Parashat Metzora
(Shabbat HaGadol)
8 Nisan 5779 /
12-13 April 2019
Torah: Leviticus
14:1 - 15:33
Haftarah (Shabbat
HaGadol): Malakhi 3:4-24
Calendar and
dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about
our community, check out:
DON’T FORGET TO
REMOVE AND SELL CHAMETZ – AUTHORIZE RABBI FLOM TO DO SO ON YOUR BEHALF NO LATER
THAN 10:00 AM Friday, April 19.
A downloadable,
fillable authorization form which you can email to me is available here:
My recently updated
annual Pesach Guide – 5779 Edition, is available at my blog:
The Rabbinical
Assembly’s Pesach Guide 5779 can be read and downloaded at the following
site:
Additional Pesach
resources from the Rabbinical Assembly may be found at:
Kitniyot (beans,
rice, corn) on Pesach? Yes! Read the latest from the Rabbinical Assembly at:
Please feel free to
pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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MATZAH – THE
ORIGINAL SOUL FOOD
“Then the priest
will command for the one who is to be cleansed two pure living birds, cedar
wood, scarlet thread and hyssop.” Leviticus 14:4
Rashi – “Because
plagues come from pride. What is his remedy, that he should be
cured? He should lower himself from his pride like a worm (a play on the
Hebrew word for scarlet thread) and hyssop (a low bush).”
For the Rabbis, the
“leprosy” (tzara’at) visited on the Israelites was the symptom of a spiritual
disorder. The ritual discussed in our portion was carried out only after
the victim had been separated from the community, and had taken time to reflect
upon his sins and to change his ways.
“For seven days,
chametz (leavening) shall not be found in your houses - anyone who eats
chametz, that soul shall be cut off from the assembly of Israel
...” Exodus 12:19
There is another
ritual which symbolizes the elimination of haughtiness and pride, and that is
the observance of Pesach. Chametz, such as yeast, causes dough to bubble
and rise, and is symbolic of the inflation of one’s ego. The commandment
to remove all of the chametz from our homes may be seen as an instruction to
remove pride from our lives. By reducing ourselves to eating matzah for
the Passover holiday, we remind ourselves of the sin of pride and the need to
deflate our egos. Pesach is "The Festival of Freedom", and
matzah is food for freeing the soul.
Remove the chametz
from your home and your life for a time; attend a Seder (or two!), and learn
about freedom from the slavery of self-importance; eat only “the bread of
affliction” for the duration of the holiday; take the hot air out of
yourself. Removing chametz from your life can be a spring cleaning of both
the physical and the spiritual.
Shabbat shalom - a
Shabbat of peace!
Rabbi Richard A.
Flom
Temple B'nai
Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in
the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
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CALENDAR
Candle lighting: 7:05
pm
Friday – Shabbat
Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – NO Torah
Study/Breakfast – resume May 4. Sh’MA (Shabbat Morning Adventure) Service –
9:30 am. A Guitar-led, singalong service with Dr. Steve Pearlman. Designed for
the whole family! Followed by kiddush luncheon.
Sunday - Religious
School - 9:30 am. Rabbi Flom’s Adult Education program, “A Walk Through the
Haggadah” – 10:00 am. Everyone invited. RS Model Seder – 11:00 am.
Tuesday – NO
Lunch and Learn until after Pesach – April 30.
See below for information
on Pesach at TBH/CBM
Sunday, May 19 – TBH/CBM
Concert and Fundraiser – with music, comedy, silent auction, and food
and drink. Check our website: http://bnaihayim.com for details. Or
contact the TBH office.
Sunday, June 2 - Afternoon
at the Colony Theater – “Old Jews Telling Jokes” – a bawdy (not
suitable for minors) visit to the Catskills with Jokes, Skits, Song &
Dance! Discounted group rate tickets are available until April 25.
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PESACH SERVICES AND
EVENTS
WALK THROUGH THE
HAGGADAH – Adult education - Sunday, April 14 – 10:00 am
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
MODEL SEDER - Sunday, April 14 – 11:00 am
FAST OF THE
FIRST-BORN – STUDY AND SIYYUM – Rabbi Flom’s office
Friday, April 19,
8:00 am
SERVICES
April 20 (Day 1) –
9:30 am
April 21 (Day 2) –
9:30 am
April 26 (Day 7) -
9:30 am and Shabbat Evening 7:30 pm
April 27 (Day 8 -
Yizkor) – 9:30 am
TBH/CBM COMMUNAL
SEDER
Catering: L.A.
Kosher Caterers, led by Rabbi Richard Flom and Reb Jason van Leeuwen
Saturday, April 20
– 6:30 pm
SORRY: THE DEADLINE
FOR RESERVATIONS HAS PASSED
INFORMATION FOR
PASSOVER
SEARCH FOR CHAMETZ:
Complete cleaning of your house of chametz the evening of Thursday, April 18.
SELLING CHAMETZ: Chametz
not disposed of must be stored out of sight and sold for the duration of
Passover. To sell your chametz, contact Rabbi Flom, as noted above.
FAST/REDEMPTION OF
THE FIRST-BORN: All first born Jews (except Kohanim and Levi’im) must fast
the day before Passover (from dawn April 19 until the Seder) or be redeemed by
a donation or Torah study. To redeem yourself or another, send a donation to
the TBH/CBM Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund and/or attend the siyyum on
Monday, April 19.
MUST THEIR CUP BE
EMPTY? MA’OT CHITIM / PASSOVER CHARITY: Make true the words of the Haggadah,
“Let all who are hungry enter and eat, all who are needy come and celebrate the
Passover” through your donation for those in need.
PASSOVER CANDLE
LIGHTING TIMES: Light candles on April 19 for the First Seder at 7:10 pm, for
the Second Seder on April 20 at 8:11 pm, on April 25 at 7:15 pm and April 26 at
7:16 pm. Pesach ends at 8:17 pm on April 27.
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This d’var torah is
offered for a refuah shleimah for Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman,
Ken Bitticks, Mark Brownstein, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther),
Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Carol
Herskowitz, Diana Hirsch, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya
Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Imanu), Marilyn Lee, David Marks, Sandra Raab,
Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat
Kreina), Bernie Seeman, Hadassah Simani (Hadassah bat Sarah
Imanu), 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.
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 Preschool 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, deliver d’rashot, and have aliyot and other Torah/bimah
honors. Training available! Contact Rabbi Flom by e-mail for details and to
sign up!
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.
