Parashat Yitro - 20 Sh'vat 5779 / 25-26 January 2019
Torah: Exodus 18:1 - 20:23
Haftarah: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5-6 (Ashkenazim); Isaiah 6:1-13 (Sephardim)
Torah: Exodus 18:1 - 20:23
Haftarah: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5-6 (Ashkenazim); Isaiah 6:1-13 (Sephardim)
Dedications and this week’s calendar are below.
For more information about our community, visit: http://bnaihayim.com
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the source.
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CLOTHES DON’T MAKE THE PERSON
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CLOTHES DON’T MAKE THE PERSON
"And the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and sanctify
them today and tomorrow; and they shall wash their clothes.'" Exodus 19:10
The 16th century Rabbi Moshe Alshikh, of Safed, says that the Torah teaches that it is not enough for people to worry only about the externals, such as washing themselves and their clothes, while neglecting themselves internally - they must be clean and pure in both aspects. He adds, the internal aspect comes first - that is why they were ordered to sanctify themselves, and then to wash their clothes.
When one appears before a king to receive justice and mercy, one scrubs oneself and one's clothing, in order to make a good impression and not offend the king. But when one appears before the King of Kings, to receive the Holy Torah, as the Israelites (and all of us) do in this week's parashah, God wants the heart and soul to be pure before one worries about mere physical cleanliness. It should be so also when we pray and when we study Torah. If you think about it, shouldn't all of our dealings with other human beings as well be carried out in the same way? Every human being is an image of God - so we are always standing before God. If we always strive to act with purity of heart and soul, the externalities will take care of themselves.
Have an awesome Shabbat of standing before God – at Sinai – and everywhere else!
The 16th century Rabbi Moshe Alshikh, of Safed, says that the Torah teaches that it is not enough for people to worry only about the externals, such as washing themselves and their clothes, while neglecting themselves internally - they must be clean and pure in both aspects. He adds, the internal aspect comes first - that is why they were ordered to sanctify themselves, and then to wash their clothes.
When one appears before a king to receive justice and mercy, one scrubs oneself and one's clothing, in order to make a good impression and not offend the king. But when one appears before the King of Kings, to receive the Holy Torah, as the Israelites (and all of us) do in this week's parashah, God wants the heart and soul to be pure before one worries about mere physical cleanliness. It should be so also when we pray and when we study Torah. If you think about it, shouldn't all of our dealings with other human beings as well be carried out in the same way? Every human being is an image of God - so we are always standing before God. If we always strive to act with purity of heart and soul, the externalities will take care of themselves.
Have an awesome Shabbat of standing before God – at Sinai – and everywhere else!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה
כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
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CALENDAR
Candle lighting: 4:59 pm
Friday – Early Shabbat Evening Service – 6:30 pm. Shabbat
Dinner and Tu BiSh’vat Seder – 7:45 pm. RSVP to synagogue
office. No payments at the door!
Saturday – Breakfast and Torah study - 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.
Friday, February 1 – Shabbat Evening Service –
7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, February 2 – Breakfast and Torah
study - 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service - 9:30
am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Saturday, February 9 – NO Breakfast and
Torah study – Resume February 16. B’nai Mitzvah of Adi and Eitan
Buchnik – Mazal tov! Shabbat Morning Service - 9:30 am. Kiddush
luncheon follows.
Next time you come to TBH/CBM, please bring some non-perishable
canned and packaged foods and personal items (no glass) for SOVA.
TBH Religious School and TBH Preschool have
open enrollment. Enroll your children now! Contact the TBH office for
information.
And be sure to tell your neighbors, friends, and relatives about
our warm and welcoming community and our programs!
We are looking for volunteers for services: chant Torah
or Haftarah, daven, lead English readings, and have aliyot and other
Torah/bimah honors. Training available! Contact Rabbi Flom by e-mail for
details and to sign up!
This d’var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Shirley Schack,
whose yahrzeit falls on 25 Sh’vat / January 31. Y’hi zekherah liv’rakhah – Her
memory is a blessing.
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 (Chanah
Bella bat Kreina), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein,
Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Imanu), Marilyn Lee, Barbara
Levy, David Marks, Frank Sorkin, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya
Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Bernie Seeman, 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.
My weekly divrei torah are available through free subscription
to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will
call! Cyber Torah list management:
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail
from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the
heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
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heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah
in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with
the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message
body.
