Adar 27, 5786 / February 13-14, 2026
Parashat Mishpatim (Shabbat Shekalim)
Torah: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18
Maftir: Exodus 30:11-16 (Shabbat Shekalim)
Haftarah (Shabbat Shekalim): 2 Kings 12:1-17 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 11:17 – 12:17
(Sephardim)
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This d’var torah is offered in honor of my sister and
brother-in-law, Lorrie Flom and Jay Goodman, on the occasion of their wedding
anniversary this Shabbat, February 14. Happy Anniversary! Mazal tov!
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on
Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, February 9, we'll continue our learning at
BT Pesachim 103b6. You can find it online at:
".... ,כי מטא לאבדולי" -
"When it was time for havdalah, ..."
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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read
at:
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Monday, February 16, is Presidents Day - don't forget to fly Old Glory!
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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please
cite the source
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YOUR FEELINGS ARE NOT NECESSARILY YOUR OWN!
"And you shall not mistreat a stranger (ger,
which can also mean a foreigner or a convert), nor shall you oppress him, for
you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Exodus 22:20
“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, for you
were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 23:9
The Alter of Slabodka (Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, founder
of the Slabodka Yeshiva (b. Lithuania 1849 – d. Jerusalem 1927), teaches the following on Exodus 23:9:
"Please do not explain this according to the simple
meaning, that we are not permitted to oppress a stranger because we, too, had
been strangers and had been oppressed, and thus know the taste of
oppression. Rather, the reason is that a person is required to feel and
participate in the joy and distress of his fellow, as if these had affected him
personally. (my emphasis) "You shall love your neighbor as
yourself" (Leviticus 19:18) - exactly as yourself. A person's relationship
to others is not complete unless he feels their joys and sorrows with them,
without any differentiation." (from Itturei Torah)
"Cities of Refuge" (Providence Lithograph Company, 1901)
It seems like nothing is ever simple with rabbis! For the Alter of Slabodka,
merely not oppressing the Other is not enough! Yes, we Jews know oppression -
but we need to have the greatest empathy for the Other, for the oppressed, in
their joy, in their sorrow, and, I would suggest, in their day to day lives.
This, he believes, is the only way to have a completely loving relationship
with another.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)
Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
!משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
With the beginning of Adar, we increase joy! (BT Ta'anit 29a)
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