Parashat Va'etchanan
13 Av 5777 / 4-5 August 2017
Torah: Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
13 Av 5777 / 4-5 August 2017
Torah: Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26 (First Haftarah of Consolation)
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort, for the words of God and the prophet following Tisha B'Av (9 Av). Monday is Tu B'Av (15 Av), described in rabbinic texts as a most joyous day, when brides and grooms find each other.
NOTE: Membership letters and dues forms for the coming year were sent to all Congregation Beth Meier members. Please return them to the CBM office as soon as possible. Until we have a further update on the completion of our partnership arrangement with Temple B’nai Hayim, all services will be held at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE READ YOUR EMAILS AND SNAIL MAIL LETTERS FROM BETH MEIER!
Dedications and calendar follow below. For complete listings and lots of other information about our community, see our website at:
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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A LOVING HEART IS A HEALTHY HEART
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might." Deuteronomy 6:4
"And it shall come to pass, if you surely heed My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve God with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 11:13 (Parashat Ekev)
These two verses are both found in the Sh’ma (first and second paragraphs, respectively). I can understand how I can love with all my heart – our culture has considered the heart to be the metaphoric seat of love for thousands of years. Moreover, we say the heart is the source of all emotion - we often refer to deep emotional pain as “heartsick”.
How about serving with all one’s heart? According to the Rabbis, the answer is that prayer is a service of the heart (avodat halev). Indeed, the verse implies that prayer which is heartfelt can be seen as an act of love as well as of service to God.
But what happens when we cannot or will not use the heart for love, but instead, use it for hostility? A research study a few years ago found that people who were rated high on an “antagonism” scale were more likely to have calcium buildup in their heart arteries – literally, hardening of the heart!
Love and serve God with your heart, and you fulfill a commandment. The same is true for loving your fellows – “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your people, but you shall love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18) Don’t love, and you risk a heart attack. What an easy choice! I guess this is what they mean by “a no-brainer”.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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Candle lighting: 7:33 pm
Until we have a further update on the completion of our partnership arrangement with Temple B’nai Hayim, all services will be held at Congregation Beth Meier.
Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 non at Beth Meier. NO Lunch and Learn August 15 or August 22 – Rabbi Flom out of town.
Friday, August 11 – Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, August 12 – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Barukh dayan emet – we regret to advise you of the death of Helen Katz Goldberg. A graveside funeral service will take place at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, on Sunday at 10:00 am.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, HaRav Tzvi Hersh ben Frimet, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Stuart Barth, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky (Serach bat Miriam), Stana Cooper, Jerry Daniels, Bryon Fendrich (Berel ben Chanah), Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Myra Goodman, Simon Hartman, Kerry Katz, Dena Kosche (Dena bat Sarah Emanu), Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Toni Linder, Stuart Lytton, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), and Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina).
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.
