Adar 11, 5780 / March 6-7, 2020
Parashat Tetzaveh (Shabbat Zakhor)
Torah Reading: Exodus 27:20 - 30:10
Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19
Haftarah (Shabbat Zakhor): 1 Samuel 15:1-34
Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19
Haftarah (Shabbat Zakhor): 1 Samuel 15:1-34
NEWS FLASH!
PURIM IS COMING!
Purim dinner, spiel and megillah
reading - Monday, March 9, at 6:30 pm. RSVP ASAP by
calling the TBH/CBM office. Deadline for dinner reservations and for
ordering mishloach manot baskets is Friday at 11:00 am. Thanks to Rebecca
Marcus for putting together and directing this year’s spiel!
Calendar and
dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about
Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier, check out: http://www.bnaihayim.com
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend,
and please cite the source.
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REMEMBER?
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Zakhor (Remember) because of the first word of the Maftir, the additional Torah reading, which instructs us to remember what Amalek did to our ancestors on the way out of Egypt. This serves as a connection to the observance of Purim, Monday night and Tuesday, when we commemorate the defeat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek. However, I want to focus on a different kind of remembering, mentioned in the weekly portion for this Shabbat.
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REMEMBER?
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Zakhor (Remember) because of the first word of the Maftir, the additional Torah reading, which instructs us to remember what Amalek did to our ancestors on the way out of Egypt. This serves as a connection to the observance of Purim, Monday night and Tuesday, when we commemorate the defeat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek. However, I want to focus on a different kind of remembering, mentioned in the weekly portion for this Shabbat.
"And you shall put the two stones upon the
shoulder pieces of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the Children of Israel;
and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a
remembrance... And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the
breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a
remembrance before the Lord perpetually." Exodus 28:12, 29
"For a remembrance - that the Holy One
Blessed Be He should see the tribes written before Him and remember their
righteousness." (tzidkatam – their righteousness) Rashi to
verse 12, citing Midrash Exodus Rabbah
"Memory is the source of redemption; exile comes from forgetting." Baal Shem Tov to verse 29.
The names of the tribes were engraved on the stones as a reminder - to whom? Rashi teaches that God needs to be reminded of the righteousness of our ancestors. Perhaps it is to remind God of our righteousness; we also are the Children of Israel. Does God really need to be reminded of anything - as if God could forget! Yet many of the prayers which we regularly offer do just that – remind God.
I understand the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chasidism, as saying "no!" We are the ones who need to remember. If we are righteous, we need to remember that we once were not. If we are not righteous, we must remember that we can become so - if we try. Remembering takes on redeeming qualities, because it can compel us to perform acts of righteousness. So it is imperative to remember what you once were; to be reminded of what you have the potential to become; and to do something about it, by performing acts of tzedek and tzedakah, of justice and of righteousness.
Have a wonderful Shabbat! Purim Sameach! Barukh Mordechai; Arur Haman!
"Memory is the source of redemption; exile comes from forgetting." Baal Shem Tov to verse 29.
The names of the tribes were engraved on the stones as a reminder - to whom? Rashi teaches that God needs to be reminded of the righteousness of our ancestors. Perhaps it is to remind God of our righteousness; we also are the Children of Israel. Does God really need to be reminded of anything - as if God could forget! Yet many of the prayers which we regularly offer do just that – remind God.
I understand the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chasidism, as saying "no!" We are the ones who need to remember. If we are righteous, we need to remember that we once were not. If we are not righteous, we must remember that we can become so - if we try. Remembering takes on redeeming qualities, because it can compel us to perform acts of righteousness. So it is imperative to remember what you once were; to be reminded of what you have the potential to become; and to do something about it, by performing acts of tzedek and tzedakah, of justice and of righteousness.
Have a wonderful Shabbat! Purim Sameach! Barukh Mordechai; Arur Haman!
HaRav HaGaon HaTzaddik Abba Reuven Ben Menachem
Mendel Flom, Sh’lita
Der Heileger Rebbe of Sherman Oaks
Rosh Yeshivah – Lower Slobbovia
Slivovitz Taste Tester
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.
BT Ta’anit 29a
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Candle lighting: 5:35 pm
Friday: Cool Shabbat Evening Service with Steve Pearlman –
6:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday: Torah study/breakfast - 8:45
am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush Luncheon
follows. TURN YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR TONIGHT - DST BEGINS!
Sunday: Religious School
hamentaschen bake and Mishloach Manot assembly – 9:30 am. David Silon’s "History of Israel and the
Middle East" class meets at 11:00 am. Rabbi Flom’s “(Re)Introduction
to Judaism” will resume March 15.
Monday: Purim Dinner,
Purimspiel, and Megillat Esther reading – 6:30 pm. RSVP a must for the dinner.
Tuesday: Lunch and Learn -
12:30 pm. NOTE TIME CHANGE
Friday, March 13: Tot Shabbat Service – 6:30 pm. Shabbat
Evening Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, March 14: Torah
study/breakfast - 8:45 am. 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.
This d’var torah is offered in honor
of my mother, Annabelle Flom, observing her 89th birthday on
Wedneday. Yom huledet sameach, ima! Ad meah v’esrim!
This d’var torah is offered for a
refuah shleimah for Elisheva bat Malkah, Chanah bat Minnie Leah, Leah bat Sarah
Imanu, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Mark
Brownstein, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht
(Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Gabor Klein, Philip
Kronzek, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Imanu), Martin Lee, Barbara
Levy, Gail Neiman, Sandra Raab, Josef Sands, Shirley Sands, Gina Seeman, Debra
Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat
Kreina), 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.
