SOMETHING OF VALUE

Parashat Ki Tisa
Annual: Exodus 30:11-34:35
Haftarah: 1 Kings 18:1-39

18 Adar 1 5776 / 26-27 February 2016

Calendar of events for the next two weeks follows. For a full calendar and other info about our community, check out:  www.bethmeier.org

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

Congregation Beth Meier has developed a GoFundMe page: Please visit the page and consider a donation. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

https://www.gofundme.com/saveourschul

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SOMETHING OF VALUE

“And the people broke off the golden earrings that were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.” Exodus 32:3

“And the Lord repented of the evil that He had thought to do to His people.” 32:14

Rabbi Eizel of Slonim on verse 3: “Truly this was a great sin committed by Israel in making the golden calf. For all that, we must admit that that generation was better than our own. The members of that generation were willing to cast away their silver and gold in order to make gods for themselves; but today, in our great iniquity, we think it permissible to cast away God solely for wealth and happiness.”

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk on verse 14: “Why did He forgive the sin of the golden calf even though the people did not repent, while He did not forgive the sin of the spies even though the people did repent? The sin of the calf had at least a spark of holiness, a thirst for the Divine. But the sin of the spies was all about a better material life.”

These are fascinating comments. Our teachers boldly imply that even mistaken worship of false gods is better than denying divinity altogether. It is not that money and happiness are innately sinful. Certainly not true happiness! Greed and narcissism are the true enemies of holiness. The evil arises from giving up on any sense of Godliness in order to pursue only worldliness.

Shabbat Shalom U’Mevorakh - A Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat!

Be Happy – It’s Adar! Shabbat Shalom!

Grand Rabbi Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Flom, Sh’lita

Der Heiliger Shlabodkieville Rebbe
Av Beis Din - Chelm

Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim B’simcha - From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy!

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City , CA

Website: http://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 Amichai

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Candlelighting: 5:28 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. Adult Hebrew Class - 10:00. 

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon

Friday, 4 March: SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA!  Early Learners’ Shabbat Evening Service – 6:00 pm. Shabbat Dinner (reservations required!) follows.

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

Sunday, 6 March:  Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew Class - 10:00. 

SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA is coming – Friday, March 4 – Learners’ Service and Shabbat Dinner – mark your calendar. Cost - $5.00/person – RSVP FOR DINNER MANDATORY! You can now view the flyer at:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2016/01/shabbat-across-america-at-beth-meier.html

For Shabbat Across America, off-street parking will be available at First Christian Church cattycorner from the synagogue.

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 for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Peter Chernack, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Suzanne Rosenthal (Sima Devorah bat Chanah), and Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga).

           

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. No salesman will call!

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.

GOT A LIGHT?

Parashat Tetzaveh

Torah: Exodus 27:20 - 3010
Haftarah: Ezekiel 43:10-27

11 Adar 1 5776 / 19-20 February 2016

Calendar of events for the next two weeks follows. For a full calendar and other info about our community, check out:  www.bethmeier.org

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

Congregation Beth Meier has developed a GoFundMe page: Please visit the page and consider a donation. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

https://www.gofundme.com/saveourschul

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GOT A LIGHT?

“And you shall command the Children of Israel, that they take for you pure olive oil, beaten for the light, that a lamp burn continually (tamid).” Exodus 27:20

What was the purpose of the lamp? For whom was the lamp kept burning? Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani interpreted the verse to mean: “They take for you and not for Me; I do not need the light.” The commentary Torah Temimah, citing Sefer Chinukh, says that the commandment for lighting the menorah was so that the sanctuary would be brightly lit, and that would be for “the glory of Israel”. All of the commandments regarding the sanctuary were for Israel’s glory. Thus, the Torah says, “Take for you” - and not for Me; it is for the glory of Israel.

Although our synagogues today all maintain a Ner Tamid, which we frequently translate as the “Eternal Lamp”, I have to wonder if that is sufficient glory for Israel. Note that Rashi, citing other verses in the Torah, explains that the Ner Tamid in our verse did not burn continuously; rather, it was lit “regularly”, on a schedule. It did not burn 24/7. 

That being the case, I would suggest that every one of us can establish our own Ner Tamid. You can turn your very own home into a sanctuary by kindling Shabbat candles on a regular basis. Get a new kind of light in your home - do it for the glory of Israel, and for sanctifying your own life.

Be Happy – It’s Adar! Shabbat Shalom!

Grand Rabbi Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Flom, Sh’lita

Der Heiliger Shlabodkieville Rebbe
Av Beis Din - Chelm

Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim B’simcha - From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy!

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City , CA

Website: http://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 Amichai

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Candlelighting: 5:22 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. Adult Hebrew Class - 10:00. 

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon

Friday, 26 February: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 27 February: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday, 28 February: Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew Class - 10:00. 

SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA is coming – Friday, March 4 – Learners’ Service and Shabbat Dinner – mark your calendar. Cost - $5.00/person – RSVP MANDATORY! You can now view the flyer at:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2016/01/shabbat-across-america-at-beth-meier.html

For Shabbat Across America, off-street parking will be available at First Christian Church cattycorner from the synagogue.

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 for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Peter Chernack, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Suzanne Rosenthal (Sima Devorah bat Chanah), and Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga).

           

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. No salesman will call!

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 WORLD YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN

Parashat Terumah

Torah: Exodus 25:1 – 27:19
Haftarah: 1 Kings 5:26 – 6:13

4 Adar 1 5776 / 12-13 February 2016

For a full calendar of events and other info about our community, check out www.bethmeier.org

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

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Candlelighting: 5:15 pm

Friday: Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

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

Sunday:  NO Religious School or Adult Hebrew Class – Presidents' Day Weekend.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon

Friday, 19 February: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 20 February: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday, 21 February: Religious   School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew Class - 10:00. 

SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA is coming – Friday, March 4 – Learners’ Service and Shabbat Dinner – mark your calendar. Cost - $5.00/person – RSVP MANDATORY! You can now view the flyer at:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2016/01/shabbat-across-america-at-beth-meier.html

For Shabbat Across America, off-street parking will be available at First Christian Church cattycorner from the synagogue.

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 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), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston (new kidney – hooray!), Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Suzanne Rosenthal (Sima Devorah bat Chanah), and Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga).

           

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.

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THE WORLD YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN

“Speak to the Children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering; from every person whose heart so moves him you shall take My offering.” Exodus 25:2

The word “v’yik’khu”, usually translated here as “that they bring”, literally means “that they take”. The idea is that the Israelites willingly take from among their possessions and donate for the building of the tabernacle. Some commentators understand the verse to mean that leaders of the people are to “take” up a collection. However, the Hasidic master Menachem Mendel of Kotzk has a different “take” on the matter (pardon the pun).

He teaches that “v’yik’khu” also means to trade or engage in business. Simply because one has a setback in business, he doesn't stop trading, for then his business will collapse completely. The Kotzker says that the same is true for the Torah and the mitzvot. If one does not succeed once or twice, he must nevertheless continue to work at self-improvement, and not give up.

That all seems straightforward enough. But then he says, “If the Torah is not learned and the mitzvot not performed, the world simply cannot exist.” This is an astonishing statement! The world needs Jews who actually practice Judaism! Even if one disagrees with him about the state of the world (I happen to agree with him wholeheartedly), one cannot dispute the state of the Jewish people, which needs Jews who practice Judaism! If all we have is an identity fostered by lox and bagels (foodaism), or observance limited to a once a year visit to the synagogue (nostalgic tourist Judaism), we simply will not exist as a people. If our children see that Torah and mitzvot mean little to us, they will wonder why Judaism should mean anything at all to them. But if we live Jewish lives, then the Jewish people will survive and thrive.

“Take” the time to offer your heart and your mind and your limbs for learning and for doing Jewish. It might just save the world.

Be Happy – It’s Adar! Shabbat Shalom!

Grand Rabbi Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Flom, Sh’lita

Der Heiliger Studio City Rebbe
Av Beis Din - Chelm

Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim B’simcha - From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy!

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

Website: http://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 Amichai

-----------------------------------

My weekly divrei torah are available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call!

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.

WE’RE ALL STRANGERS ON THIS BUS!

Parashat Mishpatim

27 Sh’vat 5776 / 5-6 February 2016
Torah: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18
Haftarah: Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26

For a full calendar of events and other info about our community, check out www.bethmeier.org

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Candlelighting: 5:08 pm

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

Saturday: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am. . Bar Mitzvah of Simon Foster. Mazal tov! Kiddush lunch sponsored by Tony and Lynda Foster follows.

Sunday:  Religious   School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew Class – 10:00. 

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon

Friday, 12 February: Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 13 February: Shabbat morning service – 10:00 am

Sunday, 14 February: NO Religious School or Adult Hebrew Class – Presidents' Day Weekend.

SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA is coming – Friday, March 4 – Learners’ Service and Shabbat Dinner – mark your calendar and check your mail for details. Cost - $5.00/person – RSVP MANDATORY! You can now view the flyer at:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2016/01/shabbat-across-america-at-beth-meier.html

For Shabbat Across America, off-street parking will be available at First Christian Church.

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 Simon Foster, who is becoming a bar mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov!

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), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston (new kidney – hooray!), Stephanie Kane, and Philip Kovac.

           

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.

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WE’RE ALL STRANGERS ON THIS BUS!

“You shall not wrong a ger or oppress him, for you were gerim in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 22:20

The word “ger” (plural “gerim”) is untranslated here, because it has two distinct meanings. The word may mean “stranger” or "alien”, i.e., one who is not from the place where s/he resides. It may also mean a “convert”.

“It has been taught: Rabbi Eliezer the Great said, ‘Why does the Torah warn against (the wronging of) a ger in thirty-six, and some say forty-six places? Because he has a strong inclination to evil.’” B. Talmud Bava Metziah 59b

Rashi understands “ger” in Rabbi Eliezer's statement to mean a convert to Judaism. He suggests that mistreatment of a convert will cause the convert to relapse to “his original bad character”. This is a not very flattering portrayal of converts (in truth, such a statement does not reflect positively on those who make it).

I believe that Rabbi Eliezer’s teaching deserves a deeper reading. Each of us, every human being, at some time or another has been a ger, a “stranger”, an “other”, which also suggests that each and every one of us has an inclination toward evil. The only protection any of us has is the commandment to remember that very fact. Perhaps that is the true meaning of “love your fellow as yourself”.

No matter who you are, you are a ger to someone else. “Love your fellow, who is a ger just like you”.

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 Amichai

-------------------------------------------------------------

My weekly divrei torah are available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call!

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.