Parashat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (Sixth Haftarah of Consolation)
Elul 20, 5781 / August 27-28, 2021
Rosh Hashanah starts in less than two weeks!
For the past few years, I have created a Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet to help get us ready for the spiritual side of the High Holy Days (sorry, no recipes or floral arrangements!). You can download it from my blog at:
https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2021/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet-5782-edition.html
Also, some excellent on-line resources are available for your Rosh Hashanah preparations at:
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Elisheva bat Minnie Leah, Feigel bat Kreina, and D'vorah bat Feigel.
NO Lunch and Learn on August 31 or September 7. Resume September 14. Shanah Tovah!
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about becoming a Chaver and our various programs, including the High Holidays, at:
https://bnaihayim.org/
Our Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen has a blog of Divrei Torah which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REJOICE IN THEIR REJOICING
“11And you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you, and to your house - you, and the Levite, and the stranger who is in the midst of you. 12When you have concluded tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be satisfied. 13You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have put away the holy thing out of my house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me: I have not transgressed any of Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them: 14I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I put away of it while unclean, nor given of it for the dead: I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.’” Deuteronomy 26:11-14
Rashi on verse 14: “I have rejoiced and caused others to rejoice.”
The Torah commentary Mikra Meforash makes this comment on Rashi: “All of the Torah is encompassed in the commandment, ‘You shall love your fellow as yourself.’ (referencing Rabbi Akiva’s dictum in Sifra Kedoshim) By helping others to rejoice, one fulfills this commandment, and is thus able to say, ‘I have done according to all that You have commanded me.’”
The third year tithe (10%) ma’aser shlishi is also known as ma’aser ani – the tithe for the poor. With the destruction of the Temple, the two other agricultural tithes fell away, but ma’aser ani morphed into the rabbinic commandment of ma’aser kesafim – an annual tithe of money income. It is also more commonly known as the basis of tzedakah – charity, derived from tzedek - justice.
Setting aside 10% of one’s income (Maimonides says 20%) and donating it as tzedakah for the poor allows them to rejoice, to eat, and to be satisfied. In doing so, one fulfills what Rabbi Akiva called “the fundamental principle of the Torah” – loving one’s fellow as oneself.
If you are in a position to give tzedakah, rejoice in that happy status – but first, fulfill that central commandment - show your love and dedication to others by causing them to rejoice - with you.
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
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
