that tradition teaches we are to do at this time of year. He says that the “tzaddik nistar” is one whose righteousness is hidden from the very self - this is someone who has no idea of their own righteousness.

 

The lesson, as I see it, is that each and every one of us is potentially a tzaddik nistar. The trick is not to think that you really ARE such a tzaddik - there's a certain lack of humility. But, by being totally honest with ourselves in our self-evaluation, we may be able to learn how to continue to behave as well as how not to behave, and we can pass on all of that information to our children, directly and by example. If we do something wrong, we teach our children from our mistakes. And if we do something right, then they see it and we encourage them to follow. In short, don’t be overly hard on yourself - you just might be better than you think you are!

 

SHABBAT SHALOM!

L’SHANAH TOVAH U’METUKAH TIKATEIVU V’TIKHATEIMU!

MAY YOU BE INSCRIBED AND SEALED FOR A GOOD AND SWEET NEW YEAR!

 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

http://www.bethmeier.org/

Visit me on Facebook

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CALENDAR:

 

Candle lighting:

Friday: 6:36 pm

Wednesday, 9/24: 6:29 pm

Thursday, 9/25: 7:23 pm

Friday, 9/26: 6:26 pm

 

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Join us for a joyful service, followed by Oneg Shabbat.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows. Selichot service - (with dinner for a small fee and RSVP!). Dinner at 8:00 pm, Havdalah and Selichot at 9:30 pm.

Sunday: Beth Meier Religious School – 9:30 am.

Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn

Wednesday, 9/24: Erev Rosh Hashanah Service – 6:30 pm

Thursday, 9/25: Rosh Hashanah Morning Service – 8:30 am

Friday, 9/26: Rosh Hashanah Morning Service – 8:30 am. NO Shabbat Evening Service

Saturday, 9/27: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am

Sunday, 9/28: Religious School – 9:30 am

 

DON’T FORGET – Our High Holy Day services this year are being held at First Christian Church of North Hollywood, 4390 Colfax Avenue (at the corner of Moorpark Street, catty-corner from Beth Meier). Caution: Parking in the lot may be limited (80 spaces), but street parking is available.

 

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my grandmother, Cora Slome, whose yahrzeit fall on Tuesday, 28 Elul. Her memory is a blessing.

 

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Bonnie Baird, Jeff Bluen, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Dr. Samuel Fersht, Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jeannie Kottler, Marilyn Lee, and Annie Rivera.

 

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.

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

NO GOOD HABIT

18 Elul 5774 / 12-13 September 2014
Parashat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (Sixth Haftarah of Consolation)

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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NO GOOD HABIT

"Then you shall say before the Lord your God, 'I have cleared out the sanctified portion from the house, and also I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandment which You commanded me; I have not transgressed your commandments and I have not forgotten.'" Deuteronomy 26:13

The Sefat Emet, Yehudah Aryeh Leib of Ger (late 19th C.), is highly exercised by this verse. He says, "If you fulfilled the commandment, it is obvious you did not forget it! This is not what the verse means."

He takes a psychological approach. Consider how often you leave your house or go to bed and then say to yourself, "Wait a minute! Did I lock the door? Did I shut off the gas?" Our teacher says that if you fulfill a commandment without  intent, unthinkingly, while distracted, by rote, or out of mechanical habit, it is as if you have forgotten it.

If you give to charity or say a blessing or perform any other mitzvah without considering the inner meaning, you nevertheless "get the mitzvah points", to put it crassly. You have "been there, done that", but without deriving any spiritual benefit from it whatsoever. According to the Chasidim, of which the Sefat Emet was a leader, one of the purposes of the commandments is "tikkun olam", repair of the world, through the gathering up of the scattered sparks of creation. But another equally important purpose is to close the gap between ourselves, on one hand, and God and other human beings, on the other, and thereby repair our souls. By not "forgetting" what we are doing, we can have a more positive impact on both our world and ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

http://www.bethmeier.org/

Visit me on Facebook

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PROGRAM NOTES:

1. Beth Meier is sponsoring “Team Selma” for a 5K walk/run in the race to defeat ovarian cancer this Sunday, September 14.

Info at: http://www.ovariancancerrun.com/

Registration at: http://www.ovariancancerrun.eventbrite.com/

For “team”, enter “Selma Schimmel”

2. Please get your membership and High Holy Day ticket forms and fees in to Beth Meier at your earliest convenience. Yontiff waits for no one!

3. If you shop at Ralphs, it’s time again to visit: www.ralphs.com and re-register your card in order to continue donations to Beth Meier. Also, if you are a user of www.amazon.com you can designate Beth Meier as a donee by registering and using www.smile.amazon.com instead. There is absolutely no difference in the shopping or the pricing, just a small donation to CBM every time you buy. Both of these are easy as pie!

CALENDAR:

Candle lighting: 6:45 pm

Friday: Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Join us for a joyful service, followed by Oneg Shabbat.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Beth Meier Religious School – 9:30 am. Ovarian Cancer Walk – see the walk website for details.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Saturday, September 20: Selichot service - (with dinner for a small fee and RSVP!). Dinner at 8:00 pm, Havdalah and Selichot at 9:30 pm.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Heidi Allyce, Bonnie Baird, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Dr. Samuel Fersht, Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jeannie Kottler, Marilyn Lee, Annie Rivera, Irwin Silon, and Ruth Silon.

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.

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

THE FORGETTING COMMANDMENTS

11 Elul 5774 / 5-6 September 2014

Parashat Ki Tetze

Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19

Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10 (Fifth Haftarah of Consolation)

 

For full Calendar of Events and lots of information about our community, check out our web site at: www.bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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THE FORGETTING COMMANDMENTS

"When you reap the harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, do not return to take it; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow, in order that the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hand. When you beat your olive trees, do not go over them again; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow. When you harvest your vineyard, do not pick it over again; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow. And you will remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing." Deuteronomy 24:19-22

In these verses, as well as in Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22 ("for the poor and for the stranger"), we are told to intentionally leave grain, olives and grapes - basic foodstuffs which are also, not coincidentally, essential for offering the basic sacrifices to God. These are the necessities of the Israelites' physical and spiritual lives. And yet, according to the Rabbis, the commandment to leave forgotten sheaves in the field is the only commandment in the Torah that can be fulfilled unintentionally.

There are several rabbinic tales in which people celebrate the fact that they forgot sheaves in the field. But how can they celebrate unless they remember? It seems that what they are celebrating is that they "remembered" to forget! Sheaves on the ground? Forget about them! Olives still in the trees? Don't go back for them! Unripe grapes still on the vines? Don't do a second harvest. Forget about them!

 

This is all about overcoming human nature. When gathering in the harvest, anyone would be inclined to go back and get as much produce as possible - it was hard work to grow it, winter is coming, and who knows what the future will bring? But by remembering what it was like to have nothing, we can forget about trying to have everything.

 

These mitzvot can be fulfilled in a different way today. Please donate packaged foods to SOVA (we have a bin at CBM) or the local food pantry of your choice. Don’t forget!

Shabbat Shalom!

 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

www.bethmeier.org/

Visit me on Facebook

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PROGRAM NOTES:

 

1. Beth Meier RELIGIOUS SCHOOL will commence Sunday, September 7, at 9:30 am. There has been NO increase in fees for this year. Please contact Rabbi Flom or the Beth Meier office at (818) 769-0515, or email: office@bethmeier.org for information and registration.

2. Beth Meier is sponsoring “Team Selma” for a 5K walk/run in the race to defeat ovarian cancer on Sunday, September 14. We hope as many members, including our Religious School students and their families, will join in.

Info at: www.ovariancancerrun.com/

Registration at: www.ovariancancerrun.eventbrite.com/

For “team”, enter “Selma Schimmel”

3. Please get your membership and High Holy Day ticket forms and fees in to Beth Meier at your earliest convenience. Yontiff waits for no one!

 

CALENDAR:

 

Candle lighting: 6:55 pm

 

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Join us for a joyful service, followed by Oneg Shabbat.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Beth Meier Religious School – 9:30 am.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Bonnie Baird, Elsbet Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Dr. Samuel Fersht, Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jeannie Kottler, Marilyn Lee, Gail Neiman, Annie Rivera, Irwin Silon, Ruth Silon, and Fran Zimmerman.

 

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.

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