Parashat Bo
4 Shevat 5778 / 19-20 January 2018
Torah Reading: Exodus 10:1 - 13:16
Haftarah Reading: Jeremiah 46:13-28
Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full
calendar of events and other info about Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation Beth
Meier, check out: www.bnaihayim.com
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please
cite the source.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NU – WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
‘And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say to
you, “What does this service mean to you.”’ Exodus 12:26
Mekhilta d’Rabbi Ishmael: Evil tidings were announced to Israel at that time, that the Torah would ultimately be forgotten.
Hishukei Kesef: According to our Sages (i.e., in Hagaddah Shel Pesach), these words refer to the evil son. The proof is that regarding the simple son, it states, ‘When your son asks you on the morrow, “What is this?”’, and regarding the wise son it states, ‘When your son asks on the morrow saying, “What are the testimonies?”’ Both sons are referred to as “asking”. But the wicked son “says”. When children still ask, there is hope. When they stop asking and merely state their views, it is a sad statement.
It seems clear that much of the Passover Seder is intended to keep the children interested - the four questions, pointing out the items on the seder plate, the songs, the stories - all are as much for the children as for the adults. When they ask questions, we know that they still have a sense of wonder about Jewish practice. I agree that it is sad when our children stop asking questions. But does that make them evil? I would suggest that it is not so much evil on the part of the child as it is failure on the part of parents and the community to keep their children engaged.
Mekhilta d’Rabbi Ishmael: Evil tidings were announced to Israel at that time, that the Torah would ultimately be forgotten.
Hishukei Kesef: According to our Sages (i.e., in Hagaddah Shel Pesach), these words refer to the evil son. The proof is that regarding the simple son, it states, ‘When your son asks you on the morrow, “What is this?”’, and regarding the wise son it states, ‘When your son asks on the morrow saying, “What are the testimonies?”’ Both sons are referred to as “asking”. But the wicked son “says”. When children still ask, there is hope. When they stop asking and merely state their views, it is a sad statement.
It seems clear that much of the Passover Seder is intended to keep the children interested - the four questions, pointing out the items on the seder plate, the songs, the stories - all are as much for the children as for the adults. When they ask questions, we know that they still have a sense of wonder about Jewish practice. I agree that it is sad when our children stop asking questions. But does that make them evil? I would suggest that it is not so much evil on the part of the child as it is failure on the part of parents and the community to keep their children engaged.
It has been said that one measure of one’s success as a Jew
is whether one’s grandchildren are Jews - ‘in order that you shall tell in the
ears of your child and your child’s child’. Exodus 10:2 If our children
lose their inquisitiveness because we have done nothing to keep them “in the
fold”, we will have failed not only our children, but our grandchildren and all
of our descendants as well, not to mention our ancestors and the Jewish people.
“All Israel is responsible, each for the other.” It is up to each of us to
say and do “Jewish”, to involve ourselves in Jewish life enough so that our
children will “ask” instead of “say”.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Candle lighting: 4:52 pm
Friday – Shabbat
Evening Service - 7:30 pm, followed by Oneg Shabbat.
Saturday – Breakfast
and Torah study - 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am.
Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday – Religious
School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am.
Tuesday – Lunch
and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, January 26 - Early Shabbat Evening Service – 6:30 pm – followed by
Family Tu Bishevat Seder – 7:15 pm. Celebrate the New Year of the Trees! Adults
- $10; under 13 - $5. RSVP to TBH/CBM office no later than Wednesday, January
23. Checks payable to TBH Sisterhood. No payment at the door.Friday, February 9/Saturday, February 10 - Sharsheret Pink Shabbat to educate our community about breast and ovarian cancer, how it impacts
the Jewish community, and how to be proactive about our health. We encourage
you to not only join us for this program, but to take a moment to follow this
link:
Next time you come
to TBH/CBM, 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, Ze’ev ben Adeline,
HaRav Chana Rivka bat Doronit, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Eilite
bat Miryam, HaRav Tzvi Hersh ben Frimet, Sarah bat Devorah, Hiroe
Andriola, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat
Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer
Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Bernard Garvin, Myra Goodman, Leah Granat,
Simon Hartmann, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata
Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Lyndia Lowy (Leah bat Sarah), David Marks, Steve
Pearlman, Gil Robbins, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen
Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Jonathan Woolf, Howard Yudell, and
Meagan Yudell.
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.
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an
e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of
Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah
shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an
e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
