Parashat Pekudei
29 Adar 1 5774 / 28 February – 1 March 2014
Torah reading: Exodus 38:21 – 40:38
Torah reading: Exodus 38:21 – 40:38
Maftir: Exodus 30:11-16 (Shekalim)
Haftarah: 2 Kings 12:1-17; 1 Samuel 20:18; 20:42 (Shekalim/Erev
Rosh Chodesh - Ashkenazim);
2 Kings 11:17 – 12:17; 1 Samuel 20:18; 20:42 (Shekalim/Erev
Rosh Chodesh - Sephardim)
Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full Calendar of
Events and lots of other information, please visit http://www.bethmeier.org
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the
source.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
FINDING MEANING IN THE MUNDANE
“Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled upon it ("alav"); and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:35
Etz Hayyim: It is unclear whether entry is literally blocked or is not permissible or that Moses dared not enter.
The writer David Mamet asks an interesting question. “But is there something in the notion that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested on him?”(reading the word “alav” as “upon him” rather than “upon it” - the Hebrew is ambiguous) He goes on to suggest that when Moses was filled with the Holy Spirit, in direct communion with the Divine, he was thereby unable to act as a servant to either God or the Israelites.
There has lately been a quest by Jews and non-Jews alike for “spirituality”. These searchers want a connection with God that is uplifting, meaningful, emotional, etc. And often, they want it immediately - they want a moving personal experience when they want it. This is a difficult proposition for rabbis and cantors, clergy of all types, who cannot always deliver spirituality on demand. One also must wonder whether God takes orders in quite this way - or in any way at all!
FINDING MEANING IN THE MUNDANE
“Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled upon it ("alav"); and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:35
Etz Hayyim: It is unclear whether entry is literally blocked or is not permissible or that Moses dared not enter.
The writer David Mamet asks an interesting question. “But is there something in the notion that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested on him?”(reading the word “alav” as “upon him” rather than “upon it” - the Hebrew is ambiguous) He goes on to suggest that when Moses was filled with the Holy Spirit, in direct communion with the Divine, he was thereby unable to act as a servant to either God or the Israelites.
There has lately been a quest by Jews and non-Jews alike for “spirituality”. These searchers want a connection with God that is uplifting, meaningful, emotional, etc. And often, they want it immediately - they want a moving personal experience when they want it. This is a difficult proposition for rabbis and cantors, clergy of all types, who cannot always deliver spirituality on demand. One also must wonder whether God takes orders in quite this way - or in any way at all!
I am not in any way denigrating the spiritual needs of
people. I also desire that connection, however ephemeral or short-lived it
may be. But whenever I am having my individual experience with the Divine
in a way that is not through any physical act, such as meditation or even
singing, or when my spiritual moment is divorced from the world around me
(something that I do seek from time to time), I am not then able to fulfill the
Divine will. That is to say, we are commanded to act in this world through
gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness), through tikkun olam (repairing this
broken world) and through tzedakah (justice or charity). One might argue
these are only ordinary acts. But I think they are extra-ordinary. We all
know that there can indeed be joy in performing these mitzvot. By acting
as God’s servants, by feeding the hungry and burying the dead and cleaning
up the Earth, we make the spiritual connection that God wants, even if it is
not necessarily the connection we want, when we want it.
If indeed God is Hamakom, the One That Is In Every Place, then in
a narrow sense, God is within us as well. Although we may seldom if ever
experience an ecstatic connection with God, we can nevertheless have an
emotionally satisfying connection whenever we want - by finding meaning in the
mundane; in ordinary, everyday Jewish living. You want to find God?
Go - perform an act of chesed or tikkun or tzedakah and save the
world! One small piece at a time.
Shabbat Shalom v'Chodesh Tov! Be Happy – Adar II is Coming!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Shabbat Shalom v'Chodesh Tov! Be Happy – Adar II is Coming!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
http://www.bethmeier.org
"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still"
Isaiah 62:1
Studio City, CA
http://www.bethmeier.org
"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still"
Isaiah 62:1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Candlelighting: 5:30 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.
Wednesday: (Re)Introducion to
Judaism class– 7:30 pm.
Don’t forget to RSVP for the installation of Rabbi
Flom (that’s me!) on March 9. Deadline for reservations is February 28. Contact
Ken Goodman for details. Also please let Ken know if you have any items for the
silent auction.
The Rabbinical Assembly's annual guide for Pesach is
available on-line for download. It's not too early to start thinking about your
spring cleaning and Passover prep! The guide is available at: rabbinicalassembly.org/pesah-guide
This d'var torah is offered in memory of Roza Blady, who
passed away on Sunday. Funeral was Monday. Condolences to Ben Blady and Sarah
Ferman on the passing of their mother. Y’hi zichronah liv’rakhah – May her
memory be a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for
Blimah Reizel bat Ruchel, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Eve Beatty, Howard
Ehrlich, Bryon Fendrich, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Steven
Kleiger, Lizzie Legnine, Frank Marcovitz, Sheldon Mazo, Marshall Neiman, Phil
Raider, Margeurite Rassiner and Neil Turbov.
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 divrei torah are also available via e-mail from the
Cyber Torah 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
