YOU HAVE TO BE THERE TO BE COUNTED

Parashat B’midbar
Sivan 4, 5781 / May 14-15, 2021
Torah: Numbers 1:1 – 4:20
Haftarah: Hosea 2:1-22
 
Shavuot 1 
Sivan 6, 5781 / May 16-17, 2021
Torah: Exodus 19:1 – 20:22; Numbers 28:26-31
Haftarah: Ezekiel 1:1-28; 3:12
 
Shavuot 2
Sivan 7, 5781 / May 17-18, 2021
Book of Ruth
Torah: Deuteronomy 15:19 – 16:17; Numbers 28:26-31
Haftarah: Habakkuk 3:1-19
Yizkor

*****************************

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR 

IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE AT SERVICES!!

WE'RE OPENING UP

ON MAY 17th!!

Don't worry. You can still zoom in or attend via Facebook if you're not fully vaccinated as of May 3, or just feel like waiting a bit longer.

ALL ATTENDEES MUST

• PRESENT PROOF OF VACCINATION AT THE DOOR;
• SIGN THE VACCINE REGISTRY LINKED BELOW IN ADVANCE
• WEAR A MASK AT ALL TIMES

Vaccine Registration link:

 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFFxLO26XiejbcROJXY2eCaC7K7wZYgJzRe4PO3smAOaN3cg/viewform 

*****************************

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my beloved father, Martin Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday. Y’hi zikhro barukh - his memory is a blessing.

 
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my beloved grandfather, Jacob Slome, whose yahrzeit falls on Wednesday. Y’hi zikhro barukh - his memory is 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 to or removed from this Refuah Shleimah/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 
 
All our services and programs are live-streamed at: 
https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim 
 
More info about our services and programs follows below this d'var torah. And even more info about our community is available at our website: 
https://bnihayim.org 
 
Please feel free to pass this on, and please cite the source.
-------------------------------------------
YOU HAVE TO BE THERE TO BE COUNTED
 
In Hebrew, this book of the Torah is titled “B’midbar” - “In the wilderness”. However, the old name was “Chamesh - Hapekudim” - “one fifth (of the books of the Torah), that of the countings”. The English name of B’midbar is “the Book of Numbers”, because the initial subject of the book is the numbering of the Israelites. One must wonder why God instructs Moses to take a census of the entire Israelite community, listing the names, head by head. (Num. 1:2)
 
Rashi says, "Because they were dear to Him, He counted them (literally) every hour. When they left Egypt, He counted them (Ex. 12:37); when [many] fell because [of the sin] of the golden calf, He counted them to know the number of the survivors (Ex. 32:28); when He came to cause His Divine Presence to rest among them, He counted them. On the first of Nissan, the tabernacle was erected, and on the first of Iyar, He counted them."
 
God is like a shepherd, constantly counting the flock. But there is more to it, according to Rambam (Maimonides), who says, "God brought them out according to the number of their hosts, God called all of them by name." The idea that God called every Israelite by name speaks volumes about the importance of every Jew. The commentary Bet Aharon says that every Jew is obligated to know and consider his/her uniqueness in the world. There has never been another identical Jew, for if there had been, one of them would have been superfluous. Each of us is an entirely new creation. Each of us has a unique perspective of the Torah. Each of us has a Torah to share with everyone else. This is because each of us was, and is, present at the giving of the Torah, and each of us saw, and sees, it from a unique point of view. When we conclude the blessing over the reading of the Torah, we refer to the giving of the Torah in the present tense - Blessed are You, Lord, the One who gives the Torah.
 
God is constantly giving us the Torah, through our own study and through our fellow Jews. But to be counted, to receive your Torah, you have to be there, you have to be at your Sinai. If you are not open to receiving God's Torah, you won't be counted, and the loss will not only be yours, but that of every other Jew. If your children do not receive Torah, then their Torah, and the Torah of their descendants, will be lost as well. This Sunday evening through Tuesday, we will be celebrating Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah. Go to the synagogue, study and consider the Ten Commandments, read the Book of Ruth, receive your Torah. Let you and your Torah be counted.
 
Shabbat shalom v'chag sameach!
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging at:  http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/ 
Visit me on Facebook
שַׁאֲלוּ שְׁלוֹם יְרוּשָׁלִָם
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem...
Psalms 122:6
... and for peace throughout the Holy Land!
-----------------------------------------------
Candle lighting:
Friday 7:29 pm
Sunday: 7:30 pm
Monday: After 8:31 pm from a transferred flame; same for yahrzeit candle

Shabbat Evening Service with Rabbi Flom this Friday at 6:30 PM

Shabbat Morning Service with Rabbi Flom this Saturday at 10:00 AM

Tikkun Leil Shavuot - Sunday at 8:00 PM. A study session with Reb Jason and Rabbi Flom

Shavuot 1 Morning Service - Monday at 9:30 AM. IN THE SANCTUARY and via Zoom and Facebook. ***See important note above***

Shavuot 2 Morning Service - Tuesday at 9:30 AM - with YIZKOR. IN THE SANCTUARY and via Zoom and Facebook. ***See important note above***

All our services and programs are live-streamed at: 

https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim 

Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat/Festival Ma'ariv, Shabbat/Festival Morning, and more, including the weekly Parashah and Haftarah, all available at: 

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

Fill out the form - the download is free. 

Religious School this Sunday at 9:00 AM. 

David Silon’s on-going class on Israel meets Sunday at 11:00 AM. 

Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 PM for Lunch and Learn, a 60-90 minute study session. We're learning Hasidic and classic teachings on the weekly parashah. NO session this Tuesday. Resume May 25.

Some excellent on-line Jewish resources are available at: 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/ 

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

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

Cyber Torah list management: 

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