Elul
7, 5778 / August 17-18, 2018
Parashat Shoftim
Torah: Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9
Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12 (The Fourth Sabbath of Consolation)
Parashat Shoftim
Torah: Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9
Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12 (The Fourth Sabbath of Consolation)
Calendar and dedications follow
below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation
Beth Meier, check out:
Rosh Hashanah begins the evening of Sunday, September
9. Please get you membership and ticket orders in to the office ASAP. Also, if
you want to remember your friends and loved ones in the Book of
Remembrance, contact the office ASAP.
Some excellent on-line resources are
available for your Rosh Hashanah preparations at:
Please feel free to pass this on to
a friend, and please cite the source.
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PURSUIT OF JUSTICE
PURSUIT OF JUSTICE
"Justice,
justice you shall pursue, so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord
your God gives you." Deuteronomy 16:20
The Hebrew word "tzedek", translated here as "justice", means "righteousness" as well. It is also the root of the word "tzedakah", usually translated as "charity". It seems fitting that a word with multiple meanings should appear in a verse which is subjected to multiple interpretations.
The commentary "Hida" says that if one hurries to give tzedakah it is worth double, as if one gave tzedakah twice (tzedek, tzedek) - if you pursue it, to give it as soon as possible.
The Hebrew word "tzedek", translated here as "justice", means "righteousness" as well. It is also the root of the word "tzedakah", usually translated as "charity". It seems fitting that a word with multiple meanings should appear in a verse which is subjected to multiple interpretations.
The commentary "Hida" says that if one hurries to give tzedakah it is worth double, as if one gave tzedakah twice (tzedek, tzedek) - if you pursue it, to give it as soon as possible.
On
the other hand, Rabbi Ze'ev of Zbarzh says that “yetzer ha’ra” - the
Evil Inclination - not only tempts us to sin, it also entices us to be overly
scrupulous. Therefore, the Torah teaches that we should pursue tzedek, tzedek
by chasing away excessive righteousness, in order that we avoid becoming
self-righteous.
How do we reconcile these two teachings? Rabbi Simcha Bunem of Pshischa says, "With justice you shall pursue justice. Even the pursuit of justice must employ only just means, and not falsehood."
There is a sense of balance implied here. We *should* hasten to act justly, but not for our own selfish reasons. And we should *never* give in to demands for a particular form of justice, no matter how much it might be deserved, if the pursuit of that justice is done in an unjust manner, or if it might tend to delay true justice.
How do we reconcile these two teachings? Rabbi Simcha Bunem of Pshischa says, "With justice you shall pursue justice. Even the pursuit of justice must employ only just means, and not falsehood."
There is a sense of balance implied here. We *should* hasten to act justly, but not for our own selfish reasons. And we should *never* give in to demands for a particular form of justice, no matter how much it might be deserved, if the pursuit of that justice is done in an unjust manner, or if it might tend to delay true justice.
Wishing
you a wonderful Shabbat of justice and charity!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth
Meier
"שתיקה
כהודאה דמיא"
Silence in the face of wrongdoing is
consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
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Candle lighting: 7:19
pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm.
Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Torah study/breakfast – 8:45
am. Shabbat Morning Service –
9:30 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday: TBH/CBM Open House – 11:00 am – 1:00
pm. Come on down with your family and friends who might be interested in
joining our growing community. Schmooze with old friends and make new
ones! Also, on August 26, when we will also be having Religious
School registration.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Looking ahead:
Friday, August 24: Cool Shabbat Evening Service
with Steve Pearlman and Rabbi Flom – A Guitar-Accompanied Service – It’s a
GAS! – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat 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 in loving memory of Janis Devorah Kronzek, whose yahrzeit falls this
Shabbat, Elul 7. Y’hi zikhrah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.
This d'var torah is
offered for a refuah shleimah for Elisheva bat Malkah, Ze’ev ben Adeline,
Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry
Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben
Gittel), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip
Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), David Marks, Janice Ross,
Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat
Kreina), Barbara Shear-Hill, Irwin Silon, 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.
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Send requests for
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