9 Adar 5778 / 23-24 February 2018
Parashat Tetzaveh (Shabbat Zakhor)
Torah: Exodus 27:20 - 30:10
Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19
Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19
Haftarah (Shabbat Zakhor): 1 Samuel 15:1-34
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
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REMEMBER
TO FORGET – DON’T FORGET!
"And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before the Lord perpetually." Exodus 28:29
“Memory
is redemption; forgetting is exile.” Baal Shem Tov
This
teaching of the Besht is short but deep. One might understand the Besht in
this way – if we remember to observe the mitzvot, we redeem ourselves and our
people – maybe the entire world; if we forget, then we exile ourselves from our
people and our tradition, and contribute nothing to tikkun olam. I have
often used his statement at shivah minyanim to teach that, by remembering those
who have passed on, we keep them alive in a meaningful way – if we forget them,
it is as if they never lived. In remembering, we redeem them from
oblivion.
This
Shabbat is also known as Shabbat Zakhor, not because of the verses above, but
because of the special maftir we read on this Shabbat preceding Purim. And
as a result, the Besht’s teaching takes on a very different character.
"Remember
(zakhor) what Amalek did to you, on the way when you were leaving Egypt ... you
shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens - don't
forget!" Deuteronomy 25:17-19
The
Torah contains a contradiction. “Don’t forget to remember to wipe out a
memory!” But our brains are not like computer disks, from which data can
be removed with no record that it was ever there. The instruction that we
erase a memory requires that we remember! But, remembering does not
require us to repeat that which was remembered. Quite the contrary.
I
see the Torah and the Besht as the basis for George Santayana’s saying: “Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This teaches us
the power of memory, and the danger of forgetting. We Jews remember the
baseless hatred of Amalek, Haman, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders,
Almohades, Cossacks, Nazis and Communists – among others. Today,
American Jews are at the forefront of exposing the genocidal atrocities against
the Rohingya people, as they have been concerning Darfur. We remember what
happens when the world wants to forget.
The
way to redeem the world is to remember the results of hatred – and to learn
from that remembrance. The way to condemn the world to destruction is to
forget. Remember to erase hatred from the memory of humanity.
Shabbat
Shalom! Purim Sameach!
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
From
the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.
BT
Ta’anit 29a
HaRav
Haga'on Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Shlita
Der Heiliger Sherman Oaks Rebbe
Rosh Yeshivah - Shlabodkieville Bartender Academy
Der Heiliger Sherman Oaks Rebbe
Rosh Yeshivah - Shlabodkieville Bartender Academy
Av
Beis Din Chelm
Visit
me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
שתיקה
כהודאה דמיא
Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.
BT
Yevamot 88a
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Candle lighting: 5:27 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. Dress rehearsal for Purim Shpiel,
written and directed by Reb Jason – 12:30 pm.
Tuesday – Lunch
and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Wednesday - Purim
begins at sundown! Barukh Mordechai! Arur Haman! Our Purim Dinner begins at
6:00 pm and the Megillah reading/Purim Shpiel begins at 7:00 pm. Reservations
to the synagogue office ASAP!
Friday, March 2 – Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm – followed
by Oneg Shabbat.
Saturday, March 3 – Breakfast and Torah study - 8:45
am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Saturday, March 17 – Women’s Rosh Chodesh Shabbat Morning Service.
Contact Carol Herskowitz or Lynn Kronzek for details.
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 in memory of
Leonard Foint, who passed away on Sunday. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – May his
memory be a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah
shleimah for Ze’ev ben Adeline, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, Hiroe
Andriola, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat
Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), 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, Gil Robbins, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya
Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Alan Stolzenberg, 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.
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