Parashat Acharei
Mot-Kedoshim
13 Iyar 5775 / 1-2 May 2015
Torah: Leviticus 16:1 -
20:27
Haftarah: Amos 9:7-15
(Ashkenazim); Ezekiel 22:2-20 (Sephardim)
Calendar and dedications
follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Congregation
Beth Meier, check out: www.bethmeier.org
Please feel free to pass
this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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COMMUNION MEANS COMMUNITY
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COMMUNION MEANS COMMUNITY
“Speak to all the congregation of
Rashi: This teaches that this parashah was said at a gathering of all of the Israelites together (based on the use of the word “all”).
Chatam Sofer: The Torah does not demand a holiness of withdrawal and asceticism, and the command to be holy was stated at a gathering, when everyone stood together.
Daniel Boyarin, in his book Carnal Israel, discusses the differences between Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. One of the principal points of departure (beside the obvious) was that Judaism rejects the notion of monastic withdrawal from the physical world, i.e., the world of the flesh, and that Judaism frowns upon ascetic practices such as constant fasting, sexual abstinence, or any other forms of self-denial or self-affliction. Judaism is clearly “of this world” and not about “the next world”. And it is clearly about community.
That is the real point of “You shall be holy” - spoken in the plural. Whatever holiness is, it is not attained in a vacuum. Nor are we holy because God says we are. When someone says, “I don’t belong to a synagogue, but I am a spiritual Jew”, or when one says, “I observe in my own way”, that person is claiming independence from God and from the community. Such a person is, in the words of the havdalah service, "chol" (ordinary), as opposed to "kodesh" (holy). However, when we pray and learn and observe together, we achieve holiness through communion with God and with each other. Learn from the words of Hillel: “Do not separate yourself from the community.” (Pirkei Avot 2:5) Be an active member of the Jewish community - be holy. We’re all in this together!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier - Studio
City , CA
Visit me on Facebook
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Candle lighting: 7:18 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm.
Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am.
Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday: Religious School
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, May 8: Family and Children’s Shabbat Evening
Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, May 9: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am.
Saturday, May 23: Tikkun Leyl Shavuot – A Night
of Torah Study. Rabbis Deborah Silver, John Carrier, Richard Flom and
others will conduct this traditional study session at Adat Ari El
beginning at 8:30 pm. A wonderful opportunity to learn, meet members of other
congregations, and get in the spirit of receiving Torah at Mount Sinai.
This d’var torah is offered in honor of the Casino Nite committee.
Thanks for your hard work and mazal tov for a successful event!
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all those
injured in the Nepal
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel
Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Naomi bat Yorma, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah
Mindel bat Toby, Stewart Benkle, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jacob William
Cohen, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel
Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Gig Flom (Gittel
Tobi bat Blanca), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Betsy Kleiger, Philip
Kovac, and Annie Rivera.
My weekly Divrei Torah are also available via e-mail through free subscription to 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
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