20 Av 5773 / 26-27 July 2-13
Torah: Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25
Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3 (The Second Shabbat of Consolation)
Dedications and Calendar of Events follow.
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It's Torah Season!
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It's Torah Season!
And it shall be, that if you hearken diligently to My
commandments which I command you today; to love the Lord your God, and to serve
Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give rain to your
land in its season, the early and the late, and you shall gather in your grain
and your wine and your oil. Deuteronomy 11:13-14
Rashi (quoting B. Talmud Sukkah 46b): If you hearken to the old, you will hearken to the new.
Rashi (commenting on Sukkah 46b): If one reviews (and hearkens to) one's previous Torah learning, it will assist one in learning (and hearkening to) new studies.
These opening sentences of the second paragraph of the Shema are generally regarded as typical of the theology of Deuteronomy - if you obey, everything will be all right, but if not, watch out! There is something to that, but not in the way we usually think. Here, the Rabbis see something else altogether - a metaphor for Torah study!
The Torah is often called "mayim chayim" - water of life. A person can not live without water; a Jew can not live without Torah. Grain, wine and oil were staple foods for the Israelites - and without them, there could be no physical connection to God through the sacrificial service. Similarly, without Torah study, we will not have the spiritual wherewithal to properly serve God.
Unlike trigonometry or Beowulf, which most of us studied once (if at all) in high school and promptly forgot, Torah study must be regular and continuous - like the rain that comes in its season, year in and year out. If there is a drought in your learning, you won't have enough food for your soul. Torah is always in season - dig in!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00Rashi (quoting B. Talmud Sukkah 46b): If you hearken to the old, you will hearken to the new.
Rashi (commenting on Sukkah 46b): If one reviews (and hearkens to) one's previous Torah learning, it will assist one in learning (and hearkening to) new studies.
These opening sentences of the second paragraph of the Shema are generally regarded as typical of the theology of Deuteronomy - if you obey, everything will be all right, but if not, watch out! There is something to that, but not in the way we usually think. Here, the Rabbis see something else altogether - a metaphor for Torah study!
The Torah is often called "mayim chayim" - water of life. A person can not live without water; a Jew can not live without Torah. Grain, wine and oil were staple foods for the Israelites - and without them, there could be no physical connection to God through the sacrificial service. Similarly, without Torah study, we will not have the spiritual wherewithal to properly serve God.
Unlike trigonometry or Beowulf, which most of us studied once (if at all) in high school and promptly forgot, Torah study must be regular and continuous - like the rain that comes in its season, year in and year out. If there is a drought in your learning, you won't have enough food for your soul. Torah is always in season - dig in!
Shabbat Shalom!
Studio City
"For the sake of
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Candle lighting: 7:40 pm
7/26 – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat
follows.
7/27 – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush
lunch follows services.7/28 – TBM Congregational Meeting – 4:00 pm. Meet with Rabbi Flom and the Board of Directors for all to share our goals, hopes and dreams for our community.
7/30 – Lunch and Learn – noon - a 90 minute discussion on a Jewish topic of interest. Everyone is welcome to participate. Lunch is provided - donation requested.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, John Todd Brosky, Beth Goldstein, Pamela Huddleston, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Judith Sakurai, and Kitty Schmerling.
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