Parashat Sh’mini
29 Nisan 5775 / 17-18 April 2015
Torah: Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47
Haftarah (Machar Chodesh): 1 Samuel 20:18-42
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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THE
ORDER OF THE TORAH
“This
is the law (torah) of the beast, of the fowl, and of every living creature that
moves in the waters and of every creature that swarms upon the earth. It is to
separate between the impure and the pure, and between the living thing which
may be eaten and the living thing which may not be eaten.” Leviticus 11:46-47
Rabbi
Simlai taught that just as the creation of humanity came after that of all the
animals, the Torah of humans comes after the Torah of the animals. He was
referring to next week’s reading, Tazria-Metzora, as well as to this week’s
reading. Here, the kosher (clean; permitted to be eaten) and tahor
(ritually pure) animals, on the one hand, and the treif (unclean; forbidden to
be eaten) and tamei (impure) animals are discussed. In Tazria-Metzora,
various conditions of ritual purity and impurity of human beings are
described. For each condition, just as with the animals, the Torah
concludes with the words “this is the law” - “zot hatorah”.
The
18th-19th century rabbi, the Chatam Sofer, teaches that the reason the animals
come first, in creation and in matters of purity, is to knock us humans down a
peg. An animal can become impure only after it is dead, by
happenstance. But we become impure (physically, ritually and spiritually)
while we are alive, through our thoughts and deeds. It is our arrogance
and our pride in believing and acting as if we are the rulers of the world and
of all creation that cause our impurity. Not only do we treat animals in
that way, but we all too often treat each other that way.
It's
time to reorder our priorities. We can not change the Torah to make
ourselves come first. But we can change ourselves to make the ethics of
the Torah come first.
Shabbat
Shalom! Chodesh Tov!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier - Studio
City , CA
Visit me on Facebook
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Candle lighting: 7:07 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg
Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am.
Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday: Religious School
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, April 24: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg
Shabbat follows.
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. Tickets still available at
$40/person! Let’s have a great turnout!
This d’var torah is offered in honor of Noah Kluger on the occasion
of his Bar Mitzvah on Sunday. Mazal tov!
This d’var torah is offered in honor of Lily Kleiger on the occasion
of her Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov!
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, Betsy Kleiger, Philip Kovac, and Annie Rivera.
My weekly divrei torah are also available via e-mail through free subscription to the Cyber Torah list.
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