Parashat
Vayetze
10 Kislev 5777
/ 9-10 December 2016
TorahReading
Haftarah: Hosea 12:13 – 14:10
Torah
Haftarah: Hosea 12:13 – 14:10
For more info
about our community, visit our website:
Congregation
Beth Meier has developed a GoFundMe page: Please visit the page and
consider a donation. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
Dedications and
Calendar of Events follow.
Please feel
free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
-----------------------------------------------------------
AWESOME HOLY DREAMS
"And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,
'Surely the Lord is in this place and I, I did not know.' And he was afraid,
and he said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of
God, and this is the gate of heaven.'" Gen. 28:16-17
Rashi: For had I known, I would not have slept in
such a holy place.
Shlomoh of Radomsk: "My I, I did not know." I erased
everything that was in me; my self-awareness; ego consciousness;
self-intention.
Jacob dreamt of angels going up and down a
ladder. He realized that God was beside him, speaking to him, reaffirming the
promise made to Abraham and Isaac. Then Jacob awoke. Had Jacob known that the
place was holy, he would have slept elsewhere, according to Rashi. But then,
perhaps he would not have had the dream. Perhaps God would not have spoken with
him, and what would have become of the covenant with Abraham and Isaac? Was it
mere ignorance through which Jacob came to sleep in such a holy place? How then
did he merit a visitation from God?
Shlomoh of Radomsk, a mid-19th century Polish
chasidic rebbe, suggests that it was not ignorance, but rather, intentional and
practiced suppression of the ego, through which Jacob merited the dream and the
promise. This seems to be the opposite of Rashi. Perhaps not.
By not being self-focused, Jacob became
God-focused. Jacob became more attuned to the holiness around him when he
stopped thinking of himself as the center of the universe. By living a
minimalist physical (outer) life (he was using a rock for a pillow), Jacob
maximized his spiritual (inner) life. Read Rashi, then, as, "Had I known
(i.e., had I in my egocentric way been looking to know such a place), I would
not have been able to sleep in such a holy place."
Holiness and communion with God come not when we
look for them as entitlements, but rather, when we recognize the potential for
holiness in every place and every person, and empty out our egos in order to
become vessels for receiving that holiness.
Have a wonder-filled Shabbat!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
-----------------------------------------------
Candle
lighting: 4:25 pm
Friday – Early Family Shabbat
Evening Service at 6:00 pm, followed by catered Shabbat Dinner at 7:00.
Sorry, reservations for the dinner are closed.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows
services.
Sunday - Religious School
Tuesday – NO Lunch and Learn this week – resume 12/20.
Friday,
12/16 – Shabbat
Evening Service – 7:30 pm.
Saturday,
12/17 – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows
services.
Sunday,
12/18 – Dreidels,
Donuts and Latkes Hanukkah Celebration – 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. All are
welcome – RSVP appreciated – no charge.
This d'var torah
is offered in memory of Gail Klar Friedenreich, who passed away on Sunday. Y’hi
zikhronah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.
This d'var torah
is offered in memory of my uncle, Daniel Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on
Wednesday, 14 Kislev. Y’hi zikhrono liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.
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, Sarah bat Devorah,
Zehavah B’rakhah bat Leah, 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, Myra Goodman,
Simon Hartman, Fouad Kay (Yehoshua ben Salima), Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek,
Toni Linder, Roy Miller, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga),
Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), and Naomi Zimmermann (Naomi bat Yorma).
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.
