Parashat Acharei Mot (Shabbat Hagadol)
12 Nisan 5774 / 11-12 April 2014
Torah: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Haftarah: Malachi 3:4-24 (repeat verse 23)
Tuesday
15 Nisan 5774 (First Day of Pesach) / 14-15 April 2014
Torah: Exodus 12:21-51
Maftir: Numbers 28:16-25
Haftarah: Ashkenazim: Joshua 3:5-7; 5:2 - 6:1; 6:27 (some read only 5:2 - 6:1); Sephardim: Joshua 5:2 - 6:1; 6:27
Wednesday
16 Nisan 5774 (Second Day of Pesach) / 15-16 April 2014
Torah: Leviticus 22:26 - 23:44
Maftir: Numbers 28:16-25
Haftarah: 2 Kings 23:1-9; 21-25
Calendar of Upcoming Events follows. For a full calendar and lots of other information about our community, visit: http://www.bethmeier.org
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On Chametz and the Fifth Child
Chaverim Nichbadim/Dear Friends:
I want to share some thoughts with you as we prepare for the Festival of Pesach.
First, we should consider the nature of the chametz we are commanded to eliminate from our homes and elsewhere for the duration of the holiday. We generally think of it as bread and leavening and the like, which is correct - at one level. But at a deeper level, our rabbis have taught that chametz is symbolic of pride and an inflated ego. Just as leavening causes the dough (or the beer) to inflate with the creation of bubbles of literally hot air, so do our egos often cause us to fill up with pride and the belief in our own self-importance. The lesson to be learned is that we also need to remove the chametz from our souls - to reduce them to their most basic components, so that we can truly appreciate what it means to be the stranger and to address the needs of others. That is why the Seder Shel Pesach opens with the words, "Let all who are hungry, come and eat! Let all who are in need come and celebrate Pesach!" Pesach is not just about us - it's about us and the physical and spiritual needs of others.
Second, we know from the Haggadah Shel Pesach that there are four types of children, each of whom is to be taught a lesson at the Seder - the wise child,
the wicked, the simple and the one who does not know what questions to ask. We often see ourselves and others in these various models. But there is another child, the one we don't consider, because that child, a fifth child, is not even present! At least the wicked one is with us, even as s/he causes trouble - that child can be addressed, challenged, perhaps changed. But the one who is so far removed, whether by personal choice or by rejection, that s/he is not present - that child is one that we need to reach out to and bring back to the community - I believe we are commanded to do so. That effort of keruv, of outreach and bringing close, also requires the elimination of chametz from our selves, because that Other, the one who is distanced from the community, is often unapproachable, undesirable, and perhaps unclean. Please think of the Other in your family, in your community, in your life – and ask that person to join in your celebration of Pesach.
The Seder Shel Pesach should be more than a formulaic ritual and a good dinner. It should teach us and our children that we are obligated to eliminate the chametz of hubris, to reconsider and reorganize our lives into a new Seder - a new order, that will improve the world and make us worthy of having Eliyahu Hanavi, Elijah the Prophet, knock on our doors.
Shabbat Shalom!
Chag Pesach Sameach, Kasher u’Mashma’uti!
Have a Happy, Kosher and Meaningful Pesach!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
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"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still." Isaiah 62:1
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Candlelighting
Shabbat: 7:03 pm
Monday Evening (First Seder): 7:05 pm
Tuesday (Second Seder): 8:04 pm
Friday: Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday: NO Religious School – school resumes April 27.
Monday: Ta’anit B’chorot – Fast of the First Born> Rabbi Flom will have a Torah study session for the first born and anyone else who wishes, followed by a siyyum. First Seder - sundown
Tuesday: Pesach Morning service – 10:00 am. Second Seder – one hour after sundown. Beth Meier’s Community Seder – 8:00 pm.
Wednesday: Pesach Morning service – 10:00 am
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Blimah Reizel bat Ruchel, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Eve Beatty, Howard Ehrlich, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jayne Kaplan, Steven Kleiger, Wyatt Kleiger, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Irwin Silon and Neil Turbov.
Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to the refuah shleimah list or if there is anyone who may be removed from the list.
My divrei torah are also available via e-mail from the Cyber Torah list. 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
To request dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
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