BREATHLESS IN EGYPT

Parashat Va’era

Torah: Exodus 6:2 – 9:35

Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25 – 29:21

28 Tevet 5775 / 4-5 January 2019

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about our community, check out:  http://www.bnaihayim.com

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BREATHLESS IN EGYPT

"And Moses spoke thus (as God had instructed him) to the Children of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses because of shortness of breath (mikotzer ruach) and hard work." Exodus 6:9

Rashi: Whoever is troubled, his wind and his breathing are short, and he cannot breathe a long breath.

Sforno: Their spirit prevented them from having faith in God, and they did not focus their hearts to understand.

Moses, following God's directions, has told the Israelites that they will be redeemed by God. But they ignore Moses, apparently because they are worn out - they are out of breath from being worked so hard by the Egyptians.

The 16th-century commentator, Sforno, understands kotzer ruach to mean a shortness of spirit (ruach can mean breath or spirit). Although we might think that their spirits were broken by slavery, so they could not listen to Moses, Sforno says “no”. He suggests that they were spiritually weak, unfocused, and consequently, they were punished by not being taken to the Promised Land - only their children, who had not had their spirits broken, would enter the land of Israel.

This seems rather harsh, somewhat like blaming the victim. But it is just the beginning of a pattern. No matter what God promises or does for the Israelites, before and after the exodus from Egypt, they never really believe - they never have faith. Even after all of the miracles, as we shall see in a few weeks, the Israelites create a golden calf to worship.

We often believe we are entitled to be redeemed simply because we have suffered. But we should also know that, just as one cannot recover from alcoholism (an insidious slavery) without working through the necessary steps, and just as one cannot firm up flabby muscles without physical exercise, one cannot be spiritually healed without doing spiritual work. We have to exercise our spiritual muscles the same way we work out at the gym - study Torah, pray, work at finding God, meditate, practice and live Judaism. You can get a spiritual rush - if you get pumped up!

Feel the burn - have a great Shabbat workout!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier

Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/

Visit me on Facebook

Twitter: @DrahcirMolf

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"

"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”

BT Yevamot 88a

--------------------------------------------------------------------

CALENDAR

Candle lighting: 4:40 pm

Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

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

Tuesday – NO Lunch and Learn. Rabbi Flom out of town. Resume 1/15

Friday, January 11 – Tot Shabbat! at 6:30pm. Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, January 12 – NO Breakfast and Torah study – resume 1/19. Shabbat Morning Service - 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.

Sunday, January 20 – TBH/CBM Sisterhood Movie (“The Zookeeper’s Wife”) – 2:00 pm. RSVP to synagogue office.

Friday, January 25 – Early Shabbat Evening Service – 6:30 pm. Shabbat Dinner and Tu Bish’vat Seder – 7:45 pm. RSVP to synagogue office.

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

TBH Religious School and TBH Pre-school have 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!

We are looking for volunteers for services: chant Torah or Haftarah, daven, lead English readings, and have aliyot and other Torah/bimah honors. Training available! Contact Rabbi Flom by e-mail for details and to sign up!

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Elisheva bat Malkah, Ze’ev ben Adeline, Liora bat Sarah, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Barbara Levy, David Marks, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Bernie Seeman, Irwin Silon, William Sragow, 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.

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.