This Shabbat is Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of
Vision, so-called because we read in the synagogue on Monday night the
horrifying vision of the Book of Lamentations. Sundown Monday is the
commencement of the fast day of Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, commemorating the
destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and numerous other calamities
which have befallen the Jewish people on the same date. Please join us for
a brief service, study and discussion on Monday evening at 8:00 pm.
There is a Jewish tradition to have public fast
days in times of trouble, such as drought or famine or war. Even if you do not
normally fast on this day, please consider doing so in recognition of the
ongoing war between Israel
and Hamas.
Parashat Devarim - Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of
Vision
6 Av 5774 / 1-2 August2014
Torah: Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22
Haftarah: Isaiah 1:1-27 (Third Haftarah of
Admonition)
Dedications and Calendar of Events follow.
Please share this with a friend, and please cite
the source.
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BEARING AND SHARING THE BURDEN
"How (eikhah in Hebrew) can I alone bear your
vexation and your burden and your strife?" Deuteronomy 1:12
Rashi: "Even if I were to say that I will do
so in order to receive a reward, I may not do so."
Rashi offers the traditional Jewish take on
personal responsibility. One is actually forbidden to voluntarily take on a
burden that might be greater than one can bear, even (particularly?) if one
does so in order to receive a reward from God and/or the community. One may not
voluntarily injure oneself (except to save a life); also, too much
responsibility assumed by one person can actually do damage to the community.
But what happens when one refuses to accept any
share of the burden for communal needs? R. Yosef Yozl Horowitz takes Rashi's
comment and stands it on its head. He says, "Traditionally, this verse is
read to the melody of Lamentations (Megillat Eikhah, from the first word of
Lamentations), to teach us that if a person refuses to assume the
responsibility for community needs, and thinks that by doing so he makes things
easier for himself, he will in the end find out that matters will be worse for
him, and he will remain alone and isolated. How (eikhah) does one dwell
alone?" (From Itturei Torah) I would add that, as John Donne said: “No man
is an island.”
We are forbidden to take on so much that we become
a burden on the community. On the other hand, we are forbidden to neglect our
obligations to the community. These two teachings together offer a great
insight, summed up by Rabbi Tarfon: "You are not obligated to finish the
task, neither are you free to neglect it." Avot 2:21
If we share the burden, it's easier to bear.
That's community spirit!
Shabbat Shalom! And have a meaningful fast.
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
Blogging at: rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on Facebook
"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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Calendar and Dedications:
Candle lighting: 7:36 pm
Thursday:
Jewish Federation Community Gathering in Support of the People of Israel –
Valley Beth Shalom – 7:00 pm (please arrive early for security check)
Friday:
Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Join us for a joyful service, followed by
Oneg Shabbat.
Saturday:
Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows.
Monday:
Tisha B’Av Service and Study Session – 8:00 pm.
Tuesday:
NO Lunch and Learn. We resume Tuesday, 8/12.
Sunday, August 10:
Celebration of the Life and Work of Selma Schimmel, z’l, at Sportsmen’s Lodge
Hotel – 1:00 pm. Sponsored by Vital Options International. RSVP to: Terry
Wilcox: twilcox@vitaloptions.org
This d’var torah is offered in memory of
Helen Tomsky, who passed away on Tuesday. Funeral will be at Mount Sinai Memorial Park
– Simi Valley,
on Thursday at 2:00 pm. Shivah details pending. Condolences to Rabbi Mervin
Tomsky and family.
This d’var torah is offered in memory of
my grandmother, Sarah Flom, whose yahrzeit is 10 Av (next Wednesday) and in
memory of Lynn’s grandmother, Martha Stern, whose yahrzeit is 12 Av (next
Friday). May their memories be blessings.
This d'var torah is offered in memory of
Israel’s
fallen soldiers. May their memory and their sacrifice be a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah
shleimah for all of the wounded IDF soldiers and all the wounded innocents
in the fighting between Israel
and Hamas.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah
shleimah for Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Elsbet
Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Dr. Samuel Fersht, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston,
Rose Jordan, Annie Rivera, 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
Send requests for dedications of Cyber
Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah
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