Friday, January 6, 2017

DISHONOR BEFORE DEATH?

Parashat Vayiggash
Torah: Genesis 44:18 - 47:27
Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28
9 Tevet 5777 / 6-7 January 2017

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.
-----------------------------------------------------------
DISHONOR BEFORE DEATH?

"And Joseph could not restrain himself before all who stood by him, and he called out, 'Remove everyone from before me!' So no one remained with him when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers." Genesis 45:1

Rashi - He was unable to bear that Egyptians should stand by him and hear the humiliation of his brothers when he revealed himself.

A modern commentator, Z. Ron wonders how Rashi could possibly know what Joseph was thinking. Since he was the viceroy, maybe he did not want to embarrass himself before the Egyptians when he began crying. I might add that perhaps he would not want the Egyptians to know that this disheveled band of starving shepherds was his kin. The answer, according to Z. Ron, is in the next verse - "And he wept loudly, and Egypt heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard." Thus, he says, Rashi is right - Joseph chose to embarrass himself rather than his brothers.

Jewish tradition teaches that publicly embarrassing another person is a form of murder. That's why we have the phrase "character assassination". Words, like arrows, cannot be recalled once they go forth. Joseph chose to suffer whatever dishonor there might have been in displaying weakness, rather than have his brothers suffer the "death" of public humiliation.

As it turns out, there was no embarrassment for Joseph at all. That Joseph's brothers had come "... was pleasing in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants." (45:16) Sparing others from humiliation, and risking it for oneself, reaps respect, not dishonor. We gain respect by respecting the dignity of others.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
-----------------------------------------------
Candle lighting: 4:40 pm

Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows. Our guest Torah reader and darshan will be Rabbi Gary Charlestein – Barukh haba!  
Sunday – NO Religious School or Adult Hebrew class – both resume 1/15. Movie, Pizza and Ice Cream Bar Night – 7:00 pm. We’ll be showing “Defiance ”, the true story of the Bielski brothers during WW II.
Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, 13 January – Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. A song-filled, guitar-accompanied service with Cantor Kerry Katz. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, 14 January – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday, 15 January – Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am.

The congregation extends condolences to Dena Kosche on the passing of her father, Richard Guerry. May his memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, 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, Beth Goldstein, Myra Goodman, Simon Hartman, Fouad Kay (Yehoshua ben Salima), Bonnie Kleiger, 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.

NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS!

Parashat Vayikra (Shabbat Zakhor) 2 Adar 13, 5784 / March 22-23, 2024 Torah: Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26 Maftir: Deuteronomy 25:17-1 Haftarah (Zakh...