GOD DOESN’T ALWAYS COME FIRST!

18 Cheshvan 5776 / 30-31 October 2015
Parashat Vayera

Torah: Genesis 18:1 - 22:24
Haftarah: 2 Kings 4:1-37 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 4:1-23 (Sephardim)

Calendar and dedications follow below. See our web site at: http://www.bethmeier.org for complete listings.

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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GOD DOESN’T ALWAYS COME FIRST!

"And the Lord appeared to (Abraham) at the terebinths (trees used to make turpentine) of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. He lifted his eyes and saw there were three men standing above him; he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them, and bowed toward the ground. And he said, 'My Lord, if I find favor in Your eyes, please do not pass away from Your servant.'" Genesis 18:1-3.

At first reading, one would think that God appeared to Abraham in the form of the three men. Therefore, he bowed and addressed them as "My Lord".  

However, Rabbinic tradition teaches that these are two separate events. God was visiting Abraham following Abraham's circumcision, and then the three men appeared. Abraham (in his pain!) literally ran from God to greet the men. He then asked God to wait while he attended to the needs of the men!

This might seem extraordinarily disrespectful to God. Not so, according to the Rabbis. "Rabbi Judah said in the name of Rav: 'Hospitality to guests is greater than greeting the Divine Presence.'" How can this be?

For one thing, if God is the Omnipresent, one can never leave God's Presence. Second, if God is the Eternal, then "waiting" is not in God's vocabulary - it's simply not a problem. Perhaps most important, God does not have physical needs, but human beings do; and they must be attended to. In taking leave of God in order to extend hospitality to three strangers who appeared out of the desert, Abraham was actually honoring God - by caring for those who are created "in the image of God". 

 

This implies that if one must choose between fulfilling a “mitzvah bein adam lamakom” (a mitzvah between a person and God) or a “mitzvah bein adam l’chavero” (between one person and another person), we should attend to the mitzvah involving another person first. (See, for example, the Mishnah at Peah 1:1: “These are the things for which a person reaps the fruits in this world, and gets a reward in the world to come: honoring one's father and mother, acts of lovingkindness, and bringing peace between people.”) When we treat others to our hospitality (or feed them or clothe them or house them or provide them with medical treatment), we do indeed find favor in God's eyes.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA

http://www.bethmeier.org

Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/

Visit me on Facebook

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Candlelighting: 5:44 pm

 

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. We’ll learn some rabbinic stories about witches, ghosts, and demons. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows. Halloween – drive carefully! Turn back clocks before you go to sleep – Standard Time begins.

Sunday:  Religious   School – 9:30 am.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

 

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Leonard Foint, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Marsha Meyers, Annie Rivera, and Gil Robbins.

 

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

 

My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail 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.

THE NEW LAND

Parashat Lekh L’kha

11 Cheshvan 5776 / 23-24 October 2015

Torah: Genesis 12:1 – 17:27

Haftarah: Isaiah 40:27 – 41:16

For a complete Calendar of Events, as well as lots of other information on our community, check out our web site at: http://bethmeier.org/

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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THE NEW LAND

"And the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your land and your birthplace and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.’" Genesis 12:1-2

Rashi: God did not immediately reveal the land to Abram, in order to make it beloved in his eyes, and to give him a reward for each and every word. Similarly, …. (at Genesis 22:2) "on one of the mountains that I will tell you about."

In his book "Genesis – Translation and Commentary", author and literary critic Robert Alter writes, "The name Canaan is never mentioned, and the divine imperative to head out for an unspecified place resembles, as Rashi observes, God’s terrible call to Abraham in chapter 22 to sacrifice his son on a mountain God will show him."

This is how it is with Israel today in its search for peace. Israelis and Palestinians, all descendants of Abraham, are in the psychological "land" of their ancestors, a land we might name "conflict and terror". The "new land" of peace is seemingly distant, its exact parameters unknown. Yitzchak Rabin, z"l, a former general, a man of war, heard the call to go to that new land, and he sacrificed his life in answering that call. Five years later, Ehud Barak’s government fell because the Palestinians refused to heed the call.

Thousands of people have died because the call for peace has been drowned out by other calls for death and destruction. Israelis will have to give up the notion that they can indefinitely subjugate an occupied population that may soon outnumber them. Israelis will have to make other sacrifices in order to reach the new land. So will the Palestinians. They must give up their generations of hatred and the unrealistic, impossible goal of "return" within the present state of Israel. If the physical land is not divided between them, with each making the necessary political sacrifices, the psycho-spiritual land of peace will never be reached, and the physical sacrifices of their children will continue.

Only by going forward to the new land, together, will these peoples be truly blessed.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA

http://www.bethmeier.org

Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/

Visit me on Facebook

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Candlelighting: 5:51 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. We still need to take down part of our sukkah, due to the rain last Sunday – please come by at about 10:00 am if you can help out!

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of Yitzchak Rabin, whose yahrzeit is this Sunday. Y’hi zikhrono liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.

The congregation extends its condolences to Jeffrey Ovadia, whose mother Rita Ovadia passed away last Friday. Funeral took place in New Jersey. Y’hi zikhronah 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, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Leonard Foint, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Marsha Meyers, Annie Rivera, and Gil Robbins.

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail 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.

THE NOT-SO-RIGHTEOUS TZADDIK

Parashat Noach

4 Cheshvan 5776 – 16-17 October 2015
Torah: Genesis 6:9-11:32
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-55:5

For a complete Calendar of Events, as well as lots of other information on our community, check out our web site at: http://bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source. 

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THE NOT-SO-RIGHTEOUS TZADDIK

"Noah was a righteous man (tzaddik), wholehearted in his generations" (Gen. 6:9)

"For it is you that I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation." (Gen. 7:1)

There was great disagreement among the Rabbis and many commentators about just how righteous Noah really was. Was he righteous only in comparison to all of the evil people around him, so that in better times he would not have been noteworthy? Or is he truly impressive, being so righteous that he was able to withstand the great evil around him, so that in better times he would have been even more outstanding?

The great weight of rabbinic opinion is that Noah was not so hot, not much of a tzaddik, just the best of a bad lot (sounds like American politics!). The proof of this theory, according to the Zohar, is through comparison to Abraham, who is also described in the Torah as righteous and wholehearted.

When God tells Noah He intends to destroy the world, Noah holds his peace and says nothing. When God tells Abraham that He intends to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham approaches God and asks, "Will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?"

In other words, Noah was only looking out for himself. Rabbi Aharon Shmuel Tameret picks up on this, and says that in fact, Noah and his family were punished (!) by being exiled in the ark. Although they were protected from the flood, their isolation in the ark, which they were unable to steer, was a form of punishment. In this view, they were doing penance for the sin of indifference and cold-heartedness.

It has been said that evil flourishes when good people turn away and are silent. Had Noah been more righteous, perhaps he would have saved other people, or even prevented the Flood by convincing others to be righteous. Just as we are able to choose between good and evil, we can also choose the way in which we will be good. We can mind our own business, keep our noses clean, and try to save ourselves. Or we can confront injustice directly, relieve the suffering of others, and perhaps save the world. How will we be remembered?

Shabbat shalom!

Rabbi Richard Flom

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

http://bethmeier.og

Visit me on Facebook

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Candlelighting: 6:00 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. We still need to take down our sukkah – please come by at about 10:00 am if you can help out!

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Trip to Israel – 11 November. It’s on! And there is still space available! 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 uncle, Merwin Erenbaum, whose yahrzeit falls on 7 Cheshvan, Tuesday. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of my zayde, Srul “Sam” Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on 9 Cheshvan, Thursday. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Leonard Foint, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Marsha Meyers, Annie Rivera, Gil Robbins, and Steve Schwartz (Yehoshua ben Esther).

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail 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.

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

Parashat Bereishit

27 Tishrei 5776 / 9-10 October 2015
Torah: Genesis 1:1 - 6:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 42:5 – 43:10 (Ashkenazim); Isaiah 42:5-21 (Sephardim)

                              
For a complete Calendar of Events, as well as lots of other information on our community, check out our web site at: http://bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source. 

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THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

"And God said, 'Let us make a human being, in our image, like us.'" Gen.1:26

The Midrash at Bereishith Rabbah 8:5 says that God was speaking to Love, Peace, Truth and Justice. Love advocated humankind's creation, saying that man would do loving things. Peace opposed the creation, because man would be violent. Truth opposed it, because man would be full of lies. Justice was in favor, because man would do justice. God threw Truth out of heaven and hurled it to the earth.

Menachem Mendl, the Kotzker Rebbe (1787-1859), asks, “What good did this do?” Peace, which also opposed man's creation, still remained. He answers that, by banishing Truth, there would be Peace. The unyielding battle for one's own personal Truth to prevail eliminates the possibility of Peace. But if Truth is pushed aside, there is nothing left to dispute, and there will be Peace.

The Kotzker understands human nature so well. This teaching applies to disputes large and small, whether the seemingly endless Israeli-Palestinian conflict or disagreements between spouses. We have a tendency to demand that Truth (the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth), as we see it, must be acknowledged and accepted as such. When the other party offers its own version of Truth, we and they all too often become intractable. This prevents any achievement of not only Peace, but Justice and Love as well.

This means that if they truly desire Peace, the participants to a dispute must forgo the demand that their Truth must prevail. This position, though, raises some interesting questions. Can Peace be achieved if only some of the actors in a dispute are willing to forgo their demand for Truth? How far can one bend one's principles before they break? Perhaps Peace, Truth, Justice and Love all might ultimately be achieved in the common search for answers to such questions.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard Flom

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

http://bethmeier.og

Visit me on Facebook

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Candlelighting: 6:09 pm

Friday: Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Cantor Kerry Katz will conduct the service.  Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Service Torah reading conducted by Barry Glass. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am. Challah baking class with Deb Sigel – 10:00 am. RSVP - $20/family for materials.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Trip to Israel – 11 November. It’s on! And there is still space available! 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 for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Leonard Foint, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Marsha Meyers, Annie Rivera, Gil Robbins, and Steve Schwartz (Yehoshua ben Esther).

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail 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.

TAKE A WALK IN GOD’S SHOES

20 Tishrei 5776 / 2-3 October 2015

Shabbat Chol Hamo'ed Sukkot

Torah: Exodus 33:12 - 34:26

Maftir: Numbers 29:17-22

Haftarah: Ezekiel 38:18 - 39:16

 

22 Tishrei 5776 / 4-5 October 2015

Shemini Atzeret (The Eighth Day of Assembly) 
Torah: Deuteronomy 14:22 - 16:17; Numbers 29:35 - 30:1 
Haftarah: 1 Kings 8:54-66 (some add 9:1)

23 Tishrei 5776 / 5-6 October 2015
Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah) 
Torah: Deuteronomy 33:1 -­ 34:12 (V’zot Hab’rakhah); Genesis 1:1 -­ 2:3 (Bereishit); Numbers 29:35 -­ 30:1 
Haftarah: Joshua 1:1-18

 

For a complete Calendar of Events, as well as lots of other information on our community, check out our web site at: http://bethmeier.org/ 

 

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source. 
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TAKE A WALK IN GOD’S SHOES

 

'And now, if I have indeed found favor in Your eyes, make Your ways known to me ...' Exodus 33:13

 

'The Lord passed before (Moses) and proclaimed: "The Lord, the Lord, God, Compassionate and Gracious, Slow to Anger, and Abundant in Kindness and in Truth; Preserving Mercy for Thousands of Generations; Forgiving Iniquity, Willful Sin, and Error; and Cleansing ..."' Exodus 34:6-7

 

In response to Moses' request, God shows God's glory, and describes Godself. These are regarded by Jewish tradition as the Thirteen Attributes of God. The verses are also recited as a prayer on Yom Kippur and other fast days, when we ask God for mercy. But is it only a prayer?

 

The early rabbinic text, Sifre, says of the commandment "to walk in all His ways" - (Deuteronomy 11:22) - "Just as God is compassionate and gracious, you too must be compassionate and gracious."

 

This is far more than a prayer that God taught to Moses to be recited at times of crisis. It is a guide to right conduct.

 

We have just completed the introspective period of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We are now served up this reminder of what it is that we promised God and ourselves only a few days ago - to be better people this year - compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, etc.

 

Perhaps we can't walk in God's ways all of the time. But every journey begins with a single step. Time to lace up those walking shoes!

 

Chag Sukkot Sameach V'shabbat Shalom! Mo'adim L'simcha - Chagim Uz'manim L'sasson!

 

Rabbi Richard Flom

Congregation Beth Meier

Studio City, CA

www.bethmeier.org

Visit me on Facebook

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Candlelighting:

Friday: 6:28 pm

Sunday: 6:25 pm

Monday: 7:19 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. Pizza in the Hut at home of Rabbi Flom and Lynn Kronzek – 1:30 pm. RSVP appreciated.

Monday: Shemini Atzeret Morning Service, with Yizkor – 10:00 am. Simchat Torah Celebration – Dance with the Torah! – 7:00 pm.

Tuesday: Simchat Torah Morning Service – 10:00 am. NO Lunch and Learn – Resume October 13.

Friday, October 9: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, October 10: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday, October 11: Religious School – 9:30 am. Religious School – 9:30 am. Challah baking class with Deb Sigel – 10:00 am. RSVP - $20/family for materials.

 

Trip to Israel – 11 November. It’s on! And there is still space available! 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 for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Gig Flom (Gittel Tobi bat Blanca), Leonard Foint, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Marsha Meyers, Annie Rivera, Gil Robbins, and Steve Schwartz (Yehoshua ben Esther).

 

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

 

My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail 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.