Adar Hasheni 27, 5784 / April 5-6, 2024
Parashat Sh'mini (Shabbat Hachodesh)
Torah Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47
Maftir: Exodus 12:1-20 (Hachodesh)
Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16 –
46:18 (Ashkenazim - Shabbat Hachodesh); Ezekiel 45:18 – 46:15 (Sephardim -
Shabbat Hachodesh)
Mevarkhim Hachodesh
(Blessing of the New Month)
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PESACH IS COMING!
My 5784 Pesach Resources sheet is available at:
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This d’var torah is
offered in honor of the best wife and mother ever, Lynn Kronzek, on the
occasion of her birthday, April 8. Ad me’ah v’esrim – until 120!
This d’var torah is
offered in memory of Lynn’s father, Abraham Kronzek, whose yahrzeit falls on Rosh
Chodesh Nisan, Tuesday, April 9. Y’hi zikhro barukh – his memory is a blessing.
This d’var torah is
offered in memory of the seven World Central Kitchen workers who were killed in
an Israeli missile strike. May their holy work continue.
This d’var torah is
offered for a refuah shleimah and a speedy and safe return of all the
hostages being held by Hamas.
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.
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on
Zoom and Facebook Live. There is NO
Lunch and Learn on Monday, April 8 or on Monday, April 22. On Monday, April 15, we'll be at BT
Shabbat 152a, page 209 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume
1 -
'...א"ל רבי לר"ש בן חלפתא מפני מה לא הקבלנו פניך' – "Rabbi
said to R. Simon b. Chalafta: why were we not permitted to see you…”
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:
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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which
you should read at:
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Please pass this on to a
friend - and please cite the source
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THE ORDER OF THE TORAH
“This is the law (torah)
of the beast, of the fowl, and of every living creature that moves in the
waters and of every creature that swarms upon the earth. It is to separate
between the impure and the pure, and between the living thing which may be
eaten and the living thing which may not be eaten.” Leviticus 11:46-47
Rabbi Simlai taught that
just as the creation of humanity came after that of all the animals, the Torah
of humans comes after the Torah of the animals. He was referring to the
readings for the next two weeks, Tazria and Metzora, as well as to this week’s
reading. Here, the kosher (clean; permitted to be eaten) and tahor (ritually pure) animals, on the one hand, and
the treif (unclean; forbidden to be eaten) and tamei (impure)
animals are discussed. In Tazria-Metzora, various conditions of ritual
purity and impurity of human beings are described. For each condition,
just as with the animals, the Torah concludes with the words “this is the law”
- “zot hatorah”.
The Chatam Sofer
The Chatam Sofer (Moses
Schreiber, aka Moshe Sofer; 1762-1839), teaches that the reason the animals
come first, in creation and in matters of purity, is to knock us humans down a
peg. An animal can become impure only after it is dead, by
happenstance. But we become impure (physically, ritually and spiritually)
while we are alive, through our thoughts and deeds. It is our arrogance
and our pride in believing and acting as if we are the rulers of the world and
of all creation that cause our impurity. Not only do we treat animals in
that way, but we all too often treat each other that way. Consider this: how do
human violence, hate, pride, greed, narcissism, etc., make us superior to
animals?
It's time to reorder our
priorities. We cannot change the Torah to make ourselves come
first. But we can change ourselves to make the ethics of the Torah come
first.
Shabbat Shalom! Chodesh
Nisan Tov!
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
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