EYES AND EARS AND RECORDS

Parashat Sh'lach L'kha
Sivan 28, 5780 / June 19-20, 2020
Torah: Numbers 13:1 - 15:41
Haftarah: Joshua 2:1 -24

Candlelighting: 7:49 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.
-------------------------------------------------

EYES AND EARS AND RECORDS

"And (the spies) spread an evil report of the land which they had spied out to the Israelites, saying: 'The land through which we passed, to spy out, is a land which devours its inhabitants; and all the people we saw there are huge.... we were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes.'  And all the congregation lifted up and gave forth their voice; and the people wept that night.  And they murmured against Moses and against Aaron..."  Numbers 13:32 - 14:2

Rabbi (Judah the Prince) says, ".... Consider three things and you will avoid committing sin.  Keep in mind what is above you: An Eye that sees; an Ear that hears; and a Book in which all your deeds are recorded."  Pirkei Avot 2:1

There is a tradition that there is a one-to-one correspondence between everything in Heaven and everything on Earth.  This was most unfortunate for the Israelites.  To make matters worse, their eyes and ears were not clear, like God's, but were clouded by fear and doubt.  The spies saw what they wanted to see, and translated it with their own lack of faith.  The Kotzker Rebbe says that the true sin of the spies was in caring how they appeared in other people's eyes - why should their appearance have mattered?  God was on their side!  And the Israelites?  They allowed their ears to be filled with evil reports, rather than listen to Caleb and Joshua, who knew that the land was worth fighting for and that the inhabitants would be defeated.  The people preferred to return to Egyptian slavery, because they had no faith in the rightness of their cause.  And the Book?  It was the same for both God and the people - the Torah.

Prisms break down light into its constituent colors.  Some are sharper than others, depending on the clarity of the glass.  Our brains are the same way.  Some data are sharper than others, depending on the clarity of thought.  And how we act upon God's teachings depends upon the clarity of our faith. Believe it!

Shabbat Shalom!

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

-----------------------------------------------------------

This d'var torah is offered in honor of fathers everywhere. Happy Father's Day!

An interesting take on this week's parashah can be found at:
https://www.thetorah.com/article/sin-of-the-spies-gods-ruse-to-keep-israel-in-the-wilderness 

Our Refuah Shleimah list is available here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iT0tdp45ITSU6o1tykah41m3IXBxBwLxe8FORSIXzDo/edit 

This week's yahrzeit list can be found at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IvKK6of7m1YFiwWATXCfQXrBrjmLMfS_CAM3WhZ_fu4/edit 

This week's Torah readings, chanted by Reb Jason Van Leeuwen and with commentary by Rabbi Flom, can be viewed here: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/65woIeitqjo3G4eR4wSDU6N9W9W7Jvqsh3NM-6APyk20WiNQMVOnNbEWNOcmrE5xwRZHmRflLGJw47WP?startTime=1592511273000&_x_zm_rtaid=s6fA2wKRQkCvNBwkG14R3A.1592586012348.615e6e23ae53c604496401107473ca68&_x_zm_rhtaid=403 

This week's Haftarah, chanted by Reb Jason, can be viewed here: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/tcF5I-7--Gg3G4GT5QSDAaR_W461Jv2sgykX_KIFzxmzByIAMQeiYeAQN7AW3hViScPxkG5LshPW0RPD?startTime=1592515727000&_x_zm_rtaid=s6fA2wKRQkCvNBwkG14R3A.1592586012348.615e6e23ae53c604496401107473ca68&_x_zm_rhtaid=403 

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: 

http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/form-download-e-siddur-0 

Join us every Sunday at 11:00 am PDT for "History of the Jews of Israel and the Middle East" with David Silon on Zoom (Meeting Number 637 834 304) or at: 

https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim/  

Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PDT for Lunch and Learn, a 90 minute study session. We're learning the weekly haftarah. Join us on Zoom (Meeting Number 637 834 304) or at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim/  

Study materials for Lunch and Learn are available at: 
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GDVBMRrJpVLKq1FOJQv7RKUkjCVSV4kd?usp=sharing 

This week's Torah Sparks from the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem is available here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11spbHaX2JAdp3R7vHU3i9ggzQRgxEb6_Y8kBdIhUH7k/edit?usp=sharing 

You can subscribe to Torah Sparks every week via email here: 

https://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/torahsparks/ 

  

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net   

Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net