8 Cheshvan 5775 / 31 October – 1 November 2014
Parashat Lekh
L’kha
Torah:
Genesis 12:1 - 17:27
Haftarah:
Isaiah 40:27 - 41:16
Dedications
and calendar follow below. For complete listings and lots more info on our
community, see 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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WHAT’S IN A NAME?
"When
Avram was 99 years old, the Lord (Y-H-W-H) appeared to Avram and said to him,
'I am God Almighty (El Shaddai). Walk before Me and be blameless.'"
Genesis 17:1
In
"Guide for the Perplexed", Rambam (Maimonides) writes that, contrary
to what we might think, God has only one name - the Tetragrammaton which we do
not pronounce but read instead as "Adonai" - Lord. Such
"names" as Dayan (judge), Shaddai (almighty), Tzaddik (righteous),
Chanun (gracious), Rachum (merciful), and Elohim (chief) are descriptive of
attributes derived from God's actions, rather than actual names. It is
dangerous, Rambam tells us, to think of these as names, for that leads to
error. On the other hand, claiming that God has "attributes" may
create the belief that there is a plurality within God, or worse, that there is
more than one God. God cannot be subdivided in this way, according to
Rambam, for God has no limits. Any attempt to describe God must fail
because human language, and of course human beings, have limits.
Of course,
this discussion does not apply to the names of human beings. Consider
Avram, whose name means "exalted father". God tells him,
"You shall no longer be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham, for
I make you the father of many nations." (Gen. 17:5) Indeed,
names bestowed by God are destiny. But for those of us less fortunate than
Avraham (or Sarai, whose name becomes Sarah, or Ya'akov, who becomes Yisrael),
we create our destiny through our own actions. How we live determines how
we are called, even after we die.
Rabbi
Shimon taught: "There are three crowns - the crown of Torah (i.e.,
being a teacher, though one may be unworthy), the crown of priesthood and the
crown of kingship (both of which are hereditary). But the crown of a good
name excels them all." Avot 4:17
For good
or ill, we make names for ourselves, and it is by those names that we are known.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
Congregation Beth Meier
Visit me on Facebook
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Candlelighting:
5:43 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday:
Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows. Turn back clocks
before retiring – Daylight
Saving Time ends.
Sunday: Religious School
Tuesday:
Lunch and Learn - Noon.
The Los Angeles Clippers are having Jewish Community Night on Wednesday, December 17. Contact the Beth Meier office for specially-priced ticket info and purchase – this program is only available through participating synagogues – not on the Clippers website.
This d’var torah is offered
in memory of my uncle, Merwin Erenbaum, whose yahrzeit falls on
Shabbat, 8 Cheshvan. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.
This d’var
torah is offered in memory of my zayde, Sam (Srul) Flom, whose yahrzeit falls
on Sunday, 9 Cheshvan. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Boaz ben Dina, Michah ben Dina, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Bonnie Baird, Jeff Bluen, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht, Dr. Samuel Fersht, Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig, Neal Hoffman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Lina Kniter, Jeannie Kottler, Shirley Kronzek, and Annie Rivera.
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
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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
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