20 Iyar 5775 / 8-9 May 2015
Parashat Emor
Torah: Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
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, and please cite
the source.
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UNCLE SAM WANTS.... YOUR EXTRA FOOD!
"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely reap all the way to the corners of your field, and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 23:22
In the Book of Ruth, which we read in a few weeks on the festival of Shavuot, we see this commandment in action. Ruth follows the harvesters in the field of Boaz, and gathers food for herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi. The requirement that the corners and gleanings be left for the poor to collect, rather than simply given to them, is important; it gives them the dignity of gathering it, and thereby providing for themselves. It also demonstrates that the food is not really the farmer's to give away. "For the land is Mine," says God, "for you are sojourners and residents with Me." (Lev. 25:23) God created it; God owns it; we are only workers in the vineyard. And since that is the case, we should take seriously God's commandment to share with those who are less fortunate than we are.
Well, few of us are farmers today, but we reap God's bounty every time we go to the market, every time we open the refrigerator. And if we are not prepared to let strangers go picking through our pantries, we can at least give food to them, or to people who know how to distribute food to those who are hungry.
This Saturday, mail carriers throughout the United States will be "stamping out hunger", collecting cans, bags and boxes of non-perishable groceries. The food will be distributed to local food banks and soup kitchens. This is a no-brainer. All you have to do is leave groceries by your mailbox and the carrier will take it when s/he delivers your mail. One item or fifty, it will all help alleviate some people's hunger for a time.
----------------------------------------------------------
UNCLE SAM WANTS.... YOUR EXTRA FOOD!
"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely reap all the way to the corners of your field, and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 23:22
In the Book of Ruth, which we read in a few weeks on the festival of Shavuot, we see this commandment in action. Ruth follows the harvesters in the field of Boaz, and gathers food for herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi. The requirement that the corners and gleanings be left for the poor to collect, rather than simply given to them, is important; it gives them the dignity of gathering it, and thereby providing for themselves. It also demonstrates that the food is not really the farmer's to give away. "For the land is Mine," says God, "for you are sojourners and residents with Me." (Lev. 25:23) God created it; God owns it; we are only workers in the vineyard. And since that is the case, we should take seriously God's commandment to share with those who are less fortunate than we are.
Well, few of us are farmers today, but we reap God's bounty every time we go to the market, every time we open the refrigerator. And if we are not prepared to let strangers go picking through our pantries, we can at least give food to them, or to people who know how to distribute food to those who are hungry.
This Saturday, mail carriers throughout the United States will be "stamping out hunger", collecting cans, bags and boxes of non-perishable groceries. The food will be distributed to local food banks and soup kitchens. This is a no-brainer. All you have to do is leave groceries by your mailbox and the carrier will take it when s/he delivers your mail. One item or fifty, it will all help alleviate some people's hunger for a time.
But there are poor and needy people, who are hungry
at other times of the year, not just when we run annual food drives. So at
home, or at the synagogue, or at school, set up a box, and put some food items
in it once in a while. Encourage your friends and family to do the same. And
when it's full, take it over to the nearest community food bank or soup
kitchen, and give people the corners and the gleanings of your field. Here
at Beth Meier we have a box that is constantly filled and delivered to SOVA,
which is also a beneficiary of the Postal Service drive. We learned in
last week’s parashah, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev.
19:18) When you perform the dual mitzvot of “peah” (corner) and “leket”
(gleaning), you fulfill the mitzvah of love as well, for then your neighbor can
do as you do: eat and be satisfied (Deuteronomy 11:15).
Have a Blessed Shabbat!
Have a Blessed Shabbat!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA
Visit me on Facebook
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Candle lighting: 7:24 pm
Friday: Family and Children’s Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm.
Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon
follows.
Sunday: NO Religious
School! NO Adult Hebrew class! Happy
Mothers’ Day!
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Saturday, May 23: Tikkun Leyl Shavuot –
A Night of Torah Study. Rabbis Deborah Silver, John Carrier, Richard Flom
and others will conduct this traditional study session at Adat Ari El beginning
at 8:30 pm. A wonderful opportunity to learn, meet members of other
congregations, and get in the spirit of receiving Torah at Mount Sinai.
Sunday, May 24: Shavuot
Morning Service – 10:00 am.
Monday, May 25: Shavuot
Morning Service and Yizkor: 10:00 am.
This d’var torah is offered in honor of mothers everywhere! Happy
Mothers’ Day!
This d’var torah is offered in memory of Rebbitzin Rochelle Schimmel
and Selma Schimmel, whose yahrzeits fell last week and this week, respectively.
Y’hi zikhronan liv’rakhah!
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all those
injured in the Nepal earthquake. You can help by making a donation to American
Jewish World Service: http://www.ajws.org or
American Friends of Magen David Adom: http://afmda.org
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), 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 via e-mail through free subscription to the Cyber
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