I CAN’T SAY IT ENOUGH!

Parashat Devarim (Shabbat Chazon)

9 Av 5775 / 24-25 July 2015

Torah: Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22
Haftarah: Isaiah 1:1-27

This Shabbat is “Shabbat Chazon”, the Shabbat of Vision, so-called because we read on Saturday night the horrifying vision of the Book of Lamentations. Sundown Saturday is the commencement of the fast day of Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and numerous other calamities which have befallen the Jewish people on the same date. The fast is delayed one day this year because of Shabbat. See calendar below for service times/location. Have a meaningful fast.

We’re planning a trip to Israel! Itinerary, brochure and other information are at my blog, http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2015/07/trip-to-israel.html  or I can send you a PDF version via e-mail.

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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I CAN’T SAY IT ENOUGH!

"These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel ..." Deuteronomy 1:1

Moses here begins his farewell speech to the Israelites, as they prepare to enter the land of Canaan. The title "Deuteronomy" means "repetition of the law", and comes directly from the Hebrew phrase "mishneh torah" (same meaning), which appears at Deuteronomy 17:18. The great rabbi and philosopher Rambam (Maimonides) gave his most important halakhic work the same name. As a lawyer, I knew similar treatises concerning American law called "The Restatements of the Law".

The works of Rambam and the American Law Institute are "black-letter law", basic and essential elements upon which all agree. They are dry and generally uninspired and uninspiring, albeit useful.

On the other hand, one must wonder how Moses' last words got the same name. For one thing, Deuteronomy is a spiritual and philosophical work, the model of what have come to be known as "ethical wills". Equally interesting is that 70 of the 100 or so laws that appear in Deuteronomy are not found elsewhere in the Torah. A curious "restatement" indeed. Perhaps the "extra" laws would have been found or heard had the prior books of the Torah been re-read!

Some books are meant to be read only once, or to be used strictly as reference works. But Torah is only understood if it is studied, mulled over, delved into, discussed and constantly re-examined. Regular Torah study leads us to new insights about God, ourselves, the world around us, relationships and more. This is what is meant by Ben Bag Bag's teaching - "Turn the Torah over and over again, for everything is in it." Avot 5:22

Learn it again for the first time.

Shabbat Shalom. Have a meaningful fast.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

www.bethmeier.org

www.rav-rich.blogspot.com

Visit me on Facebook

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Candle lighting: 7:42 pm

Friday:  Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows. Tisha B’Av (delayed by Shabbat) Study and Services beginning 7:00 pm at Adat Ari El, featuring Rabbis Jonathan Bernhard, John Carrier, Joshua Hoffman and Richard Flom.

Sunday: 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.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

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! Itinerary, brochure and other information are at my blog, http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2015/07/trip-to-israel.html or I can send you a PDF version via e-mail.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of my grandmother, Sarah Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Sunday, 10 Av. Y’hi zekherah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of Lynn’s grandmother, Martha Stern, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday, 12 Av. Y’hi zekherah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

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, 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”.

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.