ETERNAL LIGHT OF TORAH

Parashat Tetzaveh (Shabbat Zakhor)

9 Adar 5775 / 27-28 February 2015

Torah: Exodus 27:20 - 30:10

Maftir: Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Haftarah: 1 Samuel 15:1-34 (Sephardim - Ashkenazim omit verse 1)

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Congregation Beth Meier, check out: http://www.bethmeier.org 

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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ETERNAL LIGHT OF TORAH

“You shall command the Israelites to bring you olive oil, beaten clear, for the lamp (the menorah); to kindle the light always.” Exodus 27:10

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir of Gur (Chidushei HaRim) points out the impossibility of literally following this commandment. Once a lamp is lit, one cannot be _always_ lighting it! Rather, what the kohanim did was to put in fresh oil and then rekindle the lamp every day. Not “always”, but “regularly”. 

He says this is similar to reciting the Sh’ma. According to the Talmud, “Even if a person merely reads the Sh’ma in the morning and evening, he has fulfilled the obligation found at Joshua 1:8 – ‘This Torah shall not depart from your lips’ (which implies that one should be studying Torah all day). The Rim explains: the verse in Joshua concludes with, “You shall meditate on it day and night.” So, if a person recites the Sh’ma with such feeling of awe that it carries through the day, it is as if he studied Torah day and night.

There is a bit of danger in his teaching. Reliance solely on the recitation of the Sh'ma as the fulfillment of the obligation to study can cause complacency - and illiteracy. It should be seen as the bare minimum and only occasionally. One need not be a great scholar, single-mindedly dedicated to study all day. But we have at least the obligation to learn regularly, sufficient to keep the light of Torah burning within us. 

It’s okay to light up!

Shabbat Shalom! Have a freiliche Purim!

HaRav HaGa’on Abba Reuven Flom, Sh’lita

Rosh Yeshivah - Shlabodkieville

Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim B’Simcha.

From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.

http://www.bethmeier.org 

Visit me on Facebook!

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Candle lighting: 5:29 pm

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am; Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.

Wednesday: Fast of Esther. Sundown: Purim! Join us for an abbreviated Megillah and a Purim Shpiel by our Religious School – 7:00 pm. Hamentaschen and other refreshments, of course! Wear a costume and bring your favorite noise maker!

Thursday: Purim!

Sunday, March 15: Beth Meier’s Third Israel Wine Tasting (and Tapas) – 2:00 pm. Carmit Becker, Israel wine broker, will have wines for tasting and for sale – all Kosher for Passover. $20 in advance/$25 at the door. Contact the office for details.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Naomi bat Yorma, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Stewart Benkle, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig (Leib ben Bella), Pamela Huddleston, Jayne Kaplan, Lina Kniter (Lina bat Batya), Avremi Manzur, Chelsea Omoss, and Annie Rivera.

My weekly divrei torah are also available by free subscription to 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  

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

EXPLORING THE GARDEN

Parashat T’rumah

2 Adar 5775 / 20-21 February 2015

Torah: Exodus 25:1 - 27:19

Haftarah: 1 Kings 5:26 - 6:13

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Congregation Beth Meier, check out: www.bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source

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EXPLORING THE GARDEN

"And you will make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering of the sanctuary; you shall make eleven curtains.” Exodus 26:7

Rabbi Yitzchak Nissenboim offers the following comment: “All the beauty of the sanctuary was inside – gold-covered beams, blue and scarlet curtains, gold vessels with precious stones, etc. But outside was a covering of simple goats’ hair. This is to teach us that one’s principal beauty should remain inside, with no conspicuous display of one’s wealth, so that jealousy and hatred will not be aroused.”

It is curious that he sees wealth as a form of beauty, although both wealth and physical beauty can be the objects of jealousy and hatred. What I see here is something a bit different. There is the idea that what lies within a person is the true essence – if physical beauty (or plainness or ugliness) is only skin deep, then looks can be deceiving. Outward appearance gives no indication of the depths of personality, intelligence and character - they do not manifest themselves on the surface.

As with people, so also with the Torah. We may read verses about the design of the sanctuary and wonder what any of this has to do with us in our modern world. Not every verse of the Torah is immediately uplifting. The externalities, the plain meaning of the text may do little to motivate us, or charge our spiritual batteries.

The Rabbis used the word “pardes” (an ancient Persian word for a walled garden, the root of the word “paradise”) as an acronym to describe the Torah and its depths – P’shat (simple or obvious meaning), Remez (hint, allegory), D’rash (drawn out, homiletic) and Sod (secret, mystical). Peeling away the layers (the method used above) allows one to explore and enjoy the complexities of Torah – and of our fellow human beings!

The inner beauties can be found – if we dig deeply and long enough. And getting to know more on the way is just as enjoyable and rewarding.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Mishenikhnas Adar Marbim B’simchah - With the beginning of Adar we increase joy!

HaRav HaGaon HaTzaddik Abba Reuven Ben Menachem Mendel Flom, Sh’lita

Der Heileger Studio Shtat Rebbe

Av Beis Din Chelm

Purim Reveler

Slivovitz Taste Tester

http://www.bethmeier.org 

Blogging at: rav-rich.blogspot.com/

Visit me on Facebook!

Feel free to send this to a friend, and please cite the source.

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Candle lighting: 5:23 pm

Friday (tonight): Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am; Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am; Rosh Chodesh Women’s Group – 12:00 noon.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.

Friday, 27 February: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm

Saturday, 28 February: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am

Sunday, 1 March: Religious School – 9:30 am; Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am.

Watch your in-box for a brochure about a planned trip to Israel – May 7 – May 18, 2015. Estimated cost: $4,100/person (double occupancy) using via non-stop El Al.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Shirley Schack, who passed away last Shabbat. Y’hi zikhronah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Naomi bat Yorma, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Stewart Benkle, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig (Leib ben Bella), Pamela Huddleston, Jayne Kaplan, Lina Kniter (Lina bat Batya), Avremi Manzur, Chelsea Omoss, Annie Rivera, and Rabbi Marc Wilson.

My weekly divrei torah are also available by free subscription to 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

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

BEING MINDFUL OF BEING THERE

25 Shevat 5775 / 13-14 February 2015

Parashat Mishpatim (Shabbat Shekalim)

Torah: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18
Maftir: Exodus 30:11-16                     
Haftarah: 2 Kings 12:1-17 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 11:17 - 12:17 (Sephardim) 

Next Thursday and Friday are Rosh Chodesh Adar - Mishenichnas Adar, marbim b'simchah - with the entry of Adar, we increase joy! Purim's coming!

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Congregation Beth Meier, check out: www.bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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BEING MINDFUL OF BEING THERE

'And the Lord said to Moses: "Come up to Me to the mountain; and be there; and I will give you the stone tablets and the Torah and the commandments that I have written, that you may teach them."' Exodus 24:12

Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (aka The Kotzker Rebbe; Poland, 1787-1859) says, "There is a difficulty here. If Moses went up the mountain, of course he would be there! Perhaps this is to show that one may struggle to climb the peak, being able to arrive there, yet not really be there. He may be standing at the summit, but his head is in another place. The main thing is not the ascent, but to be there, and only there, and not to be going up and down at the same time."

This is more than a rejection of the notion that the journey is more important than the ultimate goal. For the Kotzker, "being there" is not just physical, to be in a specific location. Being there is temporal and spiritual. The mind, heart and soul, having struggled to reach God, must remain focused on the moment - what came before, and what will come after, are not then relevant. If this seems very much like the Buddhist concept of mindfulness – it is; and you can be pretty sure the Kotzker Rebbe never had any exposure to Buddhism. Mindfulness is equally a Jewish concept, and always has been so.

When engaged in prayer, when lighting the Shabbat candles, when reciting Kiddush, when blessing your children, when performing any mitzvah - be there. When you are fully present in the present, you experience the wonder of the moment. The awesomeness of the summit can only be experienced - and only for so long as one does not think about how one got there or how one will get down or what it all means. Our ancestors knew this. That is why they said, "All that the Lord has said, we will do and we will hear." Exodus 24:7. In short - do it, experience it - then try to understand.

Have an awesome Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom – ZSRS ‘00

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

http://www.bethmeier.org

Visit me on Facebook

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Candle lighting: 5:16 pm

Friday: Shabbat Dinner – 6:00 pm. We’ll light, we’ll eat, we’ll sing …, followed by Family and Children Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Religious   School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew class – 10:00 am. 

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.

Friday, 20 February: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm

Saturday, 21 February: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am

Sunday, 22 February: Religious School – 9:30 am; Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am; Rosh Chodesh Women’s Group – 12:00 noon.

The quadrennial elections for the World Zionist Congress are taking place NOW. This Congress, through the elected delegates, exercises control over budgets/expenditures of Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael (JNF), the Jewish Agency (aliyah and absorption) and the World Zionist Organization. Any Jew 18 years and older, residing in the United States, is eligible to participate. MERCAZ, the Zionist arm of the Conservative/Masorti movement, of which Beth Meier is an affiliate, is on the ballot. A very handy guide to the issues, parties and voting can be read at:

http://www.jewishjournal.com/religion/article/world_zionist_congress_elections_a_voters_guide

Watch your in-box for a brochure about a planned trip to Israel – May 7 – May 18, 2015. Estimated cost: $4,100/person (double occupancy) using via non-stop El Al.

This d’var torah is offered in honor of my sister Lorrie Flom and her husband, Dr. Jay Goodman, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary this Saturday. Mazal tov!

This d’var torah is offered in memory of Shirley Kronzek, Lynn’s aunt, who passed away last week. Y’hi zichronah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of Renee Licht, mother of my cousin Arthur Licht, who passed away last week. Y’hi zichronah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Naomi bat Yorma, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Stewart Benkle, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Gig Flom, Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig (Leib ben Bella), Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jayne Kaplan, Lina Kniter (Lina bat Batya), Jeannie Kottler, Avremi Manzur, Annie Rivera, and Rabbi Marc Wilson.

My weekly divrei torah are also available by free subscription to 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

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

RABBINIC RAMBLE - AN EXTRA THOUGHT FOR PARASHAT YITRO

Take this as somewhat cynical. Take this as a slight conceit. Take this as just so much rabbinics. An extra thought for this Shabbat – Parashat Yitro.

Tomorrow morning, every rabbi in every synagogue all over the world, will ask the congregation to rise, imagine that they are, with every Jew that ever was, every Jew that is, and every Jew that ever will be, “once again” standing at the foot of Mount Sinai, and listen to the words of the Ten Commandments as chanted from the Torah. It’s an amazing teaching moment for rabbis. (Actually, every Shabbat, every hospital visit, every funeral, every class, every every, is an amazing teaching and learning moment, that unfortunately only comes once.)  I have no doubt that rabbis who are educators, social workers, chaplains or for that matter stock brokers have also been teaching and reflecting on this parashah all week.

That’s not exactly what I am thinking about this Erev Shabbat, this Friday morning, this very moment. Here come the cynical, conceited rabbinic thoughts. Notable about this electrifying and unifying event at Sinai are bookend events which also reflect a kind of “unity” on the part of the Israelites. Last week we read in the Torah that, immediately after they escaped from the Egyptians and sang their victory song at the Reed Sea, the Israelites kvetched to Moses: “Where is there food? Where is there water? What have you done to us?” In a few weeks we’ll read about the incident of the Golden Calf, which comes out of the Israelites unanimously kvetching again: “Where is Moses? Where is God? What will become of us?” Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses Our Teacher, Moses Our Rabbi, takes the brunt of it. Moses, who is in a very real way the rabbinic paradigm.

When I was in rabbinical school about 20 years ago, my teacher, Rabbi Elliot Dorff, told us: “Your job as rabbis is to save the Jewish people!”

(I immediately thought of my Red Cross Life Saving/Life Guard Training. The final test is to swim to, take hold of, and bring back to shore a wildly flailing instructor, who kicks, punches, and climbs on the would-be rescuer, just as happens in real life. Drowning people are so afraid of drowning, they nearly kill their rescuers.)

I raised my hand. “Elliot, what if they don’t WANT to be saved?”

“That’s precisely why YOU have to save them.”

And so we will – even if it kills us.

To all my fellow rabbis, to all my fellow Jews – I’ll see you at Sinai. Shabbat Shalom!

YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS – THAT MEANS YOU!

18 Shevat 5775 / 6-7 February 2015
Parashat Yitro
Torah: Exodus 18:1 - 20:23
Haftarah: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5-6; (Ashkenazim); Isaiah 6:1-13 (Sephardim)

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Congregation Beth Meier, check out www.bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS – THAT MEANS YOU!

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water beneath the earth. You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not worship them, for I am the Lord your God...." Exodus 20:3-5.

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; they have noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; they have feet, but do not walk; they do not utter through their throats. Those who make them are like them, as is everyone who trusts in them." Psalms 115:4-8.

The Psalmist makes the obvious connection - statuary idols are worthless, and so, it seems, are the people who worship them. Not many people today prostrate themselves before images of Baal or Astarte, but plenty of people still have idols. Cars, houses, big screen TVs, etc. - it's all stuff that so many of us are impressed by and bow down to. In the old days, also, pharaohs, kings and emperors declared themselves to be gods, and forced their subjects to worship them. I suspect there are few such monarchs today, nor people who would be prepared to bow down and worship those monarchs. We have "matinee idols" - and how could we forget "American Idol"? But is there still the possibility that people try to set themselves up as gods?

What about worship of the self? Can one be so self-centered, so uncaring and unfeeling of others, that one regards oneself to be a god? Consider the psalm, and then read in this week's haftarah:

'(God) said, "Go and say this to the people: '"You surely hear, but you do not understand; you surely see, but you do not perceive.'" Isaiah 6:9

The remainder of the Ten Commandments (the Second is above) tell us how to treat other people – so do dozens of other commandments in the Torah. Isaiah and the other Prophets speak even more extensively on the manner in which we are to treat our fellow human beings, our fellow images of God. When we close our eyes and ears to the suffering of others; when we do not speak out against injustice; when we think that we are more important than everyone else around us; then, we turn ourselves into wood and stone - blind, deaf and dumb idols, soul-less objects of self-worship.

Do not make of yourself an idol.

Writing from “The Media Capital of the World”, where image is often everything, I wish you a Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom – ZSRS ‘00

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

http://www.bethmeier.org/

Visit me on Facebook

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Candle lighting: 5:10 pm

Friday: Deadline to RSVP for Shabbat Dinner on 13 February - New members - free; adults - $5; 12 and under - $2. Call the synagogue office. Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Religious   School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew class – 10:00 am. Tu Bish’vat Seder – 11:00 am. Everyone invited!

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.

Wednesday: Memorial Service for Rosalie Munoz – 7:00 pm.

Friday, 13 February: Shabbat Dinner (reservations required – see above) – 6:00 pm. We’ll light, we’ll eat, we’ll sing …, followed by Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

The quadrennial elections for the World Zionist Congress are taking place NOW. This Congress, through the elected delegates, exercises control over budgets/expenditures of Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael (JNF), the Jewish Agency (aliyah and absorption) and the World Zionist Organization. Any Jew 18 years and older, residing in the United States, is eligible to participate. MERCAZ, the Zionist arm of the Conservative/Masorti movement, of which Beth Meier is an affiliate, is on the ballot. A very handy guide to the issues, parties and voting can be read at:

http://www.jewishjournal.com/religion/article/world_zionist_congress_elections_a_voters_guide

Watch your in-box for a brochure about a planned trip to Israel – May 7 – May 18, 2015

This d’var torah is offered in memory of Rosalie Munoz, mother of Judith Munoz, who passed away last week. Y’hi zichronah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Naomi bat Yorma, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Stewart Benkle, Elsbet Brosky, John Todd Brosky, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Gig Flom, Jerry Forman, Leo Hoenig (Leib ben Bella), Neal Hoffman (Nachum ben Dina), Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Jayne Kaplan, Lina Kniter (Lina bat Batya), Jeannie Kottler, Shirley Kronzek, Annie Rivera, and Rabbi Marc Wilson.

My weekly divrei torah are also available by free subscription to 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

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