Parashat Tetzaveh (Shabbat
Zakhor)
Torah: Exodus 27:20 -
30:10
Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19
Haftarah (Shabbat Zakhor):
1 Samuel 15:1-34
Adar 11, 5783 / March 3-4,
2023
------------------------------------------------------------------
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
-------------------------------------------
Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON MARCH 7.
On March 14, we'll be at BT Shabbat 55b, page 145 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 - "...מיתיבי ד' מתו בעטיו של נחש" - "It is taught in a Baraitha - Four died in consequence of the instigation of the serpent”
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
-------------------------------------------
Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON MARCH 7.
On March 14, we'll be at BT Shabbat 55b, page 145 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 - "...מיתיבי ד' מתו בעטיו של נחש" - "It is taught in a Baraitha - Four died in consequence of the instigation of the serpent”
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents
-----------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at:
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at:
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER!
"And you shall put the two stones upon
the shoulder pieces of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the Children of
Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders
for a remembrance... And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel
in the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy
place, for a remembrance before the Lord perpetually." Exodus 28:12, 29
The Breastplate of the High Priest (illustration from the 1905–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia)
"Remember (zakhor) what Amalek did to
you, on the way when you were leaving Egypt ... you shall wipe out the memory
of Amalek from under the heavens - don't forget!" Deuteronomy 25:17-19
(the maftir for this Shabbat - Shabbat Zakhor)
“Memory is redemption; forgetting is
exile.” Baal Shem Tov to Exodus 28:12
There are so many ways to take the short but
deep statement of the Besht – the Baal Shem Tov. At one level, I have often
used his statement at shivah minyanim to teach that, by remembering those who
have passed on, we keep them alive in a meaningful way – if we forget them, it
is as if they never lived. In remembering, we redeem them from oblivion.
It is worth noting that, among the Hasidic
followers of the Besht, and more generally within the Jewish mystical tradition,
there is the concept that every time a Jew observes a mitzvah, it is an act of
tikkun olam – of restoring a fractured world to its ideal state. Thus, we might
understand the Besht in this way – if we remember to observe the mitzvot, we
redeem ourselves and our people – maybe even the entire world; if we forget,
then we exile ourselves from our people and our tradition, and contribute
nothing to tikkun olam.
One might finally see the Torah and the Besht
as the basis for George Santayana’s saying: “Those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to repeat it.” This teaches us the power of memory, and the
danger of forgetting. We Jews remember the baseless hatred of Amalek,
Haman, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Almohades, Cossacks, Nazis and Communists
– among others. American Jews have been at the forefront of exposing the
genocidal atrocities against the Rohingya people, as they have been concerning
Darfur. We remember what happens when others want to forget – and we
remind the world – sometimes at great sacrifice. Because we are commanded to
remember.
Who would have thought that “merely”
remembering takes on redemptive qualities for us all.
Shabbat Shalom! Purim Sameach!
HaRav Haga'on Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel, Shlita
Rosh Yeshivah - Shlabodkieville Bartender Academy
Av Beis Din Chelm
משנכנס אדר, מרבין
בשמחה
From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.
BT Ta’anit 29a
-----------------------------------------------------------
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 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 email to ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading "Dedicate Cyber Torah" and provide details in the message body.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah, send an email to ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading "Dedicate Cyber Torah" and provide details in the message body.
.jpg)
