REMEMBER TO FORGET – DON’T FORGET!

9 Adar 5778 / 23-24 February 2018

Parashat Tetzaveh (Shabbat Zakhor)

Torah: Exodus 27:20 - 30:10
Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Haftarah (Shabbat Zakhor): 1 Samuel 15:1-34

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier, check out: www.bnaihayim.com

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REMEMBER TO FORGET – DON’T FORGET!

"And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before the Lord perpetually." Exodus 28:29

“Memory is redemption; forgetting is exile.” Baal Shem Tov

This teaching of the Besht is short but deep. One might understand the Besht in this way – if we remember to observe the mitzvot, we redeem ourselves and our people – maybe the entire world; if we forget, then we exile ourselves from our people and our tradition, and contribute nothing to tikkun olam. I have often used his statement at shivah minyanim to teach that, by remembering those who have passed on, we keep them alive in a meaningful way – if we forget them, it is as if they never lived. In remembering, we redeem them from oblivion.

This Shabbat is also known as Shabbat Zakhor, not because of the verses above, but because of the special maftir we read on this Shabbat preceding Purim. And as a result, the Besht’s teaching takes on a very different character.

"Remember (zakhor) what Amalek did to you, on the way when you were leaving Egypt ... you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens - don't forget!" Deuteronomy 25:17-19

The Torah contains a contradiction. “Don’t forget to remember to wipe out a memory!” But our brains are not like computer disks, from which data can be removed with no record that it was ever there. The instruction that we erase a memory requires that we remember! But, remembering does not require us to repeat that which was remembered. Quite the contrary.

I see the Torah and the Besht as the basis for George Santayana’s saying: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This teaches us the power of memory, and the danger of forgetting. We Jews remember the baseless hatred of Amalek, Haman, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Almohades, Cossacks, Nazis and Communists – among others. Today, American Jews are at the forefront of exposing the genocidal atrocities against the Rohingya people, as they have been concerning Darfur. We remember what happens when the world wants to forget.

The way to redeem the world is to remember the results of hatred – and to learn from that remembrance. The way to condemn the world to destruction is to forget. Remember to erase hatred from the memory of humanity.

Shabbat Shalom! Purim Sameach!

משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה

From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.

BT Ta’anit 29a

HaRav Haga'on Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Shlita
Der Heiliger Sherman Oaks Rebbe
Rosh Yeshivah - Shlabodkieville Bartender Academy

Av Beis Din Chelm

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שתיקה כהודאה דמיא

Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.

BT Yevamot 88a 

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Candle lighting: 5:27 pm

Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm – followed by Oneg Shabbat.

Saturday – Breakfast and Torah study - 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.

Sunday – Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am. Dress rehearsal for Purim Shpiel, written and directed by Reb Jason – 12:30 pm.

Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Wednesday - Purim begins at sundown! Barukh Mordechai! Arur Haman! Our Purim Dinner begins at 6:00 pm and the Megillah reading/Purim Shpiel begins at 7:00 pm. Reservations to the synagogue office ASAP!

Friday, March 2 – Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm – followed by Oneg Shabbat.

Saturday, March 3 – Breakfast and Torah study - 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.

Saturday, March 17 – Women’s Rosh Chodesh Shabbat Morning Service. Contact Carol Herskowitz or Lynn Kronzek for details.

Next time you come to TBH/CBM, please bring some non-perishable canned and packaged foods and personal items (no glass) for SOVA.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of Leonard Foint, who passed away on Sunday. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Ze’ev ben Adeline, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, Hiroe Andriola, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Jerry Forman, Bernard Garvin, Myra Goodman, Leah Granat, Simon Hartmann, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Lyndia Lowy (Leah bat Sarah), David Marks, Gil Robbins, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Alan Stolzenberg, Jonathan Woolf, Howard Yudell, and Meagan Yudell.

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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