SPIRITUAL WANDERERS

2 Av 5776 / 5-6 August 2016

Parashat Mattot-Mas’ei

Torah: Numbers 30:2-36:13 (Chazak!)

Haftarah: Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:4 (Ashkenazim); Jeremiah 2:4-28, 4:1-2 (Sephardim) (Second Haftarah of Admonition)

Calendar of Events and Dedications follow. Full calendar and lots more info about our community available at: http://www.bethmeier.org 

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

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SPIRITUAL WANDERERS

"These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went forth out of the land of Egypt according to their legions, under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings forth according to their journeys, at the command (literally, 'to the mouth') of the Lord; and these are their journeys at their goings forth." Numbers 33:1-2.

The 17th century Rabbi Isaiah ben Abraham Ha-Levi Horowitz (aka the Shlah), in Shnei Luchot Ha-Brit (The Two Tablets of the Covenant), teaches that these wandering journeys are symbolic. He refers to Mishnah Avot 4:18, which says, "Uproot yourself to a place of Torah." He says that the Israelites wandered toward the Holy Land, "the mouth of God" - the true place of Torah - where they could study and fulfill all of God's mitzvot.

The wanderings of our ancestors were the physical manifestation of something else. I am referring to a spiritual wandering, one which many of us experience sometime in our lives. Before we can get to the Promised Land of spiritual fulfillment, we need first to be removed from our enslavements, from our personal Egypts. Whether it's an addiction, an abusive relationship, or a feeling of emptiness, the shackles must be broken. Then, and only then, can we begin the journey to a place we can call our own, where we can complete the connection with God.

Let the Torah be your guide in your breaking out and during your wandering, even as Torah is the goal. For Jews, learning Torah and living Torah help us to make that connection which we seek, that which we need in order to live lives of holiness and meaning. As Hillel taught: "Go and learn!"

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA

Website: http://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: 7:31 pm

Friday: NO Shabbat Evening Service – Rabbi family function.

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

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 Noon.

Friday, 12 August: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, 13 August: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows. Tisha B’Av deferred to Saturday night-Sunday. At 8:30 pm, along with Burbank Temple Emanu El, we will have a joint Tisha B’Av service, reading of Book of Lamentations, and learning at Temple B’nai Hayim, 4302 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks 91403 (south of Ventura Blvd.) Limited parking is available in the temple lot across Benefit St. Street parking is also available.

Tuesday, 16 August: 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 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, Connie Axelson (Raizel Sura bat Leah), 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, Barry Glass (Berel ben Feigel), Myra Goodman, Fouad Kay (Yehoshua ben Salima), Stephanie Kane, Philip Kovac, Carolynne Lavoie-Schwartz, Toni Linder, Carol Mazo, David Parkhurst, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Beatrice Weide (Bayla bat Malkah), and Naomi Zimmermann (Naomi bat Yorma).

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”.

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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.