MUTUAL BENEFIT

Parashat Lekh L'kha

Cheshvan 13, 5781 / October 30-31, 2020

Torah Reading - Genesis 12:1 - 17:27

Haftarah - Isaiah 40:27 - 41:16

 

Candle-lighting for Friday: 5:43 PM PDT - Sherman Oaks, CA

Don't forget to turn back your clocks one hour before you go to bed this Saturday night.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of the Etz Chaim/Or Chadash 11 - Joyce Feinberg; Richard Gottfried; Rose Mallinger; Jerry Rabinowitz; Cecil Rosenthal; David Rosenthal; Bernice Simon; Sylvan Simon; Daniel Stein; Melvin Wax; Irving Younger - whose yahrzeits fall on Thursday, Cheshvan 18 / November 5. These 11 souls were taken because they were Jews doing a most Jewish thing. The Ba'al Shem Tov taught: "Memory is redemption - forgetting is exile." Never forget! Y'hi zikhronam liv'rakhah - May their memory be a blessing.

Our Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing List can be found at: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iT0tdp45ITSU6o1tykah41m3IXBxBwLxe8FORSIXzDo/edit?usp=sharing      

If you would like to have a name added or removed from this Prayer for Healing list, please write to me at: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

This week's Yahrzeit List can be found at: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IvKK6of7m1YFiwWATXCfQXrBrjmLMfS_CAM3WhZ_fu4/edit?usp=sharing 

A list of all of our on-line activities can be found below. All our services and programs are available at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim 

A list of Zoom links to all our programs and services is available at:  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M5jzfligR7kovoXdiEeah3pd2R4fiJi8NHarmrMEEzM/edit

Some excellent on-line resources are available at: 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/  

With the COVID-19 epidemic, SOVA needs your donations more than ever. Please, bring some non-perishable canned and packaged foods and personal items, (no glass) to the lobby of TBH/CBM. Wear a mask, social distance, and help out those in need.

 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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MUTUAL BENEFIT

 

"Then the Lord said to Avram, 'Get yourself from your land, from your community, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.'...So Avram went as the Lord had told him..."  Genesis 12:1, 4

 

Rashi:  "Go for yourself" - for your own benefit and your own good.

 

According to Rashi, God was convincing Avram (later to become Avraham) to go to Canaan because of the benefit he would receive - to become a great nation and to be blessed (v. 2). 

But the S'fat Emet, Yehudah Aryeh Leib of Ger, disagrees. He says that this was the first of ten tests of Avram. It wouldn't be much of a test if he received a benefit for listening to God. Rather, Avram went solely because he was commanded to, without thinking of the benefit. Thus, the act of going to Canaan was not contaminated by selfish motives.

 

Very few of us are as pure of heart as the Avram conceived by the S'fat Emet. Everyone wants to know "what's in it for me?" If I am to spend time and/or money, what is the payoff? This cost-benefit analysis is cynical, to say the least. But it need not be so.

 

Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are not simply for the benefit of the recipients; we make our world a better place for ourselves and for our children when we reduce suffering and strife, even though tzedakah and gemilut chasadim (acts of lovingkindness) have a cost. The same is true for cleaning up the environment, regardless of the "price". Similarly, doing work for the synagogue community benefits everyone, including the one who does the work.

 

The answer, then, is that doing what God asks of us is always beneficial to us, even when it might seem to be the opposite. The benefits of carrying out God's word can be physically and spiritually uplifting, for ourselves, for those around us, even the whole world! Carry out God's word, and join the mutual benefit society.

Shabbat Shalom Uv'rakhah!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

TBH/CBM
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO! 

Kabbalat Shabbat/Evening Service with Reb Jason Van Leeuwen this Friday evening at 6:30 pm PDT.
 
Shabbat Morning Service with Reb Jason Van Leeuwen this Saturday at 10:00 am PDT. Haftarah chanted by Susan Burke.
 

Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat Ma'ariv, Shabbat/Festival Morning, and more, available at: 
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/form-download-e-siddur-0 

You can download both Siddur Sim Shalom and Siddur Lev Shalem at the above link. 

 
David Silon’s class "Jewish DNA? The Science Behind the History, or Vice-Versa" meets every Sunday at 11:00 am PST. 

Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PST for Lunch and Learn, a 60 minute study session. We're learning the weekly haftarah. 

The study materials for the November 3 class, Haftarat Vayera, can be found at: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ChAm7_Ca8G6cMrhEvFDpwD4LOX9eYNDN?usp=sharing 

On Sunday, November 15 at 2:00 pm PST, TBH/CBM will host a Special Lecture by Dr. Jonathan Dobrer, "We're Still Here! Why Judaism Survived and WIll Survive Despite the Odds". 

The Zoom link is:  

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84464112730?pwd=K1RvU2NxQVMzWndBOGtFWCtGNjA4QT09

The program will also be streamed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim 

You can subscribe to the Conservative Yeshivah’s weekly Torah Sparks via email here: 

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

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!): 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, 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 

DISPARAGING COMPLIMENTS

Parashat Noach

Cheshvan 6, 5781 /October 23-4, 2020

Torah: Genesis 6:9-11:32

Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-55:5

Candle-lighting for Friday: 5:50 PM PDT - Sherman Oaks, CA

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my uncle, Merwin Erenbaum, whose yahrzeit falls on Monday, October 26, corresponding to 8 Cheshvan. Y'hi zikhro liv'rakhah - May his memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my zayde, Sam Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday, October 27, corresponding to 9 Cheshvan. Y'hi zikhro liv'rakhah - May his memory be a blessing.

Our Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing List  can be found at: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iT0tdp45ITSU6o1tykah41m3IXBxBwLxe8FORSIXzDo/edit?usp=sharing      

If you would like to have a name added or removed from this Prayer for Healing list, please write to me at: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

This week's Yahrzeit List can be found at: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IvKK6of7m1YFiwWATXCfQXrBrjmLMfS_CAM3WhZ_fu4/edit?usp=sharing 

A list of all of our on-line activities can be found below. All our services and programs are available at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim 

A list of Zoom links to all our programs and services is available at:  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M5jzfligR7kovoXdiEeah3pd2R4fiJi8NHarmrMEEzM/edit 

Some excellent on-line resources are available at: 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/  
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source. 

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DISPARAGING COMPLIMENTS

"These are the generations of Noah - Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God." Genesis 6:9

 

Rashi: There are those of our rabbis who interpret this (his righteousness) as complimentary, for if he had lived in a generation of righteous people (as opposed to a generation of evil), he would have been even more righteous. And there are those who interpret it as disparaging, for if he had lived in the generation of Abraham, he would have been nothing special (by comparison).

 

As Rashi notes, there are many discussions in rabbinic literature concerning Noah's righteousness. But Rabbi Yaakov Dovid of Amshinov sees a warning in Rashi's comment. He notes that those who understand the Torah as complimenting Noah are referred to as "our rabbis". But those who interpret it as disparaging lose the title of "our rabbis" - they are "others". The reason, he says, is that every person is entitled to the benefit of the doubt. For example, see Leviticus 19:15 - "In righteousness shall you judge your neighbor" and Pirkei Avot 1:6 - "Judge every person on the positive side of the scale."

 

In failing to give Noah the benefit of the doubt, according to Yaakov Dovid, some "lost" the title of rabbi. The term "rabbi" is a title of respect that means "my teacher". In a very real sense, we are all rabbis. We are constantly teaching other people, whether we know it or not. Our children, spouses, parents, friends, co-workers - everyone around us learns from us, and about us, by the words we use to describe others. If you want to be regarded with respect, give others the benefit of the doubt when you speak of them.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
TBH/CBM
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO! 

Kabbalat Shabbat/Evening Service with Steve Pearlman and Rabbi Flom, this Friday evening at 6:30 pm PDT.
 
Shabbat Morning Service with Steve Pearlman and Rabbi Flom this Saturday at 10:00 am PDT.
 

Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat Ma'ariv, Shabbat/Festival Morning, and more, available at: 
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/form-download-e-siddur-0 

You can download both Siddur Sim Shalom and Siddur Lev Shalem at the above link. 

 
David Silon’s class "Jewish DNA? The Science Behind the History, or Vice-Versa" will meets every Sunday at 11:00 am PDT. 

Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PDT for Lunch and Learn, a 60 minute study session. We're learning the weekly haftarah. 

The study materials for the October 27 class, Haftarat Lekh L'kha, can be found at: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ehMi-6Yr6BBs4JNBNzHsbeEgKVpcPYZb?usp=sharing 

You can subscribe to the Conservative Yeshivah’s weekly Torah Sparks via email here: 

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

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!): 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, 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 

EARNING “GOOD” BY DOING GOOD

Tishrei 29, 5781 / October 16-17, 2020

Parashat B’reishit

Torah: Genesis 1:1 – 6:8
Haftarah (Machar Chodesh): 1 Samuel 20:18-42

Candle-lighting for Friday: 5:59 PM PDT

Our Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing List  can be found at: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iT0tdp45ITSU6o1tykah41m3IXBxBwLxe8FORSIXzDo/edit?usp=sharing      

If you would like to have a name added or removed from this Prayer for Healing list, please write to me at: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

A list of all of our on-line activities can be found below. All our services and programs are available at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim 

A list of Zoom links to all our programs and services is available at:  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M5jzfligR7kovoXdiEeah3pd2R4fiJi8NHarmrMEEzM/edit 

Some excellent on-line resources are available at: 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/  
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source. 

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EARNING “GOOD” BY DOING GOOD

 

'And God said, "Let us make humanity in our image, after our likeness." ..... And God created humanity in God's own image; in the image of God did God create it; male and female, God created them.' Genesis 1:26-7

 

After creating plants, "God saw that it was good." (Gen. 1:12) After creating the fish and birds, "God saw that it was good." (1:21) After creating crawling things and land animals, "God saw that it was good." (1:25) At the end of all of this creating, "God saw everything that God had made, and behold, it was very good." (1:31)

 

In the context of all that had been created, humanity was part of all that was very good. However, even though God created humanity in the image and likeness of God, God did not see that humanity was itself good. How could it be that humanity, which the Torah regards as the acme of creation, with dominion over all the earth, could not be seen by God as good?

 

It is exactly because humanity differs from all other creation. We alone are created in the image and likeness of God. Only we have freewill. But let's not fool ourselves. We are not God; we are _only_ an image, _only_ a likeness - not an exact duplicate.

 

Our tradition teaches that everything that God wills is good. But as for us, "if one desires to conduct himself along the path of good and to be righteous, he is free to do so; and if one desires the path of wickedness and to be evil, he is free to do so.... The Creator does not decree humanity to be good or bad" (Maimonides) We are not seen by God, or by ourselves, as good unless we choose to be good. Unlike insects and vegetables, we have to _earn_ the title "good".

 

Shabbat Shalom! Chodesh Tov!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
TBH/CBM
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO! 

Kabbalat Shabbat/Evening Service with Reb Jason and Rabbi Flom, this Friday evening at 6:30 pm PDT.
 
Shabbat Morning Service with Reb Jason and Rabbi Flom this Saturday at 10:00 am PDT.
 

Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat Ma'ariv, Shabbat/Festival Morning, and more, available at: 
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/form-download-e-siddur-0 

You can download both Siddur Sim Shalom and Siddur Lev Shalem at the above link. 

 
David Silon’s new class "Jewish DNA? The Science Behind the History, or Vice-Versa" will commence Sunday, October 18 at 11:00 am PDT. 

Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PDT for Lunch and Learn, a 60 minute study session. We're learning the weekly haftarah. 

The study materials for the October 20 class, Haftarat Noach, can be found at: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZO4oVg3Qzis59h5ZgaS7dpKuhGppW9LC?usp=sharing 

You can subscribe to the Conservative Yeshivah’s weekly Torah Sparks via email here: 

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

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!): 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: 
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!): 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, 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 

THE KISS

Shemini Atzeret (The Eighth Day of Assembly) 

Tishrei 22, 5781 / October 9-10, 2020
Torah: Deuteronomy 14:22 - 16:17; Numbers 29:35 - 30:1 
Haftarah: 1 Kings 8:54-66

Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah)

Tishrei 23, 5781 / October 10-11, 2020 
Torah: Deuteronomy 33:1 - 34:12 (V’zot Hab’rakhah); Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 (Bereishit); Numbers 29:35 - 30:1 
Haftarah: Joshua 1:1-18
 
Candle-lighting for Friday, October 9: 6:07 PM PDT
Candle-lighting for Saturday, October 10: 7:02 PM PDT 

Our Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing List  can be found at: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iT0tdp45ITSU6o1tykah41m3IXBxBwLxe8FORSIXzDo/edit?usp=sharing      

If you would like to have a name added or removed from this Prayer for Healing list, please write to me at: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 

A list of all of our on-line activities can be found below. All our services and programs are available at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim 

A list of Zoom links to all our programs and services is available at:  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M5jzfligR7kovoXdiEeah3pd2R4fiJi8NHarmrMEEzM/edit 

Some excellent on-line resources are available for Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah at: 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/  
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source. 
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THE KISS
 
"So Moses the servant of God died there, in the land of Moab, by the mouth of the Lord. He buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, near Beth-Peor; and no one knows his burial place to this very day." Deuteronomy 34:5-6

This parashah has one of the most touching scenes in the Torah. Moses has spent the entire book of Deuteronomy (I call it "The Long Goodbye") recounting his life and times, as the leader of the Israelites and as the intercessor between them and God. Moses' relationships with the people and with God were fiery. He shepherded the Israelites, protected them from God's wrath, and castigated them.
 
In their conversations with each other, Moses and God seemed in a strange way like an old married couple - reminding each other of the old days, both good and bad; blaming each other for the faults of the Israelites, like parents arguing over children; seeking deeper understanding of each other; and finally, saying goodbye in a tender way. The Babylonian Talmud says that when Moses died, God took his soul by kissing him.
 
Today, many of us, whether Jewish or not, say we are seeking spirituality - we may want religious services to be spiritually uplifting, or we may want to feel closer to God in some way. But virtually all of us want it on our terms.It reminds me of my second year in rabbinical school, when there was an early attempt to develop a spirituality program for the students. We used to joke that the program required that "you will be spiritual every Thursday at 10".
 
What we need to acknowledge is that spiritual life can be like a lovers' relationship - it has its ups and downs, passion, loneliness, anger, intimacy, estrangement, reunion, forgiveness. Why should our relationship with God be easier than our relationships with people? Like any other relationship, it takes a commitment of time, learning and emotion to develop a spiritual life. The payoff is that we know that at the end of our days, we will be able to look back at a life fulfilled; ending in a warm embrace from those we love.
 
Chag Shemini Atzeret V’Simchat Torah Sameach V'Shabbat Shalom!
These are the seasons of our joy!
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
TBH/CBM
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO! 

Shabbat/Sh’mini Atzeret Evening Service with Reb Jason and Rabbi Flom, this Friday evening at 6:30 pm PDT.
 
Shabbat/Sh’mini Atzeret Morning Service with Yizkor with Reb Jason and Rabbi Flom this Saturday at 10:00 am PDT.
 
Family-friendly Simchat Torah Morning Service with Reb Jason and Rabbi Flom this Sunday at 10:00 am PDT.

Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat Ma'ariv, Shabbat/Festival Morning, and more, available at: 
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/form-download-e-siddur-0 

You can download both Siddur Sim Shalom and Siddur Lev Shalem at the above link. 
 
David Silon’s "History of the Jews of Israel and the Middle East" will resume Sunday, October 18 at 11:00 am PDT. 

Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PDT for Lunch and Learn, a 60 minute study session. We're learning the weekly haftarah. 

The study materials for the October 13 class can be found at:    
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WCuLjGViOO8BbYKIp6p1HMNFMVW4WGFa?usp=sharing 

You can subscribe to the Conservative Yeshivah’s weekly Torah Sparks via email here: 
https://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/torahsparks/ 

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!): 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: 
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!): 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, 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