Parashat Acharei Mot
29 Nisan 5779 / 3-4 May 2019
Torah: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Haftarah: 1 Samuel 20:18-42 (Machar Chodesh)
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.
------------------------------------------------------
But first, a word from our sponsors!
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
------------------------------------------------------
But first, a word from our sponsors!
Dear
friends:
We
wish to remind you that the annual fundraiser for our community is coming up in
less than two weeks. We will be featuring two terrific entertainers, comedian
Steve Mittleman and singer Phil Jeffrey, along with our own wonderful Hazzan
Reb Jason Van Leeuwen. We’ll be serving food and drink and conducting a silent
auction with unique gift and merchandise packages.
Although
the deadline for the greetings/ad book has passed, there is still time to
purchase tickets to this event, only $54/person. For more information or to
make reservations, please contact the synagogue office at (818) 788-4664, or
via email to office@bethmeier.org or bnaihayim@yahoo.com
If
you are unable to join us on May 19, we hope you will consider donating any
appropriate amount to support our community and the work we are doing.
Wishing
you all the best,
Ken
Goodman, Program Chair
-------------------------------------------------------------------
EVIL INCLINATIONS
“And he will take from the congregation of
the Children of Israel two kids of goats for a sin offering …” Leviticus 16:5
Rabbi Israel Salanter (founder of the ethical
self-discipline movement Mussar) taught that there are two kinds
of yetzer hara (evil inclination): 1. that which comes from
bodily lust; and, 2. that which entices a person to sin as an act of defiance.
He cites a teaching from the Talmud (Berakhot 54), which says that the unusual
Hebrew formation in the Sh’ma of “with all your heart” (b’khol l’vav’kha instead
of b’khol libekha, two “beits” instead of one)
means that we can and should use the first type of yetzer hara in
combination with our yetzer hatov (good inclination) for good
purposes – e.g., utilizing one’s lust for power to channel it into
accomplishing much for the benefit of society. On the other hand, with regard
to the second type of evil inclination, that of defiance, one should flee as
far as possible from it.
The commentary Tzvi Yisrael says that Rabbi
Salanter’s teaching is borne out by the two kids that are the sin offerings of
Yom Kippur. Regarding the evil inclination coming from lust, Lev. 16:9 says,
“Aaron will sacrifice the goat”, meaning this evil inclination must be
channeled into service of God. Concerning the other kid, representing the evil
inclination of defiance of God, Lev. 16:10 says it must “go for a scapegoat
into the wilderness” – one must drive it away and stay as far as possible from
it. (From Itturei Torah)
The difficult part of all this is recognizing
which evil inclination we are dealing with. For that, we must really know
ourselves – and that is what Mussar and cheshbon
hanefesh (accounting of the soul) are all about. Who says that Yom
Kippur only comes once a year?
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Visit me on Facebook
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is
consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
----------------------------
CALENDAR
CANDLE LIGHTING: 7:20 pm
Friday – Shabbat
Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Torah Study/Breakfast – 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30
am. Light Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday – Religious
School – 9:30 am.
Tuesday – NO Lunch and Learn – resume May 14.
Sunday, May 19 – TBH/CBM Concert and Fundraiser – with music,
comedy, silent auction, and food and drink. For details, check our website http://bnaihayim.com or contact the
synagogue office: bnaihayim@yahoo.com or office@bethmeier.org or (818) 788-4664
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!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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), Annabelle Flom (Channah Bella bat Kreina), 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, 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.
