Parashat Kedoshim
Iyar 3, 5784 / May 10-11, 2024
Torah: Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27
Haftarah: Ashkenazim - Ezekiel 22:1-19; Sephardim - Ezekiel 20:2-20
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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.
As a side note to the below d'var torah, here's a very specific way to "love your fellow" - contribute to the NALC "Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive" this Saturday. See this link for more info: https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On May 13, 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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WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO, GOT TO DO WITH IT?
"You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your fellow as yourself; I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:18)
Siddur Sim Shalom has the following brief kavannah - a statement of intent - immediately before Birkhot Hashachar – The Blessings of the Morning: "I hereby accept upon myself the mitzvah of the Creator - 'Love your fellow as yourself.'" Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad, placed this kavannah in his siddur as well. The reason, he said, is that the commandment to love one's fellows is the gateway to coming before God in prayer. I think what he means by that is that we cannot stand before the One we are commanded to love (Deuteronomy 6:5) until we have demonstrated our love for our fellow human beings – who are, after all, created in the Divine image. I found this quote of “an unknown Torah scholar” in Itturei Torah: "To the extent that one is deficient in 'love your fellow as yourself', one is deficient in 'love the Lord your God.'"
In Or Hadash, his commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom, Rabbi Reuven Hammer, z’l, cites the famous story of Hillel teaching the Torah to a proselyte while standing on one foot: “Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to others. The rest is commentary. Go and learn it!” (BT Shabbat 31a) Rabbi Hammer adds that Hillel believes our religious practices are intended to lead us to treating our fellow human beings in this loving way. He concludes: “Thus, the ultimate test of a religious person is not specific observances, but the influence that these observances have upon that person’s actions toward others.”
The second blessing of the morning, as it appears in Siddur Sim Shalom and other Conservative siddurim, says: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, who has made me in God's image.” We thank God for making each and every one of us in the Divine image.
In summary, we cannot hope to approach the Divine, let alone love the Divine, until we acknowledge the divinity in every other human being.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim
"From the place where we are absolutely right, flowers will never grow in the spring."
"מן המקום שבו אנו צודקים לא יצמחו לעולם פרחים באביב"
Yehuda Amichai
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