Parashat Va’era
28 Tevet 5776 / 8-9 January 2016
28 Tevet 5776 / 8-9 January 2016
Torah: Exodus 6:2 – 9:35
Haftarah: Ezekiel
28:25-29:21
For a full calendar of
events and other info about our community, check out www.bethmeier.org
Please feel free to pass
this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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Candlelighting: 4:42 pm
Friday: Family and Children’s Shabbat Evening
Service – 7:30 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 – 12:00 noon
Friday, 15 January: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat
follows.
Saturday, 16 January: Shabbat morning service – 10:00
am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday, 17 January: NO Religious School and NO Adult
Hebrew Class – MLK, Jr. weekend
Sunday, 24 January: Tu Bish’vat Seder – 10:30 am. Everyone is
invited!
Shabbat Across America is coming – Friday, March 4 – Learners’
Service and Shabbat Dinner – mark your calendar and check your mail for details
Next time you come to
Beth Meier, please bring some non-perishable canned and packaged foods and
personal items (no glass) for SOVA.
This d'var torah is
offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben
Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken
Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat
Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint
(Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Pamela
Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Elaine Kleiger, Philip Kovac, Marsha
Meyers, and Gil Robbins.
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.
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AN INHERITANCE IS MORE THAN AN HEIRLOOM
AN INHERITANCE IS MORE THAN AN HEIRLOOM
"And I will bring you to the land which I swore by My hand to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and I will give it to you as an inheritance; I the Lord." Exodus 6:8
"The Torah commanded to us by Moses is an inheritance of the Congregation of Jacob." Deuteronomy 33:4
These are the only verses in the Torah in which the word "morashah" - "inheritance" appears. It should come as no surprise that the Land of Israel and the Torah of Moses should be considered inheritances. They are not simply important; they are the greatest gifts we Jews have received from God, apart from the Exodus itself, which put us in a position to receive those gifts. It was in the Israel that the central place of Jewish worship was built, in Jerusalem, called by the Rabbis “the navel of the world”. From there, Jews spread out with the Torah, delivering God’s word to all, acting as “a light unto the nations”.
Inheritances are wonderful. We use them to fulfill our dreams and desires, accomplishing things we might otherwise have thought to be beyond our reach. We build houses, get educations, and even establish foundations. However, the difficulty we face is that we frequently characterize unique inheritances as “heirlooms”. Heirlooms, we put on shelves, behind glass, to be admired. We say of them, “I am saving them for my children.” And what do our children do? The very same thing! But we and they never use heirlooms.
Our land and our Torah are not things to be adored from a distance. Each is an inheritance whose value actually increases with use. The more we visit and live in Israel, the more we use the land for its intended purpose as a homeland for the Jewish people, the better off the land and the Jewish people will be. The more Torah we learn, teach and follow, the more we live Torah, as an example to others, the better off the world will be.
Don't keep your inheritances locked up in a vault. Use them, enjoy them, share them - you'll be glad you did.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
- Studio City, CA
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com
"From the place
where we are absolutely right, flowers will never grow in the spring."
"מן
המקום שבו אנו צודקים לא יצמחו לעולם פרחים באביב"
Yehuda Amichai
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My weekly divrei torah
are available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail
list. No salesman will call!
Cyber Torah list management:
To subscribe to
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