ONE HUMBLE MITZVAH

Parashat Ekev
23 Av 5779 / 23-24 August 2019
Torah: Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25
Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3 (Second Haftarah of Comfort)

Dedications and Calendar or Events follow. For more information about Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier, see:  www.bnaihayim.com

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ONE HUMBLE MITZVAH

"And your heart will be haughty, and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery." Deuteronomy 8:14

There is an old joke that goes something like this: A noted scholar and philanthropist was being honored at a gala dinner. Speaker after speaker extolled his virtues - knowledge, wisdom, generosity, kindness, righteousness, etc. He reached up and tugged on the sleeve of one of the speakers, and said, "Don't forget my humility."

Commenting on the first part of our verse, the Ba'al Shem Tov says that there is nowhere in the Torah a commandment to be humble. If there were, there would be those who would attempt to fulfill it by reciting a statement of intent ("Behold, I am prepared to perform the mitzvah of humility ..."), then a blessing (".... and commanded us to be humble."), and then … commence to be humble? It would become a conceit – the belief that, in addition to fulfilling the other commandments, they were observing the commandment to be humble. Unlike any other mitzvah, one would fail to observe it merely by believing that one was attempting to fulfill it or had observed it. "I can say with all humility that I have been humble." It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

Of course we know that a lack of humility can often be damaging to relationships. We tend to forget that neither we nor our accomplishments exist in a vacuum. Even praise for one’s humility can be a bit dangerous. Perhaps the only way to be truly humble is to run from any suggestion that one is humble.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier

Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com

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"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"

Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”

BT Yevamot 88a

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Candle lighting: 7:12 pm

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 6:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

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

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Friday, August 30: Shabbat Evening Service – 6:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday, August 31: Torah study/breakfast – 8:45 am. Women’s Rosh Chodesh Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Services led by the women of our community. A special Kiddush lunch follows.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Leah bat Sarah Imanu, 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, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Philip Kronzek, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Imanu), Marilyn Lee, David Marks, Sandra Raab, Marguerite Rassiner, Josef Sands, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Bernie Seeman, and William Sragow.

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.

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!

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