Parashat Mattot-Mase’ei
2 Av 5775 / 17-18 July 2015
Torah: Numbers 30:2-36:13 (Chazak!)
Haftarah: Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:4 (Ashkenazim); Jeremiah
2:4-28, 4:1-2 (Sephardim) (Second Haftarah of Admonition)
We’re planning a trip to Israel
Calendar follows below. See our web site at www.bethmeier.org for complete
listings and other info on our community.
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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GUILT-FREE RETURNS
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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GUILT-FREE RETURNS
"And the Land shall be conquered before the Lord, and then you shall return, and you shall be guiltless before the Lord and before
Because the verse says "before the Lord and before Israel", Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani teaches in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that, just as we must fulfill our obligations to God, we must fulfill our obligations to our fellow human beings (Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim).
Even though Yom Kippur is nearly ten weeks away, I think it
is appropriate to consider whether the order in the verse is correct. The
verse says "tashuvu", "you shall return", but it can also
mean "you shall repent". According to Rambam (Maimonides), in
Hilkhot Teshuvah (The Laws of Repentance), we do not truly return to God,
guilt-free and forgiven, unless and until we have repented and been forgiven by
our fellows. Otherwise, all of our breast beating on Yom Kippur is
pointless. All of the promises we make to God are meaningless unless we
have already made restitution to our victims for previous violations.
But why wait until Yom Kippur? Today is a perfect day
to get straight with your fellows and with God. And you never know what
the future will bring. Perhaps that is why Rabbi Eliezer teaches,
"Repent one day before your death." Avot 2:15
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City , CA
Visit me on Facebook
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Candle lighting: 7:46 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch
follows. Happy Birthday Irwin Silon and Leonard Foint!
Sunday: Rosh Chodesh Group’s Tallit Making Caravan to Little
India. Meet at Beth Meier at 10:00 am to carpool to Artesia. Contact Lynn
Kronzek or Deb Sigel for details.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, July 24: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat
follows.
Saturday, July 25: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Tisha B’Av (delayed by Shabbat) Study and Services at beginning 7:00
pm at Adat Ari El, featuring Rabbis Jonathan Bernhard, John Carrier, Joshua
Hoffman and Richard Flom.
Sunday, July 26: Tisha B’Av service at Adat Ari El – 9:00 am. Women’s Rosh
Chodesh Group – Assemble Tallitot – contact Lynn Kronzek or Deb Sigel for
details.
Sunday, August 2: IMPORTANT Meeting of the members of Beth
Meier – 2:00 pm. Please make every effort to come and make your voices
heard!
Sunday, August 9: Meeting with Rabbi Mark Hyman of Shalom Travel at 4:00
pm to discuss our trip to Israel
Don’t forget to submit your
Membership Forms and/or High Holy Day Ticket orders ASAP!
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, Jeannie
Berger, 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, Rabbi Sheldon Pennes, and Annie
Rivera.
My weekly divrei torah are also available via email subscription on the Cyber Torah list.
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”.
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To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of
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