Parashat
Tzav
16
Adar II 5776 / 25-26 March 2016
Torah:
Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36
Haftarah:
Jeremiah 7:21 – 8:3; 9:22-23
Calendar
and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info
about Congregation Beth Meier, check out: www.bethmeier.org
The Rabbinical
Assembly’s Pesach Guide 5776 can be read and downloaded at the following
site:
Additional
Pesach resources from the Rabbinical Assembly may be found at:
My
annual Pesach Guide – 5776 Edition, is available at my blog:
Please
feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
--------------------------------------------------------------
TO
THE FUTURE!
“If he offers it for a thanksgiving, he will offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mixed with oil, of fine flour, fried.” Leviticus 7:12
The Midrash says that in the future, all of the sacrifices will be abolished except for the thanksgiving sacrifice. A Chasidic teaching explains that a person who has never sinned, even through negligence, and who has never needed to bring a sacrifice for any sin, must nevertheless bring a thanksgiving sacrifice - to thank God for the fact that he had been saved from sin.
I am writing this on the festival of Purim, which celebrates the rescue of the Jews of Persia, under the leadership of Mordechai and Esther, from the hands of the evil Haman. Interestingly, another Midrash teaches that, in the future, all of the Jewish festivals will be abolished except for Purim and Yom Kippur.
How do we reconcile these two teachings? If there is no sin (implied by the elimination of the sin offerings), why would we need to have Yom Kippur, a Day of Atonement for asking God to forgive our sins? Perhaps the only possible sin would be to fail to observe Purim, a day for celebrating the elimination of Amalek, the symbol of evil.
Let’s get a jump-start on the future. Pesach starts in one month - we can start spring cleaning in our own spiritual houses now, by eliminating evil inclinations, like greed and envy, from our own lives. Then we'll really have something to celebrate! The future will be here sooner than we think!
“If he offers it for a thanksgiving, he will offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mixed with oil, of fine flour, fried.” Leviticus 7:12
The Midrash says that in the future, all of the sacrifices will be abolished except for the thanksgiving sacrifice. A Chasidic teaching explains that a person who has never sinned, even through negligence, and who has never needed to bring a sacrifice for any sin, must nevertheless bring a thanksgiving sacrifice - to thank God for the fact that he had been saved from sin.
I am writing this on the festival of Purim, which celebrates the rescue of the Jews of Persia, under the leadership of Mordechai and Esther, from the hands of the evil Haman. Interestingly, another Midrash teaches that, in the future, all of the Jewish festivals will be abolished except for Purim and Yom Kippur.
How do we reconcile these two teachings? If there is no sin (implied by the elimination of the sin offerings), why would we need to have Yom Kippur, a Day of Atonement for asking God to forgive our sins? Perhaps the only possible sin would be to fail to observe Purim, a day for celebrating the elimination of Amalek, the symbol of evil.
Let’s get a jump-start on the future. Pesach starts in one month - we can start spring cleaning in our own spiritual houses now, by eliminating evil inclinations, like greed and envy, from our own lives. Then we'll really have something to celebrate! The future will be here sooner than we think!
Mishenichnas
Adar, marbim b’simchah! With the entry of the month of Adar, we increase
joy! Be Happy! Purim just ended! And Pesach, the Festival of
Freedom, is coming!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
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: 6:45 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening
Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Shabbat morning service –
10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday: NO Religious School
or Adult Hebrew Class – Spring Break.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn –
12:00 noon
Friday, 1 April: Shabbat Evening Service –
8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, 2 April: Shabbat morning service –
10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday, 3 April: NO Religious
School or Adult Hebrew Class – Spring Break.
Tuesday, 5 April: Lunch and Learn –
12:00 noon
Saturday, April 23: Congregation Beth Meier
Second Seder – 7:00 pm. Watch your mail for details.
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 (Pesach
ben Idit), Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel
Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben
Esther), Jerry Forman, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Suzanne
Rosenthal (Sima Devorah bat Chanah), Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya
Feiga), and Lily Snyder.
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.
