Parashat Korach
3 Tammuz 5776 / 8-9 July 2016
Torah: Numbers 16:1 - 18:32
Haftarah: 1 Samuel 11:14 - 12:22
Dedications and Calendar of Events follow
below. Full calendar and other information about our community may be
found at: www.bethmeier.org
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend,
and please cite the source.
I offer this d’var torah as a
lesson (especially) to myself, as well as to everyone else, to be more
issue-oriented, and less personal-oriented.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOW SOME RESTRAINT!
SHOW SOME RESTRAINT!
"And the earth opened
its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all Korach's people, and
all their possessions." Numbers 16:32
In the Talmud (Chullin 89a),
Rabbi Ila'a teaches, "The world exists only on account of one who
restrains (boleim) himself at a time of provocation, as it says in Job, '(God)
suspends the earth upon restraint (b'limah).'" Rashi says that b'limah
(literally, "nothingness") and boleim are related words. One who
considers himself as nothing is able to keep his mouth shut and restrain
himself in the face of provocation.
The commentary Harei
Bashamayim says this is why Korach and his followers were punished in this
way. Not only did they not restrain themselves, they used their mouths to
challenge Moses and God, and in a sense, the natural order. They were
provocateurs, and the earth could not abide by it.
There are ways to challenge
that which we perceive to be wrong. If we publicly attack someone and
stoke the passions of others against that person, if we let our desires eat at
us, we risk being swallowed up. Show some restraint!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA
Website: www.bethmeier.org
Blogging at: www.rav-rich.blogspot.com
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"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
---------------------------------------------------------
Candlelighting: 7:49 pm
Friday: Family
Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday:
Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch in honor of Leonard Foint’s
90th birthday follows.
Tuesday: Lunch
and Learn – 12:00 Noon.
Friday, 15 July: Shabbat
Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, 16 July:
Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Tuesday, 19 July: NO
Lunch and Learn – Rabbi Flom out of town.
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 in honor of Leonard
Foint, celebrating his 90th birthday. Ad meah v’esrim! Mazal tov!
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah
shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, HaRav Yisrael Shimon ben
Liebah Breina, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Miriam Minya bat
Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Jackie Aaronson, Susan Arbetman, 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, Barry Glass (Berel ben Feigel),
Myra Goodman, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Carolynne Lavoie-Schwartz,
Toni Linder, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar
(Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), and Beatrice Weide (Bayla bat Malkah).
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 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 Cyber Torah,
send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
To unsubscribe from Cyber
Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah
in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah
shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with
the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.
