Parashat Va’etchanan – Shabbat Nachamu
16 Av 5775 / 31 July – 1 August 2015
Torah: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26
Dedications and Calendar or Events follow. For more
information about our community, see: www.bethmeier.org
Don’t forget the important members’
meeting this Sunday, August 2 at 2:00 pm. See my letter for details.
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please
cite the source
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TO REMEMBER OR OBSERVE?
"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord
your God commanded you." Deuteronomy 5:12
Rashi (quoting Mekhilta): At the first (i.e., Exodus 20:8),
it says, "remember" (the Sabbath). Both were said in one
statement and in one word, and they were heard simultaneously.
According to the Midrash, Moses does not have a faulty
memory. Since Moses can not say two words at one time, the Torah uses
"remember" in one place, and "observe" in the other. I
have been taught that they are actually two separate commandments. One can
perform one of these commandments without performing the other.
How is it possible to observe Shabbat without remembering
it? Performance of mitzvot requires kavannah, the proper intent. If
one carries out all of the rituals of Shabbat, does no work, and so forth,
without reflecting on why one does so, without actually intending to do so, one
has observed without remembering, and the observance is, in a way, incomplete. How is
it possible to remember without observing? One might say to oneself,
"It is Shabbat, and I will light the candles." But for some
reason or other, one does not perform other Shabbat rituals, or one performs
work, and so forth. One has surely remembered, but has not fully observed
Shabbat.
I would suggest that remembering is more important than
observing. This is because remembering can lead to observing (as it has in
my own life), and one may thereby perform both of these commandments. But
mechanical observance tends to turn into empty ritual – which is meaningless -
and leads to forgetfulness, and thus the non-performance of both
commandments. Perhaps in this context, we would do well to refer to
the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov - "Memory is the source of redemption;
forgetting leads to exile."
Even if you are not yet prepared to fully observe Shabbat,
for your own sake, for the sake of your children, for the sake of the Jewish
people, remember Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Richard Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on Facebook
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Candlelighting: 7:37 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday: Congregation Beth Meier Members’ Meeting – 2:00 pm. Please
make every effort to attend. Refreshments served.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, 7 August: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows
Saturday, 8 August: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday, 9 August: Informational meeting on Israel
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 bat Devorah, Sarah Mindel bat Toby, Ken Bitticks,
Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Howard Ehrlich, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther),
Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint, Annabelle Flom
(Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Jerry Forman,
Pamela Huddleston, Philip Kovac, and Annie Rivera.
Cyber Torah list management:
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail
from the receiving address to:ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Subscribe
Cyber Torah”.
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an
e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with
the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of
a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an
e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with
the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.
