FULL OF JOY

Elul 21, 5782 / September 16-17, 2022
Parashat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (Sixth 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 for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina, Feigel bat Kreina, and Devorah bat Feigel.

This d’var torah is offered in memory of Rabbi Meier Schimmel, founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Meier, whose yahrzeit falls on Thursday, Elul 26. Y’hi zekher tzaddik liv’rakhah.
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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: 

https://hebrewbooks.org/9630 
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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 
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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 one week from Sunday! Please submit your TBH Membership/High Holy Day forms ASAP! 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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FULL OF JOY

"And you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and they will be filled." Deuteronomy 26:11-12

"Offering of the First Fruits" - Providence Lithograph Company, circa 1900

Rabbi Barukh Brofman: ‘This is a reference to Birkat Hamazon (Blessing after the Meal) - "Do not let us need the gifts of flesh and blood". For this we thank God. Specifically - "You shall rejoice in every good thing - which the Lord has given you."’

Tiferet Shlomo: ‘The Torah adds "and they will be filled" to teach us that one must give generously - otherwise there is no blessing in it.’

Most of us do not rely upon charity (tzedakah) - and we SHOULD be thankful for that. But thanking God (through Birkat Hamazon) is an empty ritual if we do not do what we can to help others be in a position of thanking God as well. As the first verse implies, God has given every good thing to everyone - so it's up to us that actually have those things to make sure that they are also distributed to those that do not yet have them.

We learn on Yom Kippur in Unataneh Tokef that "tzedakah reduces the severity of the decree". (See also Proverbs 10:2 and BT Baba Batra 10a – “charity delivers from death”) It does not mean that our charity saves us – rather, our tzedakah reduces the severe decree (i.e., hunger and poverty) that might otherwise be suffered by others, the recipients of our gifts.

Celebrate through giving - then you and they will be filled - with joy.
 
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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