TAKE A WALK IN GOD’S SHOES

20 Tishrei 5779 / 28-29 September 2018
Shabbat Chol Hamo'ed Sukkot
Torah: Exodus 33:12 - 34:26
Maftir: Numbers 29:26-31
Haftarah: Ezekiel 38:18 - 39:16

Book of Ecclesiastes

22 Tishrei

Sh’mini Atzeret

Torah: Deuteronomy 14:22 – 16:17

Maftir: Numbers 29:35 – 30:1

Haftarah: 1 Kings 8:54-66

23 Tishrei

Simchat Torah

Torah: Deuteronomy 33:1 – 34:12; Genesis 1:1 – 2:3

Maftir: Numbers 29:35 – 30:1

Haftarah: Joshua 1:1-18

Dedications follow below. For more information about our community, visit:

www.bnaihayim.com

Some excellent on-line resources are available for Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah at:

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source

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TAKE A WALK IN GOD’S SHOES

'And now, if I have indeed found favor in Your eyes, make Your ways known to me ...'  Exodus 33:13

'The Lord passed before (Moses) and proclaimed: "The Lord, the Lord, God, Compassionate and Gracious, Slow to Anger, and Abundant in Kindness and in Truth; Preserving Mercy for Thousands of Generations; Forgiving Iniquity, Willful Sin, and Error; and Cleansing ..."'  Exodus 34:6-7

In response to Moses' request, God shows God's glory, and describes Godself. These are regarded by Jewish tradition as the Thirteen Attributes of God. The verses are also recited as a prayer on Yom Kippur and other fast and holy days (except Shabbat), when we ask God for mercy. But is it only a prayer?

The early rabbinic text, Sifre, says of the commandment "to walk in all His ways" (Deuteronomy 11:22) - "Just as God is compassionate and gracious, you too must be compassionate and gracious." 
 
This is far more than a prayer that God taught to Moses to be recited at times of crisis. It is a guide to right conduct.

We have just completed the introspective period of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We are now served up this reminder of what it is that we promised God and ourselves only a week ago - to be better people this year - compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, ....

Perhaps we can't walk in God's ways all of the time. But every journey begins with a single step. Time to lace up those walking shoes!

Have a great Shabbat, and may you spend the remaining days of Sukkot in a "sukkat shalom" - a sukkah of peace.

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:

Friday - 6:23 pm

Sunday (Sh’mini Atzeret): 6:20 pm

Monday (Simchat Torah): 7:19 pm

Friday:  Chol HaMo’ed Shabbat Evening Service – 6:30 pm. TBH Sisterhood Sukkot Dinner – 7:45 pm. Reservations a must! $15/adult - $10/ 6-12 – 5 and under/ no charge. Please call the office ASAP to reserve your spot!

Saturday: Torah study/breakfast – 8:45 am – in the sukkah. Chol HaMo’ed Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows in the sukkah.

Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am. Pizza in the Hut at home of Rabbi Flom and Lynn Kronzek – 12:30 pm. No charge, reservations and donations appreciated. Call office for details.

Monday: Sh’mini Atzeret Morning Service with Yizkor – 9:30 am. Light kiddush lunch follows in sukkah. Simchat Torah Celebration – 6:30 pm.

Tuesday: Simchat Torah Morning Service – 9:30 am. Light kiddush lunch follows in sukkah. NO Lunch and Learn – resumes October 9. 

For full schedule for Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah, see:

http://www.bnaihayim.com/calendar.html

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 Elisheva bat Malkah, Ze’ev ben Adeline, Liora bat Sarah, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, 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), Barbara Levy, Stuart Lytton, David Marks, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Irwin Silon, William Sragow, 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.

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

E PLURIBUS UNUM?

13 Tishrei 5779 / 21-22 September 2018

Parashat Ha’azinu

Torah: Deuteronomy 32:1-52
Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22:1-51

15-16 Tishrei / 24-25 September

Sukkot

Torah: Leviticus 22:26 – 23:44 (both days)

Maftir: Numbers 29:12-16 (both days)

Haftarah day 1: Zechariah 14:1-21

Haftarah day 2: 1 Kings 8:2-21

Dedications follow below. For more information about our community, visit:

 www.bnaihayim.com

Some excellent on-line resources are available for Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah at:

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source

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E PLURIBUS UNUM?

"The Lord saw and was provoked by the anger of His sons and His daughters. And He said, 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be; for they are a very unstable generation, children in whom there is no faith.'" Deuteronomy 32:19-20

Rabbi Moshe Pollak comments: "God becomes angry at us because of 'the anger of His sons and His daughters' - i.e., because the Jewish people fight among themselves."

Divrei Eliezer suggests what they fight about. Regarding "they are a very unstable generation," he says that the Jewish people are a nation of fast changes and contradictions. Even as they preach and seek peace and brotherhood, there are always many arguments among them. They create many organizations to help those in need, yet have many jealousies between them.

This is both wonderful praise and a stinging indictment! Yes, our Torah and our holy texts are full of exhortations for peace and brotherhood. Many of our people do practice what we preach. And yet, we just spent Yom Kippur confessing our individual and communal failure to fulfill those goals, among others. What are we arguing about? Who is the most peaceful? Who defines peace and brotherhood?

As for organizations helping the needy, the Jews are famous for establishing them, and succeeding. But how much more successful would the groups be if they would not engage in turf wars, or be jealous over each other's balance sheet? God knows (so do we all!) that there are enough needy people around - they don't need the helpers to waste precious time and resources in arguing over who needs the most help or who is the most helpful!

There is a lesson to be learned on these points not simply from the Holy Days just past, but the Holy Days to come - Sukkot. The sukkah requires us to live a minimalist existence, by the skin of our teeth. It helps us understand the most basic needs of those less fortunate than us. By sharing our sukkah with friends, family and members of the community, we create a sukkat shalom - a tent of peace. At the same time, the lulav and etrog set that is used during the holiday is composed of distinct parts, like the Jewish people, but the mitzvah of lulav and etrog is not fulfilled unless and until the parts are brought together as one - as a unit. Then it is shalem - complete.

Shalem and shalom - one depends upon the other. Only when our people come together in unity will we have truly formed a community of peace.

HaRachaman hu yivarekh otanu kulanu yachad b'virkat shalom - May the Merciful One bless us, all of us as one, with the blessing of peace.

Shabbat Shalom! Chag Sukkot Sameach!

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

-----------------------------------------------

Candle lighting:

Friday - 6:32 pm

Sunday (Sukkot 1): 6:30 pm

Monday (Sukkot 2): 7:28 pm

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

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

Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am. Sukkah Final Construction – 9:30 am. Sukkot begins at 6:30 pm.

Monday: Sukkot Morning Service – 9:30 am. Light kiddush lunch follows in sukkah.

Tuesday: Sukkot Morning Service – 9:30 am. Light kiddush lunch follows in sukkah. NO Lunch and Learn – resumes October 9. 

For full schedule for Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah, see:

http://www.bnaihayim.com/calendar.html

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 Elisheva bat Malkah, Ze’ev ben Adeline, Liora bat Sarah, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, 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), Stuart Lytton, David Marks, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Irwin Silon, William Sragow, 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.

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

THIS IS AWESOME!

6 Tishrei 5779 / 14-15 September 2018

Parashat Vayeilekh

Shabbat Shuvah - The Sabbath of Return

Torah: Deuteronomy 31:1-30
Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20 (some add Joel 2:15-27)

Important note: If you have no place to worship for the High Holy Days, or any day of the year, or if you think you cannot afford tickets or membership, please, please join us for services. You can pay whatever you can afford later. No one is turned away! Ever!

Yom Kippur begins Tuesday evening! Kol Nidrei Service is at 6:15 pm SHARP. If you have not already done so, please submit your Membership/High Holy Day forms ASAP! Or call the synagogue office!

Dedications and Calendar of Events follow. For our complete High Holy Day schedule, and lots of other info about our community, please check out our web site at: http://bnaihayim.com

For the past few years, I have created a Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet, to help get us all ready for the spiritual side of the High Holy Days (sorry, no recipes or floral arrangements!). You can pick up a hard copy at TBH/CBM, or download it from my blog at:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2018/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet-5779-edition.html

Also, some excellent on-line resources are available for your Yom Kippur preparations at:

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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THIS IS AWESOME!

“And that their children who have not known may hear and learn to fear (to hold in awe) the Lord your God, all the days you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.” Deuteronomy 31:13

The word translated as “to fear”, l’yira, might also be translated as “to hold in awe”. Indeed, these days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are known as “Yamim Nora’im” - the Days of Awe, not the Days of Fear, even though nora’im and yira share the same root.

Note 1: The verses immediately preceding our verse instruct all the Jewish people to gather together to hear the reading of the Torah - to learn how to practice Judaism. We do this now in the synagogue, on Shabbat, Mondays and Thursdays, New Moons and Holy Days.

Note 2: Since the dispersion following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. until 1948, few Jews lived in the Land of Israel - i.e., “over the Jordan”. Yet, they continued, even to today, even though most Jews still do not live in the Land of Israel, to hold God in awe and to hear and to learn, and to practice Judaism. I want to suggest that it is not only God that is awesome, but that the verses mean to tell us that the Torah and Judaism as we know it (and as it is still developing) are also awesome! Our ancestors knew this – and so should we all!

The best way, perhaps the only way, to hear and learn how to practice awesome Judaism is to come together, in synagogues and in study halls and in living rooms, and study Torah. We don’t have to be over the Jordan, in the Land of Israel; we can be anywhere, and these days, thanks to the internet, we don’t even have to be in the same time zone, let alone the same room.

Go to a synagogue; join a Jewish learning program; gather together with other Jews, and experience the awesomeness of it all!

Shabbat Shalom! Wishing you a g’mar chatimah tovah umetukah - May you be completely sealed for a good and sweet new year!

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

-----------------------------------------------

Candle lighting: 6:42 pm

Kol Nidrei: 6:37 pm

Friday:  Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Minimal oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: NO Torah study/breakfast this Shabbat. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Minimal kiddush follows – no lunch

Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am. Sukkah Construction – 9:30 am. Tashlikh – 11:30 am at Los Encinos State Park – 16756 Moorpark St., Encino. Bring a dairy/pareve bag lunch and drink, and a shofar if you like – rangers will provide duck food.

Tuesday: NO Lunch and Learn – resumes October 9. Kol Nidrei Service – 6:15 pm SHARP.

Wednesday: Yom Kippur Services – 9:00 am. For full schedule for Yom Kippur and Sukkot, see: http://www.bnaihayim.com/calendar.html

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 Elisheva bat Malkah, Ze’ev ben Adeline, Liora bat Sarah, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, 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), Stuart Lytton, David Marks, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Barbara Shear-Hill, Irwin Silon, William Sragow, 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.

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

ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

28 Elul 5778 / 7-8 September 2018

Parashat Nitzavim

Torah: Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20

Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 - 63:9 (Seventh Haftarah of Consolation)

Important note: If you have no place to worship for the High Holy Days, or any day of the year, or if you think you cannot afford tickets or membership, please, please join us for services. You can pay whatever you can afford later. No one is turned away! Ever!

Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday evening! Please submit your Membership/High Holy Day forms ASAP! Or call the synagogue office!

Dedications and Calendar of Events follow. For our complete High Holy Day schedule, and lots of other info about our community, please check out our web site at: http://bnaihayim.com

For the past few years, I have created a Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet, to help get us all ready for the spiritual side of the High Holy Days (sorry, no recipes or floral arrangements!). You can pick up a hard copy at TBH/CBM, or download it from my blog at:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2018/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet-5779-edition.html

Also, some excellent on-line resources are available for your Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur preparations at:

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

These final few days leading up to Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe and through Yom Kippur ought to be a time of introspection and repentance. Jewish tradition teaches that during this time, we should repent and make amends for all the wrongs we have done, to God, to our relatives, to our friends, to everyone with whom we have a relationship. The Hebrew word for repentance is "teshuvah". The root of this word, "shuv", appears seven times in our parashah, at Deuteronomy 30:1-10. The word connotes repentance, turning, returning, turning around, and recalling. It has active and reflexive forms.

"... and you shall recall (v'hasheivota) them to your mind ..." 30:1

"and you shall return (v'shavta) to the Lord your God ..." 30:2

"and the Lord your God will return (v'shav) your captivity and have compassion upon you, and will return (v'shav) and gather you from all the peoples ..." 30:3

"and you shall return (tashuv) and hearken to the voice of the Lord ..." 30:8

"... for the Lord will return (yashuv) to rejoice over you for good ..." 30:9

"... if you turn (tashuv) to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." 30:10

R. Shlomo of Radomsk once asked, if the Torah states in verse two that "you shall return to the Lord your God", implying repentance, why does it say so again in verse eight? He answers that before a person begins to repent, he doesn't even know what offenses he has committed - he doesn't know what he doesn't know. Only after the first steps of teshuvah, through the process of cheshbon hanefesh (accounting of the soul) does he realize the enormity of his wrongs. So, he begins to ascend, step by step, in his spiritual development. It's not a one-shot deal.

What R. Shlomo doesn't say, perhaps because it was obvious to him, is the role that God plays in all of this. It's a two-way conversation. We turn toward God; God turns toward us. We move closer to God; God moves closer to us. We repent; God draws us into greater repentance.

How do we start? The answer is found in the concluding sentence of "Etz Chaim", recited at the conclusion of every Torah service. "Bring us back (hashiveinu), Lord, to You, and we will return (v'nashuvah); renew our days as of old." Lamentations 5:21. We seriously ask God to help us repent, and we are on our way!

Shabbt Shalom! L'shanah Tovah Umetukah Tikateivu V'tichateimu - May you be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet new year!

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

-----------------------------------------------

Candle lighting: 6:52 pm

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

Saturday: NO Torah study/breakfast this Shabbat. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Minimal kiddush follows – no lunch

Sunday: Rosh HaShanah Evening Service – 7:30 pm.

Monday: Rosh HaShanah Morning Service – 9:00 am.

Tuesday: Rosh HaShanah Morning Service – 9:00 am.

Lunch and Learn will resume Tuesday, October 9.

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 Rabbi Meier Schimmel, whose yahrzeit is this Thursday, 26 Elul. Y’hi zikhrono liv’rakhah – May his memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my grandmother, Cora Slome, whose yahrzeit falls on Saturday, 28 Elul. Y’hi zikhronah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Elisheva bat Malkah, Ze’ev ben Adeline, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, 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, Janice Ross, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Barbara Shear-Hill, Irwin Silon, William Sragow, 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.

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