UNSPOKEN TRUTH

Parashat Sh’lach L’kha

26 Sivan 5776 / 1-2 July 2016

Torah: Numbers 13:1 – 15:41
Haftarah: Joshua 2:1-24

Dedications and upcoming events follow below. Full calendar and lots of other info available at: www.bethmeier.org

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

The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in kindness; forgiving iniquity and transgression; yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children, upon the third and fourth generations. Numbers 14:18

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed: “The Lord! The Lord, a God who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness (emet – truth), extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.” Exodus 34:6-7

Ramban (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, aka Nachmanides) teaches, “Now Moses mentioned among the [Divine] attributes ‘slow to anger’ and ‘abounding in kindness’, but he did not mention ‘truth’, for according to the attribute of truth they would have been guilty.”

Rabbi Yitzchak in the name of Rabbi Hiyya said, “Why is ‘truth’ missing here? Because they (the spies) themselves caused it to be removed from here, for they were liars, and a person is treated in the same way he behaves.” Zohar Sh’lach L’kha, 161b

When God displayed His glory to Moses, He described his attributes as indicated in the Exodus text. However, when in our parashah Moses asks God to pardon the spies, and the people generally, he reminds God of only some of those attributes, omitting “truth”. Ramban says that Moses did not mention it, because if God applied “truth”, they would be sternly judged. Perhaps Moses was hoping for less anger and more kindness, ignoring some of the facts – i.e., compassion (which he also did not mention!).

Rabbi Yitzchak implies that Moses omitted “truth” because the spies lied about the Land of Israel. Their very action prevented Moses from arguing for any form of truth as a defense (their fear, their history as slaves, maybe the Canaanites truly were giants, etc.).

Whatever the case, the spies and every other Israelite over the age of 20, except Joshua and Caleb, were punished by not being allowed to enter the land – they died in the desert. It’s not nice to lie. And that’s the truth!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

Website: www.bethmeier.org

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

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

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Candlelighting: 7:50 pm

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

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am – Bar Mitzvah of Jaxon Malcolm – Mazal Tov to Jaxon and to his parents Jeffrey and Lisa Malcolm! Kiddush lunch follows.

Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn – Rabbi Flom serving on bet din

Friday, 8 July: Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 9 July: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Tuesday, 12 July: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.

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 Jaxon Malcolm, becoming a bar mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov!

This d’var torah is offered in memory of all those murdered in the Istanbul Airport terrorist attack. May their memories be a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of 13-y-o Israeli Hallel Yaffa Ariel, murdered in her bed by a Palestinian terrorist. May her memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for  Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, HaRav Yisrael Shimon ben Liebah Breina, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Jackie Aaronson, Susan Arbetman, Scott Beatty, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Beverly Erenbaum (Blimah bat Sarah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Barry Glass (Berel ben Feigel), Myra Goodman, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Carolynne Lavoie-Schwartz, Toni Linder, 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.

THE CHILDREN OF AARON

25 Sivan 5776 / 18-19 June 2016

Torah: Numbers 8:1 - 12:16
Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7 (This is also the haftarah for Shabbat Hanukkah)

Dedications and upcoming events follow below. Full calendar and lots of other info available at: www.bethmeier.org

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

"Speak to Aaron, saying, 'When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the menorah (the candlestick).'" Numbers 8:2

The Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah, says that Aaron was upset. The heads of all the tribes, except Levi (the tribe of Aaron and the kohanim, and he was the head of Levi) had offered sacrifices (see last week’s Parashat Naso). He feared the Levites were being punished because of his sins. Rather, teaches the Midrash, Aaron and his descendants were given a greater honor - the lighting of the menorah in the tabernacle. Sacrifices would be offered only so long as the Temple stood, but the lamps would always give light in front of the menorah, and all the blessings God instructed the kohanim to bless the Jews with (see Naso, Numbers 6:22-27) would never be abolished.

Ramban (Nachmanides), in his commentary, wonders what this really means. After all, the menorah was not lit after the destruction of the Temple - it didn't exist either. He says the reference is to the menorah of Hanukkah, for that would go into exile with the Jews after the destruction, just as the blessings offered originally at the dedication of the desert tabernacle would be given to the Jews forever.

The interesting thing about all of this is that, just as every Jew can (and should!) offer the blessings of the kohanim over his/her children, so is every Jew obligated to light the menorah of Hanukkah every year. The real comfort to Aaron is not simply that his descendants get to light the menorah. It is that all Jews are in a sense his descendants, for we are a "kingdom of priests (mamlekhet kohanim) and a holy nation (goy kadosh)." (Exodus 19:6) We are all Aaron's children - so long as we keep the lights burning and bring blessings to our people.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

Website: www.bethmeier.org

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

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

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Candlelighting: 7:50 pm

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

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

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.

Friday, 1 July: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 2 July: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Tuesday, 5 July: NO Lunch and Learn – Rabbi Flom serving on bet din

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 Myra Goodman, celebrating her 97^th birthday. Ad meah v’esrim! Mazal tov!

This d’var torah is offered in honor of Alan Morinis and Judith Zaruches of the Mussar Institute, Rabbi Amy Eilberg, Rabbi Brian Strauss, Rabbi Carie Carter, Rabbi Dan Shevitz, Rabbi David Cantor, Rabbi Ilan Glazer, and Rabbi Mark Fasman. Thank you for sharing the light of your Torah this week!

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for  Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, HaRav Yisrael Shimon ben Liebah Breina, Berel ben Feigel, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Jackie Aaronson, Susan Arbetman, Scott Beatty, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Beverly Erenbaum (Blimah bat Sarah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra Goodman, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Carolynne Lavoie-Schwartz, Toni Linder, 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.

THE POWER OF GOD IS IN YOUR HANDS

Parashat Naso
12 Sivan 5776 / 17-18 June 2016
Torah: Numbers 4:21 – 7:89
Haftarah: Judges 13:2-25

Full calendar and lots of other info available at: www.bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THE POWER OF GOD IS IN YOUR HANDS

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: So shall you bless the children of Israel, saying to them: 'May the Lord bless you and guard you. May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His face to you and grant you peace.' And they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27.

Many years ago, when I was at the earliest stage of my renewed interest in Judaism, I read about a most intriguing custom - the parental blessing of children on Shabbat evening. Years later, I searched everywhere for the story and incredibly, when I really, really needed to find it, I finally did:

'Sadly, in recent times, blessing the children has become generally unobserved outside the Orthodox community. Herbert Wiener, an American Reform rabbi who witnessed an elderly Jew dispensing Sabbath blessings in Safed, Israel, was moved to write: "I could not help but think of successful suburban fathers who had made comfortable provisions for their children yet would never receive the honor and respect that had fallen to the lot of the old North African Jew who could offer only blessings."' (Jewish Literacy, by Joseph Telushkin)

Only blessings! The significance of blessings is borne out in the story of Jacob's deception of Isaac, and Esau's anguished cry: "Bless me father, even me!" (Genesis 27) The idea that God permits us to give blessings in God's name stunned me – and it still does. To have such authority, such power! To be God's agent, even God's partner!

I promised myself that, if I should ever be fortunate enough to become a father, I would bless my child every Shabbat and Yom Tov. In December 1994, it came to pass, and when Robert was one day old, in the neo-natal intensive care unit, Lynn and I donned gowns and gloves and masks, laid our hands on his tiny head, and began: May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe. (The beginning for a daughter is: May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah). Then, in keeping with the tradition, we continued with the priestly blessing above. We felt God there, blessing and guarding our son. It was awesome, and we have not missed an opportunity to bless him since.

 

You should not miss this experience either (even if your children are now adults or out of the home – you can do this by phone as well). Your children's memories of receiving your blessing every Friday night will stay with them much longer than those of receiving the latest video game or toy. More than that, the idea that you become God's partner in blessing your children will stay with them and you, and empower you. When you recite the blessing, and put God's name on your children, God blesses them. Your action leads to God's action. You have the power of God in your hands.

Have a wonderful Shabbat, full of God's blessings.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

Website: www.bethmeier.org

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

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

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Candlelighting: 7:48 pm

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

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

Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn – Rabbi Flom attending conference.

Friday, 24 June: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 25 June: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Tuesday, 28 June: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

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 our son, Robert Flom, whom we bless and who is a constant blessing to us.

This d’var torah is offered in honor of Elsbet Brosky and her son Geir Hartmann, who are celebrating their respective birthdays this Shabbat at Beth Meier. Mazal tov! Ad meah v’esrim!

This d’var torah is offered in memory of my uncle, Hans Schack, whose yahrzeit falls on Wednesday, 16 Sivan. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of the victims of the Pulse Nightclub terrorist attack in Orlando. May their memories be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for  Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Berel ben Feigel, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Jackie Aaronson, Susan Arbetman, Scott Beatty, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Beverly Erenbaum (Blimah bat Sarah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra Goodman, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Harvey Kronzek, Carolynne Lavoie-Schwartz, Toni Linder, 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.

FROM OUR ANCESTORS TO OUR DESCENDANTS

Parashat Bamidbar
5 Sivan 5776 / 10-11 June 2016
Torah: Numbers 1:1 – 4:20
Haftarah: Hosea 2:1-22

Shavuot 1

6 Sivan 5776 / 11-12 June 2016

Torah: Exodus 19:1 – 20:22; Numbers 28:26-31

Haftarah: Ezekiel 1:1-28; 3:12

Shavuot 2

7 Sivan 5776 / 12-13 June 2016

Book of Ruth

Torah: Deuteronomy 15:19 – 16:17; Numbers 28:26-31

Haftarah: Habakkuk 3:1-19

Calendar of Events follows below. For more information about our community, visit: www.bethmeier.org

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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FROM OUR ANCESTORS TO OUR DESCENDANTS

The holiday of Shavuot is often called Chag Matan Torah, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah. I have some difficulty with that. If one receives a gift, one is under no obligation to use it, or even to keep it. How often have you stashed that gift sweater in a closet, taking it out only when you are likely to see the giver? How often have you taken a gift back to the store where it was purchased, in order to get what you really wanted? We all accept this practice - that's why the stores put gift vouchers in the box. Many of us do that with the Torah, too! We trot it out, in a sense, for the High Holy Days and our children's b'nai mitzvah, which are often the only times some of us go to synagogue services. The rest of the time, we leave it in the closet, with the mothballs. The Torah should not be treated in that way.

Our Rabbis understood that little bit of human nature. That is why a better name for Shavuot would be Chag Kabbalat Torah - the Festival of the Acceptance of the Torah. The midrash teaches that, not only did the Israelites accept the Torah, they affirmatively sought it ought! And God did not want to give it to them! According to Song of Songs Rabbah, God said to them, "Before I give you My Torah, you must provide sureties - a guarantee that you will keep the Torah." The Israelites proposed in their turn their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but each was rejected by God as insufficient. They proposed all of their prophets, but God said they were not acceptable either. Then the Israelites said, "Let our children be our sureties." And God replied, "Verily, those are good sureties; for their sake will I give you My Torah."

Our ancestors wanted the Torah so much that they promised that they, and we, and our descendants, would keep it. And Torah observance has kept us intact as a people for a hundred generations. If the Torah is constantly being given to us, as implied in the Blessing Before the Torah Reading ("notein hatorah" - the One Who gives the Torah), then we are constantly accepting it. And God is giving it to us only because our children are our sureties. For the sake of our children, and our descendants, "na'aseh v'nishma" - we should do it, and we should listen to it!

Shabbat Shalom! Chag Shavuot Sameach!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

Website: www.bethmeier.org

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

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

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Candlelighting:

Friday: 7:46 pm

Saturday: 8:49 pm

Sunday: 8:49 pm

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

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am – Kiddush lunch follows. Tikkun Leil Shavuot at Adat Ari El. Ma’ariv and havdalah - 8:45; learning begins at 9:15 pm;

Sunday, 12 June: Shavuot Morning Service – 10:00 am.

Monday, 13 June: Shavuot Morning Service and Yizkor – 10:00 am.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Friday, 17 June: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 18 June: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Tuesday, 21 June: NO Lunch and Learn – Rabbi Flom attending conference.

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 my beloved father, Martin Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Monday, 7 Sivan. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of my beloved grandfather, Jacob Slome, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday, 8 Sivan. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of Ido Ben Ari, Ilana Neve, Michael Feige, Mila Mishayev, murdered by terrorists in Tel Aviv simply because they were Jews living in Israel. May their memories be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for  Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Berel ben Feigel, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Sarah bat Devorah, Jackie Aaronson, Susan Arbetman, Scott Beatty, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Beverly Erenbaum (Blimah bat Sarah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra Goodman, Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Harvey Kronzek, Carolynne Lavoie-Schwartz, Toni Linder, 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.

TIKKUN LEYL SHAVUOT AT ADAT ARI EL

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PRESENCE

27 Iyar 5776 / 3-4 June 2016

Parashat Bechukotai
Torah: Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34
Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:9 – 17:14

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 to a friend, and please cite the source.
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IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PRESENCE

“And I will set My tabernacle amidst you; and My soul shall not abhor you.” Leviticus 26:11

The Hebrew word for tabernacle, mishkan, has the same root as the word shekhinah, meaning “Divine Presence” or “Sheltering Presence”. The idea is that the shekhinah dwells in the mishkan. So, where was the shekhinah before the tabernacle was built? And where has It been since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem? For that matter, where has It been during all the travels and travails of the Jewish people?

The answer is in the verse itself. Read it as “I will set My Presence amidst you.” Wherever and whenever we are, the Shekhinah, God’s Sheltering Presence, is always in our very midst.

In traditional siddurim is the bedtime Sh’ma. Within that set of prayers before sleep, one finds this reference to four angels and the Shekhinah: “In the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, may Michael (the one like God) be at my right hand; Gabriel (God is my strength) at my left; before me, Uriel (God is my light); behind me, Raphael (God heals); and above my head, the Divine Presence of God.”

The late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach set this to music, and it sounds like a sweet lullaby. You can hear it here, performed by Reb Shlomo’s daughter, Nechama Carlebach:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0nWR28vNQA

The Hebrew words and transliteration are available at:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2016/05/angel-meditation.html

It can be a very pleasant and relaxing experience to quietly recite or chant this prayer. Wherever you are, wherever you lay your head, know this – the Shekhinah is with you. Rest easy.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

Website: www.bethmeier.org

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

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

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Candlelighting: 7:42 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 – summer break. NO Sunday Adult Education except by request to Barry Glass or Lynda Foster.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Friday, 10 June: Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 11 June: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am – Kiddush lunch follows. Tikkun Leil Shavuot at Adat Ari El. Our flyer says that the study sessions begin at 9:00 pm. However, we will first hold ma’ariv and havdalah at Adat Ari El at 8:45, and the learning will begin at 9:15 pm.

Sunday, 12 June: Shavuot Morning Service – 10:00 am.

Monday, 13 June: Shavuot Morning Service and Yizkor – 10:00 am.

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 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, Beverly Erenbaum (Blimah bat Sarah), 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, Toni Linder, 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.