FOUR PILLARS OF SOCIETY

Parashat Shoftim
Elul 7, 5782 / September 2-3, 2022
Torah - Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9
Haftarah - Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12 (Fourth Haftarah of Consolation)
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My Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet - 5783 Edition, is now available at my blog:

https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2022/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet-5783.html 

I hope you find it useful.

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of Lynn's sister, Janis Devorah Kronzek, died far too young, whose 21^st yahrzeit falls on this Shabbat, Elul 7. Y'hi zikhronah liv'rakhah - may her memory be a blessing.
 
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina, Feigel bat Kreina, and Devorah bat Feigel.
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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On October 4, we'll be at BT Shabbat 15a - page 112 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 - "...אמר רב כהנא" - "R. Cahana said:..." Or, we might do something a little different for Yom Kippur.
 
There will be NO Lunch and Learn in September due to travel and holy days. We will next meet on October 4, Erev Yom Kippur. 
 
Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: 
HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: Ein Yakkov Vol 1 -- S. H. Glick 
-----------------------------------------------
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 should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 
 
Rosh Hashanah is three weeks from Sunday! Please submit your TBH Membership/High Holy Day forms ASAP! And your Book of Remembrance forms! And check your mail for the High Holy Day bulletin! For more info call the temple office at (818) 788-4664. 
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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FOUR PILLARS OF SOCIETY

“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous justice. You shall not pervert justice: you shall not show partiality; neither shall you take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live, and inherit the land which the LORD your God gives you.” Deuteronomy 16:18-20

These opening verses of this week’s parashah are most famous – and most difficult to translate. Why? Because the word tzedek (צדק), traditionally translated as “justice” in verse 20, also means “righteous”, as in verse 18, and is the root of the word tzedakah (צדקה), “charity” or “righteousness”. In verse 18, the word for “justice” is mishpat (משפט). This word is closely related to Shoftim, “judges”, the name of our parashah. Hence, they shall judge with “just justice” or “righteous justice”.

In Likutei Yehudah, a collection of teachings from the Chasidim of Ger, we learn: “Whenever tzedakah is mentioned, mishpat is also mentioned (citing Gen. 18:19 and Psalms 99:4).” The reason, we are told, is that where there is no justice, there is no righteousness. One might well infer that where there is no righteousness, there is no justice.

But there is more. Hosea 2:21, the verse which is recited as the tefillin shel yad is wound around the fingers, says: “And I will betroth you unto Me forever; yea, I will betroth you unto Me in righteousness (צדק), and in justice (משפט), and in lovingkindness (chesed – חסד), and in compassion (rachamim - רחמים)." I tingle as I read this - and not simply because this comes from the haftarah of my Bar Mitzvah (Parashat Bamidbar).

The Chatam Sofer (Rabbi Moses Schreiber; 1762-1839) teaches that this is an exchange, I imagine as with a double ring wedding ceremony – if we act with justice and righteousness, then God will show us lovingkindness and compassion. We are literally binding ourselves to God in an exchange of vows.

I would like to read even more into this – I must read more into this. These concepts are of a piece. To me, these are the four pillars of the only society worth creating and worth living in.

We are well into the month of Elul, a time for cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of the soul, leading up to the Days of Awe – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. What have we done this past year to establish justice and righteousness and lovingkindness and compassion in ourselves and our families and our communities and our world? What will we do in the year to come to make ourselves worthy of living in the world God wants us to create?

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 

Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet - 5783

 Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet

A Personal Inventory for the High Holy Days – 5783 edition

Traditionally, cheshbon hanefesh, self-evaluation, literally an accounting of the soul, is undertaken during the Aseret Yamei Teshuvah – the Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur. The entire month of Elul is even better, but in truth, any time is a good time.

With openness and honesty, giving the benefit of the doubt to yourself without being extravagant, being self-critical without beating yourself up, evaluate the following on an appropriate scale of your choosing. There is no yardstick. Every person is a work in progress – no exceptions!

Keep notes in a diary and add to them all year. These questions/reflections require much more than a mere score. Please feel free to add any topics you wish to evaluate. Consider both quality and quantity.  Don’t forget to answer the most important questions of all: How have I improved since last year? In what areas do I need to improve? What are my goals in those areas? What will I do to reach them? Of course, there is no right answer to any of this ….. is there?

The People in My Life

How are my relationships with parents, children, spouses/life partners, other family, friends, neighbors, strangers, employers, employees, customers, teachers, et al.?

Who did I injure? Who injured me? How? Why? Does blame matter?

What did I do to make amends? Was it enough?

What did/can/will I do to assure it doesn’t happen again?

Did I apologize?

Did I ask for forgiveness? Was I forgiven? How do I feel about that? Was I not forgiven? How do I feel about that?

Did I forgive those who asked for forgiveness? How do I feel about them?

Is our relationship the same – better – worse? Reconciliation?

What did I do to heal the people in my life?

Did I help others reconcile with each other? Am I a rodef shalom?

Are there patterns, habits, addictions in my life I need to change? Are there good patterns and habits in my life that I should utilize even more?

Do I really hear and understand other people – their needs, hopes and dreams? How can/do I encourage them? Do I encourage them?

Do I accept others for who they are, even if they aren’t what I want them to be? Do I have the right to want them to be other than who they are?

Lashon Hara/Rechilut – Slander, gossip, offensive speech

            Did I speak/write it?

            Did I read/listen to it?

            Did I prevent others from spreading it?

God in My Life

Is God in my life?

Do I ever contemplate the Divine?

Do I ever contemplate holiness? Can I be holy? Do I see the holiness in other people?

Do I engage in regular prayer and/or meditation?

            Tefillin

            Daily prayer service/private worship

            Bedtime Sh’ma (teach your children well)

            Blessings for Mitzvot

            Blessings for food/drink

Can I really imitate God?

Did I do teshuvah?

Did I forgive God for what happened to me? Can God cause anything to happen to me?
Do I have a personal theology?

Jewish Ritual/Jewish Observance

Kashruth

            Biblical

            Halakhic - whose halakhah?

            Home

            Out

            Vegetarian

   Vegan

How are my Shabbat and Holy Days (general)?

            Know the stories/reasons

  Candles

            Kiddush

            Family Blessings

            Zemirot – table songs

            Guests

            Refraining from Work

            Attending Services

            Torah Study

            Reflection

            Havdalah

            Fulfilling/meaningful/involved/indifferent

How are my holy days? Do I observe them in some fashion? Do I know what the tradition says? How do I find meaning? Can I/May I/Should I create new traditions?
Specific holy days

            Rosh Hashanah

                        Tashlikh

                        Shofar

            Yom Kippur

                        Fasting

                        Contemplation

                        Teshuvah

            Sukkot

                        Built/ate/studied/slept in a Sukkah

                        Ushpizin – honored visitors

               Lulav and Etrog

            Shemini Atzeret

            Simchat Torah

            Chanukah
                         Chanukiyah/menorah

            Tu BiShevat

            Purim

                        Megillah Reading

                        Shlach Manot

                        Tzedakah

            Pesach

                        Bedikat Chametz

                        Seder

                        No chametz during holiday

            Yom Hashoah

            Yom Ha’atzma’ut

            Shavuot

            Tisha B’Av

            Yizkor – Do I remember those who have gone before me?

Mitzvot – Mitzvah means commandment – or is it a good deed?

            Have I taken on more mitzvot?

            Have I improved my observance of mitzvot I was already doing?

            Have I ceased mitzvot I was already doing?

            How?

            Why?
            Do I find fulfillment in their observance? Am I supposed to?

Judaism - Do I preach it, teach it, live it?

Study

Do I engage in regular Torah study?

Do I read Jewish books and/or periodicals?

What do I know about Judaism generally?

            History

            Holy Days

            Texts – Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, etc.

            Culture

            Zionism - what is it? Are there "Zionisms"?

            Personalities

            Beliefs/tenets/philosophy

            Practices

            Halakhah

            Hebrew language

Israel

The State of Israel

The government of the State of Israel

The people of the State of Israel

The People Israel (am yisrael)

The Land of Israel - these five are all called "Israel" in different contexts - do we understand the differences?

Travel – ever; recently; soon

Support (whatever that means, in whichever way one sees fit)

            How? When? Where? Should these matter?

            Israel Bonds

            JNF

            Israeli products

            Rallies

            Letter writing

            AIPAC

            J Street

            Peace Now

            New Israel Fund
            Other groups

            What do I think about the settlements?

            What do I think about the Occupation?

            What do I think about peace with the Palestinians?

            What do I think about the rabbanut?

            What do I think about non-Jewish Israelis?
            How do I feel about BDS?

Criticize (whatever that means, in whichever way one sees fit)

             How? When? Where? Should these matter?

Zionism - political - types

Zionism - religious - types

Tzedakah/Gemilut Chasadim/Volunteerism

Do I view others as B'tzelem Elohim - in the image of God?

"Tzedek, tzedek tirdof" - Justice, justice you shall pursue

Feed the hungry

Clothe the naked

Defend/care for the stranger in our midst

Hear the cries of others

Charitable donations

            How much tzedakah? (according to Torah and halakhah, tithing [10%] expected)

Donations of Time/Volunteer work

            Congregation

            Other organizations

Donations of Self/gemilut chasadim - acts of lovingkindness

            Bikur cholim - visiting/care for the sick

            Comforting mourners

            Comforting the afflicted

Jewish Community

Do I belong to a Jewish community?
How do I belong?
Supporting without belonging?

Belonging without adequately supporting?
How active in congregation?

            Affiliates

            Religious school/teaching

How active in other Jewish groups?

Reaching out to other Jews

Captive Jews
What about everybody else?

My Body, My Self

Exercise

Diet

Self-abuse (drugs, alcohol, tobacco)

Self-control

Care of the body

Care of the soul

Care of the mind

What did I do to heal myself?

Take reasonable advantage of the pleasing things in this world – art, music, good food and drink, travel, etc.

The Physical World Around Me

The environment – b’al tashchit – do not destroy; cleanup; conservation; climate change

Kindness to animals

Stop and smell the roses/meditate on the wonder of Creation?

Tikkun olam?

A Few Final Thoughts for Your Consideration

Do I deserve another year because I have been good?

Do I deserve another year because I will be better? I promise!

Am I prepared to do teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah?

© Rabbi Richard Flom - 2022

THE END OF POVERTY IS IN YOUR HANDS

Av 30, 5782 / August 26-27, 2022

Parashat Re'eh – Rosh Chodesh Elul
Torah: Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17
Maftir: Numbers 28:9-15
Haftarah: Isaiah 66:1-24 (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh)

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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Jay Goodman, Minnie Leah bat Channah Bella, Chanah Bella bat Kreina, Feigel bat Kreina, and Devorah bat Feigel.

This d'var torah is offered in honor of the women of Temple B'nai Hayim who will be conducting services, chanting Torah and haftarah, and more this Shabbat morning for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh.
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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On August 30 we'll be at BT Shabbat 15a - page 112 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 - "...אמר רב כהנא" - "R. Cahana said:..." 

There will be NO Lunch and Learn on September 6. 

Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: 
HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: Ein Yakkov Vol 1 -- S. H. Glick 
-----------------------------------------------
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 should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 

This weekend is TBH Open House, featuring Shabbarbecue and Service Friday night, Women's Rosh Chodesh Shabbat Service and kiddush luncheon on Saturday morning, S'mores Havdalah Saturday night, and Open House Sunday morning. All events are in person and live streaming. For more info call the temple office at (818) 788-4664. Come on down!

Rosh Hashanah is one month from Sunday! Please submit your TBH Membership/High Holy Day forms ASAP! And your Book of Remembrance forms! And check your mail for the High Holy Day bulletin! For more info call the temple office at (818) 788-4664. 

 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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THE END OF POVERTY IS IN YOUR HANDS

"However, there shall be no needy among you ..... If there should be a needy person among you … you shall not harden your heart or close your hand against your needy brother ... For the needy shall never cease to exist in the land; therefore I command you saying, 'You shall open your hand to your brother, to your poor and to your needy in your land.'" Deut. 15: 4, 7, 11

What is Moses trying to teach us here? In two brief paragraphs, he tells us there will be no needy people, then tells us what to do should there be needy people, then says there always will be needy people. The answer is found, in part, in the verses I did not quote. If only you hearken to the voice of the Lord, observe this commandment, etc. - then there will be no needy. So why does he conclude by saying that the needy will always exist?

Moses is a cynic. He suspects that not everyone will obey the commandment to give tzedakah (צדקה - "charity", from the Hebrew root צדק meaning "justice" or "righteousness"), or lend under a social regime in which all debts are forgiven every seven years. He's correct, of course, which is unfortunate. It means that those who do give, who do obey this commandment (and the related commandments concerning corners of the field, tithing, etc.), bear an unfair share of society's burden. Perhaps this is why, at the opening of next week's parashah, Shoftim, Moses reinforces this by saying, "צדק צדק תרדף למען תחיה" - "be just, pursue justice, that you may live"

In Psalms 41:2 we are told: “Fortunate is one who is thoughtful to the poor." According to Rabbi Yehudah Nachshoni, one who observes these laws "cannot live by exploitation or by using money for evil purposes." To him, it is self-evident. This is not feel-good pop psychology. Money is morally neutral. It's what we do with it that counts. I learned the first time I took a nickel to the candy store that spending money is a zero sum game. If we use our money for evil, or simply refuse to part with it out of greed or selfishness, it does no one any good; if we use it for good, we can not possibly use it for evil.

This is easy enough to prove to yourself. Every time you are about to spend money on something morally or legally questionable, drop the money in a tzedakah box instead. You'll be surprised to see how much good can come from avoiding evil. Create a good habit.  Anybody reading this can afford to put something in a tzedakah box on a regular basis - like every Friday afternoon before Shabbat. Prove Moses wrong! We can end poverty not with closed fists, but only with open hands.

Shabbat Shalom! Chodesh Elul Tov!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/  

.אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call!
Cyber Torah list management:
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address  to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.

IT'S TORAH SEASON!

Parashat Ekev
Av 23, 5782 / August 19-20, 2022
Torah: Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25
Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3 (The Second Shabbat of Consolation)
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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Jay Goodman, Minnie Leah bat Channah Bella, Chanah Bella bat Kreina, Feigel bat Kreina, and Devorah bat Feigel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On August 23 we'll be at BT Shabbat 12(b) - page 110 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 - - "Shebnah of Jerusalem upon entering would say 'Shalom'" - 

"שבנא איש ירושלים בכניסתו אומר שלום"

Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: 
HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: Ein Yakkov Vol 1 -- S. H. Glick 
-----------------------------------------------
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 should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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IT'S TORAH SEASON!
 
And it shall be, that if you hearken diligently to My commandments which I command you today; to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give rain to your land in its season, the early and the late, and you shall gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. Deuteronomy 11:13-14

The Seven Species of the Land of Israel - wheat, barley, date, grape, fig, pomegranate, olive

Rashi (quoting B. Talmud Sukkah 46b): If you hearken to the old, you will hearken to the new.
 
Rashi (commenting on Sukkah 46b): If one reviews (and hearkens to) one's previous Torah learning, it will assist one in learning (and hearkening to) new studies.
 
These opening sentences of the second paragraph of the Shema are generally regarded as typical of the theology of Deuteronomy - if you obey, everything will be all right, but if not, watch out! There is something to that, but not in the way we usually think. Here, the Rabbis see something else altogether - a metaphor for Torah study!
 
The Torah is often called "mayim chayim" - water of life. No person can live without water; no Jew can live an authentic Jewish life without Torah. Grain, wine and oil were staple foods for the Israelites - and without them, there could be no physical connection to God through the sacrificial service (through the most basic minchah grain/oil offering and the wine libation). Similarly, without Torah study, we will not have the spiritual wherewithal to properly serve God by improving ourselves and our world.
 
Unlike trigonometry or Beowulf, which most of us studied once (if at all) in high school and promptly forgot, Torah study must be regular and continuous - like the rain that comes in its season, year in and year out. If there is a drought in your learning, you won't have enough food for your soul. Torah is always in season - dig in!
 
Shabbat Shalom!
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/  

.אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
-----------------------------------------------------------
My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call!
Cyber Torah list management:
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address  to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.

TO REMEMBER OR TO OBSERVE?

Parashat Va’etchanan – Shabbat Nachamu
Av 16, 5783 / August 12-13, 2022
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).
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This d'var torah is offered in remembrance of Rabbi Moshe Goldblum, who taught me to remember Shabbat.
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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Jay Goodman, Minnie Leah bat Channah Bella, Chanah Bella bat Kreina, Feigel bat Kreina, and Devorah bat Feigel.
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This d'var torah is offered in honor of Felix and Jack Said, becoming b'nai mitzvah this Shabbat. Mazal tov!

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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On August 9 we'll be at BT Shabbat 12(b) - page 110 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 - - "Shebnah of Jerusalem upon entering would say 'Shalom'" - "שבנא איש ירושלים בכניסתו אומר שלום" 

Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: 
HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: Ein Yakkov Vol 1 -- S. H. Glick 
-----------------------------------------------
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 should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
 
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 

 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
---------------------------------------------------------
TO REMEMBER OR TO OBSERVE?
 
"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you." Deuteronomy 5:12
 
Rashi (quoting the Mekhilta d’Rebbi Yishmael): “At the first (i.e., Exodus 20:8), it says, "remember" (the Sabbath). Both were said in one statement and in one word, and they were heard simultaneously.”
 
According to the Midrash, Moses does not have a faulty memory. Since Moses cannot say two words at one time, the Torah uses "remember" in one place, and "observe" in the other. I have been taught that they are actually two separate commandments. One can perform one of these commandments without performing the other.
 
How is it possible to observe Shabbat without remembering it? Performance of mitzvot requires kavannah, the proper intent. If one carries out all of the rituals of Shabbat, does no work, and so forth, without reflecting on why one does so, without actually intending to do so, one has observed without remembering, and the observance is, in a way, incomplete. How is it possible to remember without observing? One might say to oneself, "It is Shabbat, and I will light the candles." But for some reason or other, one does not perform other Shabbat rituals, or one performs work, and so forth. One has surely remembered, but has not fully observed Shabbat.

I would suggest that remembering is more important than observing. This is because remembering can lead to observing (as it has in my own life, thank you Rabbi Goldblum), and one may thereby perform both of these commandments. But mechanical observance tends to turn into empty ritual – which is meaningless - and leads to forgetfulness, and thus the non-performance of both commandments. Perhaps in this context, we would do well to refer to the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov - "Memory is the source of redemption; forgetting leads to exile."
 
Even if you are not yet prepared to fully observe Shabbat, for your own sake, for the sake of your children, for the sake of the Jewish people, remember Shabbat.
 
Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/  

.אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם

Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

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My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call!
Cyber Torah list management:
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address  to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.

RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE – IT’S A TRADITION

Av 9, 5782 / August 5-6, 2022
Parashat Devarim (Shabbat Chazon)
Third Haftarah of Rebuke: Isaiah 1:1-27
Tisha B’Av reading: Megillat Eikhah – The Book of Lamentations

Torah: Deuteronomy 1:1 – 3:22

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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 delayed observance of Tisha B’Av on Saturday night and Sunday) and then the horrifying vision of the Book of Lamentations (Megillat Eikhah) on (delayed) 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 via Zoom or  at https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim for a community program of worship, reading of Lamentations, and study on Saturday, August 6, at 8:45 pm. Have a meaningful fast.

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of Sarah Labovitz Flom (my grandmother) and Martha Gottschalk Stern (Lynn's grandmother), whose yahrzeits fall Sunday, August 7 (10 Av), and Tuesday, August 9 (12 Av), respectively. Their memories are a blessing.

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The community extends condolences to Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen on the passing of his step-brother Mike Hanna. Y'hi zikhro liv'rakhah - May his memory be a blessing.

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

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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On August 9 we'll be at BT Shabbat 10(b) - page 107 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 - - "R. Hisda was holding two [priestly] gifts of oxen in his hand" - "רב חסדא הוה נקיט בידיה תרתי מתנתא דתורא" 

Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at: 

HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: Ein Yakkov Vol 1 -- S. H. Glick 

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

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE – IT’S A TRADITION

In this week’s haftarah, Isaiah warns the people what will happen to them if they continue to disobey God’s instructions – particularly with regard to matters of justice.

“… Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves clean; Put your evil out of My sight. Cease your evil ways. Learn to do good; devote yourselves to justice; aid those who have been wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow.” Isaiah 1:15-17

“If you refuse and disobey, you will be consumed by violence – for it was the Lord who spoke.” Isaiah 1:20

"Your rulers are rogues and cronies of thieves, every one of them avid for bribery and greedy for illicit gifts; They do not give the orphan justice, and the widow's case never reaches them." Isaiah 1:23

This Sunday, delayed by a day due to Shabbat, Jews remember and mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, twice, on the 9^th of Av – first in 587 BCE by the Babylonians, and in 70 CE by the Romans. Other calamities suffered by the Jewish people are attributed to or very close to the 9^th of Av.

The Book of Lamentations (attributed, probably incorrectly, to Jeremiah) describes the destruction by the Babylonians. The Talmud, in a number of places, attributes both destructions, particularly by the Romans, to baseless hatred among the people.

Thus, we may read the Talmud as teaching that failure to take to heart the teachings of Isaiah leads to the moral and physical destruction of society.

We’ve seen resistance to injustice before. Abraham argued with God for the sake of Sodom and Gomorrah – he lost the argument, but he was not afraid to make the challenge - for people he didn’t know, for people who were not so nice, but who were nevertheless fellow human beings. Our Rabbis taught that one of the reasons God ultimately destroyed the cities was because of “the cry of the maiden” – a woman who was executed in Sodom for the crime of giving food and water to the poor and to immigrants.

More famously, Moses demanded justice from the Pharaoh of Egypt – and set an enslaved people free. It took a while, and God’s intervention, but our Rabbis teach that had Moses refused to do this, had he remained silent, the Israelites might still be slaves. This story of the Exodus led to constant reminders to love the Other because “you were strangers in Egypt” and “you know the heart of the stranger”. On this point, we learn specifically, “You will love the stranger, because you were strangers in Egypt.” Deuteronomy 10:19

Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and virtually all of the other Biblical prophets, have a few things in common. They challenged the status quo of an immoral and unjust power structure, and they demanded that the people act more justly. “For it is lovingkindness I desire, not sacrifice.” Hosea 6:6

At BT Pesachim 66a, Hillel the Elder says of the Jewish people, "If they are not prophets (who have directly heard the voice of God), they are the children of prophets (and thus will know and do the right thing)."

Remember where you come from. Do the right thing. Resistance is not futile - ever.

Shabbat Shalom. Have a meaningful Tisha B'Av.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/ 

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a

My weekly divrei torah are also available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call!

Cyber Torah list management:

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.

To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.

To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.