SUBTRACTING BY ADDING

Parashat Va’etchanan – Shabbat Nachamu

Av 11, 5783 / July 28-29, 2023

Torah: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11

Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26 (First Haftarah of Comfort)

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This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort, for the words of God and the prophet following Tisha B'Av (9 Av)

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of Sarah Labovitz Flom (my grandmother) and Martha Gottschalk Stern (Lynn's grandmother), whose yahrzeits fall Friday, July 28 (10 Av), and Sunday, July 30 (12 Av), respectively. Their memories are a blessing.

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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On Monday, July 31, we'll be at BT Shabbat 105 (b), page 178 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 – - "אמר ר"ש בן פזי אמר ר'ב"ל ...."  " R. Simon b. Pazi said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi…”

Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: https://hebrewbooks.org/9630   
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria: 
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents  
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog 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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SUBTRACTING BY ADDING
 
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you subtract from it, that you may keep the commandments (mitzvot) of the Lord which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2
 
Jewish tradition understands that there are two general types of mitzvot: bein adam lamakom (between a human being and God) and bein adam l’chaveiro (between a human being and his/her fellow human). The Vilna Gaon taught that there was a third category: bein adam l’atzmo (between a human and him/herself). These divisions matter. 

"Moses Mosaic in the Jewish Quarter" (license - https://www.flickr.com/photos/zeevveez/9700151014/)

Whether a person violates or makes stricter upon their self a mitzvah bein adam lamakom is strictly between them and God – God can reward or punish as God sees fit. Regarding a mitzvah bein adam l’atzmo – the only one affected is the person – no one else.
 
But, someone who alters or ignores or makes easier (for themselves) or makes stricter (for others) the mitzvot bein adam l’chaveiro regarding interpersonal relationships, damages others and society. (One could also frame this in the context of government and other leaders changing laws) For these mitzvot, the person doing the adding/subtracting must answer one simple question: Who benefits from my change to this mitzvah? If the answer is, “I do,” then one is upending their relationships and their society for their own ends, and could well be causing an otherwise preventable tragedy. This was the lesson of Tisha B'Av - the mistreatment or favoritism towards individuals because of their status in society, in violation of established norms, cascaded into the destruction of that society.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim
.אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 
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ON THE CRY OF THE MAIDEN

ON THE CRY OF THE MAIDEN

 

I posted a shorter version of this in June 2019, with a tip of the hat to my colleague Alana Suskin, who generated the original. With Tisha B’Av in less than two days, I look on with alarm as our society seems to be reaching a tipping point in the way we treat both each other and The Other, in the way we are becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah, so I am offering this expanded version. The parts in [brackets] are my glosses and some additional texts since 2019. Translations are primarily from Sefaria.
 
[“And the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great (rabah), and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to its (her) cry, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.’” Genesis 18:21-22)]
 
[The phrase “its crying out” is generally understood to mean the outcry from the city of Sodom. But the Hebrew language has no neuter gender nouns, so that “city” is a feminine noun, thus it can be read as “her crying out”. Our Rabbis then create Midrashim to exegetically interpret “her” to mean a young woman (ribah, punning on the word rabah) in the city who is crying out in anguish.]
 
Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109b - A certain maiden [rabita, the Aramaic form of ribah] gave some bread to a poor man, [hiding it] in a pitcher. When the matter became known, the people of the city daubed her with honey and placed her on the parapet of the wall, and the bees came and consumed her. Thus, it is written, “And the Lord said, ‘The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it is great (rabah)’”: whereon Rav Judah commented in Rav’s name: “On account of the maiden (ribah).”
 
[Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 25 – Rabbi Nathaniel said: The men of Sodom had no consideration for the honor of their Owner (i.e., God) by (not) distributing food to the wayfarer and the stranger, but they (even) fenced in all the trees on top above their fruit so that they should not be seized; (not) even by the bird of heaven, as it is said, "That path that no bird of prey knows" (Job 28:7).]
 
[Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 25 – Rabbi Joshua, son of Ḳorchah, said: They appointed over themselves judges who were lying judges, and they oppressed every wayfarer and stranger who entered Sodom by their perverse judgment, and they sent them forth naked, as it is said, "They have oppressed the stranger without judgment" (Ezek. 22:29).] [See also, "Your rulers are rogues and cronies of thieves, every one of them avid for bribery and greedy for illicit gifts; They do not give the orphan justice, and the widow's case never reaches them." Isaiah 1:23] 
 
[Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 25 – They were dwelling in security without care and at ease, without the fear of war from all their surroundings, as it is said, "Their houses are safe from fear" (Job 21:9). They were sated with all the produce of the earth, but they did not strengthen with the loaf of bread either the hand of the needy or of the poor, as it is said, "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom; pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy" (Ezek. 16:49).]

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (John Martin, 1852)

 
Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 25 – Rabbi Judah said: “They issued a proclamation in Sodom, saying, ‘Everyone who strengthens the hand of the poor and the needy with a loaf of bread shall be burnt by fire!’ Pelotit the daughter of Lot was wedded to one of the wealthy men of Sodom. She saw a certain very poor man in the street of the city and her soul was grieved on his account, [as it is said, "Was not my soul grieved for the needy?" (Job 30:25)]. What did she do? Every day when she went out to draw water, she put in her pitcher all kinds of provisions from her house and she sustained that poor man. The men of Sodom said: ‘How does this poor man live?’ When they ascertained the facts, they brought her forth to be burnt by fire. She said: ‘Sovereign of the entire world! Maintain my right and my cause at the hands of the men of Sodom!’ And her cry ascended before the Throne of Glory. In that hour the Holy One Blessed be He said: ‘I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to her cry which is come unto me and if the men of Sodom have done according to the cry of the young woman, I will turn the foundation upwards and the surface downward…’”
 
Genesis Rabbah 49 - R. Levi said: “[God said]: ‘Even if I wished to keep silent, justice for a certain maiden (ribah) does not permit Me to keep silent.’ For it once happened that two girls went down to draw water from a well. One said to the other, ‘Why are you so pale?’ ‘We have no more food left and are ready to die,’ she replied. What did she do? She filled her pitcher with flour, and they exchanged [their pitchers], each taking the other’s. When they [the Sodomites] discovered this, they took and burnt her. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Even if I desired to be silent, justice for that young girl does not permit Me to keep silent.’ Hence it does not say, WHETHER THEY HAVE DONE ACCORDING TO THEIR CRY [namely, the cry of the people of Sodom]; but ACCORDING TO HER CRY ‘- the cry of that maiden.”
 
We can do better.

Have a meaningful Tisha B’Av
 
(updated 7/25/23, from 6/6/19)

ON BEES AND WORDS AND PROTEST AND TISHA B'AV

ON BEES AND WORDS AND PROTEST AND TISHA B'AV

This past Shabbat morning, our rabbi was chanting the Torah and came across this word in the unpointed scroll – דברים   At first, he pronounced it as “devarim”, meaning “words” or “things” - in a pointed text it would have been written thus – דְבַרִים  But then he caught himself and used the correct pronunciation - “devorim”, meaning “bees” – in a pointed text, it would have been written thus - דְבֹרִים    See the difference? It isn’t easy. Only the context can tell us how to properly pronounce the word.

And it occurred to me (this I am sure is not a chiddush, i.e., it’s not a new insight that hasn’t been taught before), that a reason it is so easy to mistake the two words is because midrashically, I think, they are related.

Bees can bring sweetness into our lives with the honey they produce. And it can be enjoyable to watch them work and hear their buzzing as they move from blossom to blossom, literally creating so many of the foods we eat and the flowers that beautify our world.

But bees can also hurt us with their stings – and for many species of bees, those stings are suicidal. And if a person is allergic or is stung too many times, those stings can kill a person.

Words are like that too. We can use words to comfort, to teach, to bring joy to others – that’s the sweetness of words. But we can use words to inflict pain, to anger, to ruin reputations, to destroy relationships – and perhaps even destroy ourselves in the use of words.

What happens if the bees do not do their work – what happens if they die out - what happens if there is no pollination? There is much less food, there is much less beauty – we could starve. With the reality of climate change, this is an actual possibility. But, that’s not what I want to discuss today. What I really want to discuss is, what happens when WE DO NOT SPEAK – when we could or should speak up, but we do not use our words at all?

Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem - Francesco Hayez, mid-19th-century

The most famous story in rabbinic literature about the cause of the Romans’ destruction of the Second Temple, i.e., about the reason we observe the upcoming Tisha B’Av day of fasting and mourning, is found in the Babylonian Talmud at Gittin 55b-56a. It’s often called the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, and it’s about mistaken identity (possibly intentional) and hatred and harsh words and humiliation and anger and silence and revenge and punctiliousness. You can read a good explanatory English translation with thought-provoking questions here:

https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/331946?lang=bi   

Or, you can read a succinct more or less correct version here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamsa_and_Bar_Kamsa 

But to me, the story glosses over an important point – in my view, it was the silence of the Rabbis, their failure to speak up, to reprimand or protest, not once but maybe twice, that led to the destruction of the Temple and the Exile of the Jews from Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.

A much more interesting Talmudic story about the obligation to speak up, to protest, and to reprimand, is found at BT Shabbat 54b-55a. You can read it here: 

https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.54b.20?lang=bi  (54b paragraphs 20-21 and 55a paragraphs 1-4) 

In brief, rabbis who themselves had committed no sin, but who could have spoken up against the excesses of the Exilarch, the leader of the Jews in exile, are punished for failing to reprimand and protest – even though they believed, correctly, that they would have been ignored. The proof text is: “Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13). To me, this is the real reason for Tisha B’Av.

The failure to speak, the failure to protest and reprimand the acts of the powerful with words, with devarim, words that are necessary even if they are not so sweet, even if we think we will be ignored or even punished, can lead to misery for us and for the world.

Have a meaningful Tisha B’Av. 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim

.אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

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Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):

 

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

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GOING IT ALONE IS NOT THE WAY TO GO

Av 4, 5783 - July 21-22, 2023

Parashat Devarim (Shabbat Chazon)

Torah: Deuteronomy 1:1 – 3:22

Third Haftarah of Rebuke: Isaiah 1:1-27

Tisha B’Av (Av 9 - Thursday, July 27) reading: Megillat Eikhah – The Book of Lamentations

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This Shabbat is Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of Vision, so-called because we read on Shabbat morning the rebuking vision of Isaiah and then the horrifying vision of the Book of Lamentations (Megillat Eikhah) on Tisha B’Av itself. Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and numerous other calamities which have befallen the Jewish people on the same date. Have a meaningful fast.

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of Sarah Labovitz Flom (my grandmother) and Martha Gottschalk Stern (Lynn's grandmother), whose yahrzeits fall Friday, July 28 (10 Av), and Sunday, July 30 (12 Av), respectively. Their memories are a blessing.

---------------------------------------------

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.

-------------------------------------------

Lunch and Learn meets Mondays (note the day change) at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On Monday, July 24, we'll be at BT Shabbat 96(b), page 175 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 - "תנו רבנן מקושש זה צלפחד" - " Our Rabbis taught: The wood-gatherer was Zelaphehad…”

Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: https://hebrewbooks.org/9630 

A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria: 
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents  
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog 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.

------------------------------------------------------

GOING IT ALONE IS NOT THE WAY TO GO

"?איכה אשא לבדי, טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם"

(Moses asks) “How can I bear this alone, your troubles, and your burdens, and your strife?” (Deuteronomy 1:12)

Moses Speaks to the Israelites (19th century engraving by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux)

The first word in the verse is “eikhah” – how – and it is also the Hebrew name of the Book of Lamentations. Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horowitz (aka Der Alter of Novardok – 1847-1919) comments: “Traditionally, this verse is read to the melody of Eikhah. This teaches us that if a person refuses to assume the responsibility for communal needs and thinks that by doing so he makes things easier for himself, he will in the end find out that matters will be worse for him, and he will remain alone and isolated – How (eikhah) can one dwell alone?”

Rabbi Horowitz is making an additional reference here to the sad opening verse of Eikhah – “How she sits alone, the city (Jerusalem) that was full of people!”

Even more important to me is that he brings to mind three well-known and valuable teachings from our tradition: 1. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” (Hillel, Avot 1:14); 2. “Do not separate yourself from the community, and do not trust in yourself until the day of your death.” (Hillel, Avot 2:5); and, 3. “Every Jew is responsible toward each other.” (BT Shavuot 39a).

Judaism is a communal religion. I’m not referring simply to the requirement of a minyan for certain parts of the worship service. The truth is, no observance of Shabbat or festivals or life cycle events, joyful or sad, can be spiritually fulfilling or meaningful if conducted in the vacuum of loneliness. Even if one believes that they can go it alone, they risk increasing their isolation and despair. Additionally, they are depriving the community of the opportunity (and obligation) to take part in such observance.

If you are not associated with a synagogue or other Jewish community, find one that fits your needs and join. Take part in communal activities, and contribute your time and financial resources to sustaining and improving the community to the best of your ability.

A Hasidic story - Two people happen upon each other in the forest. Both are lost. Says one, "The way I have come is not the way out." The other replies, "Nor is the way I have come. Perhaps if we search together, we will find the way." And away they go, together. 

That’s it – that’s the story! Do they find the way? I don't know. At least they are joined in common cause, unafraid of each other, helping each other, and not stumbling blindly in the dark.

Do not sit alone – and do not let others sit alone. We need each other.

Have a meaningful fast on Tisha B’Av. Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Rabbi Emeritus - Temple B'nai Hayim

.הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):

 

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

GUILT-FREE RETURNS

Tammuz 26, 5783 / July 14-15, 2023
Parashat Mattot-Mase’ei
Torah: Numbers 30:2-36:13 (Chazak!)
Haftarah: Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:4 (Ashkenazim); Jeremiah 2:4-28, 4:1-2 (Sephardim) (Second Haftarah of Admonition
 
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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Beginning Monday, July 24, Lunch and Learn will move to Mondays at 12:30 PM. 
We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. 
On Tuesday, July 18, we'll be at BT Shabbat 89(a), page 172 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 - "אמר ליה ההוא מרבנן לרב כהנא"- "One of the Rabbis once asked of R. Cahana:…”
Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630 
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria: 
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents  
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog 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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GUILT-FREE RETURNS

"And the Land shall be conquered before the Lord, and then you shall return, and you shall be guiltless before the Lord and before  Israel ; and this Land shall be your inheritance before the Lord." Numbers 32:22

Because the verse says "before the Lord and before Israel", Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani teaches in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that, just as we must fulfill our obligations to God, we must fulfill our obligations to our fellow human beings (Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim).

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (aka Maimonides, aka Rambam - a traditional rendering)

Even though Yom Kippur is ten weeks away, I think it is appropriate to consider whether the order in the verse is correct. The verse says "tashuvu", "you shall return", but it can also mean "you shall repent". According to Rambam (Maimonides), in Hilkhot Teshuvah (The Laws of Repentance), we do not truly return to God, guilt-free and forgiven, unless and until we have repented and been forgiven by our fellows. Otherwise, all of our breast beating on Yom Kippur is pointless. All of the promises we make to God are meaningless unless we have already made restitution to our victims for previous violations.

But why wait until Yom Kippur? Today is a perfect day to get straight with your fellows and with God. And you never know what the future will bring. Perhaps that is why Rabbi Eliezer teaches, "Repent one day before your death."  Avot 2:15

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Rabbi Emeritus - Temple B'nai Hayim

.הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

Parashat Pinchas

Tammuz 19, 5783/July 7-8, 2023

Torah: Numbers 25:10 - 30:1

Haftarah: Jeremiah 1:1 - 2:3 (First Haftarah of Rebuke)

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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. 

On July 11, we'll be at BT Shabbat 89(a), page 171 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 - "...ואמר ריב''ל" - "R. Joshua b. Levi said further:…”

Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:

https://hebrewbooks.org/9630 

A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria: 

https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents  

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog 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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SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER - WITH THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE

"The daughters of Tzeloph'chad speak right; you shall surely give them a hereditary portion among their father's kin; you shall transfer their father's share to them." Numbers  27:7

Tzeloph'chad died leaving no sons - only daughters. The law at the time was that females had no hereditary rights. The daughters challenge this, and God delivers a new law to Moses and the people, acknowledging the justice of their claim. A later stipulation is that while women may inherit land from their fathers, they must marry within their own clan, to keep the land within the clan's control.

The Daughters of Zelophehad (illustration from the 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us by Charles Foster)

Later, the Rabbis ruled that widows and unmarried daughters are entitled to financial support by the deceased's estate, even when they do not inherit because there is a surviving son. The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) ruled in the Shulchan Arukh that fathers may leave an inheritance for their daughters, even when there is a surviving son. And the chief rabbinate of the land of Israel ruled in 1943 under a takkanah (a reparative enactment) that in Israel , daughters inherit equally with sons.

It all sounds primitive. Today we accept the notion of women's equality in inheritance, and in most, if not all aspects of our lives, as a given. But this was a sea change brought about by Tzeloph’chad’s daughters, and tells us much about Judaism and women, law and justice. Jewish women spoke up and demanded that a wrong be righted - and they got it! More broadly, Jewish law has a methodology for adjusting to changed circumstances and addressing injustice. 

The Midrash says that Tzeloph'chad's daughters were learned in Torah, and that is how they were able to bolster their arguments for change in the law. If that is so, then it suggests that knowledge is an important weapon to wield in demanding justice from the power structure of society.

The Torah is your birthright. Learn it, and feel the power within!

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

.הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net    

Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net