Parashat
Naso
12
Sivan 5775 / 29-30 May 2015
Torah:
Numbers 4:21 - 7:89
Haftarah: Judges 13:2-25
Haftarah: Judges 13:2-25
Calendar of
Events follows below. For more information about our community, visit: http://www.bethmeier.org
Please feel
free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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HEARING THE
VOICE
"When
Moses went into the tent of meeting, to speak with Him, he would hear the Voice
speaking to him from above the covering that was on the ark of the testimony,
from between the two cherubim; and He would speak to him." Numbers
7:89
Moses had
direct two-way conversations with God. They spoke "panim al
panim" - face to face. For good or ill, none of us is blessed in
quite the same way that Moses was. But, we are told in the Torah that our
ancestors standing at the foot of Mount Sinai heard the Voice as well, in the
giving of the Torah (matanat torah), which we celebrated earlier this week on
the Festival of Shavuot. And Moses told our ancestors that God's covenant
with the Jewish people was eternal - not only with those present, but
with all those to come in the future.
On Shavuot,
we re-enacted that moment of the giving of the Torah. It could as easily
and properly be called "kabbalat torah" - the receiving of the Torah.
Regardless, the truth is that we have the opportunity always to receive the
Torah, to hear the Voice, if we would only open our eyes and ears to the Word.
We can do this during the public reading of the Torah, in group study sessions,
in chevruta (with a study partner), in lectures - you get the idea.
You can of
course receive Torah, i.e., learn, the old-fashioned way, by attending services
or adult learning programs at your synagogue. One of the great wonders of our
age is the Internet; you can obtain excellent Torah learning, at your
convenience, at any time, from innumerable on-line sources. Hillel teaches: “Do
not say, ‘When I have leisure, I will study,’ for you may never have leisure.”
What he’s really saying is, “Stop making excuses! Learn what you've been
missing!”
Shabbat
Shalom!
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: 7:39 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 and Davening Class –
10:00 am. Unveiling for Marshall Neiman – 12:00 Noon – Mount Sinai
Memorial Park. Congregation Beth Meier Movie Night – 7:00 pm. Join us
for a Jewish-themed movie with popcorn and soda! Movie: “Cast a Giant Shadow” –
starring Kirk Douglas. The story of Colonel Mickey Marcus and Israel’s War of
Independence. No charge, but donations gladly accepted! In winter, we’ll be
doing this on Saturday nights and include Havdalah and kids’ games.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon. The Social Justice
Commission of the Rabbinical Assembly is proud to participate in "Wear
Orange", a campaign to reduce gun violence in America, on Tuesday, June 2,
the first annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The campaign
honors the 88 Americans whose lives are cut short by gun violence every day and
the countless survivors whose lives are forever altered by shootings each year.
To join this campaign, visit WearOrange.org and use the site's pledge tool to change
your social media profile picture or share why you'll be #WearingOrange on June
2nd.
Friday, June 5: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, June 6: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday, June 7: Religious School Culmination – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew and Davening
Class – 10:00 am. Maggie Anton, speaking on her new book, “Enchantress”, 2:00
pm. Call the synagogue office for details.
This
d’var torah is offered in memory of my uncle, Hans Schack, whose yahrzeit falls
on Wednesday. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah.
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,
Jeannie Berger, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jacob William Cohen, Jerry
Daniels, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht
(Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Gig Flom
(Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Betsy Kleiger,
Philip Kovac, and Annie Rivera.
My weekly divrei torah are also available through free
e-mail 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
