26 Sivan 5778 / 8-9 June 2018
Parashat Sh'lach L'kha
Torah: Numbers 13:1 - 15:41
Haftarah: Joshua 2:1-24
Torah: Numbers 13:1 - 15:41
Haftarah: Joshua 2:1-24
Calendar and dedications
follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Temple B’nai
Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier, check out:
Please feel free to pass
this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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OLD MITZVOT NEVER DIE
OLD MITZVOT NEVER DIE
'And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to the
Children of Israel and say to them that they shall make themselves tzitzit (fringe) on the corners of their garments
throughout their generations. And they shall place upon the tzitzit of each corner a thread of tekhelet... that you may see it and remember all of
the Lord's commandments and do them..."' Numbers 15:37-39
What is tekhelet, and what does it
have to do with the commandments? The Rabbis teach that tekhelet is like the color of the sea, which is
like the color of the sky, which is like "God's Throne of
Glory". (B. Talmud Menachot 43b) Simply by looking at a tekhelet thread on the tzitzit of a garment, including a tallit, one is reminded of the commandments and the
infinite God who created everything. Tekhelet is a royal
blue dye derived from a mollusk known as a chilazon.
Because tekhelet is royal blue, a person
wearing tekhelet takes on, in a very small way, a
bit of God's royalty and majesty.
Radziner tekhelet that I hand tied over 20 years ago
Unfortunately, for about 1,400 years, tzitzit have been white, not blue, because the
dye was not available, because, according to tradition, no one remembered which
of the many creatures in the Mediterranean the chilazon was. Since
the dye was no longer available, could white tzitzit still
fulfill the mitzvah and serve as the proper reminder? Jewish tradition
says "yes", with the caveat that it is not completely fulfilling the
mitzvah, but it's better than not having tzitzit. Fortunately, there appears to be a solution to this problem. A group of scientists and
rabbis in Israel believe they have rediscovered the chilazon, and they have begun manufacturing tekhelet! You can see their website, complete
with slide show and instructions on tying your own tzitzit at: http://www.tekhelet.com/
If they are correct, and it appears that they are, we now
have the opportunity again to perform this mitzvah. From this union of
science and religion, we learn from this that no mitzvah is impossible, even if
we have not performed it for millennia. There must be a mitzvah you have never
observed before, or not performed recently, which you can add to your
repertoire. Don't wait 1,400 years!
Have a wonderful Shabbat!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai
Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com
“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
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Candle lighting: 7:45 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat
follows.
Saturday: Breakfast/Torah Study – 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning
Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, June 15: Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Bar Mitzvah of
Ethan Foster – Mazal tov! Oneg Shabbat sponsored by the Foster family
follows.
Saturday, June 16: NO Breakfast/Torah Study. Shabbat Morning Service
– 9:30 am. Bar Mitzvah of Ethan Foster – Mazal tov! Kiddush luncheon sponsored
by the Foster family follows.
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 for a refuah shleimah for Ze’ev ben Adeline, Eilite bat Miriam,
Sarah bat Devorah, Hiroe Andreola, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels,
Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel),
Annabelle Flom (Channah Bella bat Kreina), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Brandon
Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah
Emanu), David Marks, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen
Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), and Jonathan Woolf.
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.
Cyber Torah list
management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to
Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”
to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for
dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved
one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
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to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
