Parashat Kedoshim
6 Iyar 5779 / 10-11 May 2019
Torah: Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27
Haftarah: Amos 9:7-15 (Ashkenazim); Ezekiel 20:2-20
(Sephardim)
Calendar
and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info
about our community, check out: http://www.bnaihayim.com/
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But first, a word from our sponsor!
Dear
friends:
We
wish to remind you that the annual fundraiser for our community is coming up on
Sunday, May 19. We will be featuring two terrific entertainers, comedian Steve
Mittleman and singer Phil Jeffrey, along with our own wonderful Hazzan Reb
Jason Van Leeuwen. We’ll be serving food and drink and conducting a silent
auction with unique gift and merchandise packages.
Although
the deadline for the greetings/ad book has passed, there is still time to
purchase tickets to this event, only $54/person. For more information or to
make reservations, please contact the synagogue office at (818) 788-4664, or
via email to: office@bethmeier.org or bnaihayim@yahoo.com
If
you are unable to join us on May 19, we hope you will consider donating any
appropriate amount to support our community and the work we are doing.
Wishing
you all the best,
Ken
Goodman, Program Chair
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Please feel free to pass this on, and please cite the source.
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WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW
"You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the
children of your people, but you shall love your fellow as yourself; I am the
Lord." Lev. 19:18
"As the home born among you, so shall be the stranger that dwells with
you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of
Egypt; I am the Lord your God." Lev. 19:34.
In her book, "New Studies in Leviticus", Nehama Leibowitz wonders
what exactly is meant by "as yourself" (kamocha). She points
out that the Rabbis had said that to love another as one's self cannot be taken
literally. She refers to the commentary "Biur", which says, "It
is hardly conceivable that the Almighty should command something which is
beyond human capacity." Rather, says Leibowitz, do not read "as
yourself", but instead "who is like you". That is why the Torah
says, "For you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Because you know
the heart of a stranger (Exodus 23:9), you must love the stranger rather than
treat him the way you were treated in Egypt.
Leibowitz’ reading raises another issue. The word
"ger", translated here as "stranger", has two meanings -
"alien" and "proselyte". The Rabbis understood the
“stranger that dwells with you” in the latter sense. They understood "you
were strangers" in the former sense. Then Leibowitz’ understanding of
"kamocha" as "who is like you" would suggest either that
the Israelites had become Egyptian proselytes, God forbid, or that "the
stranger that dwells with you" means any stranger, regardless of religious
practice.
Far be it from me to suggest that the Rabbis misinterpreted this verse; but I
wish to propose a broader meaning. The "stranger" is a closely
related case to "fellow". Just as you are to love your fellow, who
you recognize to be like you, so should you love the stranger who, as it
happens, whether alien or proselyte, is also like you.
Recall that every person is created in the image of God
(Genesis 1:26). Perhaps that is why the second verse has the phrase "your
God" - as a reminder. So, every person can become "your fellow"
whom you love and who loves you in return - but only when you acknowledge that
every person is "like you".
This Shabbat, we each have the opportunity to carry out
both of the mitzvot discussed above, as well as the mitzvah that opens the
parashah - "…You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” Lev.
19:2
This Saturday, May 11, mail carriers throughout the
United States will be "stamping out hunger", collecting cans, bags
and boxes of non-perishable groceries. The food will be distributed to
local food banks and soup kitchens. This is a no-brainer. All you
have to do is leave groceries by your mailbox and the carrier will take it when
s/he delivers your mail. One item or fifty, it will all help alleviate someone's
hunger for a time. It's a wonderful way for you and your children to carry out
the call which we made at the Pesach Seder just two weeks ago - "Let all
who are hungry come and eat!"
Have a wonderful, loving and holy Shabbat!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier - Studio City, CA
"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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CALENDAR
CANDLE LIGHTING: 7:27 pm
Friday – Shabbat
Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Torah Study/Breakfast – 8:45 am. Shabbat
Morning Service – 9:30 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday – Religious
School – 9:30 am.
Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, May 17 – Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg
Shabbat follows.
Saturday, May 18 – Torah Study/Breakfast – 8:45 am. Shabbat
Morning Service – 9:30 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows.
Sunday, May 19 – TBH/CBM Concert and Fundraiser – with
music, comedy, silent auction, and food and drink. For details, check our
website: http://bnaihayim.com or contact the
synagogue
office: bnaihayim@yahoo.com or office@bethmeier.org or
(818) 788-4664
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!
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This d’var torah is offered in memory of Irvin
Jacobson, whose yahrzeit falls on Sunday, Iyar 7. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah.
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah
shleimah for Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Mark
Brownstein, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht
(Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Channah Bella bat Kreina), Bernard
Garvin, Leah Granat, Carol Herskowitz, Diana Hirsch, Brandon Joseph, Gabor
Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Imanu), Marilyn Lee,
David Marks, Sandra Raab, Marguerite Rassiner, 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.
