18 Cheshvan 5779/26-27
October 2018
Parashat Vayera
Parashat Vayera
Torah
Reading: Genesis 18:1 - 22:24
Haftarah: 2 Kings 4:1-37 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 4:1-23 (Sephardim)
For a complete Calendar of Events, as well as lots of other information on our community, check out our website at:
Haftarah: 2 Kings 4:1-37 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 4:1-23 (Sephardim)
For a complete Calendar of Events, as well as lots of other information on our community, check out our website at:
Please
feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMANDED
BY EXAMPLES
"And
the Lord appeared to (Abraham), by the terebinths (trees that yield a type of
turpentine) of Mamre, as he sat in the tent entrance in the heat of the
day. As he lifted up his eyes, he beheld three men standing before him;
and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent entrance and bowed to
the ground." Genesis 18:1-2
Our
Rabbis taught that, in this passage and those that follow, we learn several
important mitzvot. First, we learn that just as God and His messengers visited
the sick, we should visit the sick (Abraham had just been circumcised). Second, we learn that just as Abraham greeted
the men and offered his hospitality, we should offer hospitality to
travelers. Third, we learn that just as Abraham ran to perform that
mitzvah, we should run to perform a mitzvah.
Bikkur
cholim,
visiting the sick, is of the utmost importance. In doing so, in a very
real way we bring God's Presence to the sick. We lift their spirits and
comfort them, and in doing so, we come to understand their suffering. In
telling the sick that we offer prayers for their recovery, they come to know
that not only is God aware of their suffering, but that we are aware and care
as well.
Hakhnassat
orchim,
hospitality, is equally important. Offering meals and lodging to
travelers, especially strangers, shows the seriousness with which we take the
commandment to love the stranger. Even the most luxurious hotels and
restaurants maintain some estrangement, but the gracious giving of one's own
simple food and shelter is like a warm embrace.
Ratz
l'mitzvah kalla k'vachamurah, running to perform even a minor
commandment, let alone a major one, shows our eagerness to serve both God and
our fellow human beings. The Rabbis taught further that by running to the men,
Abraham demonstrated that the mitzvah of hospitality is greater even than
greeting the Divine Presence.
What
is notable is that there is no commanding language here, no "Thou
shalt". The Rabbis derived these mitzvot solely from the actions of
God and Abraham. If we can learn these commandments from their actions,
think of what our children can learn from our actions. If we visit the
sick, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked, our children
will do so too, and the world can only be a better place for it. Actions truly
speak louder, and command better, than words.
Shabbat
Shalom!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
Temple
B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging
at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT
Yevamot 88a
-----------------------------------------------
Candle lighting: 5:48 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.
Tuesday: 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.
Looking Ahead - Community Menorah Lighting, Hanukkah Play, Latkes, Sufganiyot, and More! Sunday, December 9 - 5:00 pm.
Looking Ahead - Community Menorah Lighting, Hanukkah Play, Latkes, Sufganiyot, and More! Sunday, December 9 - 5:00 pm.
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), Annabelle Flom (Channah
Bella bat Kreina), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein,
Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Barbara Levy, 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
To
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
