A MOST TERRIBLE SECRET

Tishrei 5, 5782 / September 10-11, 2021

Parashat Vayeilekh

Shabbat Shuvah - The Sabbath of Return

Torah: Deuteronomy 31:1-30
Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20

For the past few years, I have created a Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet to help get us ready for the spiritual side of the High Holy Days (sorry, no recipes or floral arrangements!). You can download it from my blog at: 
https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2021/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet-5782-edition.html 
 
Also, some excellent on-line resources are available for your Yom Kippur preparations at:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/  

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IMPORTANT INFO FOR HIGH HOLY DAY SERVICES AT B'NAI HAYIM

Services are live in person and on Zoom. You must register in advance as a Chaver in order to get tickets and the Zoom link. For those attending in person, a vaccine attestation is also required. For more info, go to:

https://bnaihayim.org/high-holidays/ 

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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Elisheva bat Minnie Leah, Feigel bat Kreina, and D'vorah bat Feigel. 

This d'var torah is offered in memory of all those who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Y'hi zikhronam liv'rakhah.
 
Lunch and Learn resumes on Tuesday, September 14.  We'll be studying Rambam's Hilkot Teshuvah - The Laws of Repentance. Then NO Lunch and Learn until October 5.

 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about becoming a Chaver and our various programs, including the High Holidays, at:
https://bnaihayim.org/ 
 
Our Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen has a blog of Divrei Torah, including his Rosh Hashanah Sermon which you should read at: 
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/ 
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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A MOST TERRIBLE SECRET

“For I will keep My countenance hidden on that day, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods.” Deuteronomy 31:18

The first Gerer Rebbe, Rabbi Isaac Meir of Rothenberg, in his principal work “Chiddushei Ha-Rim” (1875), sees in this verse not a threat of punishment, but a promise of redemption! He says that as long as one knows, or even senses, that God’s countenance has been hidden, then there follows a yearning for reconnection with the Divine. This longing shatters every barrier between human and God. Indeed, he says, there is no teshuvah, no greater repentance or returning to God, than this wondrous desire to uncover the secret!

A true tragedy would occur if God’s countenance were so hidden that humans could not even sense that it was hidden, for then they would not search for it. This misfortune for the soul occurs when one pushes the Divine into a hidden realm; when one endeavors to withdraw from any connection; when one rejects the very idea of teshuvah - of turning oneself around. That is a most terrible secret to create and to keep.

 

“For you will search for Me and you will find Me; if only you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

 

Have a meaningful fast on Yom Kippur - Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Chatimah Tovah!

 

May you cause yourself to be completely sealed for a good and sweet year!

Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
Sherman Oaks, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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