OLD MITZVOT NEVER DIE

26 Sivan 5778 / 8-9 June 2018

Parashat Sh'lach L'kha
Torah: Numbers 13:1 - 15:41
Haftarah: Joshua 2:1-24

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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OLD MITZVOT NEVER DIE

'And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them that they shall make themselves tzitzit (fringe) on the corners of their garments throughout their generations. And they shall place upon the tzitzit of each corner a thread of tekhelet... that you may see it and remember all of the Lord's commandments and do them..."' Numbers 15:37-39

What is tekhelet, and what does it have to do with the commandments? The Rabbis teach that tekhelet is like the color of the sea, which is like the color of the sky, which is like "God's Throne of Glory". (B. Talmud Menachot 43b) Simply by looking at a tekhelet thread on the tzitzit of a garment, including a tallit, one is reminded of the commandments and the infinite God who created everything. Tekhelet is a royal blue dye derived from a mollusk known as a chilazon. Because tekhelet is royal blue, a person wearing tekhelet takes on, in a very small way, a bit of God's royalty and majesty.

Radziner tekhelet that I hand tied over 20 years ago

Unfortunately, for about 1,400 years, tzitzit have been white, not blue, because the dye was not available, because, according to tradition, no one remembered which of the many creatures in the Mediterranean the chilazon was. Since the dye was no longer available, could white tzitzit still fulfill the mitzvah and serve as the proper reminder? Jewish tradition says "yes", with the caveat that it is not completely fulfilling the mitzvah, but it's better than not having tzitzit. Fortunately, there appears to be a solution to this problem. A group of scientists and rabbis in Israel believe they have rediscovered the chilazon, and they have begun manufacturing tekhelet! You can see their website, complete with slide show and instructions on tying your own tzitzit at: http://www.tekhelet.com/

If they are correct, and it appears that they are, we now have the opportunity again to perform this mitzvah. From this union of science and religion, we learn from this that no mitzvah is impossible, even if we have not performed it for millennia. There must be a mitzvah you have never observed before, or not performed recently, which you can add to your repertoire. Don't wait 1,400 years!

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier

Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com

“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: 7:45 pm

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Breakfast/Torah Study – 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Friday, June 15: Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Bar Mitzvah of Ethan Foster – Mazal tov! Oneg Shabbat sponsored by the Foster family follows.

Saturday, June 16: NO Breakfast/Torah Study. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Bar Mitzvah of Ethan Foster – Mazal tov! Kiddush luncheon sponsored by the Foster family follows.

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 Andreola, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Channah 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), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), and Jonathan Woolf.

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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