EXPLORING THE GARDEN

Adar 1, 5785 / February 28 - March 1, 2025

Parashat T'rumah

Torah: Exodus 25:1 - 27:19

Aliyah 7 (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh): Numbers 28:9-15

Maftir (Shabbat Shekalim): Exodus 30:11-16

Haftarah: 2 Kings 12:1-17 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 11:17 - 12:17 (Sephardim); some congregations add Isaiah 66:1, 66:23-24 for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Mildred Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Monday, Adar 3. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah - her memory is a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered in honor of the women of Temple B'nai Hayim on Shabbat Rosh Chodesh.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for the hostages.

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. On March 3, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Vol. 3, Yevamot, p. 32 (BT Yevamot 6a): 

"...תניא איש אמו ואביו תיראו" 

"We are taught in a Baraitha Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father ...'"

Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: 
https://hebrewbooks.org/9632

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

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

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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.

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EXPLORING THE GARDEN

"And you will make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering of the sanctuary; you shall make eleven curtains.” Exodus 26:7

Rabbi Yitzchak Nissenboim offers the following comment: “All the beauty of the sanctuary was inside – gold-covered beams, blue and scarlet curtains, gold vessels with precious stones, etc. But outside was a covering of simple goats’ hair. This is to teach us that one’s principal beauty should remain inside, with no conspicuous display of one’s wealth, so that jealousy and hatred will not be aroused.”

It is curious that he sees wealth as a form of beauty, although both wealth and physical beauty can be the objects of jealousy and hatred. What I see here is something quite different. There is the idea that what lies within a person is the true essence – if physical beauty, plainness, and ugliness, all of which are social/cultural constructs, are only skin deep, then looks can be deceiving. Outward appearance gives no indication of the depths of personality, intelligence and character - they do not necessarily manifest themselves on the surface.

Ark of the Covenant (representation)  - George Washington Masonic National Memorial

As with people, so also with the Torah. We might read verses about the design of the sanctuary and wonder what any of this has to do with us in our modern world. Not every verse of the Torah is immediately uplifting. The externalities, the plain meaning of the text may do little to motivate us, or charge our spiritual batteries.

The Rabbis used the word “pardes” (an ancient Persian word for a walled garden, the root of the word “paradise”) as an acronym to describe the Torah and its depths – P’shat (simple or obvious meaning), Remez (hint, allegory), D’rash (drawn out, homiletic) and Sod (secret, mystical). Peeling away the layers (the method used above, millennia before Shrek) allows one to explore and enjoy the complexities of Torah – and of our fellow human beings!

The inner beauties can be found – if we dig deeply and long enough. And getting to know more on the way is just as enjoyable and rewarding.

Be Happy – It’s Adar! Shabbat Shalom!

HaRav HaGa'on HaTzaddik 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

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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"

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BEING MINDFUL OF BEING THERE

Parashat Mishpatim

Torah: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18
Haftarah: Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26

Shevat 24, 5785 / February 21-22, 2025 

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This d’var torah is offered in memory of Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz. 

Say their names.

And may the memory of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah and all their supporters be forever erased.

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This d’var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Shirley Schack, whose yahrzeit falls on Sunday, Shevat 25. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah. Her memory is a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for the hostages.

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. On February 24, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Vol. 3, Chagigah, p. 29 (BT Chagigah 16a): 

"...דרש רבי יהודה ברבי נחמני מתרגמניה דריש לקישש"

"R. Juda b. Nachmeni, the interpreter of Resh Lakish, lectured ...'"

Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: 
https://hebrewbooks.org/9632

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

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

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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.

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 BEING MINDFUL OF BEING THERE

'And the Lord said to Moses: "Come up to Me to the mountain; and be there; and I will give you the stone tablets and the Torah and the commandments that I have written, that you may teach them."' Exodus 24:12

Moses on Mount Sinai - Jean-Léon Gérôme (ca. 1900)

Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (aka The Kotzker Rebbe; Poland, 1787-1859 - his yahrzeit is on Shevat 22, the date I am writing this) says, "There is a difficulty here. If Moses went up the mountain, of course he would be there! Perhaps this is to show that one may struggle to climb the peak, being able to arrive there, yet not really be there. He may be standing at the summit, but his head is in another place. The main thing is not the ascent, but to be there, and only there, and not to be going up and down at the same time."

This is more than a rejection of the notion that the journey is more important than the ultimate goal. For the Kotzker, "being there" is not just physical, to be in a specific location. Being there is temporal and spiritual. The mind, heart, and soul, having struggled to reach God, must remain focused on the moment - what came before, and what will come after, are not then relevant.

If this seems very much like the Buddhist concept of mindfulness - it is - and you can be pretty sure the Kotzker Rebbe never had any exposure to Buddhism. Mindfulness is equally a Jewish concept, and always has been so. Indeed, the Kotzker himself was well-known for his meditative practices and his reclusive life.  

When engaged in prayer, when lighting the Shabbat candles, when reciting Kiddush, when blessing your children, when performing any mitzvah - be there. When you are fully present in the present, you experience the wonder of the moment. The awesomeness of the summit can only be experienced - and only for so long as one does not think about how one got there or how one will get down or what it all means. Our ancestors knew this. That is why they said, "All that the Lord has said, we will do and we will hear." Exodus 24:7.

In short - do it, experience it – and then try to understand.

Have an awesome Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b

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To subscribe to Cyber Torah, 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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YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS – THAT MEANS YOU!

Parashat Yitro

Torah: Exodus 18:1 - 20:23
Haftarah: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5-6; (Ashkenazim); Isaiah 6:1-13 (Sephardim)

Shevat 17, 5785 / February 14-15, 2025 

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This d’var torah is offered in honor of Lorrie Flom and Jay Goodman on the occasion of their wedding anniversary on February 14. Mazal tov!

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for the hostages.

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. On February 17, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Vol. 3, Chagigah, p. 28 (BT Chagigah 15b): 

"...ואמר רבי אמי ש' בעיי" 

"And R. Ami said: 'Three hundred questions...'"

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/ 

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS – THAT MEANS YOU!

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water beneath the earth. You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not worship them, for I am the Lord your God...." Exodus 20:3-5.

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; they have noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; they have feet, but do not walk; they do not utter through their throats. Those who make them are like them, as is everyone who trusts in them." Psalms 115:4-8.

Moses (Hendrick de Somer, 1650)

The Psalmist makes the obvious connection - statuary idols are worthless, and so, it seems, are the people who worship them. Not many people today prostrate themselves before images of Baal or Astarte or Jupiter, but plenty of people still have idols. Cars, houses, big screen TVs, etc. - it's all stuff that so many of us are impressed by and bow down to. In the old days, also, pharaohs, kings and emperors declared themselves to be gods, and forced their subjects to worship them. I suspect there are few such monarchs today, nor people who would be prepared to bow down and worship those monarchs. We have "matinee idols" - and how could we forget "American Idol"? But is there still the possibility that people try to set up themselves or others as gods?

What about worship of the self? Can one be so self-centered, so uncaring and unfeeling of others, that one regards oneself to be a god? Consider the psalm, consider the current state of American society, and then read in this week's haftarah:

'(God) said, "Go and say this to the people: '"You surely hear, but you do not understand; you surely see, but you do not perceive.'" Isaiah 6:9.

The rest of the Ten Commandments (the Second is above) tell us how to treat other people – so do dozens of other commandments in the Torah (See, e.g., The Holiness Code at Leviticus 19, or next week's Parashat Mishpatim). Isaiah, here and elsewhere, and the other Prophets speak even more extensively on the manner in which we are to treat our fellow human beings, our fellow images of God. When we close our eyes and ears to the suffering of others; when we do not speak out against injustice; when we think that we are more important than everyone else around us; then, we turn ourselves into wood and stone - blind, deaf and dumb idols, soul-less objects of self-worship.

Do not make of yourself an idol.

Writing from “The Media Capital of the World”, where image is often everything, I wish you a Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b

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

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, 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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THE PROOF IS IN THE BREAD

Parashat Beshallach (Shabbat Shirah)

Shevat 10, 5785 / February 7-8, 2025

Torah: Exodus 13:17 – 17:16

Haftarah: Judges 4:4 – 5:31 (Ashkenazim); Judges 5:1 – 5:31 (Sephardim)

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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for the hostages.

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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Tu Bish'vat is this coming Thursday, Shevat 15 / February 13. Plant a tree! Eat the Seven Species of the Land of Israel! Get mystical! Tu Bish'vat Sameach!

Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On February 10, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Vol. 3, Chagigah, p. 28 (BT Chagigah 15b): 

"...ואמר רבי אמי ש' בעיי" 

"And R. Ami said: 'Three hundred questions...'"

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/ 

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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THE PROOF IS IN THE BREAD

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Here I will rain on you bread from heaven; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not." Exodus 16:4.

The classic commentators disagree over the nature of the proving that is done here. How exactly are the Israelites being tested? Rashi (R. Shlomo Yitzchaki, d. 1105) says God wishes to know whether they will keep the specific commandments to not keep the manna overnight and to not gather the manna on Shabbat. Ramban (R. Moshe ben Nachman, d. 1270) says that is not correct - God wishes to see whether they can observe all of the mitzvot while having only rations of manna to eat. That is, the manna itself is the test. Sforno (R. Ovadiah ben Yaakov Sforno, d. 1550) agrees that the manna is the test, but it is to prove whether people who do not struggle to feed themselves will observe the mitzvot. The commentator Or Ha-Chaim (R. Chaim ben Moshe Ibn Attar, d. 1743) says it is to see whether they will spend their time in Torah study, as well as observing the mitzvot, since they need spend no time in preparing the manna. Rashbam (R. Shmuel ben Meir, d. 1158) and Ibn-Ezra (R. Abraham Ibn Ezra, d. 1167), based on the Mekhilta d'Rebbi Ishmael (Midrashic Commentary on the Book of Exodus), say the test is whether the Israelites will have faith in God when they must rely on a fresh supply of food each and every day.

The Gathering of the Manna - James Tissot, ca. 1896-1902

Monotony; effortlessness; leisure; dependence - All of these seem to make sense as tests. I believe that the real test is gratitude - i.e., whether we can thank God for the food we eat, no matter what it is or how we obtained it (as long as we didn’t steal it!). Our rabbis tell us we are obligated from Tanakh to recite blessings before and after eating any sort of food. (see Deuteronomy 8:10, and Joel 2:26) We all teach our children to say "please" and "thank you". But how can we ever ask anything of God if we do not follow that truly basic law, the law of saying "Thank you, God"? How many of us pass that test? (BTW - the Israelites failed the test. They complained so much about having only manna to eat that God punished them - by giving them quail and then making them sick from eating it - Numbers 11)

Shabbat Shalom - Tu Bish'vat Sameach - Happy Jewish Arbor Day!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b

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

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, 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