THE EXAMPLE(S) OF ABRAHAM

Parashat Vayera
Cheshvan 20, 5784 / November 3-4, 2023
Torah: Genesis 18:1 – 22:24
Haftarah: Ashkenazim - 2 Kings 4:1-37; Sephardim - 2 Kings 4:1-23
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This d'var torah is offered in memory of all the victims of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Y’hi zikhronam liv’rakhah – May their memories be a blessing. And may the memory of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah and all their supporters be forever erased.
 
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been wounded in the terrorist attacks and in fighting against the terrorists, as well as innocent non-combatants caught in the crossfire.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of Adrienne Beckmann, who passed away in Connecticut. We offer our deep condolences to John and his family. Y'hi zikhronah liv'rakhah - May her memory be a blessing.

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. On Monday, November 6, we'll be at BT Shabbat 118b, page 189 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 –  ".אמר רב נחמן תיתי לי דקיימית שלש סעודות בשבת"

"R. Nachman said: 'May it be credited to me, that I fulfilled the obligation of three meals on the Sabbath."' 

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/ 
 
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THE EXAMPLE(S) OF ABRAHAM
 
"And the Lord appeared to (Abraham) at the terebinths (trees used to make turpentine) of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. He lifted his eyes and saw there were three men standing above him; he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them, and bowed toward the ground. And he said, 'My Lord, if I find favor in Your eyes, please do not pass away from Your servant.’” Genesis 18:1-3.

At first reading, one would think that God appeared to Abraham in the form of the three men. Therefore, he bowed and addressed them as "My Lord". However, a rabbinic tradition teaches that these are two separate events. God was visiting Abraham following Abraham's self-circumcision, and then the three men appeared. Abraham (in his pain!) literally ran from God to greet the men. He then asked God to wait while he attended to the needs of the men!

This might seem extraordinarily disrespectful to God. Not so, according to the Rabbis. "Rabbi Judah said in the name of Rav: 'Hospitality to guests is greater than greeting the Divine Presence.'" How can this be?

Abraham and the Three Angels (c. 1670-1674) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

For one thing, if God is the Omnipresent, one can never leave God's Presence. Second, if God is the Eternal, then "waiting" is not in God's vocabulary - it's simply not a problem. Perhaps most important, God does not have physical and emotional needs, but human beings do; and they must be attended to. In taking leave of God in order to extend hospitality to three strangers who appeared out of the desert, Abraham was actually honoring God - by truly caring for those who are created "in the image of God".
 
But there’s more that we can learn from Abraham in this parashah – some by following his example, some by not following his example.
 
"Will You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ... Far be it from You to do so, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be equated with the wicked! Far be it from You! Shall the Chief Justice of all the earth not do justice?" (Gen. 18:23-25) Abraham's desperate bargaining with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah, and thereby the righteous few who might be dwelling there, is a truly powerful moment - a man standing up to God and telling Him to do the right thing. As noted last week, this is a shining example of speaking truth to power. And yet, it seems that nothing comes of it. God promises not to destroy the cities if ten righteous people can be found there, but ultimately the cities are destroyed – because there are not ten righteous persons. It is not because Abraham failed – and it is not because Abraham was wrong.
 
And yet … If Abraham is willing to argue to save people with whom he has absolutely nothing in common, why then, at the conclusion of our parashah, does he march his son Isaac up the mountain to be offered as a sacrifice to God, with nary a peep of protest? Some attribute to Abraham his desire to fulfill all of God's commandments. But perhaps the reason is quite different. (Note: he was earlier “troubled” by, but acquiesced to, the banishment of his son Ishmael)
 
Perhaps Abraham felt beaten down. Maybe he thought that his inability to convince God to relent from destroying the two cities meant that he should no longer argue with God, not ever, not even to save the life of his own son – who was completely innocent! He gave up!
 
This would truly be a failure on Abraham’s part. If so, then this behavior of Abraham is clearly NOT one we should follow. Consider this: how could it ever be wrong to seek justice for ourselves and for our fellow human beings? So what if we fail once? If we do not demand justice, why should God, or any person in authority, act justly? Are we not commanded to zealously pursue justice? (Deuteronomy 16:20) (see also my sermon from Rosh Hashanah Day 2 - https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2023/09/this-is-my-sermon-for-second-day-of.html)
 
The proof is in the result. After the banishment of Ishmael and the near-sacrifice of Isaac, father and sons go their separate ways, and never see each other again – until the burial of Abraham. After Abraham’s failure to again demand justice, he and God go their separate ways, and never speak to each other again. We must not allow that to happen in our lives. The failure to seek justice for others may leave us all bereft of justice.
 
May the Merciful One bless us, all the inhabitants of the world, all of us, as one, with the blessing of peace.
 
Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Rabbi Emeritus - Temple B'nai Hayim

.איזהו חכם? הלומד מכל אדם

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

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

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THE NEW LAND - REVISITED

Parashat Lekh L’kha

Cheshvan 13, 5784 / October 27-28, 2023

Torah: Genesis 12:1 – 17:27

Haftarah: Isaiah 40:27 – 41:16

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This d’var torah is offered in memory of Yitzchak Rabin, whose yahrzeit is Wednesday, Cheshvan 11/October 25. Y’hi zikhrono liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of all the dead Israelis and other residents in Israel, whether murdered by Hamas or in combat, and of the dead civilians in Gaza.
 
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been wounded in the Hamas terrorist attack and in fighting against terrorists.

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. NO meeting on October 30. On Monday, November 6, we'll be at BT Shabbat 118b, page 189 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 –  "אמר רב נחמן תיתי לי דקיימית שלש סעודות בשבת"    

"R. Nachman said: 'May it be credited to me, that I fulfilled the obligation of three meals on the Sabbath."' 

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/ 

Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at: 

https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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Chaverim Yekarim / Dear Friends:

 

I originally published this d'var torah in October, 2015. There may be more than a few of you who think that I was naive to publish it then, and more so today. Even with the latest atrocities by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, and the rage that I am struggling to control, I stand by what I wrote then, for a simple reason. I truly believe that unless and until there is peace between the two nations living side-by-side in their own lands, they will consume each other, like the ouroboros of ancient mythology.

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THE NEW LAND

"And the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your land and your birthplace and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.’" Genesis 12:1-2

In his book "Genesis – Translation and Commentary", author and literary critic Robert Alter writes, "The name Canaan is never mentioned, and the divine imperative to head out for an unspecified place resembles, as Rashi observes, God’s terrible call to Abraham in chapter 22 to sacrifice his son on a mountain God will show him."  

Rashi: God did not immediately reveal the land to Abram, in order to make it beloved in his eyes, and to give him a reward for each and every word. Similarly, …. (at Genesis 22:2) "on one of the mountains that I will tell you about." 

This is how it is with Israel today in its search for peace. Israelis and Palestinians, all descendants of Abraham, are in the psychological "land" of their ancestors, a land we might name "conflict and terror". The "new land" of peace is seemingly distant, its exact parameters unknown. Yitzchak Rabin, z"l, a former general, a man of war, heard the call to go to that new land, and he sacrificed his life in answering that call. Five years later, Ehud Barak’s government fell because the Palestinians refused to heed the call.

 

Thousands of people have died because the call for peace has been drowned out by other calls for death and destruction. Israelis will have to give up the notion that they can indefinitely subjugate an occupied population that may soon outnumber them. Israelis will have to make other sacrifices in order to reach the new land. So will the Palestinians. They must give up their generations of hatred and the unrealistic, impossible goal of "return" within the present state of Israel. If the physical land is not divided between them, with each making the necessary political sacrifices, the psycho-spiritual land of peace will never be reached, and the physical sacrifices of their children will continue.

 

Only by going forward to the new land, together, will these peoples be truly blessed.

October 22, 2015

 

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Harachaman hu yivarekh otanu, kol yosh’vei teivel, kulanu, yachad b'virkat shalom.
May the Merciful One bless us, all the inhabitants of the world, all of us, as one, with the blessing of peace.
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/  
.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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BUILDING AND DESTROYING

Parashat Noach
Cheshvan 6, 5784 / October 20-21, 2023
Torah: Genesis 6:9-11:32
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-55:5
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This d'var torah is offered in memory of all the dead Israelis and other residents in Israel, whether murdered by Hamas or in combat, and of the dead civilians in Gaza.
 
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my uncle, Merwin Erenbaum, whose yahrzeit falls on Monday, October 23, corresponding to 8 Cheshvan. Y'hi zikhro liv'rakhah - May his memory be a blessing.
 
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my zayde, Sam Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday, October 24, corresponding to 9 Cheshvan. Y'hi zikhro liv'rakhah - May his memory be a blessing.
 
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been wounded in the Hamas terrorist attack and in fighting against terrorists.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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, October 23, we'll be at BT Shabbat 118b, page 189 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 – "R. Jose said: 'O that my lot fall among those who cause the resumption of study…'"
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/ 
 
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
------------------------------------------------------

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BUILDING AND DESTROYING
 
“And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness shall you be established; be far from oppression, for you shall not fear, and from ruin, for it shall not come near you. Behold, they may gather together, but not by Me; whoever shall gather together against you shall fall because of you. Behold, I have created the smith that blows the fire of coals, and brings forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the destroyer (“mash’chit”) to lay waste. No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their due reward from Me, says the LORD.” (Isaiah 54:13-17)
 
More than a few people will read these verses from this week’s haftarah and conclude that God will be with the State of Israel and help deliver victory in the struggle against Hamas and all the other monstrous terrorists seeking to destroy the state and its inhabitants. I hope and pray that is so. But there is a caveat within – Israel must establish itself “in righteousness”.
 
Nothing in these verses gives carte blanche for the wanton taking of innocent civilian lives. Israel is not the “destroyer” (the “mash’chit” – see also Exodus 12:23) that mindlessly kills all in its path. If the IDF’s principles of "tohar haneshek" (purity of arms) and "havlaga" (restraint) really mean something, then Israel must control the mash’chit that rages within so many hearts, trying to break out and destroy. Israel cannot debase itself in this way.
 
There is a Rabbinic teaching on verse 13 above. It’s found at BT Berakhot 64a:
 
R. Eleazar said in the name of R. Hanina: “The disciples of the wise increase peace in the world, as it says, ‘And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children.’ (Isaiah 54:13) Read not banayikh [your children] the second time, but bonayikh [those who understand; or, your builders]. ‘Those who love your Torah will have great peace, and nothing makes them stumble.’ (Psalms 119:165) ‘May there be peace be within your walls and security within your gates. For the sake of my brethren and companions I say, May peace be within you. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.’ (Psalms 122:7-9) ‘The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.’” (Psalms 29:11)
 
Last week, some days after the end of Sukkot, I finally took down my sukkah – and I remembered that it had taken me some time, over two hours of sweating in the hot sun, to erect the frame and walls. But it took less than 15 minutes to take it apart and store all the components. Building a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace, takes much more time and effort than destroying one.
 
Shabbat Shalom.
 
Harachaman hu yivarekh otanu, kol yosh’vei teivel, kulanu, yachad b'virkat shalom.
May the Merciful One bless us, all the inhabitants of the world, all of us, as one, with the blessing of peace.
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/  
.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 
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

ANOTHER THING I THINK I THINK - PARASHAT BEREISHIT (2)

 Chaverim yekarim / Dear friends:

 

A couple of days ago, a non-Jewish acquaintance asked what he could say in Hebrew to his friends in Israel, in this time of great pain and struggle. The words “chazak ve’ematz” – be strong and courageous – immediately came to mind. These are the words Joshua spoke to the Israelites as they prepared to cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan for the first time. We read them last week in the haftarah for Parashat V’Zot Hab’rakhah – the only parashah that we outside of Israel never read on a Shabbat – only on Simchat Torah. And it was on Simchat Torah in Israel, but which they celebrate on the same day as our Shemini Atzeret, last Shabbat morning, that they read those very words – even as the air raid sirens were wailing, even as Israelis and non-Israelis along the border with Gaza were being raped and murdered in their homes and in the streets and being kidnapped into Gaza. Yes, they read those words. Chazak ve’ematz – be strong and courageous.

I thanked my acquaintance for the question, and told him to say those words in the second person plural – chizku v’imtzu. Be strong and courageous in the face of horrific losses and barbarism. The losses will continue to mount. Bodies are still being discovered. Sadly, some who were injured last week will not survive. More IDF soldiers will die in the days and weeks to come – and likely more Israeli civilians as Hamas and Hezbollah continue with their terrorist rocket attacks. And yes, innocent civilians in Gaza will die as well, even as IDF struggle to restrain themselves, to maintain their principles of "tohar haneshek" (purity of arms) and "havlaga" (restraint).

So for the people of Israel and for those who support Israel from the safety of the United States and elsewhere chutz la’aretz, outside the land of Israel, the words “chizku v’imtzu” take on a double meaning. Our Israeli brethren need to be strong and courageous in combat, in defeating Hamas and other terrorists – but also, to be strong and courageous in resisting the temptation to descend to the same level as the terrorists –killers bent on wanton destruction and chaos.

More than a few people in Gaza and Iran, as well as in New York and Detroit, celebrated the murders and mayhem of a week ago. To celebrate the deaths of innocent civilians is a chillul hashem – a desecration of God’s holy name. They are as barbarous as the actual terrorists. It is reveling in chaos – the tohu va’vohu of the beginning of Creation that we will read about in the morning.

For us to maintain the idea of chizku v’imtzu, to be strong and courageous, means that we too must not descend into the chaos. Creation is the act of turning chaos into order. If we are going to create peaceful and just societies, we must act with the restraint necessary to change chaos into order. To turn war into peace.

 

Harachaman hu yivarekh otanu, kol yosh’vei teivel, kulanu, yachad b'virkat shalom

May the Merciful One bless us, all the inhabitants of the world, all of us, as one, with the blessing of peace.

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SOME THINGS I THINK I THINK - PARASHAT BEREISHIT (1)

Parashat Bereishit

Tishrei 29, 5784 / October 13-14, 2023

Torah Reading - Genesis 1:1 - 6:8

Haftarah (Shabbat Machar Chodesh) - 1 Samuel 20:18-42

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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 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, October 16, we'll be at BT Shabbat 117b, page 188 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 – "R. Jose said: 'O that my lot fall among those who eat three meals on the Sabbath.'"
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/ 
 
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
------------------------------------------------------
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOME THINGS I THINK I THINK

"And God said, 'Let us make a human being, in our image, like us. So God created humanity in His image; in the image of God He created it; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:26-27 (In other words, all of humanity has common ancestry)

We learn in Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5, "One who takes a single human life, it is as if he destroyed an entire world. One who saves a single human life, it is as if he saved an entire world." (IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a variant text that limits the Mishnah to “a single Jewish life” – more on which below)

If a human life is taken, all of that person's descendants to be, will never be. They are worlds. Destroyed. If a human life is saved, each of that world's descendants will create worlds of their own. Each of us, every single human being, is a world. 

But none of us is a world alone. "No man is an island unto himself," Donne said. We are interdependent, interconnected - amazingly, incredibly, unbelievably, because we are each and all created in the image of God – whether we like it or not. The living, the dead and the damned. While much of the world watches in horror; and some of the world delights.

It has often been noted that the Koran quotes the above mishnah, and this is offered as proof that the Koran lacks originality. But a closer examination shows that the Koran is actually offering a critique of some Jews of the time and this mishnah at Sura 5:31 as follows (translation and footnotes from Quran.com): 

“That is why We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever takes a life—unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land—it will be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity.¹ Although Our messengers already came to them with clear proofs, many of them still transgressed afterwards through the land.” 

Footnote 1 - Although this is addressed to the Children of Israel, it is applicable to everyone at all times. (Emphasis mine)

The Koran criticizes Jews for not following their own teachings. Yet, the Islamist group Hamas (an interesting Arabic acronym/word whose Hebrew cognate means “violence”) ignores this teaching as well. Granted, in the very next Sura, the Koran might appear to excuse Muslims from following these principles – until one reads the footnote.

Sura 5:32 – “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and spread mischief in the land is death, crucifixion, cutting off their hands and feet on opposite sides, or exile from the land. This ˹penalty˺ is a disgrace for them in this world, and they will suffer a tremendous punishment in the Hereafter.^1”

Footnote 1 - This ruling (called ḥirâbah) applies to crimes committed by armed individuals or groups against civilians (emphasis mine) —Muslim or non-Muslim. Different punishments apply depending on the severity of the crime:

In the case of murder or rape, offenders are to be executed. 

In the case of armed robbery, offenders' right hands and left feet are to be cut off.

In the case of terrorizing innocent people, offenders are to be jailed in exile.

Penalties for lesser offences are left for the judge to decide.

Hamas are kidnappers, rapists, and murderers who desecrate the name of God through their actions – there is no other way to describe them - who are deserving of the punishment of this Sura. Indeed, the Koran teaches elsewhere at Sura 49:13 - O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware. (In other words, all of humanity has common ancestry)

One must note that there are Jews, Israeli and non-Israeli, who hold by the variant text of the mishnah – “single Jewish life” – and in so doing, they justify the critique offered by the Koran. These are tangled webs we Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians, have woven and with which we have ensnared ourselves and each other. Even if we don't engage in crimes against humanity and God, if we condone them or are silent - then we are also responsible. 

I have no pithy conclusion, no great teaching. But this I believe – either we recognize our shared humanity and live and work together for peace and justice – however difficult that might be - or we will destroy each other from our self-inflicted wounds. 

Harachaman hu yivarekh otanu, kol yosh’vei teivel, kulanu, yachad b'virkat shalom.

May the Merciful One bless us, all the inhabitants of the world, all of us, as one, with the blessing of peace.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
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     
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