Iyar 26, 5781 / May 7-8, 2021
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai
Torah: Leviticus 25:1 - 27:34 (Chazak!)
Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19 - 17:14
Candle-lighting: 7:23 PM (PT)
This D’var Torah is offered in
memory of former TBH President Montie Mazo, who passed away on Sunday. Y’hi
zikhro barukh – His memory is a blessing.
This D’var Torah is offered in honor
of our mothers.
Our Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing List can
be found at:
If you would like to have a name added to or
removed from this Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing list, please
write to me at: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
This week's Yahrzeit List can be
found at:
All our services and programs are live-streamed at:
More info about our services and programs follows below this d'var torah.
And even more info about our community is available at our website:
Please feel free to pass this on, and please cite the source.
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YOUR SIBLING'S KEEPER
"And if your brother becomes poor and his
strength fails him, you shall support him, whether he is a convert or a resident
alien, in order that he may live with you." Leviticus 25:35
The great Kabbalist of Tz'fat, Rabbi Moshe
Alshikh (1508-1593), notes that earlier verses were in the second person
plural. That is, the Torah had set up a social regime to be followed by the
community as a whole. In our verse, however, the Torah switches to the
singular. He says that, when a person needs help, everyone tries to shift
responsibility to someone else, claiming that some other person is more closely
related or has more means to help, or... You get the idea.
R. Alshikh says the singular verb teaches that
each of us, individually, is responsible for helping the poor. One cannot
absolve oneself of this obligation simply by referring the poor person to
someone else.
But there’s much, much more at play here. The
verse calls the poor person “your brother”, and it clearly means someone beyond
only a sibling with closely-shared DNA. Rather, the verse implies that every
human being is related to every other human being – we are all siblings. The
prophet Malachi (2:10) is explicit about this: “Do we not all have one father? Did
not one God create us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,
profaning the covenant of our ancestors?” See also Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5: “...only one
person (i.e., Adam) was initially created for the sake of peace, so that no one
should be able to claim lineage superior to another person…”
You and I are each our brother's and sister's
keeper! If we don't support them, who will?
Shabbat shalom!
And Happy Mother’s Day!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com
Visit me on Facebook
"מן המקום שבו אנו צודקים לא יצמחו לעולם פרחים באביב"
"From the place where we are absolutely
right, flowers will never grow in the spring."
Yehuda Amichai
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Shabbat Evening Service Honoring
All Our Mothers with Reb Jason and Rabbi Flom this Friday at 6:30 PM.
Shabbat Morning Service with Reb Jason and
Rabbi Flom this Saturday at 10:00 AM.
All our services and programs are live-streamed at:
Downloadable and printable Siddur for
Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat/Festival Ma'ariv, Shabbat/Festival Morning, and more,
including the weekly Parashah and Haftarah, all available at:
Fill out the form - the download is free.
NO Religious School this Sunday. Resume May 16. Happy Mother’s Day!
David Silon’s on-going class on Israel,
now discussing Israeli agriculture and its contributions to the world,
meets Sunday at 11:00 AM.
Join us every Tuesday at 12:30
PM for Lunch and Learn, a 60-90 minute study session.
We're learning Hasidic and classic teachings on the weekly parashah.
Some excellent on-line Jewish
resources are available at:
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