25 Elul 5774 / 20 September 2014
Parashat Nitzavim - Vayelekh
Torah: Deuteronomy 29:9 – 31:30
Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 - 63:9 (Seventh
Haftarah of Consolation)
Dedications and calendar follow below.
See our web site at www.bethmeier.org
for complete listings.
Please feel free to pass this on to a
friend, and please cite the source.
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YOU’VE GOT A SECRET!
“The secret things belong to the Lord
our God; and those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children
forever, that we may observe all the words of this Torah.” Deuteronomy 29:28
A number of Midrashim say this verse
concerns sins committed in private – we cannot hide them - God still knows
about them (and so does our conscience!). Some Chasidic teachers say that a
person of great modesty and humility is a “tzaddik nistar”, a hidden tzaddik,
who conceals his/her righteousness and good deeds from others, by doing them in
secret - but God still knows about them. Both of these understandings tie in
quite nicely with the traditional theological theme of Yamim Noraim - the Days
of Awe that we are about to enter. That is, God takes an accounting of us,
toting up the good, the bad and the ugly, and deciding what to do with us in
the coming year.
The great Chasidic teacher Menachem
Mendel of Kotzk takes a slightly different tack, and applies the verse to
“cheshbon hanefesh”, the self-examination, literally the accounting of the
soul, that tradition teaches we are to do at this time of year. He says that
the “tzaddik nistar” is one whose righteousness is hidden from the very self -
this is someone who has no idea of their own righteousness.
The lesson, as I see it, is that each
and every one of us is potentially a tzaddik nistar. The trick is not to think
that you really ARE such a tzaddik - there's a certain lack of humility. But,
by being totally honest with ourselves in our self-evaluation, we may be able
to learn how to continue to behave as well as how not to behave, and we can
pass on all of that information to our children, directly and by example. If we
do something wrong, we teach our children from our mistakes. And if we do
something right, then they see it and we encourage them to follow. In short,
don’t be overly hard on yourself - you just might be better than you think you
are!
SHABBAT SHALOM!
L’SHANAH TOVAH U’METUKAH TIKATEIVU
V’TIKHATEIMU!
MAY YOU BE INSCRIBED AND SEALED FOR A
GOOD AND SWEET NEW YEAR!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
Visit me on Facebook
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CALENDAR:
Candle lighting:
Friday: 6:36 pm
Wednesday, 9/24: 6:29 pm
Thursday, 9/25: 7:23 pm
Friday, 9/26: 6:26 pm
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. Selichot service - (with dinner for a
small fee and RSVP!). Dinner at 8:00 pm, Havdalah and Selichot at 9:30 pm.
Sunday: Beth Meier Religious School –
9:30 am.
Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn
Wednesday, 9/24: Erev Rosh Hashanah
Service – 6:30 pm
Thursday, 9/25: Rosh Hashanah Morning
Service – 8:30 am
Friday, 9/26: Rosh Hashanah Morning
Service – 8:30 am. NO Shabbat Evening Service
Saturday, 9/27: Shabbat Morning
Service – 10:00 am
Sunday, 9/28: Religious School – 9:30
am
DON’T FORGET – Our High Holy Day
services this year are being held at First Christian Church of North Hollywood,
4390 Colfax Avenue (at the corner of Moorpark Street, catty-corner from Beth
Meier). Caution: Parking in the lot may be limited (80 spaces), but street
parking is available.
This d'var torah is offered in memory
of my grandmother, Cora Slome, whose yahrzeit fall on Tuesday, 28 Elul. Her
memory is a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered for a
refuah shleimah for Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat
Toby, Bonnie Baird, Jeff Bluen, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard
Ehrlich, Dr. Samuel Fersht, Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig, Pamela Huddleston, Rose
Jordan, Jeannie Kottler, Marilyn Lee, and Annie Rivera.
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 to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber
Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”
to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
