UNCLE SAM WANTS.... YOUR EXTRA FOOD!

Parashat Emor

Iyar 13, 5782 / May 13-14, 2022

Torah: Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23

Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31

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

This d'var torah is offered in memory of Steven Kleiger z”l, whose yahrzeit falls on Tuesday, 16 Iyar. His memory is a blessing.

Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about becoming a Chaver and our various programs, at: https://bnaihayim.org/  

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Lunch and Learn is going on hiatus for the month of May, as I will be traveling quite a bit. We meet Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live, and may be going back to in-person as well starting in June. We’ll be continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya’akov. On May 31, we'll be at page 5 (my pagination) of Chapter 6 of BT Berakhot (40a) - "Raba the son of Samuel said in the name of R. Chiya:...” The reading may be found at: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QOGujnXBhbJalQbfp3vPpK7TeeZejXZo/view?usp=sharing 

Previous chapters of Ein Ya'akov are available as follows:

Chapter 1: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jt-NLamlIiAGpBhU7WNrCVZGBYhHHWCN/view?usp=sharing  

Chapter 2: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vJHoKQJwoObg2ygnnXc7qIV5Adgcvswc/view?usp=sharing 

Chapters 3 and 4: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TpQwHh2XyWT9XYQ5OAjwxDbuVpXbzIDY/view?usp=sharing 

Chapter 5: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18naYXIfd37WqagfJ5UfJoH84amqt2-tA/view?usp=sharing 

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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at: 

https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/ 
 
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you can read here: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com   
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source. 
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UNCLE SAM WANTS.... YOUR EXTRA FOOD!

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely reap all the way to the corners of your field, and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 23:22

In the Book of Ruth, which we will read in three weeks on the festival of Shavuot, we see this commandment in action. Ruth follows the harvesters in the field of Boaz, and gathers food for herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi. The requirement that the corners and gleanings be left for the poor to collect, rather than simply given to them, is important; it gives them the dignity of gathering it, and thereby providing for themselves. It also demonstrates that the food is not really the farmer's to give away. "For the land is Mine," says God, "for you are sojourners and residents with Me." (Lev. 25:23) God created it; God owns it; we are only tenant farmers in the Ribono Shel Olam's vineyard. And since that is the case, we should take seriously God's commandment to share with those who are less fortunate than we are.

Well, few of us are farmers today, but we reap God's bounty every time we go to the market, every time we open the refrigerator. And if we are not prepared to let strangers go picking through our pantries, we can at least give food to them, or to people who know how to distribute food to those who are hungry.

This Saturday, mail carriers throughout the United States will be "stamping out hunger", collecting cans, bags and boxes of non-perishable groceries. (For more info, go to: https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive and  https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/mi/2022/0509-stamp-out-hunger-food-drive.htm) The food will be distributed to local food banks and soup kitchens. This is a no-brainer. All you have to do is leave groceries by your mailbox and the carrier will take them when s/he delivers your mail. One item or fifty, it will all help alleviate some people's hunger for a time.

But there are poor and needy people who are hungry at other times of the year, not just when we run annual food drives. So at home, or at your synagogue or church or mosque, or at school, set up a box, and put some food items in it once in a while. Encourage your friends and family to do the same. When it's full, take it over to the nearest community food bank or soup kitchen, and give people the corners and the gleanings of your field. Here at B'nai Hayim/Beth Meier we have a box that is constantly filled and delivered to SOVA, which is also a local beneficiary of the Postal Service drive. We learned in last week’s parashah, “You shall love your neighbor, who is like you.” (Lev. 19:18) When you perform the dual mitzvot of “peah” (corner) and “leket” (gleaning), you fulfill the mitzvah of love as well, for then your neighbor can do as you do: eat and be satisfied (Deuteronomy 11:15).

Wishing you Shabbat Shalom Uv'rakhah - A Shabbat of Peace and Blessing!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/
Visit me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RabbiRichardFlom 
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
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