16
Adar II 5779 / 22-23 March 2019
Parashat
Tzav
Torah:
Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36
Haftarah:
Jeremiah 7:21 – 8:3; 9:22-23
Dedications and this week’s calendar are below. For more
information about our community, visit: http://bnaihayim.com
My
annual Pesach Guide – 5779 Edition, is available at my blog:
Please
feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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TO
THE FUTURE!
“If he offers it for a thanksgiving, he will offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mixed with oil, of fine flour, fried.” Leviticus 7:12
The Midrash says that in the future, all of the sacrifices will be abolished except for the thanksgiving sacrifice. A Chasidic teaching explains that a person who has never sinned, whether intentionally or negligently, and thus has never needed to bring a sacrifice for any sin, must nevertheless bring a thanksgiving sacrifice - to thank God for the fact that he had been saved from sin.
I am writing this on the festival of Purim, which celebrates the rescue of the Jews of Persia, under the leadership of Mordechai and Esther, from the hands of the evil Haman. Interestingly, another Midrash teaches that, in the future, all of the Jewish festivals will be abolished except for Purim and Yom Kippur.
How do we reconcile these two teachings? If there is no sin (implied by the elimination of the sin offerings), why would we need to have Yom Kippur, a Day of Atonement for asking God to forgive our sins? Perhaps the only possible sin would be to fail to observe Purim, a day for celebrating the elimination of Amalek, the symbol of evil.
Let’s get a jump-start on the future. Pesach starts in one month - we can start spring cleaning in our own spiritual houses now, by eliminating evil inclinations, like greed and envy, from our own lives. Then we'll really have something to celebrate! The future will be here sooner than we think!
“If he offers it for a thanksgiving, he will offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mixed with oil, of fine flour, fried.” Leviticus 7:12
The Midrash says that in the future, all of the sacrifices will be abolished except for the thanksgiving sacrifice. A Chasidic teaching explains that a person who has never sinned, whether intentionally or negligently, and thus has never needed to bring a sacrifice for any sin, must nevertheless bring a thanksgiving sacrifice - to thank God for the fact that he had been saved from sin.
I am writing this on the festival of Purim, which celebrates the rescue of the Jews of Persia, under the leadership of Mordechai and Esther, from the hands of the evil Haman. Interestingly, another Midrash teaches that, in the future, all of the Jewish festivals will be abolished except for Purim and Yom Kippur.
How do we reconcile these two teachings? If there is no sin (implied by the elimination of the sin offerings), why would we need to have Yom Kippur, a Day of Atonement for asking God to forgive our sins? Perhaps the only possible sin would be to fail to observe Purim, a day for celebrating the elimination of Amalek, the symbol of evil.
Let’s get a jump-start on the future. Pesach starts in one month - we can start spring cleaning in our own spiritual houses now, by eliminating evil inclinations, like greed and envy, from our own lives. Then we'll really have something to celebrate! The future will be here sooner than we think!
Mishenichnas
Adar, marbin b’simchah! With the entry of the month of Adar, we increase
joy! Be Happy! Purim just ended! And Pesach, the Festival of
Freedom, is coming!
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
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CALENDAR
Candle lighting: 6:49 pm
Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat
follows.
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, March 29 – Shabbat
Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, March 30 – Breakfast and
Torah study - 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service - 9:30 am.
Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday, March 31 – Sisterhood
Meeting – 12:00 noon. Movie Time! Yentl - 2:00 pm.
Saturday, April 6 – Women’s
Rosh Chodesh Shabbat Morning Service – contact Carol Herskowitz or
Lynn Kronzek for more details.
Saturday, April 13 – NO Torah
Study/Breakfast – resume May 4. Sh’MA (Shabbat Morning
Adventure)Service – 9:30 am. A Guitar-led, singalong service with Dr.
Steve Pearlman. Designed for the whole family! Followed by kiddush luncheon.
Saturday, April 20 – Community
Second Seder Shel Pesach – check your snail mail for lots of info on
Pesach!
Sunday, May 19 – TBH/CBM Concert and
Fundraiser – with music, comedy, silent auction, and food and
drink. Check our website: http://bnaihayim.com for details. Or
contact the TBH office.
Sunday, June 2 - Afternoon at the Colony
Theater – “Old Jews Telling Jokes” – a bawdy (not suitable
for minors) visit to the Catskills with Jokes, Skits, Song & Dance! More
info to follow.
This d’var torah is offered in honor of Rebecca Marcus, who wrote and directed our Purim Shpiel this year. Kol hakavod!
This d’var torah is offered in honor of Gina Seeman, Pilar Garcia, and Teresa Trejo, who prepared and served our Se'udat Purim, the festive meal for Purim. Thank you!
This d’var torah is offered in honor of Gina Seeman, Pilar Garcia, and Teresa Trejo, who prepared and served our Se'udat Purim, the festive meal for Purim. Thank you!
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for
Hadassah bat Sarah Imanu, 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, Diana Hirsch, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac,
Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Imanu), Marilyn Lee, David Marks, Debra
Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina),
Bernie Seeman, 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.
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, deliver d’rashot, and have aliyot and other Torah/bimah honors. Training available! Contact Rabbi Flom by e-mail for details and to sign up!
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”.
To unsubscribe from
Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the 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.
