Parashat Emor
13 Iyar 5776 / 20-21 May
2016
Torah: Leviticus 21:1 -
24:23
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
Calendar and dedications
follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Congregation
Beth Meier, check out: www.bethmeier.org
Please feel free to pass
this on, and please cite the source.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPEAKING AND SAYING
And the Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'None may be
defiled for the dead among his people.'" Leviticus 21:1
Rashi, quoting B. Talmud
Yevamot 114a: "Speak" and "say" - to admonish the big ones
regarding the little ones.
Porachat Altah Nitzah: This
is to warn leaders (literally, "those standing at the head of the
people") to make themselves small, so that they do not step on the heads
of this holy people, that they not be prideful and lord it over the people.
Our commentators see in the
linguistic redundancy a hint at something more. Rebbe Elimelekh of Lizhensk is
even more forceful. He suggests that the more powerful one is and the more one
is known (or perhaps, believed) to be a tzaddik, a righteous person, the more
scrupulous one needs to be about even the least significant commandment or
character fault.
More and more frequently, it
seems, we hear political leaders, captains of industry and other powerful
figures in our society tell us we must "tighten our belts" even as
they make excuses for their excesses (that necessitated the belt tightening!)
and justify them as entitlements that come with their positions.
Lord Acton wrote:
"Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal
responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely." He might have been referring to this week's parashah - the
unbridled exercise of power causes one to be defiled, one whose sacrifices (and
good works) are thereby unacceptable to God, one whose soul can be irreparably
damaged.
We need leaders - but we
need leaders who know and respect their limits. How much more so as we in the United States
go deeper into this year’s political season. Authority without responsibility
is a license to do unmitigated damage. When will we ever "get it"?
Speak to our leaders, and
say to them.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"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
---------------------------------------------------------
Candlelighting:
7:33 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 Ed at the synagogue, because …. We’re having a Lag Ba’Omer Religious School
and Congregational Cook-out – at Beeman Park
– 11:00 am. Everyone’s invited to this end of the school-year event. CBM
providing the hot dogs (yes, including vegetarian), sides, snacks and drinks - You
bring games, Frisbees, etc.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Thursday, 26
May: Lag Ba’Omer.
Fire up the barbee!
Friday, 27 May: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm.
Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, 28
May: Shabbat Morning
Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday, 29 May: NO Religious School
– summer break. Sunday Adult Education also on hiatus unless by demand.
Monday, 30 May: Memorial Day. Raise Old Glory and
Take a moment of silence to remember those who died in service to our country.
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 memory of Steven Kleiger z”l, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday, 16
Iyar. His memory is a blessing.
This d'var torah is
offered in honor of Florence Levinson, celebrating her 90th birthday on Friday.
May 27. Ad meah v’esrim! Mazal tov!
This d'var torah
is offered for a refuah shleimah for Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Avi Shmuel
Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat
Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Scott Beatty, 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, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Carolynne
Lavoie-Schwartz, Suzanne Rosenthal (Sima Devorah bat Chanah), Deborah Schugar
Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), and Beatrice Weide (Bayla bat Malkah).
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.
