Parashat Bamidbar
Torah: Numbers 1:1 - 4:20
Haftarah: 1 Samuel 20:18-42 (Machar Chodesh)
Candlelighting: 7:35 pm
Torah: Numbers 1:1 - 4:20
Haftarah: 1 Samuel 20:18-42 (Machar Chodesh)
Candlelighting: 7:35 pm
Links to all of our on-line
activities can be found below.
Please feel free to pass
this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU
CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT …
"The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 'Do not let the tribe of the Kohathite families be cut off from among the Levites. Thus shall you do for them so that they shall live and not die; when they approach the Holy of Holies, Aaron and his sons shall come and assign them, every man to his work and his burden.'" Numbers 4:17-19
Rashi teaches that the Kohathites had the responsibility of carrying the ark, altars, menorah, and other implements. However, if they looked upon the ark when not set up in its proper place, the Kohathites would die. The Midrash, Numbers Rabbah, gives two opinions as to why the Kohathites had to be individually assigned their various tasks. Rabbi Elazar ben P'dat says that the Kohathites were afraid of the danger of carrying the ark, and had to be assigned individually to carry it, in order to assure that it was done. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman says, on the contrary, they all wanted to carry the ark. They had to be individually assigned the various tasks in order to assure that everything else was done!
We all know that there are mitzvot we like to do, that we run to do, and there are others that we aren't so crazy about. Perhaps they are uninteresting, or we don't understand their purpose or relevance. I suspect there are very few today that are as dangerous, or as rewarding, as carrying the Ark.
Nevertheless, we should welcome the opportunity to perform any mitzvah, because a primary purpose of every mitzvah is to bring us closer to God and bring more holiness into our lives. As we will see on Friday, May 29, the first day of Shavuot, God gives a promise and a commandment, immediately before the utterance of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai - "And now, if you hearken to Me and observe My covenant, you shall be My treasure from among all the peoples, for all the land is Mine; and you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5-6
Each of us has our work and our burden - to observe the mitzvot to the best of our abilities, bringing holiness to ourselves and our people. We make the world a better place for having done so. That is our mission – and it’s certainly NOT impossible. Do you accept?
Shabbat Shalom! Rosh Chodesh Sivan Sameach!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The
one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot
4:1
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This Cyber Torah is dedicated in memory of all those US military personnel who died in service to our nation and in defense of our freedoms. Please proudly raise your flag on Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day.
This week's Torah reading, chanted by Reb Jason Van Leeuwen and with commentary by Rabbi Flom, can be viewed here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/tZYudr_9rj03T4aT4wSDU6V_W42-LaKsgClN-KANyRvgAnMDNlGkbrZDYbTUAJ8Uq41RS0Q-b5h22AAj?startTime=1590095891000&_x_zm_rtaid=b3nNojFDQ8mbszUrA60veQ.1590095627264.964e4d0763c42518ebb2a2502e261b72&_x_zm_rhtaid=537
This week's Torah reading, chanted by Reb Jason Van Leeuwen and with commentary by Rabbi Flom, can be viewed here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/tZYudr_9rj03T4aT4wSDU6V_W42-LaKsgClN-KANyRvgAnMDNlGkbrZDYbTUAJ8Uq41RS0Q-b5h22AAj?startTime=1590095891000&_x_zm_rtaid=b3nNojFDQ8mbszUrA60veQ.1590095627264.964e4d0763c42518ebb2a2502e261b72&_x_zm_rhtaid=537
This week's Haftarah,
chanted by Rebecca Marcus, can be heard here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kRTqzC52QA2o__pO3hd2wgSrXewL0jd2/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kRTqzC52QA2o__pO3hd2wgSrXewL0jd2/view
Join our Kabbalat
Shabbat Service, with Reb Jason Van Leeuwen and Rabbi Flom this Friday
evening at 6:30 pm PDT on Zoom (Meeting Number 418 318 664) or at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim/
Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat Ma'ariv, Shabbat Morning, and more, available at:
Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PDT for Lunch and Learn, a 90 minute study session. We're learning the weekly haftarah. On May 26 we'll be learning the haftarah for the first day of Shavuot. Join us on Zoom (Meeting Number 637 834 304) or at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim/
Readings for Lunch and
Learn are
available at:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O0-k6_WKD6yl2YrvEOu9eRa4Ena0lZNs
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O0-k6_WKD6yl2YrvEOu9eRa4Ena0lZNs
This week's Torah
Sparks from
the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem is available here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s9-vV_t4QGISXTp_e5wrJyhl1Z63fuIXLV8sfInyJuw/edit#heading=h.5ay2ehe0i3lj
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s9-vV_t4QGISXTp_e5wrJyhl1Z63fuIXLV8sfInyJuw/edit#heading=h.5ay2ehe0i3lj
You can subscribe to Torah Sparks every week via email here:
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Temple B’nai Hayim in Association with Congregation Beth Meier, has set up a
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particularly vulnerable due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please help us help them
with your donation.
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