WALKING THAT GODLY WALK

Parashat Ekev

Av 22, 5781 / July 30-31, 2021

Torah: Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25
Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3 (Second Haftarah of Consolation)

 

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier, check out: 

https://bnaihayim.org/   

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Elisheva bat Minnie Leah, Feigel bat Kreina, and D'vorah bat Feigel. 

 
Our TBH/CBM Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen has a blog of Divrei Torah which you can read at:

https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/ 

NO Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, August 3, and NO Cyber Torah next week. Both will resume the following week. 

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

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WALKING THAT GODLY WALK

 

“For if you diligently observe this entire commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Adonai your God, to walk in all God’s ways, and to cling to God...” Deuteronomy 11:22

 

Sifrei Deuteronomy 49:1 on the above verse teaches: “’To walk in all God’s ways’ – these are the ways of the Holy One – ‘gracious and compassionate, patient, abounding in kindness and truth, assuring love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and granting pardon’”. (citing Exodus 34:6-7)

 

The verses from Exodus 34:6-7, cited by the Midrash Sifrei Deuteronomy, describe in part the 13 Middot (character traits) of God. These traits – grace, patience, kindness, forgiveness, etc. - are the basis for teaching and developing a virtue-based ethics, as in the Musar Movement in Judaism. This allows people to make correct moral decisions through character development, rather than by following a set of action-based rules, as in Halakhah. To Sifrei Deuteronomy, to walk in God’s ways is to emulate God’s moral character.

 

But earlier in this parashah, we have these verses:

 

“And now, Israel, what does Adonai your God ask of you? Only that you should hold in awe the Lord your God, to walk in all God’s ways, and to love God, and to serve Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 10:12

 

“For the Lord … shows no favor and takes no bribe. God does justice for the orphan and widow, and loves the stranger, in providing them food and clothing. Therefore you must love the stranger; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 10:17-19

 

If we connect this latter set of verses, we see the Torah as teaching that walking in God’s ways is to emulate God’s actions, directed at our fellow human beings. We are to take no bribes, do justice, and love strangers by giving them companionship and providing for their physical needs.

 

So how do we walk in God’s ways? You already know the answer – we develop our character so we’ll do the right thing, and we do the right thing so we’ll develop our character.

 

Lace up those walking shoes!

Shabbat Shalom.

 
Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
Sherman Oaks, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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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 
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THEY ARE FINE JUST AS THEY ARE

Parashat Va’etchanan – Shabbat Nachamu
Av 15, 5781 / July 23-24, 2021
Torah: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26 (First Haftarah of Comfort)
 
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort, for the words of God and the prophet following Tisha B'Av (9 Av).

This Shabbat also falls on Tu B'Av, the 15th of Av, traditionally a day for celebrating the beginning of the grape harvest in the Land of Israel, and more importantly for us all, a day for celebrating love.
 
This d'var torah is offered in honor of Jessica Danhi, who is celebrating her Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov to Jessica and her family!
 
Jessica has asked as part of her mitzvah project that the next time you come to TBH/CBM, please bring some non-perishable canned and packaged foods and personal items (no glass) for SOVA. The need is as great as it's ever been.
 
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Elisheva bat Minnie Leah, Feigel bat Kreina, and D'vorah bat Feigel. 
 
Our TBH/CBM Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen has a timely D’var Torah which you should read at: 

https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/2021/07/20/shavua-tov-july-20-2021-12-av-5781-the-megillah-of-julia-haart/  

 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THEY ARE FINE JUST AS THEY ARE
 
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you subtract from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2
 
Rabbi Alexander Moshe Lapidot taught: “A Jew must find the golden, middle path (citing Rambam) in the fear/awe of God and in the observance of the mitzvot. Just as a wicked person is liable to violate the prohibition of “you shall not subtract”, a righteous person is liable to violate the prohibition of “you shall not add”, and can thereby bring tragedy upon the world.”
 
Jewish tradition understands that there are two general types of mitzvot: bein adam lamakom (between a human being and God) and bein adam l’chaveiro (between a human being and his/her fellow human). Rabbi Lapidot seems to be talking only about the first type. The Vilna Gaon taught that there was a third category: bein adam l’atzmo (between a human and him/herself). These divisions matter. 
 
Whether a person violates or makes stricter upon him/herself a mitzvah bein adam lamakom is strictly between them – God can reward or punish as God sees fit. Regarding a mitzvah bein adam l’atzmo – the only one affected is the person – no one else.
 
But, someone who alters or ignores or makes easier (for themselves) or makes stricter (for others) the mitzvot bein adam l’chaveiro regarding interpersonal relationships, damages others and society. For these mitzvot, the person doing the adding/subtracting must answer one simple question: Who benefits from my change to this mitzvah? If the answer is, “I do,” then one might well be causing a tragedy.
 
Shabbat Shalom.
 
Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
Sherman Oaks, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
 -----------------------------------------------
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

GOING IT ALONE IS NOT THE WAY TO GO

Av 8, 5781 / July 16-17, 2021
Parashat Devarim (Shabbat Chazon)
Torah: Deuteronomy 1:1 – 3:22
Third Haftarah of Rebuke: Isaiah 1:1-27

Tisha B’Av reading: Megillat Eikhah – The Book of Lamentations

This Shabbat is Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of Vision, so-called because we read on Shabbat morning the rebuking vision of Isaiah (leading into the observance of Tisha B’Av on Saturday night and Sunday) and then the horrifying vision of the Book of Lamentations (Megillat Eikhah) on Tisha B’Av itself. Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and numerous other calamities which have befallen the Jewish people on the same date. Please join TBH/CBM at https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim for a community program of worship, reading of Lamentations, and study on Saturday, July 17, at 8:30 pm. Have a meaningful fast.
 
This d'var torah is offered in memory of Sarah Labovitz Flom (my grandmother) and Martha Gottschalk Stern (Lynn's grandmother), whose yahrzeits fall Monday, July 19 (10 Av), and Wednesday, July 21 (12 Av), respectively. Their memories are a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Elisheva bat Minnie Leah, Feigel bat Kreina, and D'vorah bat Feigel. 

Our TBH/CBM Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen has a timely D’var Torah which you should read at:  https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/2021/07/13/shavua-tov-july-13-2021-4-av-5781-free-britney-a-tisha-bav-exhortation/  

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

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GOING IT ALONE IS NOT THE WAY TO GO

"?איכה אשא לבדי, טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם"
 
(Moses asks) “How can I bear this alone, your troubles, and your burdens, and your strife?” (Deuteronomy 1:12)
 
The first word in the verse is “eikhah” – how – and it is also the Hebrew name of the Book of Lamentations. Rabbi Yosef Yosel Horowitz (aka Der Alter of Novardok – 1847-1919) comments: “Traditionally, this verse is read to the melody of Eikhah. This teaches us that if a person refuses to assume the responsibility for communal needs and thinks that by doing so he makes things easier for himself, he will in the end find out that matters will be worse for him, and he will remain alone and isolated – How (eikhah) can one dwell alone?”
 
Rabbi Horowitz is making an additional reference here to the sad opening verse of Eikhah – “How she sits alone, the city (Jerusalem) that was full of people!”
 
Even more important to me is that he brings to mind three well-known and valuable teachings from our Tradition: 1. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” (Hillel, Avot 1:14); 2. “Do not separate yourself from the community, and do not trust in yourself until the day of your death.” (Hillel, Avot 2:5); and, 3. “Every Jew is responsible toward each other.” (BT Shavuot 39a).
 
Judaism is a communal religion. I’m not referring simply to the requirement of a minyan for certain parts of the worship service. The truth is, no observance of Shabbat or festivals or life cycle events, joyful or sad, can be spiritually fulfilling or meaningful if conducted in the vacuum of loneliness. Even if one believes that they can go it alone, they risk increasing their isolation and despair. Additionally, they are depriving the community of the opportunity (and obligation) to take part in such observance.
 
If you are not associated with a synagogue or other Jewish community, find one that fits your needs and join. Take part in communal activities, and contribute your time and financial resources to sustaining and improving the community to the best of your ability.

 
A Hasidic story - Two people happen upon each other in the forest. Both are lost. Says one, "The way I have come is not the way out." The other replies, "Nor is the way I have come. Perhaps if we search together, we will find the way." Do they find the way? I don't know. At least they are joined in common cause, unafraid of each other, helping each other, and not stumbling blindly in the dark.
 
Do not sit alone – and do not let others sit alone. We need each other.
 
Have a meaningful fast on Tisha B’Av. Shabbat Shalom.
 
Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
Sherman Oaks, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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KOSHER WORDS, KOSHER THINGS

 Av 1, 5781 / July 9-10, 2021
Parashat Mattot - Mas'ei
Torah: Numbers 30:2 - 32:42 (Chazak!)
Maftir: Shabbat Rosh Chodesh: Numbers 28:9-15
Second Haftarah of Rebuke: (Ashkenazim) Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4. (Sephardim) Jeremiah 2:4-28; 4:1-2
 
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Elisheva bat Minnie Leah, Feigel bat Kreina, and D'vorah bat Feigel.
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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KOSHER WORDS, KOSHER THINGS
 
"If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath prohibiting something to himself, he shall not profane his word; all that has come from his mouth he must do." Numbers 30:3
 
”Any articles that can withstand fire, you shall pass through the fire, and they shall be pure, except that they shall be purified with the water of sprinkling (water imbued with red heifer ashes); and that which cannot withstand fire you shall pass through the water." Numbers 31:23
 
Vows and oaths have extraordinary power - they can turn ordinary objects into things of holiness or prohibition. "I hereby vow to donate this silver cup to the synagogue"; "By my oath, I will not eat meat for six months" - these words have transformative effect over mundane things. This is why Jewish tradition frowns on the recitation of vows and oaths.
 
Changing the (ritual) nature of objects is accomplished either by words, according to the first verse, or by kashering, making them fit to use, as stated in the later verse. What about the converse? What happens if you profane your word?
 
If an object is kosher, and is used only for kosher purposes, it remains kosher. If it is defiled, it requires an elaborate process of kashering. Similarly, if you want to retract a vow, the rabbis devised a ritual for doing so. If you have already violated your word, you must do teshuvah - the steps of repentance. Just as it is far easier to maintain the kashrut of an object by not defiling it, so is it easier to maintain the purity of our words by fulfilling them (or not uttering them in the first place!).
 
So perhaps it is not coincidental that the Hebrew word for "things" and the Hebrew word for "words" is the same word - "devarim". Our words have meaning and power that are tangible. Be a person of your word.
 
Peace and blessings. Shabbat Shalom!
 
Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
Sherman Oaks, CA
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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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 
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