15-16
Nisan 5779 / April 19-21 2019
Torah
Day 1: Exodus 12:21-51
Maftir
Day 1: Numbers 28:16-25
Haftarah
Day 1: Joshua 3:5-7; 5:2 - 6:1; 6:27
Torah
Day 2: Leviticus 22:26 - 23:44
Maftir
Day 2: Numbers 28:16-25
Haftarah
Day 2: 2 Kings 23:1-9; 21-25
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:
Are
kitniyot (beans, rice, corn) permitted on Pesach? Yes! Read the latest
from the Rabbinical Assembly at:
Please
feel free to pass this on this to a friend, and please cite the source.
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ON
CHAMETZ AND THE FIFTH CHILD
Chaverim
Nichbadim/Dear Friends:
I
want to share some thoughts with you as we prepare for the Festival of
Pesach.
We
should consider the nature of the chametz we are commanded to eliminate from
our homes and elsewhere for the duration of the holiday. We generally think of
it as bread, yeast, leavening, whisky, beer, and the like, which is correct -
at one level. But at a deeper level, our rabbis have taught that chametz
is symbolic of pride and an inflated ego. Just as leavening causes dough to
inflate with the creation of bubbles of hot air, so do our egos often cause us
to fill up with pride and the belief in our own self-importance. Chametz also
means vinegar, which is made sour by fermentation - so only certain types of
vinegar are permitted on Pesach.
The
lesson to be learned is that we need to remove not only the physical chametz,
but also the spiritual chametz - the chametz in our souls. We
can shrink our souls to their most basic components, reducing
bitterness and egos so that we can truly appreciate what it means to be the
stranger and to address the needs of others. "For you know the soul
of the stranger" - the suffering soul of the alienated. That is why the
Seder Shel Pesach opens with the words, "Let all who are hungry, come and
eat! Let all who are in need, come and celebrate Pesach!" Pesach
is not just about us - it's about us attending to the physical and spiritual
needs of the Other.
We
know from the Haggadah Shel Pesach that there are four types of children, each
of whom is to be taught a lesson at the Seder - the wise one, the wicked one,
the simple one, and the one who does not know what questions to ask. We
often see ourselves and others in these various models. But there is a
fifth child, the one we don't ever consider, because that child is invisible or
not even present! At least the wicked one is with us, even as s/he causes
trouble - that child can be addressed, challenged, even changed. But the
one who is so far removed, whether by personal choice or by rejection, that
s/he is not present - that child is one that we need to reach out to and bring
back to the community - I believe we are commanded to do so. That effort of keruv,
of outreach and bringing close, requires the elimination of chametz from our
very selves, because the Other is often feared (and fearful), regarded as
unapproachable, undesirable, and unclean.
The
Seder Shel Pesach should be more than a formulaic ritual and a good
dinner. It should teach us and our children that we are obligated to
remove the chametz of hubris. Pesach presents a wonderful opportunity to
reconsider and reorganize our lives into a new Seder - a new order, that will
improve the world and make us worthy of having Eliyahu Hanavi, Elijah the
Prophet, knock on our doors.
Shabbat
Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
Temple
B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging
at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit
me on Facebook
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT
Yevamot 88a
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CALENDAR
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.
Friday – NO Evening Service – First
Seder
Saturday – NO Torah
Study/Breakfast – resume May 4. Shabbat Morning/Pesach Day 1 Service
– 9:30 am. Light Kiddush follows. Second Seder after sundown.
Sunday – Pesach Day 2 Service - 9:30 am. Light Kiddush
follows.
Tuesday – NO Lunch and
Learn until after Pesach – April 30.
See below for additional 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
FAST OF THE FIRST-BORN – STUDY AND SIYYUM – Rabbi
Flom’s office Friday, April 19, 8:00 am
PESACH 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.
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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, Marguerite Rassiner, 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.
