30 Sivan 5774
/ 27-28 June 2014
Torah:
Numbers 19:1 – 22:1
Maftir:
Numbers 28:9-15
Haftarah:
Isaiah 66:1-24, 23 (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh)
Calendar
of Events and Dedications follow. More info about our community is
available at: http://www.bethmeier.org
Please
feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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TAKE
NOTE
"The
Kohen will take cedar wood, hyssop and crimson thread, and throw them into the
burning of the cow." Numbers 19:6
From
the description of the inexplicable ritual of the Red Heifer, Rabbi Simchah
Bunim of Pshischa teaches: The cedar alludes to haughtiness, while the hyssop
implies humility. Every person must have a note in one pocket which says,
"I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27), and in the other pocket
one must have a note which says, "For my sake was the world created"
(Sanhedrin 37). The wise person knows when to use which.
Yechiel
of Alexander explains that when the Yetzer Hara, the Evil Impulse, wishes to
build us up, in order to make us arrogant and self-centered, we should read the
first note. When the Evil Impulse wants to bring us down in sadness and
depression over our failures, we should read the second note.
But
what about the crimson thread? Perhaps we should tie one around a finger, in
order to serve as a reminder that the notes are in our pockets. The thread
has a unique characteristic - unlike the cedar and the hyssop, the
crimson thread was created by human beings. This means we have power
- the power to resist both arrogance and despair, the power to improve, the
power to control our own destinies - as long as we are mindful of what those
destinies might be.
Shabbat
Shalom v’Chodesh Tov!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
Congregation
Beth Meier - Studio City , CA
Visit
me on Facebook
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Calendar and Dedications
Candlelighting: 7:50 pm
Friday:
Shabbat Evening service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday:
Shabbat Morning service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Tuesday:
Lunch and Learn - Noon. All are welcome. Lunch provided. Donations
gratefully accepted.
Friday, 4 July: CBM office closed - Happy Birthday, Uncle Sam! NO Shabbat
evening service! Parking impossible due to CBS fireworks.
Saturday, 5 July: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avram
Yisrael ben Channah (Robert Flom), Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Howard
Ehrlich, Jerry Forman, Debra Freeman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jayne
Kaplan, and Helen Schugar.
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 weekly divrei torah are also available via the Cyber
Torah e-mail 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 loved ones or for a refuah shleimah send an e-mail with your request
to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To
unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading
“Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
