Tammuz 12, 5780 / July 3-4, 2020
Torah: Numbers 19:1 - 25:9
Haftarah: Micah 5:6 - 6:8
Candle lighting: 7:50 pm
Don’t forget to fly your flag on both Friday, July 3 (government and
bank holiday observance) and Saturday, July 4 – the real celebration!
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my mother-in-law, Lynn's mother and Robert's grandmother, Helena Kronzek, whose yahrzeit falls on Tammuz 16 - Tuesday/Wednesday July 7-8. Y'hi zikhronah liv'rakhah - May her memory be a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my mother-in-law, Lynn's mother and Robert's grandmother, Helena Kronzek, whose yahrzeit falls on Tammuz 16 - Tuesday/Wednesday July 7-8. Y'hi zikhronah liv'rakhah - May her memory be a blessing.
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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TAKE NOTE
"The Kohen will take cedar wood, hyssop and crimson thread, and throw them into the burning of the cow." Numbers 19:6
From the description of the inexplicable ritual of the Red Heifer,
Rabbi Simchah Bunim of Pshischa teaches: The cedar alludes to haughtiness,
while the hyssop implies humility. Every person must have a note in one
pocket which says, "I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27), and in
the other pocket one must have a note which says, "For my sake was the
world created" (Sanhedrin 37). The wise person knows when to use
which.
Yechiel of Aleksander (1828–1894) explains that when the Yetzer Hara, the Evil Impulse,
wishes to build us up, in order to make us arrogant and self-centered, we
should read the first note. When the Evil Impulse wants to bring us down in
sadness and depression over our failures, we should read the second note.
But what about the crimson thread? Perhaps we should tie one
around a finger, to serve as a reminder that the notes are in our
pockets. The thread has a unique characteristic - unlike the cedar
and the hyssop, the crimson thread was created by human beings. This
means we have power - the power to resist arrogance and to overcome despair,
the power to improve, the power to control our own destinies - as long as we
are mindful of what those destinies might be.
Put two notes in your pocket, and declare your independence from Yetzer Hara - the Evil Inclination.
Happy Independence Day! 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
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Our Refuah Shleimah list is available here:
This week's yahrzeit list can be found at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IvKK6of7m1YFiwWATXCfQXrBrjmLMfS_CAM3WhZ_fu4/edit
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/uZx5f7yv_zM3HNac5gSDVvJ8W461KaysgSYcq_pYn0fnVXBVNAWnZuMWNOUBsv0v0nNI6fqVNCZjJjOb?startTime=1593721680000&_x_zm_rtaid=_lk0A3tHQgKUi4SbqiM3GA.1593735093009.5d602a7bca15162b29b9732751d86816&_x_zm_rhtaid=466
This week's Haftarah, chanted by Steve Pearlman, can
be viewed here:
Join our Cool Shabbat Service, with Steve Pealrman and Rabbi Flom this Friday evening at 6:30 pm PDT at:
Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat
Shabbat, Shabbat Ma'ariv, Shabbat Morning, and more, available at:
Join us every Sunday at 11:00 am PDT for "History of the Jews of Israel and the Middle East" with David Silon at:
Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PDT for Lunch
and Learn, a 60minute study session. We're learning the weekly haftarah.
Join us at:
Study materials for Lunch and Learn are available at:
This week's Torah Sparks from the Conservative
Yeshiva in Jerusalem is available here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pwLshNKLGIEzDsyGq3HyuEkvjhvUkflcHbGc0lShfcI/edit?usp=sharing
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