20 Iyar 5778 / 4-5 May 2018
Parashat Emor
Torah: Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
Calendar and dedications
follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Temple B’nai
Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier, check out:
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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YOU TOO CAN PERFORM KIDDUSH HASHEM!
"You shall not profane My Holy Name (shem kodshi),
for I will be sanctified (nikdashti) amidst the Children of
Israel - I the Lord Who sanctifies you. (m’kadishkhem)" Leviticus 22:32
The term "Kiddush HaShem", the
sanctification of the name of God, is generally associated with martyrdom
- suffering execution rather than committing idolatry, for example. One
should prefer death over the public desecration of God's name (Chillul
HaShem). A primary example of such martyrdom is Rabbi Akiva, who
recited the Sh'ma as the Romans executed him. He is also associated with
Lag B'Omer, the 33rd day of the omer count (Thursday May 3 this year), when his
students were miraculously delivered from a plague.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, in Chumash Etz Hayyim, teaches that
the recitation of the Mourner's Kaddish (from the same root as kiddush) is
literally a Kiddush HaShem. It is said by mourners in public, for it
requires a minyan - a prayer quorum of 10 Jewish adults. Mourners, who
might feel angry at God over the death of their loved one, stand up and
proclaim, "Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei rabbah - May His great name be
magnified and sanctified." To which the others respond,
"Amen." This recitation is a public affirmation of faith, which
can only serve to strengthen the faith of all who are present. Saying
"amen" places the respondent in the same position, from the
standpoint of Jewish tradition, as the person who recites the kaddish - or any
blessing, for that matter. Thus, every "amen" to the Mourner's
Kaddish (or any other Kaddish) is also a Kiddush HaShem.
Every time a mourner wishes to stand up at a service and
recite the Mourner's Kaddish, and a minyan is not present, the mourner and all
those who are present are deprived of the opportunity to perform a Kiddush
HaShem. And if you are not present, but could have been, you are
preventing them from doing so - as well as missing out on the opportunity
yourself! If you want to perform a Kiddush HaShem, without being a martyr,
join your community at a worship service, and sanctify God's name "amidst
the Children of Israel."
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai
Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Visit me on Facebook
"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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Candle
lighting: 7:21 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service –
7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: NO Breakfast/Torah Study this
Shabbat – Rabbi Flom out of town. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush
luncheon follows.
Sunday: Religious School – 9:30
am – concluding session- MAZAL TOV! - with Reb Jason and his guitar and
some nice treats! Adult Hebrew Class – 10:00 am.
Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn – Rabbi
Flom out of town.
Friday, May 11: Shabbat Evening Service –
7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, May 12: Breakfast/Torah Study – 8:45 am.
Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Tuesday, May 15: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
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 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),
Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya
Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), David Marks, Debra 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.
Cyber Torah list
management (no salesman will
call!):
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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
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