27 Iyar 5778 / 11-12 May 2018
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai
Torah: Leviticus 25:1 - 27:34
Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19 - 17:14
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.
------------------------------------------------------
YOUR BROTHER’S KEEPER
"And if your brother becomes poor and his strength fails him, you shall support him, whether he is a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you." Leviticus 25:35
The great Kabbalist of Tz'fat, Rabbi Moshe Alshikh, notes that earlier verses were in the second person plural. That is, the Torah has set up a social regime to be followed by the community as a whole. In our verse here, however, the Torah switches to the singular. He says that, when a person needs help, everyone tries to shift responsibility to someone else, claiming that some other person is more closely related or has more means to help, or ... You get the idea.
R. Alshikh says the singular verb teaches that each of us, individually, is responsible for helping the poor. One cannot absolve oneself of this responsibility simply by referring the poor person to someone else.
This Saturday, May 12 is "Stamp Out Hunger" day, an annual program of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the US Postal Service. See their website, http://www.stampouthungerfooddrive.us/ for more information. Beneficiaries of the program are food pantries and shelters throughout the United States, such as SOVA. Don't forget to put out some canned or dried packaged foods (no glass) by your mailbox for your carrier to collect on Saturday. You are your brother's and sister's keeper! If you don't support them, who will?
Shabbat shalom.
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com
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
---------------------------------------
Candle lighting: 7:26 pm
Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. It’s a GAS - Guitar Accompanied Service, conducted by Steve Pearlman. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: NO Breakfast/Torah Study this Shabbat – Rabbi Flom still out of town, as is Cantor Reb Jason. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am, conducted by Steve Pearlman et al. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday: Happy Mother’s Day!
Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn – Rabbi Flom out of town.
Friday, May 18: Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, May 19: Breakfast/Torah Study – 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows. Tikkun Leil Shavuot - an evening of Torah study for Shavuot - 9:00 pm, with Rabbi Flom, Reb Jason, and some nice refreshments.
Sunday, May 20: Shavuot Morning Service - 9:30 am
Monday, May 21: Shavuot Morning Service, with Yizkor - 9:30 am.
Tuesday, May 22: 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), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), 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!):
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
