21
Nisan 5775 / 10-11 April 2015 - Pesach - Day 7
Torah: Exodus 13:17 - 15:26
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22:1-51
Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22:1-51
Additional reading: Shir Hashirim - The Song of Songs
(some congregations read this on Pesach Day 8)
22 Nisan 5775 / 10-11 April 2015 - Pesach - Day 8
Torah: Deuteronomy 14:22 - 16:17
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: Isaiah 10:32 - 12:6
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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FREEDOM’S
JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR … RESPONSIBILITY?
"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had sent the people away that God did not lead them through the way of the Philistines, though that was near, for God said, 'Lest the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.'" Exodus 13:17
The Torah reading for the 7th day of Pesach includes the famous Song of the Sea. This song is the Israelite victory song, a paean to God after the destruction of the Egyptian army at the Reed Sea. But the victory and song follow just a few verses after the Israelites complained to Moses about their fears, and their desire to return to Egypt. In its first fragile moments, while the oppressors were still around, freedom was a scary proposition! Who will feed us? How will we survive? Who is this Moses? Where are we going? What are the Egyptians going to do to us? Let's go back to the security of slavery! We miss it! And the kvetching begins again shortly after the Reed Sea events. All the while, Moses must have been thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?"
Rabbi Barukh Abba Rakowsky suggests that the Israelites had dreamed only of being free of their hard labor, but had not dreamed of total liberation from slavery. Absent such a dream, God feared that the first time they faced difficulty they would want to return to Egypt and to slavery. That is why He sent them "the long way". Maybe that is why the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert.
"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had sent the people away that God did not lead them through the way of the Philistines, though that was near, for God said, 'Lest the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.'" Exodus 13:17
The Torah reading for the 7th day of Pesach includes the famous Song of the Sea. This song is the Israelite victory song, a paean to God after the destruction of the Egyptian army at the Reed Sea. But the victory and song follow just a few verses after the Israelites complained to Moses about their fears, and their desire to return to Egypt. In its first fragile moments, while the oppressors were still around, freedom was a scary proposition! Who will feed us? How will we survive? Who is this Moses? Where are we going? What are the Egyptians going to do to us? Let's go back to the security of slavery! We miss it! And the kvetching begins again shortly after the Reed Sea events. All the while, Moses must have been thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?"
Rabbi Barukh Abba Rakowsky suggests that the Israelites had dreamed only of being free of their hard labor, but had not dreamed of total liberation from slavery. Absent such a dream, God feared that the first time they faced difficulty they would want to return to Egypt and to slavery. That is why He sent them "the long way". Maybe that is why the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert.
One thing that is abundantly clear throughout the Torah and rabbinic texts is that we each have responsibility - to God, to ourselves, to each other, to the world. Freedom, whether from slavery, or from political oppression, or from chemical addiction, or from anything that prevents us from living up to our potential, often frightens us, because then we are responsible for at least trying to live up to that potential.
That is the difficulty to which Rabbi Rakowsky refers. Slaves have no choice but to do what they are told - so they are not responsible for their actions. Similarly, according to Jewish law, slaves are exempt from many of the mitzvot - but free people are obligated for observing all of them. This means that we are not truly free until we accept responsibility for ourselves and take up the challenges of life.
Mo'adim L'Simchah! Shabbat Shalom!
Seasons of Joy and a Shabbat of Peace!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier -
Studio City , CA
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on Facebook
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Candle lighting:
Thursday: 7:01 pm
Friday: 7:02 pm (light
memorial candle first)
Thursday: Seventh Day of Pesach begins – sundown
Friday: Seventh Day Pesach
Yom Tov Morning
Service – 10:00 am. NO evening service.
Saturday: Eighth Day Pesach Shabbat/Yom Tov
Morning Service with Yizkor – 10:00 am. Pesach ends – 8:00 pm.
Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew and
Leyning Class – 10:00 am.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon
Thursday, April 16: Yom HaShoah. Beth Meier has special yellow
yahrzeit candles for commemorating the day. Pick one up at the office. Light at
sundown Wednesday.
Friday, April 17: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg
Shabbat follows.
Saturday, April 18: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush
luncheon follows.
Sunday, April 19: Religious School –
9:30 am. Bar Mitzvah of Noah Kluger – Mazal tov!
Saturday, April 25: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Bat
Mitzvah of Tovi Snyder – Mazal tov!
Sunday, April 26: Casino Night with Beth Meier, Valley
Beth Israel, B’nai Hayim and Hugat Haverim at VBI – 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Contact
the CBM office or website for details.
This d’var torah is
offered in honor of my wonderful wife Lynn Kronzek on the occasion of her 60th
birthday. Ad me’ah v’esrim – ‘til 120! Mazal tov!
This d’var torah is
offered in memory of John Todd Brosky, who passed away on Tuesday. A memorial
service will be held at Beth Meier in the near future. Condolences to his wife
Elsbet. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his 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, Jacob William Cohen, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya
bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi
bat Blanca), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Philip Kovac, and Annie
Rivera.
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
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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
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