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16 Kislev 5776 / 27-28 November 2015

Parashat Vayishlach

Torah: Genesis 32:4 – 36:43
Haftarah: Obadiah 1:1-21

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about our community, check out our website at: http://bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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'And (the angel) said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "No longer will it be said that your name is Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with man and have prevailed."' Genesis 32:28-29

When a person converts to Judaism, the final step is immersion in a mikvah. When the convert emerges, s/he is given a new name. It is a symbol of rebirth, by prevailing in a trial by water, if you will. The change of identity coincides with the change in status. But it occurs only after a lengthy period of study, practice and reflection, confronting the past and facing the future, a struggle with humans and the Divine.

How, then, was Jacob reborn? Other than the change of name, how had he become different? The answer, I think, lies not in the final struggle with the angel, the symbolic trial by combat, but rather in the vast change Jacob had undergone since he left his parents' house 22 years previously. He confronted himself, and no longer cared for his own safety, but for that of his wives and children. He faced down Laban and finally escaped from his clutches. He looked at God face to face, and asked for confirmation of the covenant with Abraham and Isaac. The wrestling match and the name change were the culmination of years of personal development, of discerning the ways of God and man.

Each of us is a Jacob. Each of us also has the potential to convert, to change, to grow and improve, to become Israel, one who wrestles with God, with other people and with the self. But we earn the change of name, the rebirth, only if we are prepared to engage in the necessary struggles to change ourselves and our world. It is not about resistance, but gaining knowledge and wisdom, acting in a purposeful way, and living a life of meaning.

Happy Thanksgiving! Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

www.bethmeier.org

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

"From the place where we are absolutely right, flowers will never grow in the spring." 

"מן המקום שבו אנו צודקים לא יצמחו לעולם פרחים באביב"

Yehuda Amicha

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Candlelighting: 4:26 pm

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday: Synagogue Office Closed and NO Shabbat Evening Service – Enjoy your leftovers at home.

Saturday: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: NO Religious School, NO Adult Hebrew – Thanksgiving Break.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Friday, 4 December: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 5 December: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday, 6 December (Erev Chanukah): Jewish Wedding (Ketubah and Chuppah) of Tony and Linda Foster – Kabbalat Panim at 11:00 am, Ketubah signing and reading, Chuppah at Noon, light lunch follows. All members of Beth Meier are invited – please, please RSVP to assure sufficient food and drink. Mazal Tov!

Sunday, 13 December: Chanukah Celebration – Movie and Game Night – 6:30 pm. For the last night of Chanukah, bring your menorahs, your candles, and your appetites. We’ll light our candles; sing songs; eat latkes, sufganiyot, and pizza; have games for the kids; and, screen “Above and Beyond” (award-winning documentary about the founding of the Israeli Air Force) for the adults.

Next time you come to Beth Meier, please bring some non-perishable canned and packaged foods and personal items (no glass) for SOVA.

This d'var torah is offered in honor of cousins Emma Krul and River Ure, becoming b’nai mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov!

This d'var torah is offered in honor of my dear sister, Lorrie Flom Goodman, celebrating her birthday this Sunday. Mazal tov! Ad meah v’esrim!

This d'var torah is offered in honor of our wonderful son, Robert Abraham Flom, celebrating his 21^st birthday (!) on Tuesday. Mazal tov! Ad meah v’esrim!

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 (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Elaine Kleiger, Philip Kovac, Marsha Meyers, Gil Robbins, and Ruth Silon.

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 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.