Wednesday, August 30, 2017

THE FORGETTING COMMANDMENTS

Parashat Ki Tetze
Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10 (Fifth Haftarah of Consolation)
11 Elul 5777 / 1-2 September 2017

All religious services and programs are at Temple B’nai Hayim, 4302 Van Nuys Blvd., corner of Benefit Street.

TBH Religious School commences Sunday, September 10. TBH Pre-school has open enrollment. Enroll your children now! Contact the TBH office for information.

And be sure to tell your neighbors, friends, and relatives about our warm and welcoming community and our programs!

Rosh Hashanah is three (3!) weeks from now! Please submit your Membership/High Holy Day ticket forms ASAP!

We are looking for volunteers for the High Holy Days: chant Torah and Haftarah, daven, lead English readings, and, have aliyot and other Torah/bimah honors. Contact Rabbi Flom or Susan Burke by e-mail for details and to sign up!

We are now well into the month of Elul, the final run-up to Rosh Hashanah. Jewish tradition teaches that in Elul, we are to engage in “cheshbon hanefesh”, literally “an accounting of the soul” -self-evaluation. As I do every year, I have prepared a Cheshbon Hanefesh worksheet to prepare you for the High Holy Days. For this year’s edition, see: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2017/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet.html

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THE FORGETTING COMMANDMENTS

"When you reap the harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, do not return to take it; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow, in order that the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hand. When you beat your olive trees, do not go over them again; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow. When you harvest your vineyard, do not pick it over again; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow. And you will remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing." Deuteronomy 24:19-22

"The Gleaners" - by Jean-Francois Millet, 1857

In these verses, as well as in Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22 ("for the poor and for the stranger"), we are told to intentionally leave grain, olives and grapes - basic foodstuffs which are also, not coincidentally, essential for offering the basic sacrifices to God. These are the necessities of the Israelites' physical and spiritual lives. And yet, according to the Rabbis, the commandment to leave forgotten sheaves in the field is the only commandment in the Torah that, in a way, can be fulfilled unintentionally.

There are several rabbinic tales in which people celebrate the fact that they forgot sheaves in the field. But how can they celebrate unless they remember? It seems that what they are celebrating is that they "remembered" to forget! Sheaves on the ground? Forget about them! Olives still in the trees? Don't go back for them! Unripe grapes still on the vines? Don't do a second harvest. Forget about them!

This is all about overcoming human nature. When gathering in the harvest, anyone would be inclined to go back and get as much produce as possible - it was hard work to grow it, winter is coming, and who knows what the future will bring? But by remembering what it was like to have nothing, we can forget about trying to have everything.

These mitzvot can be fulfilled in a different way today. Please donate packaged foods to SOVA (we have a bin at TBH) or the local food pantry of your choice. Don’t forget!

Shabbat Shalom! And have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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Candle lighting: 7:00 pm

Friday – NO Shabbat Evening Service this week.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. NO Breakfast and Torah study this week. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Monday – Labor Day
Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.
Friday, September 8 – Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, September 9 – Light Breakfast and Torah Study – 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service - 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.

Mazal tov to Dr. Martin Lee and Marilyn Lee on the birth of a granddaughter!

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Ze’ev ben Adeline, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, HaRav Tzvi Hersh ben Frimet, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Stuart Barth, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky (Serach bat Miriam), Stana Cooper, Jerry Daniels, Bryon Fendrich (Berel ben Chanah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra Goodman, Simon Hartman, Kerry Katz, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Toni Linder, Stuart Lytton, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Alexis Woolfson, and Simon Woolfson.

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.

TOMATO-LEMON TART

TOMATO-LEMON TART 
Equipment:

parchment paper, rimmed cookie or baking sheet - about 16” x 11”, rolling pin

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon flour
1 thawed sheet frozen puff pastry (one 14 oz. package)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Olive oil
1 lemon – very thinly sliced with seeds removed
1 pound ripe tomatoes (3 medium) – in ¼ inch slices, patted dry with paper towels
Salt (preferably flaky sea salt)
Pepper
6 basil leaves, torn or cut in fine chiffonade
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh or dried oregano
2 ounces crumbled feta or goat cheese
1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, well-drained and cut in small pieces

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.  On a sheet of lightly floured parchment paper, gently unroll the pastry, and roll out to a rectangle approximately 15” x 10”.
3.  Prick the pastry in several places with a fork, leaving a 1” border around the edges, then slide parchment paper onto a rimmed baking sheet.
4.  Combine garlic and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl & brush pastry with garlic oil, staying within the 1” border.
5.  Arrange lemon slices in a single layer over the pastry, within the border.  Scatter torn basil leaves and oregano on top.
6.  Arrange tomato slices over the lemons, overlapping.
7.  Sprinkle with lots of flaky sea salt and a few grinds of pepper, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
8.  Bake in oven approximately 20 minutes.
9.  Remove tart from oven and quickly scatter artichoke hearts and cheese over it. Return to oven for about 10-15 more minutes, until edges of pastry are golden brown, puffed, and crisp.
10. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
11. Slice in 8 pieces and serve.



Notes and suggestions:

This recipe is based on one that appeared in the August 2017 issue of “Bon Appetit” magazine. I added the oregano, cheese and artichokes. Other variations include topping with coarsely chopped olives, hot pepper flakes, za’atar, very finely chopped rosemary, and grated parmesan. This might also work on a pizza shell, such as Boboli, following the package instructions for baking. Wine matches are Pinot Noir, Chianti, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio.

B’tayavon!

R. Flom
8/17

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

Parashat Shoftim
4 Elul 5777 / 25-26 August 2017
Torah: Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9
Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12 (Fourth Haftarah of Consolation)
 
Rosh HaShanah is four weeks from now! Please submit your Membership/High Holy Day ticket forms ASAP! And check your mail for our High Holy Day bulletin.
 
We are looking for volunteers for the High Holy Days: chant Torah and Haftarah, daven, lead English readings, and, have aliyot and other Torah/bimah honors. Contact Rabbi Flom or Susan Burke by e-mail for details and to sign up!
 
We have just entered the month of Elul, the final run-up to Rosh Hashanah. Jewish tradition teaches that in Elul, we are to engage in “cheshbon hanefesh”, literally “an accounting of the soul” -self-evaluation. As I do every year, I have prepared a Cheshbon HaNefesh worksheet to prepare you for the High Holy Days. For this year’s edition, see: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2017/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet.html
 
This d’var torah is offered in memory of my sister-in-law, Janis Kronzek, whose yahrzeit falls this coming Tuesday, Elul 7. Y’hi zikhrah barukh – her memory is a blessing.

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
 
"Thus (the king) will not act haughtily to his fellows or deviate to the right or to the left from the commandment ..." Deuteronomy 17:20
 
In the verses preceding the above, the king is instructed to always have a personally written copy of the Torah at his side and to study it all his life. It is to serve as a constant guide to him, to keep him from straying off the path that is commanded in the opening verses of this parashah ("Justice, justice you shall pursue" - 16:20 - found at the entrance to the US Supreme Court)
 
The past few years have seen an increasing coarseness and shrillness in our “civil” discourse. Whether discussing political or economic issues, matters of war and peace, local or international concerns, we seem to be losing our way in the manner in which we treat each other. “Respect” is merely a word. Those in power, those who seek power, and those who support them, at any level of society, more and more often treat those with whom they disagree as the enemy of all that is right and good. Extreme rhetoric begets extreme positions beget extreme conduct - it’s a dangerous path.
 
It is worth remembering that the Torah has a different approach to how rulers ought to exercise their authority. Staying between the lines of right and left, traveling down the middle of the lane - that is the way to go. What happens when a driver goes too far to the right or to the left? A wreck!
 
The staking out of extreme positions to placate a "base" is the exact opposite of what the Torah instructs. Look at the road - the lanes are wide - the boundary lines at the edges are narrow. This is why Rambam teaches in Hilchot De'ot (Laws of Character Traits) 1:3 - "The two extremes of each trait, which are distant from each other, do not make a proper path. It is improper for a man to follow them or to teach them to himself." This applies not only to our rulers, but to each and every one of us!
 
Extreme moderation - that is the rule of the road.
 
Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b

Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet

Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet 

A Personal Inventory for the High Holy Days – 5778 edition

Traditionally, cheshbon hanefesh, literally an accounting of the soul, is undertaken during the Aseret Yamei Teshuvah – the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The entire month of Elul is even better, but in truth, any time is a good time.
With openness and honesty, giving the benefit of the doubt to yourself without being extravagant, being self-critical without beating yourself up, evaluate the following on an appropriate scale of your choosing. Many questions require much more than a mere score. Please feel free to add any topics you wish to evaluate. Consider both quality and quantity. Don’t forget to answer the most important questions of all: In what areas do I need to improve? What are my goals in those areas? What will I do to reach them? Of course, there is no right answer to any of this ….. is there?

The People in My Life
How are my relationships with parents, children, spouses/life partners, other family, friends, neighbors, strangers, employers, employees, customers, teachers, et al.?
Who did I injure? Who injured me? How? Why? Does blame matter?
What did I do to make amends? Was it enough?
What did/can/will I do to assure it doesn’t happen again?
Did I apologize?
Did I ask for forgiveness? Was I forgiven? How do I feel about that?
Did I forgive those who asked for forgiveness? How do I feel about them?
Is our relationship the same – better – worse? Reconciliation?
What did I do to heal the people in my life?
Did I help others reconcile with each other? Am I a rodef shalom?
Are there patterns, habits, addictions in my life I need to change? Are there good patterns and habits in my life that I should exercise even more?
Do I really hear and understand other people – their needs, hopes and dreams?
Do I accept others for who they are, even if they aren’t what I want them to be?
Lashon Hara – Slander, gossip, offensive speech
            Did I speak it?
            Did I listen to it?
            Did I prevent others from speaking it?

God in My Life
Is God in my life?
Do I ever contemplate the Divine?
Do I ever contemplate holiness? Can I be holy? Do I see the holiness in other people?
Do I engage in regular prayer and/or meditation?
            Tefillin
            Daily prayer service/private worship
            Bedtime Sh’ma (teach your children well)
            Blessings for Mitzvot
            Blessings for food/drink
Can I really imitate God?
Did I do teshuvah?
Did I forgive God for what happened to me?

Jewish Ritual/Jewish Observance
Kashruth
            Biblical
            Halakhic
            Home
            Out
How are my Shabbat and Holy Days (general)?
            Know the stories/reasons
Candles
            Kiddush
            Family Blessings
            Zemirot – table songs
            Guests
            Refraining from Work
            Attending Services
            Torah Study
            Reflection
            Havdalah
            Fulfilling/meaningful/involved/indifferent
How are my holy days? Specific
            Rosh Hashanah
                        Tashlikh
                        Shofar
            Yom Kippur
                        Fasting
                        Contemplation
                        Teshuvah
            Sukkot
                        Built/ate/studied/slept in a Sukkah
                        Ushpizin – honored visitors
Lulav and Etrog
            Shemini Atzeret
            Simchat Torah
            Chanukah
            Tu BiShevat
            Purim
                        Megillah Reading
                        Shlach Manot
                        Tzedakah
            Pesach
                        Bedikat Chametz
                        Seder
                        No chametz during holiday
            Yom Hashoah
            Yom Ha’atzma’ut
            Shavuot
            Tisha B’Av
Mitzvot – Mitzvah means commandment – or is it a good deed?
            Have I taken on more mitzvot?
            Have I improved my observance of mitzvot I was already doing?
            How?
            Why?
Judaism - Do I preach it, teach it, live it?

Study
Do I engage in regular Torah study?
Do I read Jewish books and/or periodicals?
What do I know about Judaism generally?
            History
            Holy Days
            Texts – Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, etc.
            Culture
            Zionism
            Personalities
            Beliefs/tenets/philosophy
            Practices
            Halakhah
            Hebrew language
Israel
Travel – ever; recently; soon
Support (in the way one sees fit)
            Israel Bonds
            JNF
            Israeli products
            Rallies
            Letter writing
            AIPAC
            J Street
            Peace Now
            New Israel Fund
            What do I think about the settlements?
            What do I think about peace with the Palestinians?
            What do I think about the rabbanut?
 Zionism

Tzedakah/Gemilut Chasadim/Volunteerism
Feed the hungry
Clothe the naked
Hear the cries of others
Charitable donations
            How much tzedakah? (according to Torah and halakhah, tithing [10%] expected)
Donations of Time/Volunteer work
            Congregation
            Other organizations
Donations of Self/gemilut chasadim
            Bikur cholim
            Comforting mourners

Jewish Community

How active in congregation?
            Affiliates
            Religious school/teaching
How active in other Jewish groups?
Reaching out to other Jews
Captive Jews

My Body, My Self
Exercise
Diet
Self-abuse (drugs, alcohol, tobacco)
Self-control
Care of the body
Care of the soul
Care of the mind
What did I do to heal myself?
Take reasonable advantage of the pleasing things in this world – art, music, good food and drink, travel

The Physical World Around Me
The environment – b’al tashchit – do not destroy; cleanup; conservation; global warming
Kindness to animals
Stop and smell the roses/meditate on the wonder of Creation?
Tikkun olam?

A Few Final Thoughts for Your Consideration

Do I deserve another year because I have been good?
Do I deserve another year because I will be better? I promise!
Am I prepared to do teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah?



© Rabbi Richard Flom - 2017

Friday, August 11, 2017

THE WALK OF LIFE

20 Av 5777 / 11-12 August 2017
Parashat Ekev
Torah: Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25
Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3 (Second Haftarah of Consolation)

NOTE: Membership letters and dues forms for the coming year were sent to all Congregation Beth Meier members. Please return them to the CBM office as soon as possible. We are happy to report that we are finalizing our partnership agreement with Temple B’nai Hayim, and will begin our joint services there beginning on Friday, August 18. Rabbi Flom will begin presiding at services on Friday, August 25. High Holy Day services will be held at the Temple B’nai Hayim site at 4302 Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Oaks.

For full Calendar of Events and lots of information about our community, check out our web site at: http://www.bethmeier.org/

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THE WALK OF LIFE

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you? Only that you should fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 10:12

"For if you surely observe all this commandment that I command you, to do it; to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cling to Him." Deuteronomy 11:22

We humans are so full of ourselves, we think we have the power of God; we want to be like God. But a simple "act of God", such as a bolt of lightning, can shut down human power, literally, for millions of people.

Sifre Deuteronomy teaches: "To walk in all His ways." These are the ways of the Holy One, Blessed is He - "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth, preserving kindness for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and granting pardon." (Quoting Exodus 34:6) Just as The One Who is in Every Place is compassionate and gracious, so must you be compassionate and gracious....

Compassionate, gracious, patient, kind, truthful, forgiving - these are more than just words. These are the ways we are supposed to walk through life - this is the path God wants us to follow. This is the way we can be like God. Just as God has Thirteen Attributes, so must we, created in God's image for the purpose of maintaining God's world, strive to develop in ourselves as many of these attributes as is humanly possible. Lace up those boots and start walking!

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
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Candle lighting: 7:26 pm

Friday – Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Guitar-accompanied service with Cantor Kerry Katz. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Tuesday – NO Lunch and Learn August 15 or August 22 – Rabbi Flom out of town. Resume August 29 at Temple B’nai Hayim.
Friday, August 18 – Shabbat Evening Service at Temple B’nai Hayim – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, August 19 – Shabbat Morning Service at Temple B’nai Hayim – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.

Barukh dayan emet – we regret to advise you of the death of former CBM member and long-time friend to the congregation Henry Ellend. Hamakom yenachem … May the One in Every Place grant comfort to his family and friends.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, HaRav Tzvi Hersh ben Frimet, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Stuart Barth, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky (Serach bat Miriam), Stana Cooper, Jerry Daniels, Bryon Fendrich (Berel ben Chanah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra Goodman, Simon Hartman, Kerry Katz, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Toni Linder, Stuart Lytton, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), and Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina).

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.

Friday, August 4, 2017

A LOVING HEART IS A HEALTHY HEART

Parashat Va'etchanan
13 Av 5777 / 4-5 August 2017
Torah: Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26 (First Haftarah of Consolation)
 
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort, for the words of God and the prophet following Tisha B'Av (9 Av).  Monday is Tu B'Av (15 Av), described in rabbinic texts as a most joyous day, when brides and grooms find each other.
 
NOTE: Membership letters and dues forms for the coming year were sent to all Congregation Beth Meier members. Please return them to the CBM office as soon as possible. Until we have a further update on the completion of our partnership arrangement with Temple B’nai Hayim, all services will be held at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE READ YOUR EMAILS AND SNAIL MAIL LETTERS FROM BETH MEIER!
 
Dedications and calendar follow below. For complete listings and lots of other information about our community, see our website at:
 
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
-------------------------------------------------------------
A LOVING HEART IS A HEALTHY HEART
 
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might." Deuteronomy 6:4
 
"And it shall come to pass, if you surely heed My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve God with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 11:13 (Parashat Ekev)
 
These two verses are both found in the Sh’ma (first and second paragraphs, respectively). I can understand how I can love with all my heart – our culture has considered the heart to be the metaphoric seat of love for thousands of years. Moreover, we say the heart is the source of all emotion - we often refer to deep emotional pain as “heartsick”.
 
How about serving with all one’s heart? According to the Rabbis, the answer is that prayer is a service of the heart (avodat halev). Indeed, the verse implies that prayer which is heartfelt can be seen as an act of love as well as of service to God.
 
But what happens when we cannot or will not use the heart for love, but instead, use it for hostility? A research study a few years ago found that people who were rated high on an “antagonism” scale were more likely to have calcium buildup in their heart arteries – literally, hardening of the heart!
 
Love and serve God with your heart, and you fulfill a commandment. The same is true for loving your fellows – “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your people, but you shall love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18) Don’t love, and you risk a heart attack. What an easy choice! I guess this is what they mean by “a no-brainer”.
 
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: 7:33 pm
 
Until we have a further update on the completion of our partnership arrangement with Temple B’nai Hayim, all services will be held at Congregation Beth Meier.
 
Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 non at Beth Meier. NO Lunch and Learn August 15 or August 22 – Rabbi Flom out of town.
Friday, August 11 – Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, August 12 – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
 
 
Barukh dayan emet – we regret to advise you of the death of Helen Katz Goldberg. A graveside funeral service will take place at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, on Sunday at 10:00 am.
 
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, HaRav Tzvi Hersh ben Frimet, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Stuart Barth, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky (Serach bat Miriam), Stana Cooper, Jerry Daniels, Bryon Fendrich (Berel ben Chanah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra Goodman, Simon Hartman, Kerry Katz, Dena Kosche (Dena bat Sarah Emanu), Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Toni Linder, Stuart Lytton, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), and Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina).
 
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!

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